Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Crime and punishment for teenagers
  A 13-year-old kid drops a rock off a bridge on a highway overpass. The rock hits a car and kills the driver. Is the teen guilty of murder? A play at the Children's Theater Company in Minneapolis is asking questions of teen audiences, and getting some surprising answers.3:47 p.m.
• Another push for Duluth to Minneapolis rail service
  Public officials from Minneapolis to Duluth have formed an alliance to start passenger rail service between the Twin Cities and the Twin Ports. A feasibility study says a high-speed passenger train could make millions of dollars, especially if it's routed close to a popular casino in Hinckley.4:35 p.m.
• Pawlenty vetos transportation bill
  Gov. Pawlenty has vetoed a bill that would spend $6.6 billion over the next 10 years on transportation, setting up an override showdown in the the House and Senate.5:14 p.m.
• How Pawlenty's veto impacts transit
  One of the tax increases in the transportation bill vetoed by Gov. Pawlenty is an optional one-quarter percent sales tax for Twin Cities transit. Advocates say the money would supply a long needed, dedicated source of transit funding for the metro area.5:19 p.m.
• Van driver faces criminal charges and deportation
  The driver of a van which struck a school bus near Cottonwood, Minn., Tuesday, killing four students, has been charged with four counts of criminal vehicular homicide. Federal officials say the driver is in the U.S. illegally. They also say they don't know her real name.5:44 p.m.
• Pilot seniority is sticking point in airline merger deal
  Merger talks between Northwest and Delta airlines and their pilots have apparently resolved issues related to pilot pay, stock and other issues. But the two pilot groups are still deadlocked over how to combine the separate pilot seniority lists into one. And that could kill a deal.5:47 p.m.
• Crime and punishment for teenagers
  A 13-year-old kid drops a rock off a bridge on a highway overpass. The rock hits a car and kills the driver. Is the teen guilty of murder? A play at the Children's Theater Company in Minneapolis is asking questions of teen audiences, and getting some surprising answers.6:19 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Imam's Wife a Bridge Between Two Worlds
  Jerusha Lamptey is the devout wife of an imam in Virginia. She's also an American woman earning a Ph.D. who keeps up with pop culture. Lamptey may be a glimpse into the future — for American converts adapting to Islam, and Muslim women adapting to the U.S.
• Catholics a Key Voting Bloc in Ohio
  Catholic voters have supported New York Sen. Hillary Clinton by a margin of 2 to 1 this primary season. But exit polls from Wisconsin on Feb. 19 show that margin may be evaporating. Clinton will need the Catholic vote to carry the crucial state of Ohio on March 4.
• In 'Charlie Bartlett,' the Teen Therapist Is In
  Kicked out of prep school, over-shrunk rich kid offers counseling — and prescription antidepressants — to his new public-school peers in a makeshift office in the boys' bathroom. An improbably charming comedy.
• Turkish Troops Hunt Kurdish Rebels in Iraq
  Turkish troops, backed by tanks and warplanes, moved into northern Iraq on Friday to hunt down Kurdish separatist guerrillas of the PKK, who have been launching raids into Turkey from Iraqi territory. Turkey says the guerrillas are their only target. It's unclear how many troops are involved.
• U.S. Military Praises Militia's Cease-Fire Extension
  At Shiite mosques across Iraq on Friday, aides to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced that he has decided to extend the cease-fire for his Mahdi Army militia. The announcement prompted sighs of relief among U.S. military commanders and in the streets of Baghdad.
• 30-Second Ad Can Say a Lot About a Candidate
  A standard 30-second television commercial may be a minor inconvenience when watching your favorite show, but when it comes to presidential politics, it can tell you a lot about a candidate. A professor of political science runs through some of the latest Democratic presidential campaign ads.
• Letters: McCain, Consumers, 'No Depression'
  Melissa Block reads from listeners' e-mails, including responses to our coverage of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, and to our stories on the "predictably irrational" choices of consumers and on the folding of the music magazine No Depression.
• A Palestinian Intifada Icon Chooses Art over War
  Zakariya Zubeidi, who once led the militant gunmen of the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades in the West Bank city of Jenin, has put down his weapons. He says he now believes theater is the best way to push for Palestinian statehood.
• McCain Gets Favorable Reaction amid Bad News
  John McCain met with supporters and had a fundraiser in Indianapolis on Friday, a day after the New York Times and the chairman of the FEC hit him with a one-two punch, raising questions about his relationships with lobbyists and his financial viability. The news was bad, but the reaction to it was largely positive for McCain.
• Watching Democrats Debate in a Texas Taco Bar
  It's a good bet that voters in Ohio and Texas had a close eye on Thursday night's debate between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The states' primaries are on March 4. Some die-hard, mostly female supporters of Clinton watched the debate at a taco bar in Austin, Texas.

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