Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Art Hounds: Puppets in Bemidji, Osmo on clarinet, Music and Movies
  This week's Art Hounds welcome In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre to Bemidji, celebrate the Walker's Summer Music and Movies, and talk up Osmo Vanska's lunchtime clarinet concert.4:44 p.m.
• Buzz Aldrin recalls his mission to the moon
  Forty years ago today, NASA's Apollo 11 spacecraft launched, beginning Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's historic mission to the moon. MPR's Tom Crann talked with Aldrin about his most vivid memories of going to the moon.4:50 p.m.
• Studies show women of color struggle to rise in law firms
  If confirmed, Sonia Sotomayor would be the first woman of color to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. However, two studies found women of color have little chance of rising to the most powerful ranks in law firms.4:54 p.m.
• State loses 16,700 jobs in June
  Minnesota's job losses spiked dramatically in June, compared to the previous month, with employers cutting 16,700 jobs around the state.5:20 p.m.
• Traffic deaths drop to historic low
  Traffic deaths on state roads dropped by 11 percent last year, and the state highways were safer than they have been in 64 years, according to state officials.5:24 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• California Pensions Forcing Cities Into Bankruptcy
  In California, more than 5,000 retired workers receive six-figure pensions. This year alone, the state expects to spend $3.4 billion compared with $160 million a decade ago. Hardly anyone thinks it's sustainable — and it could force many cities into bankruptcy.
• Being A Jockey Isn't Just Horsing Around
  It's not just new age breeding and training methods that are making racehorses faster each year. Jockeys are actually utilizing the laws of physics to maximize the speed of their horses.
• One Small Town's Big Role In The Apollo Missions
  More than 40 years ago, NASA sent the Apollo 11 astronauts to the small town of Flagstaff, Ariz., to prepare for their mission. The desert terrain and a meteor crater just east of town were much like what they would encounter on the moon.
• Mass. Cuts Health Benefits For Some Immigrants
  Massachusetts is backtracking on a plan to see that virtually all its residents have health insurance. Some 30,000 legal immigrants are being cut from a state program that provides subsidized insurance.
• Md. County Health Program Highlights Challenges
  Howard County, Md., Health Commissioner Dr. Peter Beilenson says more people have enrolled in Healthy Howard, the county's program for the uninsured. But, he says, as many as 10 percent of those enrolled are in danger of being dropped because they cannot afford the program.
• 'Harry And Louise' Now Back Health Care Overhaul
  Harry and Louise, the couple who appeared in the ad that helped sink President Clinton's heath care ambitions, are back with a new ad — supporting President Obama's industry overhaul. The actors joined several Democratic senators on Capitol Hill Thursday to mark the passage of a health bill from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
• Sears Tower Gets New Name
  Chicago's iconic Sears Tower has a new name. The tallest building in the U.S. was renamed the Willis Tower. Locals say it will take some getting used to.
• An Industry Icon's Quest For The Signature Cigar
  Cigar icon Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is back in business at age 57, hoping to pass on his family's cigar-making tradition. Among a new wave of independent cigar makers, Perez-Carrillo is starting a new company in Miami with his son and daughter.
• CIT Group Heads Toward Bankruptcy
  Analysts say CIT Group could file for bankruptcy as early as Friday after the failure of talks between the company and government officials. CIT, a major lender to small and mid-sized businesses, needs at least $2 billion to solve an immediate liquidity crisis.
• Most Big Credit Card Firms Raising Rates, Fees
  Credit card interest rates and fees are increasing ahead of federal legislation, which go into effect in February 2010, that limits those fees. John Ulzheimer, of Credit.com, says many most of the top 10 credit card issuers are changing the terms of many accounts to be more favorable to banks and less favorable to consumers.

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