Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Art Hounds
  Each week Minnesota Public Radio News asks three people from the Minnesota arts scene to be "Art Hounds." Their job is to step outside their own work and hunt down something exciting that's going on in local arts.4:44 p.m.
• Ask Dr. Hallberg: Cholera in Haiti
  Health officials in Haiti continue their efforts to curb the spread of cholera. An outbreak there has already taken the lives of more than 300 people, and cases have been confirmed in two new areas of the country. MPR News medical analyst Dr. Jon Hallberg joined All Things Considered's Tom Crann on Thursday to answer questions about the disease.4:50 p.m.
• Vote 4 me: Text message political ads showing up in Minnesota
  Voters expect to see political ads on TV, or even in their e-mail inboxes -- but on their cell phones?4:53 p.m.
• Horner hopes third-party risk pays off Election Day
  In the second part of a series on the major-party candidates for governor, we profile the IP's Tom Horner, who quit his business to run a shoe-string campaign. With the election approaching quickly, it appears his risky move may not pay off.5:20 p.m.
• Tensions high in latest 6th District debate
  The candidates for Minnesota's 6th District Congressional seat sparred over bank bailouts, taxes, and outsourcing Thursday.5:24 p.m.
• MDH: Raw dairy producer's product sickens 7 more
  Health officials identified Michael Hartmann's farm as the source of an outbreak of E. coli infections in May and June, and now they traced seven new cases involving different infections to the farm.5:50 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• As Economy Has Sputtered, So Has Obama's 'Brand'
  The president and his fellow Democrats came into office as unemployment was on the rise, and two years later it's still well above 9 percent. On Election Day next week, the party will likely pay the price at polls.
• Panel: Tests Warned Of Cement Flaws Before Blowout
  The presidential commission studying the Deepwater Horizon oil spill released new details on Thursday. The findings indicate tests that Halliburton conducted before the BP spill show the cement that would be pumped down into the well would be unstable. Halliburton has said it tested the cement and it would be stable. For an update, Melissa Block talks to NPR's Richard Harris.
• Earning Afghans' Trust The 'Big Challenge' For U.S.
  Soldiers with the 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan are trying to secure villages once occupied by the Taliban and laced with roadside bombs and booby-trapped buildings. Security is only half the battle, however, as many Afghan villagers are fearful of Taliban retaliation.
• Probe Details Culpability Of Nazi-Era Diplomats
  In Germany, a new government-sponsored study finds that the country's foreign ministry staff was much more involved than previously believed in the mass killing of Jews and others during the Holocaust.
• French Protests Over Pension Weaken
  Unions in France held another day of action on Thursday, but there are signs that their attempt to stop an increase in the retirement age might have been defeated. Both houses of parliament have approved the measure, which now only requires the president's signature to become law. Meanwhile some fuel refineries have reopened, and transport and garbage collection services are reported to be getting back to normal.
• Pennsylvania Saturated With Negative Ads
  This election season, voters have been inundated with campaign advertisements, much of which have been negative. The Philadelphia media market has been saturated with these television ads. To find out how voters feel about this year's deluge, NPR's Robert Siegel travels to Wayne, Pa., to talk with a group of Democrats and Republicans.
• Democrats Seek To Split GOP Vote In Close Races
  NPR's Michele Norris talks to Kasie Hunt, national political reporter for Politico, about Democrats' efforts to split Republican votes in districts with close races. Hunt says that in more than a dozen races all across the country, Democrats have been airing ads and sending out mailers to Republican households, touting the conservative messages of little-known Tea Party and other third-party candidates -- thereby giving them name recognition. She sees it as an acknowledgement among some Democrats that they cannot win in a two-party race, and that their best bet is to try take away some of the votes headed to their main opponents.
• China's Claims World's Fastest Supercomputer
  A new supercomputer built in China is apparently the world's fastest. The system was designed at a defense technology university in the city of Tianjin. It's not quite homegrown since it runs on Linux and uses chips from American companies in Silicon Valley. Still, China's supercomputer breakthrough is likely to trigger some soul-searching in the U-S. Is America's big technology advantage over China rapidly shrinking?
• Master Of The Leaf: Preserving China's Music
  Dadawa, a Chinese pop star and ambassador for the United Nations Development Program, is on a mission to help preserve minority music. Her travels took her through six of China's most far-flung provinces to find masters of vanishing musical traditions.
• Obama Enters The Heated Battle For Virginia's 5th
  President Obama will stump in Virginia on Friday for a vulnerable freshman congressman: Democrat Tom Perriello. It's the only public campaign event the president is doing for just one House member. Polls show Perriello trailing his challenger, Republican state Sen. Robert Hurt.

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