Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Weather with Mark Seeley
  University of Minnesota Meteorologist and Climatologist Mark Seeley looks back at what happened with the weather in November and what we can expect this weekend.6:55 a.m.
• Regional retailers are hopeful for the holidays
  Retailers from around the region talk about what they are doing differently this year because of the down economy and low consumer confidence.7:20 a.m.
• Minnesota school counselors struggle with huge caseloads
  Minnesota scores well on some education statistics, but is near the bottom of national rankings for school counselors. Experts say eliminating school counselors leads to lower test scores.7:40 a.m.
• New research shows a little stress is OK for kids
  Children who spent their early years in orphanages offer researchers a unique opportunity to see how chronic adversity primes the brain's stress response system. New research comparing adoptees to children raised in biological families, or those adopted early from foster care, gives some surprising results. (Originally aired on Weekend America.)7:45 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Soccer Match Reopens Ethnic Tension Wounds
  At an October soccer match between France and Tunisia in Paris, the crowd booed when the French national anthem was sung. Many of those booing were French citizens, the descendents of North African immigrants. The incident coincided with the anniversary of the 2005 riots, and again raised questions about the state of ethnic relations in France.
• Trust Me, Money Is About More Than Currency
  The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve are spending billions of dollars to stabilize the economy. But where is that money coming from? NPR's Adam Davidson gives Steve Inskeep a lesson on money: It's more than currency — it's about trust and relationships.
• Can't Sell House? Try Permanent Swap
  Since the economic downturn, Craigslist has posted new online classified ads: permanent house swaps. People trying to relocate, whose houses have lost so much value that they don't want to sell, instead look to swap permanently with people in a desired location who have houses with comparable value.
• Cyber Monday: Click Till You Drop
  Retailers came up with the concept of Cyber Monday three years ago when online merchants offer big bargains. Monday is when workers are back in the office after Thanksgiving, and can shop online at their desks. According to a recent survey, three out of 10 workers plan to holiday shop while on the job. But employee beware: According to that same poll, half the employers surveyed said they'll monitor workers' Internet use.
• Gas Prices Down, SUV Sales Up
  SUV sales seemed doomed by high gas prices. But as prices at the pump drop, customers are returning to the big vehicles that — just a few months ago — they wouldn't look at.
• Stores Bring Out Big Discounts To Attract Shoppers
  The slow economy has retailers offering big price cuts. One longtime analyst says he's seeing discounts of 75 percent, which is something he's never seen in November. For some merchants, November and December account for up to half of the year's sales. Most analysts expect a drop in overall sales this holiday season.
• Oil Prices Lower On Economic Downturn
  In the last several months, the price of oil has sunk from $147 a barrel to about $50. Sarah Ladislaw, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, talks with Steve Inskeep about why oil prices have fallen so much more dramatically than global demand, and what the projections are for future global demand.
• Venezuela's Chavez Seeks Out U.S. Adversaries
  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez may have less oil money these days, but that isn't stopping him from buying billions in Russian weaponry. Chavez also has invited Russian soldiers to participate in military maneuvers. Analysts say Chavez wants to align with Washington's adversaries — a signal he'll be a serious challenge next year to President Barack Obama.
• Columnist: Mumbai Bigger Than Terror Attack
  Writer Shobhaa De is a columnist in India. She's written about what the terror attacks mean to Mumbai, and she says the terrorist were trying to send the world a message. But she tells Steve Inskeep Mumbai is bigger than any terrorist attack.
• Retailers Hope There Is No Gray In Black Friday
  Move over Turkey Day — Black Friday is here. That's the day when merchants hope to get into the black. Given the current economic turmoil, retailers are using drastic sales to try to attract business. NPR's Tamara Keith, is at Best Buy outside Washington, D.C., and she talks with Steve Inskeep about whether the economic downturn has shoppers reining in their spending.
• Technology Helps Speed Mumbai Web Call-In Show
  Journalist Sreenath Sreenivasan was in New York when he learned about the attacks on Mumbai. Within an hour, he was hosting a Web radio call-in show with other Indian journalists relaying what they knew. Sreenivasan is dean of student affairs at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. He explains to Steve Inskeep how they were able to get the Web call-in show up and running so quickly.
• Mumbai Attacker's Photo Haunts Commentator
  The attacks on five-star hotels in Mumbai, India's commercial capital, have commentator Sandip Roy thinking about the symbolism. He's been captivated by one photo of one of the alleged terrorists. He looks like any ordinary Indian, a young man in jeans and T-shirt, except he's holding an assault rifle.
• Who's Responsible For The Mumbai Attacks?
  The U.S. government is sending investigators to India to help determine who carried out the attacks in Mumbai. A previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen claimed credit for the attacks. The Indian government is suggesting the gunmen are linked to neighboring Pakistan.
• Carol-Singing Groups Deemed Fire Hazard
  A shopping center in Great Britain has taken steps against a fire hazard. The hazard is a bunch of girls' groups: Brownies, Rainbows and Guides. For 20 years they sang Christmas carols for pensioners and the disabled. Not anymore. The nearly 100 kids weren't invited back this year because of fear they would block fire escape routes. One worker said, "There were a lot of Brownies last year and they caused absolute chaos."
• Misspelled Graffiti Tips Off Police
  This is another of those cautionary tales about putting too much information on the Web. Somebody in suburban Philadelphia spray-painted graffiti in dozens of places. Some of the tags used the words, "Devient Art." Deviant was spelled incorrectly. This soon led police directly to a suspect named Melanie Brockway. Police discovered that the artist had a MySpace screen name spelled the same way.

Resources

• Future Tense®
• Marketplace Morning Report®
• Mark Seeley's WeatherTalk

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories

Become a Sponsor