Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Obama greets breakfast crowd at St. Paul restaurant
  Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama dropped in on a St. Paul breakfast restaurant for about 45 minutes Thursday, greeting patrons and shaking hands. He held a fundraiser in Minneapolis last night.5:20 p.m.
• Cottonwood residents relieved after bus trial verdict
  Cottonwood residents reflect on how the town is coping after a guilty verdict was returned in the trial of Olga Franco, the woman responsible for a school bus crash that killed four children last February.5:24 p.m.
• RNC organizers boast locally supported event
  Three and a half weeks before the opening of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, the convention hall is starting to take political shape inside the Xcel Energy Center.5:54 p.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Candidates Share Interest In Boosting Foreign Aid
  Both John McCain and Barack Obama have said assistance to poor nations is essential for the United States' image abroad. The development community has jumped on their enthusiasm and is hoping to convince the next president to rethink how foreign aid is delivered.
• Camp Offers Training Ground For Little Skeptics
  Camp Inquiry in upstate New York seems at first like an ordinary summer camp, with familiar activities like hiking and swimming. But its thrust is to teach children to think skeptically about everything from religion to the supernatural.
• Chinese City Folk Throng To Ancient Shangli
  With more disposable income in a booming economy, Chinese tourists head to the city of Shangli to see a 300-year-old bridge and pay homage to their ancestors. Peasants and longtime residents welcome the attention.
• Beijing Preps For Opening Of Olympics
  For the organizers of the Beijing Olympics, Friday's opening ceremony can't come soon enough. They're hoping that a spectacular show and a well-run games will quiet the talk about pollution and China's crackdown on dissidents.
• Many Ask If Olympic Sponsorship Is Worth Cost
  This is the costliest Olympics ever, with the top 12 sponsors spending around $866 million. But marketers say many Chinese still can't identify who the official sponsors are. And many are asking if the investment is worth it.
• Chinese Couple Copes With Loss Of Family In Quake
  Tens of thousands of people were killed in May's earthquake in China's Sichuan Province. One family that was looking for its son in the aftermath of the quake is learning to cope with his loss.
• Anthrax Suspect's Abortion Stance Eyed As Motive
  Bruce Ivins may have targeted Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy with anthrax-laced letters in 2001 because he saw them as bad Catholics owing to their pro-choice votes, officials close to the investigation say.
• Efforts To Recover Chopper In Calif. Hampered
  Federal investigators have struggled to reach the wreckage of a helicopter that crashed with nine people. They were battling a wildfire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest near Junction City, Calif. Eight firefighters and one crewman are feared dead.
• Tough Times Pose Economic Challenges For Cubans
  Nearly 50 years after revolution brought Fidel Castro to power, Cuba's infrastructure is in shambles. In a July 26 address, his brother and successor, Raul Castro, offered no new plans to liberalize the economy and warned people of even harder times ahead.
• Detroit Mayor Ordered To Jail
  Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been ordered to the county jail after a judge found he violated the terms of his bond by traveling to Canada without informing the court. The judge says he would have given the same treatment to any criminal defendant.

The Dinner Party Download™

A fast, funny digest of the week's most interesting news, cuisine, cocktails and culture.

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories