Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Poet Robert Bly looks forward and back in new collection
  Minnesota poet Robert Bly has enjoyed a successful but contentious career. He's internationally known for his poetry, and for his 1990 book "Iron John," which launched a men's movement. Now 84, Bly has just published a new collection called "Talking into the Ear of a Donkey." It's filled with humor, memories, and grief.4:50 p.m.
• Minnesota congressmen react to debt ceiling agreement
  Minnesota's lawmakers react with questions regarding the president's and Republican leaders' agreement to raise the debt ceiling.5:20 p.m.
• American Crystal Sugar workers locked out
  Union workers at Moorhead-based American Crystal Sugar have resoundingly rejected the company's final contract offer.5:24 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• House Considers Debt Deal
  Can the House pass the debt ceiling deal? Given that it includes much to offend all, House leaders John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi are playing a delicate balancing game. NPR's Andrea Seabrook talks to Melissa Block.
• A Look At The Proposed Debt Deal
  If you are confused about the deal lawmakers are considering, you are not alone. Melissa Block talks to NPR's Ron Elving, who offers analysis on the debt deal moving through Congress.
• Despite Deal, Credit Downgrade Still A Possibility
  Congressional leaders hope to pass a deal calling for more than $2 trillion in spending cuts, but the door is still open to a downgrade of the government's top-notch credit rating. Last month, Standard & Poor's put the chances that the U.S. could lose its AAA rating at 50 percent if Congress failed to come up with a "credible agreement to reduce the debt."
• China Aims To Renew Status As Scientific Superpower
  Chinese leaders are pouring money into research and development in a bid to rejoin the ranks of the world's top technological innovators. Beijing is also luring back Chinese scientists from overseas. But money and manpower may not be enough.
• Summer Sounds: Shakespeare
  Oklahoma theater writer Larry Laneer contributes his Summer Sound to our series. He says when he thinks of the season, his thoughts turn to outdoor performances of the Bard's plays.
• Proposed Debt Deal Relies On 'Gang Of 12'
  The keys to the debt deal the president has made with congressional committees involve a new deficit-cutting super-committee of 12 members of Congress — and a draconian mechanism to cut spending if the 12 cannot.
• Redondo Beach: Unusual Leadership Dodges Red Ink
  The mayor of Redondo Beach, Calif., is both a traditionalist and a precedent-breaker. Mayor Mike Gin is gay, Asian and a Republican in a heavily Democratic state. Seen as socially liberal but fiscally conservative, the mayor has pulled together various city leaders to make cuts and avoid a deficit.
• Syrian Activists: Hama Faces Another Attack
  President Obama said he was "appalled" by violence in Syria over the weekend — some of the worst yet in the months-long uprising against the government of President Bashar Assad. At least 70 people were reported killed in Sunday's government assaults on the cities of Hama and Deir al-Zor. NPR's Peter Kenyon talks to Michele Norris.
• Rosa Parks Account Describes Attempted Rape
  Michele Norris talks with historian and Rosa Parks biographer Douglas Brinkley. They discuss civil rights icon Rosa Parks and her six-page handwritten account about surviving a rape attempt by a white neighbor in 1931. They discuss how this account, if true, would impact her legacy.
• Against All Odds: 3 Triumphant Tales Of Survival
  What is it about the human spirit? Even in the most emotionally and physically trying times, somehow, it is able to remain victorious. Author Susan Choi recommends three tales of struggle and, ultimately, of those who achieve great feats in the face of adversity.

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