Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Style as much on display as substance in governor debate
  The major party candidates for governor squared off on Thursday for the first time since their primary victories earlier this week. Pawlenty and Hatch took shots at each other, largely ignoring the Independence Party's Peter Hutchinson.4:20 p.m.
• Keillor to open his own bookstore
  Garrison Keillor is going from bestselling author to bookstore owner. Keillor, who hosts the "A Prairie Home Companion" public radio program, plans to open a bookstore in St. Paul in November.5:50 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Senate Panel Approves Rival Plan on Tribunals
  A key Senate committee defies President Bush on the question of how to try suspects in the war on terror. With four Republicans joining the Democrats, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved an alternative to the president's proposed rules.
• Powell Says Bush's Tribunal Plan Would Backfire
  President Bush's proposed rules for trying terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay ran into fresh resistance today from his former secretary of state, retired Gen. Colin Powell. Powell says the president's plan would backfire on American troops abroad, and that the world was beginning to question the moral basis for the U.S. war on terrorism.
• From 'Popeye' Doyle to Puccini: William Friedkin
  William Friedkin, director of The French Connection, is now at the helm of a different production: opera. He explains what Puccini and the Marx Brothers have in common, and reflects on that legendary chase scene.
• Privacy Groups Press for Controls on 'Smart Cards'
  Radio-transmitting microchip tags -- also known as RFIDs -- are everywhere. New credit cards that work by being waved at a cash register use the technology. Governments are considering putting them in documents from drivers' licenses to passports. But privacy advocates say RFIDs present new risks for identity theft and stalking.
• Once a Rebel, Dodge Charger Is Now a Cop Car
  The Dodge Charger was a popular muscle car back in the 1960s and 1970s. Now reintroduced, police departments across the country are commissioning the latest model. Reporter Austin Jenkins of the Northwest News Network went on patrol with a good-guy who's driving a bad-guy car.
• Will a Layer of Silt in the Sky Save the Earth?
  A researcher says he has a way to "Save the Earth from Global Warming" -- for a while, at least. The idea is to do what volcanoes do: inject material into the stratosphere. That would create a thin haze and reflect some sunlight. The general notion has been around for decades but the researcher proposes it as a way to buy time -- not as a permanent fix.
• Namecheck: Did Timrod Influence Dylan?
  On his new album, Modern Times, Bob Dylan seems to have borrowed some lyrics from a little known Civil War-era poet named Henry Timrod. Albuquerque, N.M.-based disc jockey Scott Warmuth has found a number of Timrod lyrics in Dylan's recent catalogue. Robert Siegel talks with Warmuth about the findings.
• New Police Car Video System Foils Car Thieves
  Hundreds of stolen cars are being located, thanks to car-mounted cameras that automatically scan hundreds of license plates as police cars drive through traffic. The system was devised by PIPS Technology. Robert Siegel talks with Detective Damien Levesque of the Los Angeles Police Department about new police-car technology.
• Debate: How Teens Hear 'Promiscuous'
  The song "Promiscuousl" has been everywhere lately: the top of the Billboard charts; the No. 1 iTunes download; and all across the radio dial. The song is a dialogue between singer Nelly Furtado and the producer and musician Timbaland. Their flirting conversation in the song generated a conversation among several of the young men and women at Youth Radio.
• Highway Agency to Require Vehicle Stability Controls
  The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration announces a proposal for all passenger cars and light trucks to be fitted with electronic stability control systems. A study by the insurance industry found that as many as 10,000 road deaths could be prevented annually.
• Saddam's Trial Halts; Judge May Be Removed
  The Saddam Hussein trial adjourns for the week amid demands for the removal of the judge over alleged bias in favor of the ousted dictator. In testimony delivered before the break, the former leader came face-to-face with an alleged victim of what is known as the Anfal campaign, a large operation against Iraqi Kurds in the late 1980s.
• Water Deal Is Reached on San Joaquin Riverbed
  After nearly 20 years of acrimony and disagreement, an agreement was announced Wednesday to restore water to about 60 miles of California's dry San Joaquin Riverbed. It will be one of the largest river-restoration projects in the country. From member station KQED, Sasha Khokha reports.
• Letters: Sept. 11, and 'The Wire'
  Today is the day we read from your e-mails and letters. Many of you responded to our Sept. 11 anniversary coverage and our interview with one of the writers for the HBO series The Wire.
• Iraqi Leader Feels Out Relationship with Iran
  Robert Siegel talks with Ray Takeyh, senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also the author of the forthcoming book Hidden Iran: Paradox and Power in the Islamic Republic. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki paid his first visit to Tehran this week, and Tayekh will talk about Iranian influence in Iraq.
• What Bush Says When He Talks About Security
  NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr remarks on the rhetoric coming out of the White House on Iraq and the war on terrorism.

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