Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• 'Physics Circus' at U of M mixes science and stagecraft
  Collapsing steel drums with steam and shooting rolls of toilet paper with a leaf blower are just a few ways a group of scientists use to prove that physics isn't so complicated in show that they call the "Physics Circus."3:24 p.m.
• Art Hounds
  Each week Minnesota Public Radio News asks three people from the Minnesota arts scene to be "Art Hounds." Their job is to step outside their own work and hunt down something exciting that's going on in local arts.4:44 p.m.
• Deadline looming for teacher contracts
  Fewer than half of the state's school districts have reached deals on new contracts with their teachers and the remaining have until the end of next week to do so.4:54 p.m.
• Police call on Somali community to help solve shooting
  A vigil will be held this evening in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis, 24 hours after East African immigrants were gunned down at a corner market. Police say they're looking for "cold-blooded killers" and they say they believe their suspects are also Somali.5:20 p.m.
• A Somali community member talks about the killings
  For more perspective from the local Somali community on a triple homicide that took place in south Minneapolis neighborhood, Tom Crann talked with Hashi Shafi, a community organizer with Somali Action Alliance.5:24 p.m.
• How will new drug-monitoring procedures affect clinics?
  Dr. Jon Hallberg, regular medical analyst on All Things Considered, talked with Tom Crann more about the Minnesota Prescription Monitoring Program, and how it's likely to affect clinics.5:50 p.m.
• Same-sex couples want bill to protect end-of-life decisions in Minn.
  Advocates for same-sex couples say Minnesota needs a law that protects the rights of surviving members of domestic partnerships to make those decisions.5:54 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Mideast Water Crisis Brings Misery, Uncertainty
  The Middle East is facing its worst water crisis in decades. For three summers, the annual rains have failed to come. Farmland has dried up in Iraq, Syria, southeast Turkey and Lebanon. The dire conditions are creating a new phenomenon: water refugees.
• Experts Urge Officials To End Mountaintop Mining
  A group of hydrologists, ecologists and engineers analyzed years of research and found that mountaintop removal as a way to mine coal is more damaging to the environment and public health than the law should permit. They're urging federal and state authorities to halt or alter the practice.
• Are Blue Dogs An Endangered Species?
  Conservative Democrats could face tough election challenges in a political climate that is increasingly sour for their party. With the retirements of two House members, Tennessee will be problematic for Democrats in this year's congressional elections.
• What's In A Name? Author Tells Stories Behind Trees
  In her book Lives of the Trees: An Uncommon History, author Diana Wells explores the history of and people's relationship with about 100 trees. She says she hopes the book will inspire readers to discover the trees around them because "we need the trees and they need us."
• Airline Passengers Abroad React To Tougher Security
  This week, the Obama administration placed 14 so-called "countries of interest" on a list. People traveling through those countries en route to the U.S. will be subject to extra-intense screening. NPR correspondents check in with passengers at airports in two of the countries -- Iraq and Nigeria -- and in Italy, which is a key transit point for travelers headed to the U.S.
• Elevated Airport Security 'Necessary,' Expert Says
  The Obama administration has called for stepped-up security measures for international airline passengers, particularly those from 14 specified countries. Rick Nelson, director of the homeland security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, tells NPR's Michele Norris that the measures are necessary, but they're not a long-term solution -- and it could have the U.S. "overly focused" on certain countries.
• New USAID Head Offers His Take On Development
  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton swore in Thursday the new administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which handles foreign aid. Rajiv Shah, 36, is the son of Indian immigrants and a medical doctor who worked on agricultural development at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Shah tells NPR's Melissa Block his views on development, its intersection with national security and some of the projects the agency will tackle.
• Tips For Making Sense Of New Job Numbers
  Investors and economists are nervously anticipating Friday's release of new data on unemployment, but for the non-experts out there, what what do those statistics really say? Here, a closer look at the two big numbers: the unemployment rate and the number of jobs created or lost.
• Congress Creates Commission To Dig Into Financial Crisis
  Congress has created a bipartisan, 10-member Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to dig into the cause of the financial crisis and publish a report by the end of the year. Chairman Phil Angelides, former California state treasurer, and Vice Chairman Bill Thomas, a former Congressman, tell NPR's Michele Norris their plans for the commission.
• The Pecora Hearings 75 Years Ago Offer Lessons
  The investigation of the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency 75 years ago shaped the nation's financial regulatory system. They became known as the Pecora Hearings, after the counsel Ferdinand Pecora, whose dogged questioning of Wall Street following the crash of 1929 disgraced the big bankers of the day.

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