Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Forum Communications to buy Duluth and Grand Forks papers
  Fargo based Forum Communications Company will buy the Grand Forks Herald, a North Dakota rival, and the Duluth News Tribune in Minnesota. The company owns nearly 30 newspapers in Minnesota, the Dakotas and Wisconsin.7:50 a.m.
• Sen. Coleman reacts to al-Qaida leader's death
  World leaders and military officals are reacting to the news that al-Qaida's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air raid Wednesday night. President Bush called al-Zarqawi's death "a severe blow to al-Qaida and a significant victory in the war on terror." U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman reacted much the same, in an interview with MPR's Cathy Wurzer.8:50 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Panel's Report Seeks Changes in Prison Policy
  A commission on American prisons offers a report to the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday. Among the group's findings: Violence is an enormous problem, and health care is a disaster. The panel recommends an end to institutional secrecy that has permitted prisons to evade oversight for decades.
• Living in Tehrangeles: L.A.'s Iranian Community
  Perhaps nowhere is the standoff over Iran's nuclear enrichment program followed more closely than in Los Angeles' Iranian-American community. Known as Tehrangeles, it's the biggest community of Iranians outside Iran.
• World Cup Battle: Nike vs. Adidas
  Two major shoe companies have much at stake as World Cup soccer play begins. Nike, which made deals with Brazilian stars, is trying to put a dent in Adidas' long-standing dominance of the soccer market.
• Zarqawi's Death and the Iraqi Insurgency
  What does the death of Abu Musba al-Zarqawi mean to the future of the insurgency in Iraq? Paul Wilkinson, chairman of the Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at Scotland's University of St. Andrews, offers his insights to Mike Shuster.
• Air Strike Kills Zarqawi, Key Terrorist Figure in Iraq
  A U.S. air strike north of Baghdad kills Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian terrorist blamed for orchestrating many violent attacks in Iraq and elsewhere over the past three years.
• White House Glad to See U.S. Score Media Victory
  White House Press Secretary Tony Snow says that U.S. officials believe they have been winning the military war in Iraq, but losing the media war. But Snow thinks that the U.S. has scored on both fronts with the attack that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
• Hotel Helps You Take a Vacation from Your Blackberry
  Want a vacation from your crackberry -- I mean Blackberry? The general manager of a Chicago hotel is offering to lock up those ubiquitous devices for guests who want to really relax and enjoy the city. The Sheraton Chicago's one-step recovery program will have guests switching to a regular cell phone in no time. Of course, once they check out, recovering Blackberry addicts may need those additional eleven steps.
• Photos of Brangelina's Baby Bring Millions for Charity
  Thousands of words were written about the much anticipated Brad Pitt-Angela Jolie baby. It turns out that a picture is worth $4 million. That's how much People Magazine is reported to have paid for the first exclusive pictures of Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. The baby was born last month in Namibia, where the couple managed to keep the world press at bay. The millions for the baby photos will be donated to charity.
• U.S. Ambassador Praises 'Major Blow' to Insurgency
  Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, calls the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi "a major blow." He says it's important to recognize what has been achieved in terms of damaging al-Qaida in Iraq. But Khalilzad cautions that the insurgency will remain active.
• Zarqawi Death Could Help Unravel Foreign Insurgency
  Retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Scales says the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi could help unravel the network of foreign insurgents in Iraq. Scales, a former head of the Army War College, says Zarqawi's death will have a more limited impact, if any, on Iraq's homegrown Sunni insurgency.
• Zarqawi Seen as Ally and Possible Rival of Bin Laden
  Bruce Hoffman, a terorrism expert at the Rand Corporation, says Abu Musab al-Zarqawi moved into Iraq from Jordan because of a desire to follow in the footsteps of Osama bin Laden as an Islamist rebel. But Hoffman says admiration of bin Laden may have turned to rivalry.
• Zarqawi's Emergence from Jordan
  Abu Musab al-Zarqawi began emerging as an al-Qaida leader before the start of the war in Iraq. In Jordan in 2002, two men were arrested for killing an American diplomat. Zarqawi, a native Jordanian, was linked with the murder. His public visibility grew exponentially after he became involved in the Iraq insurgency.
• Biden Says Zarqawi Death has Limited Impact
  Delaware's Joe Biden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is probably not a turning point in the war against Iraq's insurgency. He says that's because Zarqawi represents only a small slice of the overall insurgency.
• Bush Looks to New Start in Iraq
  President Bush appeared to be focusing on the future of Iraq during comments at the White House on the death of terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Zarqawi's death came on the same day that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made three key government security appointments. The White House hopes the two events will set the stage for a move toward stability in Iraq.
• Zarqawi Killing Disruptive, Not Decisive
  Jeffrey White, the former chief of Middle East intelligence at the Defense Intelligence Agency, says that the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi will have a suppressive and disorganizing effect on the insurgency in Iraq. But White does not think Zarqawi's death will have a decisive impact on the groups that are fighting the Iraqi government.

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