Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• In New Hampshire, Pawlenty calls for federal spending limits
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty is in New Hampshire Wednesday to speak at a Republican fundraiser.4:20 p.m.
• Minn. bid for part of education stimulus hits snag
  The state's teachers union complained today that the Pawlenty administration is trying to use federal stimulus dollars to force schools to adopt the governor's merit pay plan.4:24 p.m.
• Crucial power lines meant for Big Stone II still an option
  The Big Stone II power plant is dead, but at least one part of the project may live on. There is interest in building the power lines planned for the abandoned coal plant project in eastern South Dakota and those lines could be crucial to the wind power industry.4:50 p.m.
• Historic map coming to Minnesota
  One of the world's rarest maps -- a massive print from 1602 showing the world with China as its center -- will soon be on permanent display at the University of Minnesota.4:54 p.m.
• NTSB: Wayward pilots completely unaware of predicament
  A single call from a flight attendant to the pilots of the Northwest Airlines plane that overshot Minneapolis catapulted the cockpit crew from complacency to chaos.5:20 p.m.
• Mpls FBI head ramps up outreach to Somalis
  The head of the FBI's Minneapolis division says the U.S. is seeing a new era of homegrown extremism, especially among Somali immigrants. Boelter told MPR News that Somali-American community leaders need to more clearly denounce extremist ideology.5:24 p.m.
• In the 1950s, passengers flew the skies in style
  Tom Crann talked with Anne Billinglsey Kerr about her life as a stewardess -- as they all were called then -- in the 1950s and the book she wrote about her experiences.5:50 p.m.
• In New Hampshire, Pawlenty calls for federal spending limits
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty is in New Hampshire Wednesday to speak at a Republican fundraiser.6:20 p.m.
• Crucial power lines meant for Big Stone II still an option
  The Big Stone II power plant is dead, but at least one part of the project may live on. There is interest in building the power lines planned for the abandoned coal plant project in eastern South Dakota and those lines could be crucial to the wind power industry.6:24 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Laid-Off Furniture Workers Try To Leap To Google
  Two million manufacturing jobs have disappeared in the recession. Lenoir, N.C., was once known as the "Furniture Capitol of the South." But a handful of former furniture factory workers are trying to retrain for high-tech careers with the new company in town: Google.
• SEC Just Now Seeking Key Information On Meltdown
  Nearly three years into the worst financial crisis this country has seen since the Great Depression, the Securities and Exchange Commission has only recently begun to investigate some of the Wall Street players who were involved in decisions that led to the crisis.
• Newly Discovered Planet Could Be A Watery World
  The planet orbits a red dwarf star 40 light-years from our Earth, and its surface may be covered in water. But scientists say conditions on this planet would probably be too extreme to support life as we know it.
• In Baghdad, Hemlines Rise As Violence Falls
  At the height of Iraq's sectarian violence, being covered up in public was a matter of life and death for women. The dangers from Islamist fanatics were too great for women to dare to go without a headscarf or wear tight jeans or a short skirt. But times are changing in some parts of Baghdad. Some say it is a sign of greater freedom and security.
• The Green Rush Is On In China
  China has emerged as the world's top producer of solar panels, and Western companies are eager to cash in on the country's urgent drive for renewable energy resources. It has the Obama administration worried.
• Jeff Bridges' New 'Dude': A Fallen Country Star
  In Crazy Heart, Bridges plays a washed-up, alcoholic country singer who has been reduced to playing gigs in bowling alleys and dive bars. Though it's tempting to get drunk to play a drunk, Bridges advises against it: "I've made that mistake in the past," he says.
• For Octogenarian Pilot, Sky Is The Limit
  A few weeks ago, Anne Osmer left her home in Hendersonville, N.C., went to a local airfield, climbed into the cockpit of a Diamond DA20 and took off on her first-ever solo flight. Nothing unusual in that, except Osmer is 83 years old.
• GOP Tries To Stall Health Care Debate
  As Democrats rush to finish a health care bill by Christmas, Republicans are reaching into a bag of parliamentary tricks to slam on the brakes. For more than three hours Wednesday, they forced the Senate clerk to read a single-payer amendment — all 767 pages of it — until it was withdrawn by its sponsor, Independent Bernie Sanders. Republican Tom Coburn, who demanded the reading, said he was only trying to follow regular order, but an aide to the minority leader put out a different message on Twitter: We're trying to kill the bill.
• France's Much-Vaunted Nuclear Program Draws Fire
  The French nuclear energy program, which provides about two-thirds of the nation's electricity, is much admired and held as a model of energy self-sufficiency by some observers. Critics say, however, the program is deeply flawed, with major cost over-runs and safety problems that have been covered up by the French government.
• Icon Johnny Hallyday's Health Rivets French Media
  It seems all of France is focused on Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where singer Johnny Hallyday is being treated to correct problems from an earlier back surgery. The 66-year-old Hallyday is the country's biggest pop star and is sometimes called "the French Elvis." Xavier Yvon, a reporter with Radio Television Luxembourg who's part of the French stakeout in Los Angeles, discusses the singer.

The Dinner Party Download™

A fast, funny digest of the week's most interesting news, cuisine, cocktails and culture.

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories