Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Best Buy analyst on company's missed earnings
  First quarter earnings are in for Best Buy, and the Richfield-based consumer electronics giant fell short of expectations. Today, Best Buy shares were down 6 percent.4:20 p.m.
• For protege pianists, there's Paul Wirth
  For the select few of young musicians who rise to the level of "extremely gifted" and are in need of a top-notch teacher, Paul Wirth is their go-to teacher.4:24 p.m.
• Head injury was cause of mechanic's death at MSP
  Jesse Paul Stygar, of Rosemount, was injured in the gear doors of an aircraft parked at a gate.5:19 p.m.
• Nurses ask hospitals to return to contract negotiations
  The nurses union is suggesting that meetings could be held next Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Those dates come after the nurses vote next Monday on whether to authorize an open-ended strike.5:23 p.m.
• Tom Smith, St. Paul's new chief of police
  The St. Paul Police Department has a new chief today. Tom Smith was sworn in earlier this afternoon in a ceremony at Harriet Island. He is a 20-year veteran of the St. Paul Police Department.6:24 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• The Boom In Boom: Will Oil Spill Defenses Hold?
  BP says it's deployed millions of feet of boom to contain the oil menacing the Gulf Coast. But some experts and politicians worry that the boom won't hold up to hurricane season and that there's not enough manpower or supplies to stop the oil.
• Petraeus Slumps At Hill Hearing On Afghanistan
  Gen. David Petraeus testified Tuesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the situation in Afghanistan. About an hour into the hearing, Petraeus fell ill, slumping onto the witness table. While it was not serious and the hearing will continue Wednesday, the session got off to a contentious start with many questions about the president's plan to withdraw troops in July 2011.
• Pakistan Maintains Relationship With Afghan Taliban, Harvard Researcher Says
  Pakistan provides arms and ammunition and strategic advice to the Afghan Taliban, a Harvard researcher reports.
• Obama To Address Nation On Oil Spill
  President Obama is set to deliver a prime-time address on the Gulf oil spill Tuesday night from the Oval Office. Michele Norris talks to NPR's Mara Liasson.
• The Latest Kids' Craze: Rubber Bands
  Well, not quite. Silly Bandz are stretchy, colorful silicone bands that come in all different shapes. And kids around the country just have to have them. But why are they so popular?
• Drake: A Hip-Hop Sensation Falls Flat
  The Toronto-based rapper's highly anticipated major-label debut, Thank Me Later, features dreamy melodies and electric synths, along with big-name guests like Jay-Z and Timbaland. But for an MC whose buzz has been so powerful for the past year and a half, the album disappoints.
• Flood Of Tasks, Trickle Of Resources For Coast Guard
  The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has thrust the Coast Guard, normally a bit player in the federal government, into a lead role. And some experts say it's strained the agency's resources just a few months after the Obama administration proposed to cut its budget.
• A Look At The 1990 Oil Pollution Act
  A 1990 law called the Oil Pollution Act set out the penalties for corporations that spill oil into the environment, but how exactly it will apply to the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico is unclear. Melissa Block talks with environmental law professor Zygmund Plater, who was chairman of Alaska's oil spill commission legal research task force after the Exxon Valdez wreck. The task force recommendations went to Congress as it drafted the 1990 law.
• 'Touchdown Jesus' Statue Goes Down In Flames
  A huge statue depicting Jesus reaching to the sky got struck by lighting Monday night and was destroyed. Tens of thousands of motorists in Ohio drive by the statue, known as "Touchdown Jesus," each day.
• A World Cup Lover, Hater Face Off
  Michele Norris talks to Andres Martinez of the New America Foundation, who can't get enough of the World Cup; and Jon Friedman, Media Web columnist for Market Watch, who hates soccer.

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