Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Rep. Ellison, rights groups show support for jailed Indian workers
  Twenty-three men from India jailed in Fargo are getting support from human rights advocates and members of Congress.4:50 p.m.
• Are laws protecting tenants in foreclosure working?
  Thousands of renters in Minnesota are living in foreclosed properties, and the state has already tried to ease the burden on them by passing a set of laws designed to protect renters' rights. And so far, it seems to be working.4:54 p.m.
• Day 2: Canvassing board making faster work of challenges
  The board tasked with determining the fate of as many at 1,500 ballots in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race is moving at a faster clip today.5:20 p.m.
• Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson talks profits, losses and lessons
  Despite a last quarter drop in both sales and profits, Best Buy stock posted large gains over the past two days. Tom Crann talked to Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson about the future of his company and the economy.5:50 p.m.
• Family says man charged in Gunflint wildfire loved Minnesota
  The man accused of starting the Ham Lake fire is being remembered as someone who cherished the area he allegedly set ablaze. According to his lawyer, Stephen Posniak committed suicide Tuesday at his Washington D.C. home.6:20 p.m.
• NPR: Chemist Divulges How To Bake The Perfect Cookie
  Link to NPR story6:24 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Chrysler To Shut Plants For A Month
  Ailing automaker Chrysler is shutting down all its manufacturing operations for at least a month. All three Detroit automakers routinely close for a couple of weeks around Christmas, but Chrysler says it is extending the shutdown because there isn't enough demand for vehicles.
• Company Behind Chrysler Maintains Privacy
  Cerberus is the private equity firm that owns most of automaker Chrysler. The company is private and makes no financial disclosures to anyone, including Congress. It has said it won't put any more of its own dollars in Chrysler, but it still wants taxpayer help.
• In Fla., A Mystery, Annual Gift To Salvation Army
  For the third year in a row, a Liberty Eagle gold coin worth almost $1,000 was dropped in a Salvation Army kettle. Each time, the coin has been accompanied by a small note, "In memory of Mimi." Megan Spears, resource management director of The Salvation Army of Lee County, Fla., talks about the donation.
• In Talks On Piracy, Few Ideas For Somalia Fix
  Officials from some 25 nations gathered in Bahrain for a security conference that included discussions about the booming piracy business in the Gulf of Aden and elsewhere. No one seemed to be offering a workable strategy for fixing what many agreed is the root of the problem, the failed state of Somalia.
• Farm Groups Praise Choice Of Centrist Vilsack
  President-elect Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Agriculture Department is yet another former political rival. Former Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa has received praise from a wide variety of farm groups for his experience in governance and skill in balancing competing interests.
• Only Those With Top Credit Scores Getting Loans
  It is getting harder for many people to get consumer loans because higher credit scores are now required to qualify to borrow money. John Ulzheimer of Credit.com says a score of 700 used to be high enough to qualify, but now, in some situations, 780 is the target score.
• Blagojevich Lawyer Challenges Impeachment Panel
  An attorney for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich challenged a panel considering Blagojevich's impeachment. The presence of lawyer Ed Genson is a sign that Blagojevich may not be stepping down anytime soon. The Illinois governor has resisted calls for his resignation following his arrest on federal corruption charges.
• Despite Program, No Hope For Homeowners
  Two months after a federal program called Hope for Homeowners went into effect, it is coming up short. Created by Congress in July as part of the same bill that led to the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the program was expected to be able to help up to 400,000 people.
• For One Autoworker, Big Three's Troubles Distant
  Carla Kesterman of Fairland, Ind., has been an autoworker since April, when she went to work for Honda's new Indiana plant. She makes about $34,000 a year as an assembly worker. She has not been following the bailout deliberations and is only vaguely interested in the problems of the Big Three automakers.
• Contango In Oil Markets Explained
  The supply glut in the oil market has led to a contango price structure, in which oil futures are priced higher than their spot price. Lynn Cook, an energy reporter with the Houston Chronicle, says the glut in oil supply is related to the economic recession.
• Madoff Placed Under House Arrest
  Investor Bernard Madoff has been placed under house arrest after allegations he ran a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors of up to $50 billion. Christopher Cox, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said he was "gravely concerned" about the SEC's failure to act.
• An Erroneous Presumption Of Regularity
  NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says a legal principle known as "presumption of regularity" has taken a beating over the past week, with the scandals that have been making headlines. The idea is that government is acting correctly, in the absence of evidence to the contrary. Unfortunately, there's been a lot of evidence to the contrary.
• A 'Francophonic' Take On Congolese Pop
  Though the Congolese music known as soukous was Africa's biggest pop-music style in the '70s and '80s, it only reached the U.S. in bits and pieces. But a new anthology by the musician known as Franco goes a long way toward completing the puzzle.
• Is Caroline Kennedy More Than A Household Name?
  The daughter of the late John F. Kennedy indicated this week that she'd like to be named to Hillary Clinton's soon-to-open Senate seat. That means convincing Democratic power brokers in upstate New York, as well as Gov. David Paterson, she's up to the job.
• More Virgin Mary, Less Virgin Islands
  This week, millions of American will send Christmas cards. James Martin, a Jesuit priest, isn't a fan of cards that display family photos on the cover. "Even devout Christians have been replacing Jesus, Mary and Joseph with themselves," he observes.

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