Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Betty Crocker retires her catalog
  Friday marks the end of an era for one of Minnesota's best-known businesses. General Mills is shutting down a program that's seen generations of consumers snip and save box-top coupons.6:50 a.m.
• No slowdown in illegal document trade
  The immigration raid this week in Worthington, Minnesota hasn't stopped the vendors of fake documents.7:20 a.m.
• Airlines consider potential mergers
  As airline companies talk about possible consolidations, a closer look at what mergers might mean for the future of air transport.7:25 a.m.
• An early analysis of Sen. Johnson's condition
  Medical analyst Dr. Jon Hallberg analyzes Sen. Tim Johnson's medical situation with preliminary information.7:50 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Missouri Church Leaders Accused of Child-Sex Abuse
  Early next year, the first of several child-sexual abuse cases involving church leaders is expected to be heard in a courtroom in southwest Missouri. The sex charges were filed this summer by women who grew up in a religious community deep in the Ozarks. Most of the accusers and the accused are related by blood or marriage.
• A Cinematic Ode to Shanghai's Vanishing World
  Shanghai has a population of almost 18 million, but only 632 protected historic sites. Its distinctive traditional architecture is rapidly disappearing, and along with it, a way of life. A local filmmaker has produced an ode to these vanishing neighborhoods.
• Will the Democrats Squeeze Iraq Spending?
  The newly empowered Democrats on Capitol Hill are by-and-large opposed to the war in Iraq. But would they be willing to hold up the purse strings for the war to change the policy? Vietnam War opponents tried, and failed, to do the same thing in 1970.
• Letters: Pinochet, Doctors' Hours, Buddha, Mingling
  Among the topics covered in this week's letters segment are questions about how to pronounce Pinochet, comments on doctors' hours, an appreciation of holiday mingling and thoughts on the loss of the Afghanistan's Buddha statues.
• Enron's Skilling Begins Serving Prison Term
  Jeffrey Skilling began serving 24 years in a minimum security prison Wednesday in Waseca, Minn., for his role in the $11 billion Enron scandal. Skilling will likely have to work, as required by the bureau of prisons, earning between about 25 cents and a dollar an hour for jobs like washing dishes, cleaning bathrooms or making police uniforms.
• Company Holds or Ships No-Fly Items from Airport
  A new kiosk at Chicago's O'Hare airport may help some passengers who have items confiscated by airport security. For a fee, they can leave the items in storage, or arrange for shipping to their home or destination.
• Hollywood Partners with China for 'The Painted Veil'
  The China of the past is what feature film director John Curran was seeking when he scouted locations for The Painted Veil, which opens next week. It's based on the Somerset Maugham book set in China in the 1920s. It stars Naomi Watts and Ed Norton. The movie studio producing the film went into a partnership with the Chinese government to get it made.
• Iranians Vote Friday for Assembly of Experts
  Iranian voters go to the polls Friday in local elections. The ballots will include candidates for the Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics responsible for selecting Iran's next supreme leader.
• Prosecutor Briefs U.N. on Alleged Crimes in Darfur
  The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court briefs the U.N. Security Council on the court's investigation into crimes committed in Darfur, Sudan. Luis Moreno Ocampo says his first case will prove crimes against humanity.
• Botswana Bushmen Win Right to Return to Land
  A Botswana court ruled Wednesday that the country's Bushmen, also known as the Basarwa, were illegally removed from their land in the Kalahari desert.
• Speculation Mounts on Troop Additions in Iraq
  There is growing speculation that the Bush administration may increase the number troops in Iraq. That contradicts what many critics of the war have suggested. But it's what was suggested Wednesday by some military officials as President Bush met with Robert Gates, Donald Rumsfeld and top military brass.
• Florida Sen. Nelson Meets with Syrian President
  Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida ignored the White House and met with Syrian officials during his tour of the Middle East, including Syrian President Bashar Assad. Nelson talks to Steve Inskeep about what he learned, and what he was trying to accomplish.
• Paulson, Bernanke in Beijing for Economic Talks
  U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, along with other cabinet-level officers, are in Beijing for talks with senior Chinese officials on trade and economic concerns, including the huge U.S. trade deficit with China.
• FEC Fines '527' Groups, Including Swift Boat Vets
  The Federal Election Commission says Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and two other "527" organizations, broke the law during the 2004 Bush-Kerry race and now must pay fines. The rulings come more than two years after the fact.
• Sen. Johnson in Critical Condition
  Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota underwent brain surgery Wednesday night in Washington, D.C. and is in critical condition. He was rushed to the hospital from his Capitol Hill office Wednesday after becoming disoriented.

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