Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Transportation veto override vote highlights week ahead at the Capitol
  A multi-billion dollar transportation bill at the State Capitol could face a key vote in the Minnesota House Monday.7:20 a.m.
• Farmers hope for record profits in 2008
  Farmers are expected to earn record profits this year, but they will also spend a record amount to plant the crop.7:41 a.m.
• North Star state shines bright at the Oscars
  Moviemakers with Minnesota ties are basking in the glow of wins at the Academy Awards. Diablo Cody is among them. She wrote the script for the film "Juno" at a Starbucks in the Twin Cities, and won an Oscar for best original screenplay. And St. Louis Park's Ethan and Joel Coen won three awards for their movie "No Country for Old Men," including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Here's some of what they had to say.7:45 a.m.
• Singer Connie Evingson celebrates St. Paul-born jazz great
  Local jazz singer Connie Evingson's latest CD is a collection of songs by jazz pianist and singer Dave Frishberg. The St. Paul native is regarded as one of the finest songwriters of the past few decades. The CD also reunites Frishberg with an old U of M friend he describes as one of the most gifted musicians he ever met.7:50 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• David Keene: McCain Must Prove GOP Allegiance
  John McCain will have to prove to the conservative base that he doesn't want to remake the Republican Party to win the GOP's full backing in the presidential election, says David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union.
• Saxophones from Taiwan Aiming for the Pros
  Taiwan has etched out a reputation as a high-tech hardware store to the world. But this country of 23 million has quietly garnered a chunk of the world market in a very different product: saxophones. Taiwanese saxophones were once regarded as inferior, but now the industry is producing high-quality instruments.
• 'No Country for Old Men' Wins Big at Oscars
  Joel and Ethan Coen are celebrating a big win. Their crime saga No Country for Old Men was the big winner at Sunday's Academy Awards, taking home four Oscars, including Best Picture.
• Corruption Thwarts Electricity Service in Iraq
  In many areas of Baghdad, electricity is only available for a couple of hours a day. Iraqi officials usually blame the electricity shortages on disruptions in fuel oil supplies or sabotage at power plants. But now officials are confirming that corruption is sometimes a factor in who gets electricity in Iraq's capital.
• Turks Clash with Kurdish Rebels in Iraq
  Turkish troops are clashing with rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, known as the PKK. The PKK rebels claim to have shot down a Turkish helicopter over the weekend. The Turkish military said Sunday that eight of its soldiers were killed in the mountains of northern Iraq.
• French Court Rules Parents Can Name Fetuses
  France's high court has ruled that parents have the right to officially name, register and bury a fetus that is stillborn or miscarried regardless of its stage of development. Parents say the ruling will allow them to deal with their loss, but critics fear it chips away at abortion rights.
• Democrats' Race Heats Up; Nader Announces Bid
  The battle between Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama took a nasty turn over the weekend. On the Republican side, front-runner John McCain seems to have weathered media scrutiny over his relationship with a lobbyist. And Ralph Nader says he'll run for president again as an independent candidate.
• Castro's Brother Chosen to Lead Cuba
  Raul Castro, the younger brother of Fidel, was chosen as president by the Cuba's newly elected National Assembly. The move occurred several days after Fidel Castro said he was resigning as the country's leader.
• Monopoly, Candy Land Head to Hollywood
  Last week, toy company Hasbro signed a deal with Universal Pictures, which plans to bring games like Monopoly and Candy Land to the silver screen. It's unclear what the plots will be, but the first of the movies should be out in 2010.
• Mortgage Rates Rise, Defying Expectations
  With the economy slowing and the Federal Reserve Board cutting interest rates, mortgage rates were expected to come down a bit. That's not what's happened, though. Mortgage rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans have actually gone up over the last week.
• Video Game Company Makes Bid for Rival
  Video games raked in more than $8.5 billion in U.S. sales last year. The company Electronic Arts wants to remain the leader of the fast-growing industry, so it's trying to buy a big rival, Take-Two — the company behind the popular game Grand Theft Auto.
• Video Site YouTube Blocked in Pakistan
  Pakistani officials banned access to the video-sharing site YouTube on Sunday, telling Internet service providers to block it because of videos the government deemed offensive to Islam. The video clip service is one of the most widely viewed sites by teens, even in Pakistan.
• Pakistani School System Highlights Wealth Gap
  One of the biggest challenges facing Pakistan's new government is how to repair the country's dismal public school system. Pakistanis with money send their children to private school, and the poor have to be content with the crumbling public school system.
• San Francisco Tries New Sick Leave Policy
  San Francisco began the nation's only mandatory paid sick leave policy one year ago. Now, a dozen states and the District of Columbia are watching San Francisco's progress as they consider whether to adopt similar policies.
• Democrats Differ on Health Insurance
  One of the few big policy differences between Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is whether to require individuals to have health insurance. Clinton's plan would require insurance for everyone, while Obama's plan would not.

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