Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• British ad awards return to the Twin Cities
  One of the stranger Twin Cities holiday traditions gets underway this weekend. The arrival of the British Television Advertising Awards Show at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis will feature drumming gorillas, hapless surfers and clay bunnies swarming New York City.4:44 p.m.
• Pawlenty, lawmakers warn of huge spending cuts
  Gov. Pawlenty and state lawmakers are warning residents that big spending cuts will be needed to balance a huge state budget shortfall -- $5.27 billion over the next two and a half years.5:20 p.m.
• State economist says deficit recovery won't come easily
  Today the Minnesota state goverment announced that we are facing a $5.2 billion budget deficit over the next 2 1/2 years. Minnsota State Economist Tom Stinson says the recovery will not come easily.5:24 p.m.
• Franken's attorney: 'Find the ballots'
  DFLer Al Franken's U.S. Senate campaign says the fate of the recount could hinge on finding 133 apparently lost ballots from a precinct in Minneapolis. Also today, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman withdrew hundreds of ballot challenges -- one day after Franken did the same thing.5:45 p.m.
• Health care programs might see cuts as state tightens budget belt
  The health and human services budget accounts for more than a quarter of the state's general fund spending. With the projected $5.2 billion state budget deficit, it is very likely that state-sponsored health care programs will be one of the first areas lawmakers review as they try to close the budget gap.5:50 p.m.
• School superintendents fearful of expected budget cuts
  Public education in Minnesota takes up the largest portion of the state's general fund. About 40 percent of the state's budget goes to Preschool and K-through-12 spending. So school districts around the state may be thinking their budgets could get cut first and most deeply.5:54 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Test-Driving A Hummer H3, In Baghdad
  The American Hummer, made known to Iraqis through U.S. military operations, is now being advertised and sold as a status symbol to young, wealthy Iraqis. NPR's Ivan Watson test-drove an H3 on the streets of Baghdad and picked up compliments along the way.
• GM CEO Outlines Company's Plans
  GM CEO Rick Wagoner is back on Capitol Hill this week with the chief executives of Ford and Chrysler to convince Congress that the automakers need federal help and are prepared to make sacrifices in return for taxpayer money.
• UAW Workers Ponder Their Fate
  The United Auto Workers union has taken a beating in Congress, with some lawmakers suggesting it is largely to blame for most of the U.S. auto industry's troubles. The UAW now says it is willing to put everything on the table in order to help automakers get government aid.
• Bill Would End Manufacturers' Price-Setting Power
  A fight is brewing in Washington over whether manufacturers should have the right to set minimum retail prices for the products they make. For nearly a century, courts have banned the practice under antitrust laws, but the Supreme Court overturned that in 2007.
• Racial Divisions Challenge Gay Rights Movement
  California's black and gay communities have tried to mend fences since black voters turned out in large numbers to help pass Proposition 8, the state's ban on same-sex marriages. Now activists are seeing another rift as well, between white and black gays.
• U.K. Unveils Mortgage-Deferral Plan
  The British government has launched a new scheme to allow homeowners up to two years deferral on mortgage payments to prevent an increase in foreclosures. It is seen as a pre-election move by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to show that he cares about "Middle Britain."
• Treasury's 4.5 Percent Mortgage Plan Analyzed
  Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has outlined what the government needs to do to fix the mortgage crisis. Christopher J. Mayer, senior vice dean and Paul Milstein professor of real estate at Columbia Business School, talks about what the plan would entail.
• Woeful Detroit Lions Reflect City's Troubles
  The Detroit Lions have the worst record in the NFL this year and have become yet another symbol of a sad and frustrating year for many in this city where little seems to be going right these days.
• 'Rent' Gets A High School Makeover
  More than 50 student groups across the country are performing Jonathan Larson's edgy rock opera Rent this school year. Like the Broadway show, Rent School Edition is centered on a group of friends in the 1990s dealing with AIDS, gender identity, homosexuality, drug addiction and poverty.
• Freshman Lawmakers Offer Take On Auto Bailout
  Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) are two freshmen members of Congress who have checked in periodically since they arrived in Washington in January 2006. Both have been re-elected and offer their take on the auto bailout.
• Automakers Get Second Chance To Pitch For Bailout
  The Senate banking panel has held a hearing on why Congress should give the troubled automakers $34 billion in federal loans. The CEOs of the Big Three automakers, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger and economist Mark Zandi testified.
• 100-Year-Old Gears Up For Obama's Inauguration
  Lillian Allen, who turned 100 in April, says she never expected to see a black man sworn in as president in her lifetime. The Pittsburgh native who volunteered for the Obama campaign plans to travel to Washington, D.C., for the historic inauguration.
• In Times Of Cheap Gas, Hybrid Sales Stall
  With gas prices under $2 in some places, the sales of hybrids such as the Toyota Prius have fallen. Toyota has sold about half as many Priuses in November as it did in November 2007. Fans of the cars say they are not worried, however.
• Economic Times Test Miami Art Show
  Art Basel Miami is sister of the large annual show in Switzerland. The Miami show has been growing in both size and prominence as an international market for art, but will be put to the test in this year's economic slide.
• Gore Group, Industry Butt Heads Over 'Clean Coal'
  An organization headed by former Vice President Al Gore released a television ad Thursday that takes on so-called clean coal technology. A debate is raging between environmental advocates and industry officials over the technology — and even the definition of the term "clean coal."

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