Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Elections officials describe counting errors
  An Anoka County elections manager says her county found three more ballots that appear to be for Republican Norm Coleman.7:20 a.m.
• Highways, bike trails and rails are 'shovel-ready' in Minn.
  MnDOT handed members of Congress a giant job-jar of road, bridge, transit and trail projects totaling almost $1 billion.7:25 a.m.
• NewsCut college tour visits Winona State
  Bob Collins, the author of the NewsCut blog, is in the midst of a tour of the MNSCU campuses around the state. He's talking to students about their lives and their outlook for the future. So far, Bob has visited Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Vermilion College in Ely and Century College in White Bear Lake. This week, he was on the campus of Winona State University, the first four-year institution he has visited.8:25 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Obama Sets More Modest Goals For Afghanistan
  President Barack Obama's administration is lowering its sights in President Hamid Karzai's Afghanistan. The new hope is that U.S. troops can begin to withdraw in five years, leaving the rest of the job to Afghan forces and civilian experts.
• Study: Seeing Red, Blue Affects Outcome Of Tasks
  New research shows that the color red makes us more cautious and attentive to details, while blue makes us more creative and receptive to new ideas. The study's lead author says either color can provide an advantage, but only if it's matched to the right kind of task.
• A Daughter's Struggle With Learning To Read
  Ida Cortez, 10, wasn't diagnosed with dyslexia until she was 6 years old. She says she hated every second of learning how to read, but that her mom inspired her and helped her to learn.
• Democrats, Republicans Work To Trim Stimulus
  The Senate's Democratic leaders will try again Friday to garner enough support to pass the gigantic economic stimulus package that President Obama's requested. The price tag on the Senate's version of that plan has swelled to $937 billion. But a group of moderate Democrats and Republicans is working to pare that figure.
• Earmark-Free Stimulus Bill Lacks Spending Direction
  When lawmakers and the Obama administration began to assemble the mammoth economic stimulus bill, they decided that there would be no earmarks. That means they give up control over how the money is spent, leaving the decision to public servants around the country.
• Marks Is His Name, Avoiding Foreclosure His Aim
  One of the more colorful characters in the ongoing financial crisis is Bruce Marks. He runs a housing nonprofit that helps people avoid foreclosure. And he has some unorthodox tactics. Over the years, Marks has camped out on the front lawns of CEOs, made big scenes at their country clubs and dug into their personal lives to embarrass them. Marks has even been called a "bank terrorist."
• UN Envoy Fails To Get Myanmar Sides Talking
  United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari was in Myanmar this week in an effort to bring about political reform. But he apparently failed to persuade the military leadership and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to talk to each other. And the military shows no sign of giving up power anytime soon.
• L.A. Mayor: Congress Can't 'Dillydally' With Stimulus
  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is just one of many mayors and governors trying to secure federal funds from the economic stimulus bill. Villaraigosa says his city can't afford to have Congress "bicker" over the stimulus. He emphasizes Los Angeles is the ideal place to nurture a green economy.
• Rep. Artur Davis To Run For Alabama Governor
  Democratic Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama launches a campaign Friday to seek the governorship in 2010. If he wins, Davis would be the first African-American to hold the seat in Alabama's history. Davis, a Harvard-educated moderate, has a reputation for appealing to black and white voters but many political experts doubt he could win a statewide race.
• States Can't Afford To Pay Jobless Benefits
  President Obama's stimulus plan includes additional unemployment benefits for workers who have been laid off. As the package awaits approval by Congress, the number of jobless Americans continues to swell. States are running out of cash to pay unemployment benefits. The Wall Street Journal reports seven states have emptied their unemployment insurance trust funds.

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