Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Northwest, mechanics negotiators reach tentative contract agreement
  Approval by union members would end a walkout that began in August 2005 but long ago ceased to have any visible impact on the airline.5:20 p.m.
• The reuse movement takes on our disposable culture
  Salvaging and reuse have become big businesses.5:23 p.m.
• Pakistan one year later
  Sunday marked one year since an earthquake in a remote region of Pakistan killed over 73,000 people. The 7.6-magnitude earthquake left another 3.5 million people homeless on the brink of a harsh Himalayan winter.5:50 p.m.
• Roe Family creates Minneappalachia on Monday nights
  "Old-time" country music was born in the mountains of Appalachia, not the prairies of the upper Midwest. But a Minneapolis band is putting its own stamp on a traditional American art form.5:53 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• California's Almond Farmers Cope with Thefts
  Robert Siegel talks with almond farmer Scott Phippen, who had two truckloads of almonds stolen over the July 4 weekend. Phippen believes the almonds have been shipped overseas, where they can draw a higher price. Other almond thefts have been reported recently -- a truckload has gone missing in California's Stanislau County.
• A Special Baseball Stadium Bird: The 'Ball Hawk'
  Most baseball games are played in ballparks full of fans cheering on one team or the other. But another kind of fan is loyal only to the fly ball: That's the ball hawk. One ball hawk, 36-year-old John Witt, has caught almost 2,800 Major League balls.
• Google to Buy YouTube in $1.65 Billion Deal
  Google announces a deal to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock. The acquisition -- the most expensive in Google's eight-year history -- unites the prominent search-engine company with the Internet's No. 1 video-sharing site.
• 'Yugonostalgia' Takes Hold in Slovenia
  This year, Slovenia celebrated the 15th anniversary of its secession from Yugoslavia. The economy is good, and the country will adopt the Euro next year. Slovenia has been hailed as the great Balkan success story. But many look back longingly toward the days when Slovenia was still part of Yugoslavia. For those who feel "Yugonostalgia," life felt better in the days of Josip Broz Tito.
• Economist Edmund Phelps Receives Nobel
  Robert Siegel talks with Columbia University professor Edmund Phelps, winner of this year's Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences. Phelps' work in the 1960s helped to better explain the relationship between inflation and unemployment, and had a profound impact on decisions made by corporate and government leaders.
• United Nations Weighs North Korea Response
  President Bush swiftly condemned North Korea's reported nuclear weapons test, saying the United States would hold North Korea "fully accountable for the consequences of such action." Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council began drafting a resolution that could lead to further sanctions against North Korea.
• Determining the Scope of N. Korea's Test
  Many questions remain about North Korea's reported nuclear test, including the actual size of the explosion and what it indicates about Pyongyang's intentions. U.S. spy agencies have a few ways of learning about the explosion, from "sniffer" planes to satellite photos.
• New GOP Criticism of Bush's Iraq Policy
  President Bush's policy on Iraq remains, "Stay the course." But behind that maxim, one can see signs of the ground being cleared for a change in that policy. Recent comments from James A. Baker III and Sen. John Warner (R-VA), two administration stalwarts, indicate pessimism for the current U.S. approach to Iraq.
• The Sounds of Science
  Josh and Chase Gladden of Mississippi, father and son, tells us about a science experiment they conducted involving sound. They struck a wire and recorded the time it took for the sound to move along it.
• Kentucky Grapples with Confusion on Voter Lists
  For the first time this year, states are required to have centralized voter registration lists. In Kentucky, a state effort to eliminate duplicate registrations resulted in at least several hundred voters being mistakenly removed from the rolls. Confusion and lawsuits followed.
• North Korea's Neighbors Denounce Nuclear Test
  In the wake of North Korea's announcement that it had conducted an underground nuclear test, the international community swiftly condemned the action. The test proceeded despite warnings Sunday from Japan and China. It's not clear how big the device was, or whether the test was successful.
• Is the Nobel Sweep Over for Americans?
  So far, all of the Nobel prizes this year have gone to Americans. Nobel enthusiast and freelance writer Tatiana Divens of Vienna, Va., says we have probably reached the end of that sweep. The Nobel Committee is likely to pick someone outside of the United States and Europe for the final two prizes.
• California Company Issues Lettuce Recall
  A company in California's Salinas Valley, where a recent E. coli contamination of spinach originated, has recalled Foxy brand lettuce after irrigation water tested positive for the bacterium. So far, the lettuce does not appear to have caused any illnesses.
• Impact of the North Korea Test on U.S. Policy
  For U.S. reaction to the reported nuclear test in North Korea, Robert Siegel talks with Ambassador Christopher Hill. Hill is the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and the head of the U.S. delegation at the six-party talks with North Korea.
• Experts Call for Changes to FDA Drug Approval
  A group of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration, along with the The New England Journal of Medicine, are calling for changes to the FDA's drug-approval process. The advisers say the current process has problems from start to finish, and has made five recommendations.

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