Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Should Minnesota stop electing judges?
  Minnesota Chief Justice Russell Anderson created the Citizens Commission for the Preservation of Impartial Judiciary in the wake of recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings.6:53 a.m.
• Senate candidates spar on senior issues, clash on style in debate
  The two leading U.S. Senate hopefuls used an AARP debate Tuesday night to draw distinctions, not just in differences of policy but in honesty and effectiveness.7:24 a.m.
• Gasification may turn coal into 'clean' fuel
  Some energy experts say America should turn to coal as its main source of energy. But coal produces pollution. How to overcome that dilemma? The answer might be found in a new power plant planned for northern Minnesota.7:50 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Charles Darwin and the Racing Asparagus
  Some of science's great ideas were created in homespun ways. To test his ideas on evolution, Charles Darwin and his butler dropped asparagus into a tub. Darwin's oldest son studied dead pigeons by letting them float upside down in a bowl.
• Fallout Continues from Oregon-Oklahoma Football Game
  Two blown calls in the game between Oklahoma and Oregon have set off a furious chain of events, unusual even for the hyper-competitive world of college football. The Pacific 10 conference has suspended the officiating crew and replay officials over the mishap. It likely cost Oklahoma a victory.
• Nike Bets Big on Swimmer
  Cullen Jones surprised the swimming world in August with a victory in the 50-meter freestyle at the U.S. Nationals. The victory impressed Nike enough to sign Jones to the biggest endorsement deal ever for a short-distance swimmer. He'll receive more than $2 million dollars over the next seven years.
• Flag Symbolizes Divisive Issue of Kurdish Autonomy
  Saddam Hussein's trial in Baghdad was disrupted when a witness wore a lapel pin with the image of the Kurdish flag instead of Iraq's banner. The flag issue has taken on greater importance in Iraq since Sept. 1. That's when Massoud Barzani, the president of Iraq's Kurdish region, banned the flying of the Iraqi flag at government buildings.
• Iran, U.S. Talk Past Each Other at U.N.
  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended his country's nuclear activities as "transparent" and "peaceful" during a Tuesday address to the United Nations General Assembly. Speaking to the same body, President Bush warned that Iran must abandon its uranium enrichment program, or face sanctions.
• Six Months Later, Dubai Firm Still Owns U.S. Ports
  Six months ago, Dubai Ports World reached an agreement with Congress to sell its North American operations to a U.S.-based firm within four to six months. Six months later, the company still owns those ports, but says it will sell soon. Democrats say they will make it a campaign issue if a sale isn’t completed before the November elections.
• Thailand Calm a Day After Military Coup
  After seizing power from the elected government, Thailand's military says it will return power to a democratic government. But it isn't saying when. It launched a well-coordinated, bloodless coup Tuesday against popularly elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
• Russia Revokes Permit for Sakhalin Oil Project
  The Russian government has revoked its ecological approval for Royal Dutch/Shell's giant oilfield project off Sakhalin Island. Ecologists have complained about development of the oil field. But most industry analysts see the move as a way to put more pressure on Shell to give Russian oil companies a share in the $20 billion investment.
• America's Provincial Sports Fans Blind to Greatness
  Golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer have something in common: each is perhaps the best to ever play his sport. Yet one of them gets significantly more attention from American sports fans. The reason is a simple accident of birth.
• U.S. Oil Consumption Continues to Rise
  According to the Energy Information Agency, a division of the Department of Energy, U.S. consumption of oil will grow nearly 2 percent in 2007. That's another 400,000 barrels per day.
• Gym Classes Lack Significant Activity
  The National Association of Sport and Physical Education says middle and high school kids should get 45 minutes of gym a day. But no matter how often kids attend gym, it turns out they aren't moving around much anyway. Cornell University researchers found that when it comes to gym, kids are active for an average of 16 minutes per class. The study doesn't say what they are doing the rest of the time.
• U.S. TV Personality Fails to Get Name on Bridge
  The government of Hungary ran an online poll. People were invited to vote for the person who would get his or her name on a new bridge over the Danube. Tuesday night, comic Steven Colbert caught wind of the contest and instructed his viewers to vote for him. Colbert ended up with 30 percent of the vote, far ahead of any other contender. Unfortunately, he falls short on two major qualifications: He doesn't speak Hungarian and he's not dead.
• Pentagon Iran Office Mimics Former Iraq Office
  The Pentagon has created a new desk to work on Iran policy. That worries some at the CIA, who point out that many of the new Iran-desk staffers are the same people who staffed the now-notorious Office of Special Plans in the run-up to the Iraq war.
• U.S. Judiciary Agrees to Greater Transparency
  Federal judges decide to require faster and fuller disclosure of their expense-paid trips. They will also start using computer software designed to help them avoid cases in which they have a financial conflict. Those were some of the changes announced by the Judicial Conference of the United States on Tuesday.
• Hungary Erupts with Protests over Economy
  Mounted police charged bottle-hurling protesters outside Socialist party headquarters in Hungary's capital early Wednesday. It is the second day of violence, touched off by the prime minister's leaked admission that his government had repeatedly lied to the public about the economy.

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