Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Aging out of foster care
  Each year 24,000 American teenagers in foster care leave their foster families or group homes and try to make it on their own, because when they turn 18, they're too old to qualify for state services anymore. A new study shows that foster teens do better if they stay in care until they're 21.4:49 p.m.
• Minn. judges often ignore drug sentencing guidelines
  A case before the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1991 foreshadowed the national discussion over sentencing disparities in drug crimes. But the state's response to the issue created a new set of problems. Bob Collins, author of MPR's News Cut, looks into how well Minnesota's drug sentencing guidelines are working.5:18 p.m.
• Sen. Johnson holds first news conference since stroke
  U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) held his first news conference since suffering from a stroke a year ago.5:23 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Chronic Water Shortages Hit Rural Chinese Hard
  One of China's most pressing problems is a shortage of water across its northern region. Water levels in the Yellow River are low and farmers face difficulties irrigating their fields. The shortages highlight the sharp divide between rural and urban China.
• Police Use DNA to Track Suspects Through Family
  Law-enforcement investigators regularly use partial DNA matches to track down criminal suspects through family members who are already in a DNA databank. But critics say such genetic matches go against the notion that a person's DNA is inherently private.
• Ex-CIA Officer Speaks Out Against Waterboarding
  A former CIA officer who questioned a key al-Qaida operative in 2002 says he now condemns the harsh interrogation techniques which he once saw as "desperate measures" called for by "desperate times."
• Fed Offers $40 Billion to Bolster Global Economy
  The Federal Reserve Bank moved Wednesday morning to ease a global credit crisis, announcing a plans to offer $40 billion in emergency funds to banks through an auction process. The move was coordinated with other major central banks and is designed to increase liquidity around the globe.
• Business Schools Groom Foreign Students for Jobs
  At business schools across the United States, many recruiters have refused to interview foreigners, citing problems with their English or difficulties with their work visas. Some campuses are working to change that trend and improve prospects for these students.
• Car Bombings Kill Dozens of People in Amara
  Coordinated car bombings in the southern Iraqi city left at least 40 dead and more than 100 wounded. Earlier this year, British forces handed over security duties in the province to Iraqi government troops. A similar handover in neighboring Basra is set for next week, raising fears of more violence in the largely Shiite region.
• Top Lebanese Army Officer Killed in Bombing
  A car bombing near the presidential palace in Beirut on Wednesday killed a top Lebanese army officer. The victim was widely expected to succeed army Chief of Staff Michel Suleiman, who has emerged as the consensus candidate for president after months of political deadlock.
• Without Writers, TV Junkies Confront New Realities
  As the writers' strike drags on, broadcast networks are looking to reality shows and other unscripted programming — from an early Survivor to a revived American Gladiators.
• Sunday Football Pits Jets, Patriots in Grudge Match
  This Sunday, the undefeated New England Patriots take on the New York Jets. It was the Jets' head coach who, earlier this year, exposed the Patriots' secret program to videotape their rivals' defensive signals, and that makes this a grudge match for the Patriots.
• Gambler Pardoned in White House Tradition
  William Charles Jordan Jr. ran into trouble 10 years ago for his connections to a pro-football gambling ring. On Tuesday, he was among 29 convicts pardoned by President Bush in an annual White House tradition.

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