Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• What's in a lawn mower
  Commentator Peter Smith meditates on the relationship between Minnesotans and their lawn mowers.6:50 a.m.
• Some 'toxic' mortgages are being renegotiated
  More mortgages are being renegotiated now than two years ago, according to one Minneapolis housing counselor.7:20 a.m.
• Barge traffic caught in a logjam
  Flooding across the Midwest has forced the Army Corps of Engineers to close several locks along the Mississippi River, halting barge traffic from St. Louis to St. Paul.7:25 a.m.
• Sisters act
  Minnesota wouldn't be what it is today without the help of a small, but dedicated group of nuns.7:50 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• House Panel Hears Speculators Are Key in Oil Prices
  Industry analysts say if not for speculators, oil prices would be half of what they are today. Congress is looking into what roles speculators may have played in rising gas prices. The House Energy Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation heard from regulators, market chiefs and analysts Monday — but speculators were missing from the hearing.
• Justice Department Hiring Practices Scrutinized
  The Justice Department's Inspector General has released the first installment of a long-awaited report on allegations of misconduct at the department during the Bush administration. This first section is about its prestigious hiring program.
• Analysis: John McCain's Finances
  Co-host Renee Montagne and NPR News Analyst Juan Williams talk about the latest developments in John McCain's presidential campaign: the presumptive GOP nominee's most recent fundraising efforts and the results of a Newsweek poll that shows his Democratic rival ahead by a significant margin.
• Video Game Makers Push to License Beatles Songs
  For so long, the Beatles have held on tight to the rights to their music. Now two big video game makers are looking to license Beatles songs for video games, and they're in talks with representatives for the band's music.
• United Slashes Pilot Ranks, Blames Fuel Costs
  United Airlines announced the layoff of nearly 1,000 pilots on Monday, blaming the increasingly high cost of fuel. The nation's second largest airliner has been out of bankruptcy for two years but continues to lose money.
• Police Departments Feel Sting of High Gas Prices
  Record gas prices are taking a toll on law enforcement budgets. So, many agencies are getting creative in an effort to save money on fuel.
• Poll: Most Americans Aren't Dogmatic About Faith
  A survey of Americans about their religious beliefs finds many of them are highly religious. But most aren't dogmatic about their faith. The survey was conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
• Soaring Food Costs Hit School Lunch Programs
  In addition to home cooks and restaurant chefs, food prices are a growing problem for schools. And the fact that the school year is at an end isn't relieving concerns for a district in Massachusetts.
• Zimbabwe's President 'Beyond Normal Restraint'
  The U.N. Security Council condemned election violence in Zimbabwe, but journalist Peta Thornycroft says that won't affect the crisis. President Robert Mugabe and his generals "don't care what the world says" and are "beyond normal restraint," she says. Meantime, refugees in Harare are living in squalid conditions.
• Alabama Boxer Charts Unlikely Path to Olympics
  Deontay Wilder is an imposing force in the ring: 6-foot-7, muscular and covered with tattoos. He started boxing three years ago, after his daughter was born with a spinal defect and he took several jobs to support her. Now he's representing the United States in the Beijing Summer Olympics.
• Obama Courts the Unregistered
  Presumptive presidential nominee Barack Obama wants to rewrite the list of states where Democrats will be competitive in the fall election. In states like North Carolina and Georgia, his campaign is going after eligible but unregistered voters, many of whom are black.
• British Mag Rips Celine Dion's AC/DC Cover
  Celine Dion has won Grammys, and her songs have topped the charts. Now, she takes another prize: the title "worst cover song ever." Readers of a British guitar magazine picked her rendition of the AC/DC track, "You Shook Me All Night Long."
• Man Named 'God' Caught with Drugs Near Church
  Near a church in Tampa, Fla., "God" was arrested — God Lucky Howard, that is. He's now in jail, where records describe him as a mortgage broker and say he's charged with possession and distribution of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school, public housing — and a church.
• Nigella Lawson: Simple, Not Plain, Summer Fare
  Now that summer is here, food lovers will be gathering outdoors for all sorts of celebrations. Most people like to keep it casual, but food writer and cook Nigella Lawson says there's room for a little bit of elegance, too.
• Volunteers Greet, Send Off Troops at Maine Airport
  Hundreds of thousands of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars travel though Bangor International Airport in Maine. Often soldiers are allowed to enter the terminal as their airplanes clear customs or refuel, and that's where they'll encounter people like Bill Knight — a Maine troop greeter.

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