Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Duluth council begins budgetary bloodletting
  The axe fell this week on a high speed train study, the public arts commission and public housing. City council members are trying to trim a city budget strained by health care expenses for retired employees.5:20 p.m.
• Pawlenty, Doyle and other Midwest governors sign on to global warming pact
  Governors from six Midwestern states have agreed to set up a carbon trading market, called cap and trade.5:24 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Barry Bonds Faces Charges of Lying about Drugs
  Barry Bonds has been indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. He's been charged with lying when he told a federal grand jury that he did not knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs.
• Medicare's Prescription Enrollment a Headache
  Thursday is the beginning of the annual "open season" for seniors to sign up for Medicare's prescription drug benefit. Commentator Dr. Douglas Kamerow, a former assistant surgeon general, tried to help his mother to set up her system and found it virtually impossible to navigate.
• Survey Says Public Backs Screenwriter Strike
  No new talks are planned on the screenwriters strike, but a new survey shows that the public supports the screenwriters.
• Iran Aligns with IAEA but Defies Global Demands
  A new report from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran's nuclear program highlights Tehran's cooperation with the agency. But the report makes clear that Iran continues to defy international demands for a halt to its uranium enrichment program.
• Germany Faces Massive Disruption in Rail Strike
  Rail workers in Germany have extended a strike for better pay to include passenger services. Although the move threatens to disrupt the travel plans of millions of people, it enjoys considerable public support.
• Demands on Army Exceed Supply, Gen. Casey Says
  Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Gen. George Casey told senators Thursday that the current demands on the Army exceed "the sustainable supply." His warning came as Democratic leaders in Congress tried to enact legislation that would cut off funding for the Iraq war at the end of next year.
• Alaska Debates Its Dependency on Oil Industry
  As the price of oil escalates, Alaskan politicians are in special session in Juneau, mired in a debate over raising the windfall profit tax on oil companies from 22 percent to 25 percent. Meantime, four state legislators face corruption charges for taking money from the oil industry.
• Film Provides Kaleidoscopic Portrait of Bob Dylan
  In the new movie I'm Not There, director Todd Haynes deploys six actors to portray the many lives of one man: Bob Dylan. Haynes talks about the unorthodox nature of the film and how he hopes it evokes Dylan's universe of the 1960s.
• Letters: Mapping Muslims, Speeding, Oysters
  Melissa Block and Michele Norris read from this week's e-mail from listeners. We hear an update on Los Angeles Police Department's plan to map Muslim neighborhoods, criticism of a racer who says he broke a cross-country speed record, and memories of dining on wild oysters.
• College Break, Caucuses Conflict in Iowa
  The new, early date of the Iowa caucuses has thrown college campuses there for a loop. Jan. 3 is right smack in the middle of most universities' winter break, and some students are pushing their schools to keep dorms open so people can stay and participate in the caucuses.
• Immigration Among Iowa Voters' Top Concerns
  Immigration is a "very important" issue to Iowa voters, right up there with the economy and the war. That may be due in part to the large influx of immigrants in recent years, mostly from Mexico and Central America, who work in the state's pork and poultry plants.
• 'Barack Stars' Work to Win Iowa's Youth, Seniors
  Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards are in a three-way race in Iowa. For Obama to win there, his field organization is going to be crucial. The "Barack Stars" are trying to make a difference in the nation's first caucus state.
• Musharraf Forms Interim Government Till Elections
  President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has set up a caretaker government to run Pakistan until the January elections, and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto continues to reach out to other parties. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte is due in Islamabad on Friday, but Musharraf isn't in the mood to take U.S. advice.
• Civilian Judge Stalls Court-Martial of War Resister
  A civilian court has stepped in on the case of war resister Ehren Watada, an Army first lieutenant who faced court-martial for refusing to deploy to Iraq. The federal court's involvement gives Watada a much stronger chance of winning, but it means his central argument would go untested in court.
• Oklahoma Lawmaker's Koran Comments Draw Fire
  Some lawmakers in Oklahoma have turned down free copies of the Koran from a state panel on diversity after a Tulsa legislator claimed the Muslim holy book condones killing innocent people. Islamic groups say they need to do a better job of educating Americans about the Koran.

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