Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• WeatherTalk with Mark Seeley
  Cathy Wurzer spoke with University of Minnesota climatologist Mark Seeley about last month's heat, current drought conditions and upcoming chances for rain.6:54 a.m.
• Minnesota's swing voters draw national pols
  About 230 Republican Party leaders from across the country will continue discussing their political strategy for the upcoming midterm elections at a Bloomington hotel today. The meeting caps off a week where national leaders from both major parties were in Minnesota. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi spent the past two days touring the state touting the Democrats' agenda and raising money for congressional candidate Patty Wetterling.7:20 a.m.
• BWCA fires contained, but impact fears smolder
  The Cavity Lake fire is now just a scatter of smoldering vegetation. But some outfitters and resort owners are nervous about how it will affect their bottom line.7:24 a.m.
• U.S. Senate approves pension bill, could help Northwest Airlines
  The airline is in the midst of a dispute with its flight attendants, who have threatened to go on strike later this month. Instead of a total walkout, the flight attendants plan to use a strategy called CHAOS, in which only carefully selected flights are targeted. Cathy Wurzer spoke with Jerry Glass, who tracks labor trends in the airline industry. He is the president of F and H Solutions Group, a labor and HR consulting firm in Washington, D.C.7:53 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• 10 Presidents, One Dictator: U.S.-Cuba Policy
  Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in 1959, at the height of the Cold War and the peak of U.S. concern over communism. Follow Washington's policy toward Cuba through 10 U.S. presidencies.
• Retro Communes: China's New Utopia?
  Residents of Nanjie village have almost no money and virtually no private possessions, yet their village is the wealthiest in China's Henan Province. Everything in Nanjie is collectively owned, and the government redistributes everything -- from food, housing and health care to cell phones and broadband -- more or less equally.
• Camille, 'Threading' a New Sound
  French singer Camille Dalmais has been compared to Bjork, Fiona Apple and Bobby McFerrin. As part of the series "Musicians in Their Own Words," the 27-year-old Parisian talks about her new album, Le Fil, or, "the thread," which contains a vocal drone that runs the entire length of the CD.
• Senate Democrats Kill Wage, Estate-Tax Bill
  Senate Democrats have blocked legislation that would have raised the minimum wage. Though the federal minimum wage hasn't been raised in a decade, Democrats would not support the bill because it also would have permanently cut estate taxes.
• Working for Less than the Minimum Wage
  While Congress debates raising the minimum wage, many workers still do not earn the current minimum. Community organizers in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn are running a local campaign focused on grocery baggers who receive only tips from customers.
• Fighting Fails to Sink Israeli Economy, So Far
  Weeks of fighting have taken a heavy toll on certain sectors of the Israeli economy. But growth is still expected to be a healthy five percent this year, and the stock market is only down slightly. But if it drags on, economists say consumer confidence and foreign investment could both suffer.
• 'Talladega Nights' Might Make You Laugh
  Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is from the same pit crew that brought us Anchorman. Dutifully, Talladega Nights does for NASCAR what the earlier movie did for journalism.
• EPA Bans Pesticide Blamed for Bird Deaths
  The Environmental Protection Agency is banning the use of carbofuran, a pesticide that has killed millions of birds and other wildlife. Environmentalists are thrilled. But a company that manufactures the chemical under the name Furadan says the pesticide's threat is exaggerated.
• Partners in Life, Partners in Home Buying
  Among home buyers, one of the fastest growing groups is unmarried couples or friends who pool incomes together to buy a house. Joint investments by unmarried couples or groups can lead to messy disputes over property. And those disputes are usually governed by different laws than those for married couples.
• Merck Fights Vioxx Cases One at a Time
  Thousands of people have sued pharmaceutical giant Merck over Vioxx, its one-time blockbuster painkiller. The company is fighting the lawsuits one case at a time, instead of settling with large groups of plaintiffs. Observers are debating Merck's strategy.

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