Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Goodbye to the real estate boom
  Newly released statistics show that June was another slow month for the Twin Cities housing market. Both new and existing homes, which not long ago would have been the subject of bidding wars between anxious buyers, are now sitting idle in a market increasingly flooded with sellers.5:19 p.m.
• Hatch and Entenza -- can they get along?
  Republican Party officials are calling on two of the state's top Democrats to come clean on an apparent feud between them.5:24 p.m.
• South Dakota driver in running for reality TV show
  A Sioux Falls man is in the running for a 3-month stint as a reality race car driver. Greg Gunderson has something to prove and it's not just about winning.5:52 p.m.
• Music and technology converge in unique piano competition
  Judges Thursday night chose a young pianist from the Republic of Georgia as the winner of the Minnesota International Piano-e-Competition. The competition used some advanced technology to judge the performances of contestants from around the world.6:20 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Israeli Army Enters Lebanon After Soldiers Taken
  Israel bombs Lebanese bridges and sends troops north into a region it occupied for more than 20 years, in response to the Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers. Just 10 miles south of Beirut, Israeli planes attacked a center Israel identified as a guerrilla base.
• Lebanese Have Mixed Reactions to Flareup
  Clashes brought on by the capture of Israeli soldiers by the Hezbollah are causing both fear and celebration in Lebanon, says Jamil Mroue, editor-in-chief of the Lebanese newspaper Daily Star. Melissa Block talks with Mroue.
• Palestinian Family Killed in Israeli Attack
  Israel is now fighting on two fronts: one to the north in Lebanon and the second in the heart of Gaza. Israeli air and ground attacks inside Gaza killed at least 20 Palestinians today, including nine members of one family.
• Homeland Security Asset Report Inflames Critics
  Homeland Security's inspector general criticizes a database of places designated by states as being vulnerable to terrorist attack. The list includes such apparently frivolous entries as an insect zoo and a popcorn factory. Indiana is listed as having 50 percent more critical assets than New York.
• Ralph Reed's Bumpy Road in Georgia
  Ralph Reed was once the golden boy of Christian conservative politics. Now, entangled in the Jack Abramoff mess, Reed is in a tough battle for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor of Georgia. From Georgia Public Radio, Susanna Capelouto reports.
• Judging the Trial of Saddam Hussein
  As the trial of Saddam Hussein nears its closing arguments, Melissa Block talks with New York University law professor Noah Feldman about whether the trial has met international legal standards.
• Gertrude Bell, a Masterful Spy and Diplomat
  The extraordinary British diplomat and spy Gertrude Bell was buried 80 years ago today. After World War I, she was almost single-handedly responsible for the founding of modern Iraq, where her grave is still located.
• Fatal Fall Leads Boston to Survey Highway System
  The head of the agency overseeing Boston's Big Dig highway project orders a review of the entire highway system after investigators looking into this week's fatal collapse of concrete ceiling slabs found 60 more questionable areas inside the same tunnel.
• Rachmaninov's Refreshing 'All Night Vigil'
  Written around the time of World War One, Sergei Rachmaninov's "All Night Vigil" is an extraordinary choral music composition. A new recording of Rachmaninov's work from conductor Paul Hillier and The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir is out, and music critic Tom Manoff says it's magnificent.
• Rice, Key Counterparts Return Iran Issue to U.N.
  Foreign ministers from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany agree to refer Iran to the council for possible punishment. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her colleagues said Iran is not serious in negotiations to end its nuclear-enrichment program.

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