Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Drug testing is big business in Fargo
  Pharmaceutical companies are outsourcing more of their research, and a Fargo company is taking advantage of the trend.6:40 a.m.
• Ciresi quits U.S. Senate race
  With attorney Mike Ciresi out of the US Senate race, some political analysts say comedian and author Al Franken can focus more attention on the general election.7:20 a.m.
• New hotel welcomes four-legged guests
  A new hotel of sorts will open adjacent to the Twin Cites airport this October. Suites will go for only about $25 a night, but you have to be four-legged, fur-bearing or feathered to stay there.7:50 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Community Organizer Fights for Immigrants
  There's not much middle ground when it comes to opinions on Salvador Reza, who says that all immigrants who want to work should have full labor rights. He's been called everything from a defender of the people to a traitor.
• Iraqi Women Face Risks Behind the Wheel
  When Saddam Hussein was in power, the Iraqi streets were full of female drivers. But the U.S. invasion changed that. The threat of bad traffic, aggressive convoys and insurgents have led many to decide that getting behind the wheel isn't worth the risk.
• 'Windy City,' Simon's Deep Dish on Chicago Politics
  Scott Simon, author of the new political novel Windy City, calls politics "a local specialty" in Chicago, in the tradition of blues and improvisational comedy. His new book chronicles the chaos that ensues after the city's mayor is poisoned while eating pizza.
• Iraq Violence Surges Again
  A day after the U.S. military announced that overall violence was down in Iraq, eight American soldiers were killed in a pair of attacks. That's the highest single-day toll in months, and it's not the only recent incident of violence.
• Credit Proves Tough Even for Good Borrowers
  Renee Montagne gets a firsthand account of the paralysis in the credit markets with Hugh Johnson, chief investment strategist at Johnson Illington Advisors. Johnson says borrowers are reluctant to make loans these days even to people with good credit.
• What's Up with the Economy? Not Much
  Steve Inskeep talks with David Wessel, the economics editor of The Wall Street Journal, about the downward spiral of the economy and what it will take to turn things around.
• March Madness: Small Teams Hope to Make it Big
  The 65 teams playing in the NCAA Tournament will be revealed on Sunday. Already, 11 men's college basketball teams have earned a slot in the tournament. Renee Montagne talks with commentator John Feinstein about smaller schools still hoping to make the Big Dance.
• China Says Olympics Terrorism Plots Foiled
  China has warned that terrorists pose the biggest risk to this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. Officials say they foiled two plots, one to bring down an airliner, and another to disrupt the summer games. Some critics are skeptical of Beijing's claims, charging that they are a cover for repression of China's Muslim minorities.
• Beijing Air Quality to Challenge Olympic Athletes
  Athletes competing in the Olympic Games this summer in Beijing have to overcome the city's poor air quality. Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia has pulled out of the event. To find out what ways athletes may be affected by China s environmental conditions, Steve Inskeep talks to Christine Brennan, a sports columnist for USA Today.
• Study: Drug Can Curb Breast Cancer Recurrence
  A new study finds that two-thirds of women with breast cancer have a heightened risk that the cancer will recur even many years after the initial diagnosis. But the study, in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, shows the risk of cancer recurrence can be dramatically reduced by taking letrozole.
• Venezuelans Assess Calm After Colombia Tensions
  Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador have ended their diplomatic standoff after Colombian troops crossed into Ecuador to hunt down anti-Colombian rebels. Now Venezuelans are taking stock of the dispute that produced the worst tension in the region in years. Many of them say the latest calm is just a brief interlude before tensions rise again.
• Boeing to Protest Airbus Tanker Contract
  Boeing is formally protesting the Pentagon's decision to award a $35 billion Air Force tanker contract to a group of companies that include Europe's Airbus consortium and U.S. manufacturer Northrop Grumman. Boeing says the Pentagon's decision is flawed and is asking the Government Accountability Office for a review.
• Gasoline Soars Months Before Driving Season
  Gasoline prices have hit another all-time high, selling at an average of more than $3.22 per gallon nationwide, as they follow crude oil prices upward. And we're still months away from the summer driving season, which could push prices even higher.
• Can Spitzer Survive Prostitution Scandal?
  New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has apologized to his family and the public after it was reported that he was involved in prostitution. Now many New Yorkers wonder whether the man whose crime-fighting reputation is on the line can stay in power.
• Reactions to Spitzer News: Shock to Cheers
  Depending on where you sit, Gov. Eliot Spitzer's apparent downfall is either distressing or a source of rich if unpleasant irony. For a look at the hopes he carried and the enemies the governor made, Renee Montagne talks with Steve Fishman, contributing editor for New York magazine. Fishman wrote about Spitzer for the magazine last summer.

Resources

• Future Tense®
• Marketplace Morning Report®
• Mark Seeley's WeatherTalk

Services

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

Become a Sponsor