Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Crime alerts at U of M may create misplaced perception
  Students at the U of M have received more e-mail crime alerts from school officials this fall than last year. While crime rates aren't up significantly, the alerts can create that perception.6:40 a.m.
• Several agencies will investigate cause of explosion
  The Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety is the lead investigator on the pipeline fire and explosion that took place near Clearbrook in northern Minnesota. It could take up to six months to complete.6:50 a.m.
• Budget shortfall at $373 million
  State Finance officials say a struggling economy is forcing Minnesota's budget into a deficit again. Forecasters say the state will see a $373 million deficit by mid-2009. Gov. Pawlenty and state lawmakers are now faced with raising taxes, cutting spending or spending a part of the budget reserve to balance the state's budget.7:20 a.m.
• St. Olaf Christmas Festival goes national
  The St. Olaf Choir is ramping up their Christmas Festival tradition to high definition this year. For the first time the choir will be transmitting the sights and sounds of the show to movie theaters across the country.7:55 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• With a Sad Subject, 'Diving Bell' Surprisingly Funny
  Based on Jean-Dominique Bauby's 1997 memoir, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is an unexpectedly funny film. It was written after a stroke left Bauby almost completely paralyzed.
• GOP Hopefuls' Words on War: Immaterial?
  Most of the GOP presidential contenders support keeping U.S. troops in Iraq. They call it a frontline in the war on terrorism, and say U.S. troops should leave with victory and success. But the catchphrases fail to convey anything relevant about the war.
• College Football's Last Games to Determine BCS
  College football's regular season is set to wrap up on Saturday, with big games that will decide which teams play for the national championship in January. And Army will play Navy, one of college football's biggest rivalries, in their 108th game.
• California Developers Build on Fire-Prone Land
  Despite increased fire risks in Southern California, thousands of new homes are being built, and more are planned, in areas deemed "extreme fire danger." The cost to homeowners, insurers, fire departments as well as state, county, and city emergency response departments is enormous.
• Fed Chairman Hints at Rate Cut to Calm Economy
  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggests another interest rate cut may come to bolster the economy. The worsening credit crunch, a housing slump and rising energy costs are likely to bring "headwinds for the consumer in the months ahead," Bernanke said.
• BP Unit Pleads Guilty in Oil Spill Settlement
  The Alaska subsidiary of oil company BP PLC has pleaded guilty to a federal environmental crime for failing to prevent a crude oil spill. The guilty plea by BP Exploration Alaska Inc. is part of a settlement over a 200,000-gallon pipeline spill at the Prudhoe Bay field in March 2006.
• World AIDS Day to Honor Life, Restate Figures
  World AIDS Day will celebrate the millions of people living with the disease, rather than the pessimism of years gone by. The United Nations reports the number of those infected with HIV worldwide is 33 million, not the 39 million previously reported.
• U.S. Meets Russia in Davis Cup Finals
  Some of the best men's tennis players in the world gather in Portland, Ore., for the start of the Davis Cup Finals. The three-day team event matches the U.S. against defending champion, Russia. The U.S. has won 31 Davis Cups — more than any other country — but none in a dozen years.
• Richardson Focuses on Iowa's Rural Voters
  Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson is pinning his hopes on a strong showing in Iowa by visiting each of its 99 counties and homing in on the state's many rural voters. He talks up hunting and alternative energy while promising to have troops out of Iraq within a year.
• Muldoon Is New Poetry Editor for 'New Yorker'
  The New Yorker magazine has chosen a new poetry editor. Irish poet and Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Muldoon takes the job after a 20-year stint by Alice Quinn. We hear Muldoon read a poem from his new collection, Horse Latitudes.
• Iraq Commander Shares Sentiments on Troops
  Col. David Sutherland, due to leave Iraq after a 14-month tour of duty, speaks in highly emotional terms about the soldiers he has led, and those who died. Sutherland was commander of the 3rd Brigade combat team in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad.
• Man Arrested at Bank, with Fake $1M Bill
  A man walked into a bank in Augusta, Ga. He asked to open an account, and handed the teller a $1 million bill. The teller thought something seemed strange, and refused. The man started to curse at the teller, which earned him a disorderly conduct charge on top of two counts of forgery.
• Manila Bride Too Blissful for Coup
  A group of soldiers, a general, a senator, a former vice president and priest took over the ritzy Peninsula Hotel in Manila. They called for the overthrow of the government. Then a bride appeared. Unfazed by the guns, Maria-Stella Magtayo led her groom and guests across the street to marry.
• Dublin Man Steals Trailer Full of Beer from Guinness
  Irish pub goers surely raised many pints of Guinness to a ruling by the European Parliament not to impose the metric system on Britain and Ireland. Meanwhile, a thief drove into the Guinness brewery in Dublin and drove out with a trailer full of the stuff, including 180 kegs of Budweiser.
• Giuliani Denies Inappropriate Accounting
  Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani refutes a news story that while mayor of New York City he used unorthodox accounting practices to hide an extramarital affair. Expenses were billed to obscure city agencies, like the department that regulates loft spaces.

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