Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Two energy companies square off over Iron Range power plant
  The fate of an Iron Range coal gasification power plant is in the hands of the state's Public Utilities Commission. The question is whether Xcel Energy should be required to purchase the energy produced by the plant. Xcel says it doesn't want to.6:20 a.m.
• The Rake's Brit Robson on the Garnett trade
  When the Minnesota Timberwolves open their season this fall, they will be without the best player in franchise history. Kevin Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for five Boston players and two first-round draft picks. The Rake's Brit Robson gives his take on the trade.7:50 a.m.
• Wolves owner: Garnett trade was 'best alternative'
  Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor says he needed to do something drastic to turn around his moribund basketball team. Trading his top player, Kevin Garnett, is about as drastic as you can get.7:55 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• On Becoming Joe Biden
  In a new memoir, Promises to Keep, presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) shares the sometimes painful experiences that shaped him — from a childhood stutter to his failed first run for the White House.
• British Army Exits Northern Ireland
  The British army's operation in Northern Ireland ends after nearly 40 years. Operation Banner was the army's longest continuous campaign, with more than 300,000 personnel. A garrison of 5,000 troops will remain in the province, but security will be in the hands of the police.
• China's Military Turns 80 With Flourish
  China marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of its military with fanfare and a public-relations blitz. To show that its military modernization drive is transparent, foreign journalists were invited to a People's Liberation Army base.
• Major League Baseball Milestones Delayed
  A rare confluence of history in Major League Baseball is dashed. New York Yankees infielder Alex Rodriguez missed becoming the youngest player to reach 500 career homeruns; New York Mets pitcher Tom Glavine missed his 300th victory; and San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds didn't top Hank Aaron's all-time home run record.
• Ex-Defense Head Rumsfeld Testifies About Tillman
  Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the friendly fire death of Pat Tillman — the pro football star turned Army Ranger killed in Afghanistan. The Army told his family that he died in a gun battle with enemy fighters.
• American Home Mortgage Nears Bankruptcy
  The mortgage lending giant American Home Mortgage is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. The Long Island-based firm says its credit lines are cut off and it may have to liquidate assets. The company has been badly hurt by the downturn in the mortgage market.
• Firefighting Choppers Take Risky Flights
  Fighting fires with water-dropping helicopters requires skills as sharp as ground fighters. Besides the smoke, pilots of those choppers have to brave shifting winds and tricky terrain, and still fly low enough to drop the water.
• Congress Asked to Mandate Vacation Time
  Pro-leisure group Take Back Your Time wants Congress to mandate three weeks paid vacation for all workers. But one recent survey shows that not only do U.S. workers earn fewer vacation days, but they also don't use an average of three days every year they're owed.
• Cell Phones Save Lives
  During a blackout that plunged an operating room in Argentina into darkness while surgeons were removing an appendix from a patient they rounded up all the cell phones in the waiting rooms and used them to light the operating table and complete the surgery.
• New Orleans Property Taxes Rise
  New Orleans residents face new property assessments. The new assessments influence how much people pay in taxes; for many residents the number is rising. Nancy Marshall, a tax assessor for the 6th District of New Orleans, talks about the new assessments with Steve Inskeep.
• Murdoch Clutches Dow Jones
  Rupert Murdoch seals the deal to buy The Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. for $5 billion. The merger agreement ends a century of family ownership for Dow Jones, and adds a crown jewel to Murdoch's global media empire, News Corp.
• Iraqi Power Plant: Overdue, Over Budget
  The World Bank estimates adequately rebuilding Iraq's decrepit electrical grid will cost about $27 billion. The U.S. has spent $4 billion toward that goal. Baghdadis still only get an hour of power a day. The Musayyib gas turbine plant has become a parable for Iraq's power problems.
• U.S., Saudi Officials End Talks About Iraq, Iran
  U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates finished talks in Saudi Arabia with leaders of that country about a regional approach in the Gulf to issues such as Iraq and Iran.
• Reporters in China Struggle to Get to the Story
  For journalists working in China, obstacles can include bureaucracy, the weather, and even Chinese etiquette. Sometimes the hardest part of the story is simply getting to it. Distance can be one of the less obvious challenges to reporting.
• U.N., African Union to Amass Forces for Darfur
  The U.N. Security Council endorses a peacekeeping force for Darfur, Sudan. U.N. member states are under pressure to ante up the troops and police for a 26,000 member hybrid force of U.N. peacekeepers and African Union troops. Sudan is under pressure to allow them in the country.

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