Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Target board fight finished; CEO wants focus back on stores
  Target shareholders have rejected a hedge fund manager's bid to shake up the retailer's board. Shareholders voted overwhelmingly Thursday in favor of four incumbent board members up for re-election. The vote is seen by many as a repudiation of ideas activist Wall Street investor Bill Ackman had for Target.7:20 a.m.
• Hmong activist says police, courts 'betrayed' community
  Members of the Hmong community are reacting with anger to yesterday's verdict in the Fong Lee case. A federal jury in St. Paul found that a Minneapolis police officer did not use excessive force in the shooting of 19-year-old Lee three years ago.7:25 a.m.
• Taconite tailings find second life in road construction
  Minnesota has long shipped taconite pellets to steel-makers outside the state. Now there may be a market for the rock left over from the mining process.7:45 a.m.
• Kushner asks national critics to stay away
  Theater critics from the New York Times, the Chicaco Tribune, and other national publications are not coming to Minneapolis to review the new Kusner play "The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures."8:25 a.m.
• Going 'Up' with Minnesotan Pete Docter
  Five years of work by a Bloomington native culminates this weekend with the release of the new Pixar movie, called "Up." The film is directed by Pete Docter, who grew up in the Twin Cities suburb. Docter says if you look closely, the movie has some strong Midwestern influences.8:40 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• 'Up': A Pixar-Style Lift, Pretty Much Guaranteed
  With visual magic, high-adventure excitement and an intelligent look at one of Hollywood's persistent taboos, Up isn't just good; it's among the groundbreaking studio's best. (Recommended)
• Anti-Corruption Efforts In Russia Fall Short
  People in Russia pay an estimated $300 billion a year in bribes to street cops and government officials in a system rife with corruption. President Dmitri Medvedev says one of his top priorities is fighting corruption, but critics say he couldn't tackle the problem even if he wanted to.
• Video Game Music: Big Business, Big Money
  Tommy Tallarico composes music for video games. Video game music has become a huge business, with game makers spending millions of dollars just on the musical score. Tallarico talks with David Greene about the business of music for video games.
• Swiss Resort Offers Mountain-Cleaning Courses
  A Swiss holiday resort is offering mountain-cleaning courses after an April Fool's Day spoof caught the imagination of a nation known for its cleanliness. On April 1, the national tourism board aired an online video to recruit mountain cleaners to keep the country's Alpine peaks in pristine condition.
• Craps Player Sets Record At N.J. Casino
  Luck is a lady in Atlantic City. Patricia Demauro stopped at a craps table. She took the dice and rolled and rolled and rolled. She didn't toss a seven for more than four hours. The casino says that's a new world record. Demauro wouldn't say how much she won. Her tablemates raked in so much cash, they were tipping the shooter with $100 chips.
• Jay Leno Says Goodbye To Late Night TV
  Jay Leno hosts NBC's Tonight show for the final time Friday. He has been on the job for 17 years. Leno took over from Johnny Carson, who retired in 1992 after three decades behind the desk. He'll host a prime-time show this fall for NBC.
• Target Shareholders Nix Dissident's Proposal
  Stockholders of the Target Corp. voted down a wealthy investor's plan to have more clout in running the retail giant. But the dissident investor hopes he has brought more choice to elections for corporate boards.
• Petraeus: Video Shows Strike Aimed At Taliban
  Army Gen. David Petraeus commands U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. One big challenge is fighting insurgents within a civilian population. Petraeus talks about an airstrike last month in Afghanistan. He says Taliban insurgents were the target, but critics say most of those killed were civilians.
• Preliminary Work Starts On Confirmation Hearings
  The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold confirmation hearings on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama's pick for the Supreme Court. The committee's senior Republican Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch says barring some "disqualification," he foresees a committee vote in early September, and a floor vote "almost immediately thereafter."
• Nigerian Forces Move Against Oil Militants
  It has been 10 years since Nigeria's return to democracy. But the West African nation remains saddled with unrest in the turbulent oil-producing Niger Delta. Security forces in the Delta have begun a major operation against militants who claim to seek a fairer share of the region's oil wealth, but whom the authorities dismiss as criminals.
• Venezuela's Chavez Marks 10 Years With Talkathon
  Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is marking the 10th anniversary of his weekly TV broadcast with a four-day marathon. What began as a regular radio broadcast by the newly elected socialist leader in May 1999 has evolved into him speaking on television for hours at a time.
• Will Prop 8 Action Spread To Other States?
  Opponents of same-sex marriage won a big court victory in California this week. Proposition 8 — the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage — was upheld by California's Supreme Court. The next question is: Are Prop 8 supporters setting their sights on other states where gay marriage is legal?
• Va. Democratic Race For Governor Attracts Spotlight
  New Jersey and Virginia have gubernatorial races this year. Republicans hope that one or both of these contests will give them a comeback after their crushing losses in 2006 and 2008. In Virginia, three Democrats are competing for their party's nomination.
• Pakistani Authors Catch Literary World's Attention
  The world is starting to take note of a new group of authors emerging from Pakistan. Two of those authors were at a recent literature festival in London.
• George W. Bush Addresses Michigan Economic Club
  Former President George W. Bush is starting to ease back into public life. Since leaving office, he has made only a few appearances. Thursday night, he addressed the Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan in Benton Harbor.

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