Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Senate passes budget, avoids abortion vote
  The DFL-controlled Minnesota Senate has side-stepped a showdown over abortion by stripping several measures out of its budget bill.6:25 a.m.
• Northstar commuter rail reaches major milestone
  The proposed Northstar Commuter Rail service appears to be moving forward, with the announcement Monday of a key track leasing deal. The agreement gives the Northstar Rail Authority permission to use Burlington Northern Santa Fe track between Big Lake and Minneapolis indefinitely.7:20 a.m.
• Pilot project helps homeless with mental illness
  People Incorporated, a Minnesota nonprofit, is looking for state dollars to fund a pilot program that helps homeless people with mental illness. The program is the first of its kind in Minnesota. Close to 200 adults receive six-month transitional housing and support from University of Minnesota psychiatrists. Following the six-month period, they have access to resources for up to three years, or beyond if necessary, as they settle into new housing. Cathy Wurzer talked with Tim Burkett, Executive Director of People Incorporated.7:55 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Mexican Migrants Leave Kids, Problems Back Home
  As Mexicans migrate to the United States, many are leaving their children behind in the care of extended families. That's causing problems in their home communities: children are doing poorly in school, dropping out and turning to criminal activity.
• Drivers Are Parking the SUV in Favor of a Scooter
  When a Hummer drives up to NoHo Scooters in North Hollywood, Calif., owner Mike Frankovich is no longer surprised. With big jumps in gasoline prices, sales are skyrocketing at scooter shops around the nation.
• Gulf Energy Purveyors Get Second Wind
  A Cadillac salesman and an oil-rig engineer are working to put the nation's first offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Warhol-Signed Soup Can: Art or Memento?
  A Campbell's Soup can scribbled on by Andy Warhol surfaces three decades after it was hidden away in a coat closet. Must be worth a bundle, right? A reporter takes a journey through the art world to find out.
• Businesses Await U.S. Report on Chinese Currency
  The Treasury Department prepares to issue its semi-annual report that identifies countries involved in manipulating the value of their currencies. The focus this time around is on China, which is accused by many of keeping the value of the yuan artificially low.
• Next CIA Director Faces Plenty of Challenges
  Jack Devine, a 32-year CIA veteran, says the next person put in charge of the agency needs to rally the organization's sagging morale, and then turn his attention to the problems of Iraq and Afghanistan. Devine worked in the CIA's clandestine services. He left in 1999.
• Study Questions Safety of Estrogen Therapy
  A new study shows that, in postmenopausal women who've had a hysterectomy, estrogen therapy increases the risk of breast cancer after 10 years of use. Previous studies have shown that estrogen-only therapy is safe in these women for as long as seven years. The new findings are published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
• Rice Downplays Letter from Iran's President
  A letter from Iran's president to President Bush overshadows Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's meetings in New York with senior diplomats from France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China. Rice dismissed the letter as a diversionary tactic.
• Zacarias Moussaoui Requests a New Trial
  Confessed terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui was sentenced to life in prison last week. He has now asked the federal judge in his case for a new trial. In a motion to the court, Moussaoui says he thought the judicial system was a charade and he would be given the death penalty.
• Blaine Fails to Reach Underwater Record
  David Blaine did not set a world record in New York, but he did escape with his life. The stunt artist was attempting to beat the longest time anyone has held their breath underwater: 8 minutes 58 seconds! He'd prepared by living for a week in a water-filled sphere. Blaine managed to hold his breath for just over 7 minutes before blacking out and being pulled from the water. Amazing, but still nearly 2 minutes shy of the record.
• Victims' Families Testify at Band Manager Sentencing
  Victims' families testify in Rhode Island at the sentencing hearing for a former band manager whose fireworks killed 100 people at a nightclub three years ago. Daniel Biechele has pleaded guilty to 100 charges of involuntary manslaughter. He faces up to 10 years in prison.
• Violence Can't Keep Couple from Marrying
  Getting to the wedding on time can be a problem for some grooms. One groom in Western India had a particularly solid reason for not making it. A curfew and heavy security in the bride's city kept him from getting to the wedding ceremony at her house. Deadly sectarian violence over the destruction of a Muslim shrine had rocked the city of Vadadara earlier in the week. Unable to meet, the bride and groom ended up saying "I do" over the telephone.
• Questions Still Hover Over Wiretapping Program
  It has been five months since the story of the National Security Agency's warrant-less wiretapping program first broke. But basic questions remain: Is the program legal? How big is it? How many people have been targeted?
• Competent Police Force is Key to Iraq Peace
  Insurgent attacks are tearing Iraq apart. The Iraqi police force must be rebuilt before it can be fully relied on to quell the violence. American trainers and advisers are helping to accomplish that mission.
• Experts Question U.S. Policy on Hamas
  U.S. and Israeli policy toward the new Palestinian Authority, now led by Hamas, appears to be aimed at causing the government to fail. Some experts on the Mideast believe this is a flawed policy that will hurt both the United States and Israel.

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