Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Minnesota's ResCap trying to survive
  Minnesota's big financial houses generally steered clear of the risky lending that created the nation's mortgage mess. But Minnesota is home to one of the nation's biggest lenders getting crushed by mortgage defaults.6:20 a.m.
• Tax debate already beginning at Capitol
  Minnesota lawmakers will consider major changes in state tax policy next year as they try to solve a multi-billion dollar budget deficit.6:50 a.m.
• North Dakota an economic bright spot
  North Dakota's economy is strong despite an international financial crisis.6:55 a.m.
• Recount resumes after break
  Local elections officials will resume the recount in Minnesota's Senate race this week after taking a Thanksgiving break.7:20 a.m.
• Chris Farrell discusses the financial markets
  Minnesota Public Radio's chief economics correspondent Chris Farrell analyzes the latest economic news.7:25 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Clinton, Gates Named To National Security Team
  President-elect Obama named more of the people he wants to run the federal bureaucracy. As expected, he announced Monday that he will nominate Sen. Hillary Clinton to become secretary of state. If confirmed, she would work with foreign policy adviser Susan Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
• Drug Deaths, Violence Plague Border In Tijuana
  Controlling immigration at the border between Mexico and the U.S. is proving challenging as drug cartels, money, gang violence and politics clash with a potentially idyllic and green city just south of San Diego. Tijuana is suffering as a result of the violence, officials say.
• Obama To Nominate Hillary Clinton, Keep Gates
  President-elect Obama made public Monday what has long been expected: He will nominate Sen. Hillary Clinton to be his secretary of state. Clinton will be part of a new national security team that includes other familiar faces. Robert Gates, the current secretary of defense, would stay at the Pentagon. For national security adviser, Obama has chosen retired Marine Gen. James Jones, a former NATO commander and commandant of the Marine Corps.
• Inauguration Security Will Be A Massive Task
  Washington, D.C., is preparing for a massive influx of visitors next month. Barack Obama's inauguration may draw the largest crowd of any such event in American history. That brings some daunting security concerns.
• Economic Downturn Could Affect Climate Talks
  Poznan, Poland, is hosting the current round of talks to tackle one of the most difficult issues of our day: global warming. The goal is to craft a treaty that will turn the world away from fossil fuels in the coming decades. But the global economic meltdown could put a damper on the already difficult talks.
• San Francisco Wants Green Christmas Trees
  Residents of San Francisco can give their city a Christmas present — a tree. The city, Friends of the Urban Forest and SF Environment are selling potted trees. After Christmas, the trees can be left on the street for pickup and planting. The spindly young trees aren't terribly traditional — one is a southern magnolia. Presumably the holiday spirit can be found in celebrating a greener Christmas.
• New York Giants Star Receiver To Face Charges
  You could argue that Plaxico Burress has been punished enough: The New York Giants receiver faces criminal charges for possessing a weapon — the same weapon with which he shot himself in the leg Friday night. Burress is expected to plead not guilty to criminal possession of a weapon.
• U.S. Tries To Ease Tension Between India, Pakistan
  U.S. officials are trying to prevent a military conflict between India and Pakistan over the Mumbai attacks. India and Pakistan are both U. S. allies, and Washington sees each as a critical component in the fight against terrorism. The Mumbai attacks could present a setback in a recent warming of relations between the two countries.
• India, Pakistan Relations Hurt By Mumbai Attack
  India's fragile relationship with Pakistan has been badly damaged by the attacks on Mumbai. Indian officials say the gunmen who invaded that city, killing nearly 200 people, arrived by boat from Pakistan, and the only surviving gunman is a Pakistani. Indian politicians are demanding that Pakistan's government act decisively to get rid of the violent Islamist extremists operating on Pakistani soil.
• Detroit's Big 3 Will Try Again To Get Federal Loans
  Executives from the top three U.S. automakers return to Washington, D.C., this week. They're going to try, again, to convince Congress to give them federal loans. They say they need the money to avoid an industry collapse. Two weeks ago, Congress sent them away empty-handed.
• Egypt's Suez Canal Threatened By Somali Pirates
  The increased piracy off the Somali coast is threatening to reduce traffic through the Suez Canal, one of Egypt's economic mainstays. Some shipping companies are already ordering some vessels to travel around the horn of Africa to avoid the pirate-infested waters leading to the canal. Egypt is at risk of losing billions of dollars in revenue.
• Blast Punctuates NPR's Story On Baghdad Security
  Security in Baghdad has improved a lot during the past year, but residents of the Iraqi capital still live with the constant fear of assassinations and bombings. A team from NPR's Baghdad bureau was reminded of that on a reporting assignment Sunday when their armored BMW was destroyed by a car bomb.
• What Toys Sell In An Economic Downturn?
  Toy sellers and manufacturers are worried about smaller profits this year. Nicholas Casey, who covers the toy industry for The Wall Street Journal, says the perfect toy will be something that is inexpensive. Some stores have already come out with long lists of toys under $10.
• Ariel, Wa.: Whatever Happened To D.B .Cooper?
  There were celebrations over the weekend in rural Ariel, Wash., to recall the country's most famous unsolved hijacking. Thirty-seven years ago, a man known as D.B. Cooper seized a jetliner, received a ransom and parachuted out somewhere over southwest Washington. He disappeared along with most of the $200,000 in cash.
• Retro Toy Still Has Price, Entertainment Appeal
  The Slinky has been entertaining children for more than 60 years, and sales of the toy "are as strong as they've ever been in history," says Ray Dallavecchia of Poof-Slinky Toys. They sell by the millions, he says, and could be especially popular now because of their price tag: $4.50.

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