Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Alleged links to Somalia fighting divide Minnesota community
  Recent claims that young men have left Minnesota to fight in East Africa are deepening divisions in the Twin Cities Somali community.6:20 a.m.
• Census data shows minority increase in small communities
  The U.S. Census Bureau has just released new data on mid-size Minnesota counties. For the first time, the American Community Survey includes information on places as small as 20,000 in population. It's considered the first statistical portrait since the 2000 Census on a wide range of topics, such as demographics, education, income and housing.6:50 a.m.
• Commentator finds holiday cheer hard to embrace
  The holiday season is here, and for some Minnesotans, the magic of the season is just beginning. But for others, like commentator Peter Smith, the joy of the season always seems just a bit harder to appreciate.6:55 a.m.
• Recession isn't pulling the curtain down on holiday shows
  Regional holiday shows are beating back the recession. If ticket sales are any measure, a number of regional holiday shows appear to be selling pretty well.7:20 a.m.
• 3M layoffs include 400 jobs in Twin Cities
  Maplewood-based 3M says layoffs announced recently will include about 400 Twin Cities jobs as the weakening global economy cuts into profits.7:25 a.m.
• A sportswriter's take on the Timberwolves' coaching change
  When the Minnesota Timberwolves face the Utah Jazz tonight at the Target Center, Kevin McHale will be coaching the team. McHale begins his second stint as coach of the Wolves after yesterday's firing of Randy Whitman.8:35 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Rendition Victim's Suit Targets U.S. Officials
  A federal appeals court in New York hears arguments Tuesday over a lawsuit filed by Maher Arar, a Canadian detained at JFK airport in 2002 and deported to Syria, where he was tortured. Arar says his goal is to hold U.S. officials responsible for violating his human rights.
• Eighteen-Wheelers And A Health Insurance Crunch
  In Flora, Ill., Huck's convenient store is where lives intersect. Sandy Higgs works the counter there, and she also has a job maintaining big rigs to make ends meet. Neither she nor one of the company's truckers get health insurance from the job — and each faces a looming crisis.
• There ARE Atheists In Foxholes
  One year ago, commentator Benjamin Tupper's National Guard unit was embedded with Afghan troops. Tupper, an atheist, recently learned that one of the young interpreters he worked with was captured, tortured and murdered by the Taliban. Tupper hopes the interpreter's vision of an afterlife is real.
• Shift In Chinese Labor Force Marks Poor Economy
  The tide of migrant Chinese workers is starting to show a permanent shift toward inland, non-factory jobs as the flagging economy continues to force manufacturing shutdowns. An influx of new, skilled labor combined with dwindling numbers of jobs is forcing laborers to return home.
• Ill. Gov. Arrested In Probe Over Obama Successor
  Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been arrested on charges that he conspired to get financial benefits through his ability to appoint the person to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. A 76-page FBI affidavit says the 51-year-old Democrat was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat for personal benefits.
• Fashion Wholesaler Says Customers Disappeared
  In normal times, Eric Hansen supplies clothing to major retailers. But these days, orders at Moda America, where he serves as senior vice president, have dropped precipitously. Now Hansen is selling directly to consumers at sample sales and trying to hang on.
• Killer's Case Before Supreme Court For A Third Time
  The Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in the case of a man convicted of murder in Tennessee. He wants to reopen the conviction or at least the sentence of death, because prosecutors allegedly hid evidence that supported his defense. State courts have said he doesn't have the right to present those arguments.
• Budget Shortfalls Delay Trials In New Hampshire
  In an effort to rein in the state budget, New Hampshire is suspending jury trials for a month. The trials cost about $73,000 a month, and the state is facing a $250 million deficit. The state also suspended trials in 2001.
• Leap Second Adds 1 More Second to 2008
  The world's timekeepers are adding a leap second to the last day of the year. Because the Earth is slowing in its daily rotation, an extra second will be tacked onto Dec. 31. That extra second will make 2008 the longest year since 1992. It's already long because it's a leap year.
• Measure Would Allow French Stores To Open Sunday
  By law, retail stores in France are not allowed to open on Sundays, unless they are located in tourist zones and cater to sporting, recreational or cultural activities. A proposed law would give all businesses the right to open Sunday in the four largest French cities. But unions and small storeowners are opposed.
• Computer Mouse Turns 40
  Forty years ago Tuesday, a computer scientist from the Stanford Research Institute unveiled a device at a conference in San Francisco. The little wooden block had a button and a wheel, and it controlled an onscreen cursor. The cord in the back looked like the tail of a mouse, so that's what the inventors called it. The device was actually part of a larger demonstration of interactive technologies that would inspire much of the hardware and software used today.
• Pakistan Strengthens Response To Mumbai Attacks
  Pakistani troops have raided a militant camp and arrested a suspected mastermind in the deadly attacks last month in Mumbai, India. Is India satisfied with Pakistan's military operations against militants?
• Mother, Daughter Guilty Of Smuggling Monkey
  The baby had a face only a mother could love. And even then, the mother was a monkey. A Washington state woman was convicted of sneaking a rhesus monkey into the U.S. from Thailand. Gypsy Lawson got past U.S. Customs by tucking the monkey under her blouse and pretending to be pregnant. The jury also convicted Lawson's traveling companion, her mother. Or, as the monkey would presumably refer to her, Grandma.
• Baltimore Opera To File For Bankruptcy Protection
  The Baltimore Opera is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday. The Baltimore Sun reports that the remainder of the 2008-09 season has been canceled, and ticket holders will not receive refunds. Peformers are being released from their contracts.
• Defunct Houston Comets Hold Dispersal Draft
  Seven members of the women's pro basketball franchise the Houston Comets found new teams to play with Monday. They were part of a special dispersal draft after the Comets announced last week that the franchise would disband.

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