Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Number of suspected Minnesota E. coli cases stands at 14
  The number of suspected E. coli cases linked to two southern Minnesota Taco John's restaurants has risen to 14.5:18 p.m.
• Season's greetings from Twin Cities stages
  In addition to all the Nutcrackers, Scrooge at the Guthrie, the Grinch at the Children's Theatre Company and some singers dreaming of a White Christmas at the Ordway, there are some unusual holiday stage shows that may be flying below your radar.5:21 p.m.
• Feds raid meat-packing plant in Minnesota
  Federal agents raided a southwest Minnesota meatpacking plant on Tuesday, searching for illegal immigrants involved in an identity-theft ring.5:49 p.m.
• Children's Museum turns 25
  The Minnesota Children's Museum is 25 years old. While the size, shape and location of the facility have undergone several changes, its mission has remained constant: using play to spark learning.6:19 p.m.
• Local librarian wins New York Times award
  Dana Bjerke, a youth services librarian at the Ridgedale library in Minnetonka, has won a New York Times librarian award for 2006. The award honors public librarians who have contributed to the accessibility and integrity of their institutions.6:22 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• An Airport Gets Its Tree Up, but Misses an Opportunity
  Commentator Holly Lebowitz Rossi has been watching with great interest as a Christmas tree argument turned into a fracas at the Seattle-Tacoma airport in Washington. She thinks the airport missed an opportunity to make a bold and brave statement.
• Company's Mushroom Dream Irks Neighbors
  As a trip to many grocery stores would suggest, Americans have fallen in love with mushrooms. The white button variety, once the sole choice, is now vying with all sorts of exotic varieties at stores around the country. The booming demand is causing tension in New York, where a Japanese firm's plan to build a massive mushroom-growing operation has run afoul of the neighbors.
• Justice Dept. Alters Approach to Corporate Privilege
  After an outcry by corporate attorneys, the Justice Department has changed some rules about how it decides whether to indict corporations and their officials. Federal prosecutors had been instructed to make charging decisions based in part on whether corporations agreed to waive their constitutional right to attorney-client privilege -- and to refuse to pay the legal fees of company officials.
• FDA Floats Plan to Widen Access to Trial Drugs
  The Food and Drug Administration proposes making experimental drugs more widely available to patients with serious illnesses such as cancer and AIDS. But the drugs, which lack FDA approval, may carry serious risks.
• Foreclosure May Loom for Families with Risky Loans
  The slowdown in the housing market has made some people feel a little less rich -- but for others it could spell real trouble. Pam Weisel and her husband have a zero-down-payment, interest-only adjustable-rate home loan. And because of financial problems, they are unable to make their payments. They are now facing foreclosure.
• The Maine Company Behind Arlington's Wreaths
  This week, more than 5,000 wreaths will be laid on the graves of veterans at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. More than 1,000 more will be laid at veterans' cemeteries and monuments around the country. The project, Wreaths Across America, is being led by the Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Me.
• Government Looks for Ways to Ease Mortgage Risks
  Mortgage lenders often emphasize the low initial payments, but gloss over the possibility of higher payments later, according to John Dugan, U.S. Comptroller of the Currency. Dugan says the government is addressing problems that arise from non-traditional mortgages.
• UCLA Warns Students, Staff of Data Theft
  The University of California-Los Angeles alerts some 800,000 current and former students, applicants, faculty and staff that their personal information -- names, addresses, Social Security numbers -- were exposed when a hacker broke into a campus computer system.
• British, French Honor U.S. Spy Virginia Hall
  Virginia Hall, a great American spy, is being honored today in Washington, D.C., by the French and British governments. The Gestapo once declared Hall "the most dangerous of all Allied spies" who had to be destroyed. And they offered a reward, on "Wanted" posters -- for her demise.
• Meat Firms Give USDA an Earful on 'Natural' Label
  The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering a new definition of "natural foods," at least when it comes to meat and poultry. At a public meeting, the agency heard from critics who say that for meat labels, a "natural" claim should only be allowed when meats don't contain any additives or preservatives.
• Hearing Earth: Rumblings of a Complex Planet
  Listener John Bullitt of Somerville, Mass., adds his seismographic recording of the planet Earth to our series SoundClips. He speeds the audio up so that what is normally inaudible to humans can be heard.
• Opinion on Iraq War Drops; Bush Delays Speech
  New polls show plummeting public support for the war in Iraq. This comes as President Bush meets with advisers, military commanders and Iraq's vice president to talk about changing U.S. strategy in Iraq. On Wednesday, Mr. Bush will hold a final Pentagon meeting with departing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Despite word from the White House that a major policy address would come before Christmas, the speech has now been delayed until January.
• Bush Meets With Iraq's Sunni Vice President
  President Bush meets with the top Sunni leader in the Iraqi government, Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, as the White House continues to review the situation in Iraq. Hashimi heads the Iraq Islamic Party, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. Since he joined the government last spring, Hashimi's sister and two other relatives have been murdered by Sunni insurgents.
• American Public Sours on U.S. Iraq Strategy
  With poll numbers showing Americans increasingly sour about the war in the Iraq, we asked people on the street what they think of the war, the President's handling of it, and the recent report by the Iraq Study Group.
• Looking Behind the 'Natural' Label on Foods
  Noah Adams talks with nutritionist Marion Nestle about what it really means when foods are labeled "natural." Nestle is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. Her latest book is What To Eat.

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