Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Unions approve new contracts with Mesaba Aviation
  About 1,000 pilots, flight attendants and mechanics are covered by the contracts, which took nearly a year to reach and brought the unions to the brink of a strike.7:20 a.m.
• Ford workers make tough decisions
  Monday night was the deadline for 1,700 St. Paul Ford workers to choose whether to stay on until the plant closes in 2008 or accept one of as many as eight buyout options. Two workers made different decisions, and have very different feelings about leaving Ford Motor Co.7:25 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Tobacco Barns: Stately Relics of a Bygone Era
  The tobacco crop is quickly disappearing from the farm fields of Kentucky. But tobacco barns, in various states of repair, stand proudly on the landscape as icons of family farming.
• Could Tiger Farms Save a Species?
  Poachers who sell tiger parts to make Asian medicines are wiping out the big cats. One group in India thinks salvation may come from tiger farms that could make the black market unprofitable. But other conservationists say legalizing the tiger trade would just increase market demand.
• Behind Guaraldi's Timeless Holiday Soundtrack
  On Tuesday night, a tradition continues: ABC airs the animated special, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Its jazzy Vince Guaraldi soundtrack is a holiday staple, too, but it wasn't embraced by all who first heard it.
• Mexico's Canadian Mennonites
  In the 1920s, the Mexican government wanted to settle the barren northern areas of the country with industrious farmers. At the invitation of the then-president, 20,000 Mennonites left Canada and settled in the state of Chihuahua.
• Quebec Issue Rears its Head Again in Canada
  A motion approved by Canada's parliament states that "the Quebecois form a nation within a united Canada." The motion is mostly symbolic, but the language of separatism pushes buttons throughout the country.
• Remembering Novelist Bebe Moore Campbell
  Novelist Bebe Moore Campbell died Monday. She was known to many NPR listeners as a long-time commentator. Her novels about African-American life were best sellers, winning praise for their authenticity and readability, as well as their serious themes.
• Bush Arrives to a Warm Welcome in the Baltics
  President Bush was warmly welcomed Tuesday at the presidential palace in Estonia. He became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the small Baltic nation, before reaching his primary destination: the NATO summit in Latvia.
• Economic Numbers Drive Stocks Down
  The stock market was off sharply on Monday. Investors reacted to a variety of numbers, including a report on weak November sales at Wal-Mart, a rise in oil prices and a weakening dollar.
• Strong Currencies Drive Europeans to Visit the U.S.
  Currency exchange rates between Europe and the United States strongly favor Europe. That has made foreigners especially eager to visit the U.S. this holiday season.
• Moscow Chokes on Growing Traffic Problems
  There used to be a limited number of cars in the former Soviet Union. But now that Moscow is reaping windfall profits from high oil prices, the Russian capital is now overwhelmed with traffic. And conditions are only expected to get deteriorate.
• 'Carbon Offset' Business Takes Root
  The promise of the growing "carbon-offset" business is a carbon-neutral imprint for individuals through investment in green technologies, or even trees. But does buying a carbon offset for your gas-guzzler really make it carbon neutral?
• Cape Cod School Erects its Own Wind Turbine
  Cape Cod residents have differing opinions about a massive, offshore wind farm proposed for the area. But one local school is taking a cue from the proposal and is erecting its own wind turbine.
• Massachusetts Sues over Deadly Big Dig Problems
  The Massachusetts attorney general is suing construction giant Bechtel, and other companies, over a fatal tunnel collapse in Boston's Big Dig project. The civil suit aims to recover unspecified damages related to the deadly accident. A criminal case may soon follow.
• Report: Afghan Drug Lords Grow More Powerful
  Efforts to control the opium trade in Afghanistan have led to fewer drug lords -- but those who remain are more powerful, with stronger political connections, according to a new report from the World Bank.
• Sudanese Leader Rejects Genocide Claim
  Sudan's president has denied that genocide is occurring in Darfur. President Omar al-Bashir accused the media of getting the story wrong during a rare video conference Monday with reporters from around the world. He also made it clear that he will seek to limit any United Nations role in Darfur.

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