Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Hennepin Co. budget contains no joy for anyone
  County officials say demand for assistance is going up as funds to pay for those services are becoming more scarce.6:20 a.m.
• Community colleges say down economy may mean enrollment gains
  It's hard to find much good news in this bad economy, but some Minnesota community colleges see potential for growth during these tough economic times.6:25 a.m.
• Minneapolis author sees her book on the big screen
  "The Tale of Despereaux" opens Friday in theaters around the country. The movie is based on a book by local author Kate DiCamillo. It tells the story of an unlikely hero: A puny mouse with extremely large ears.6:55 a.m.
• Canvassing Board continues tedious process of reviewing ballots
  The State Canvassing Board will meet again today to review challenged ballots in Minnesota's Senate race.7:20 a.m.
• Counting ballots: Man vs. machine
  The statewide recount in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race has given us a chance to see just how accurate our voting equipment is. The numbers the vote counting machines spat out on election night are remarkably close to the preliminary ones from the recount, which was done by hand.7:25 a.m.
• Future Tense with Jon Gordon
  Wi-Fi at 35,000 feet.8:20 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• U.S. Gives Papers On Nazis To Holocaust Museum
  The Justice Department has donated thousands of documents to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The more than 50,000 pages chronicle trials of Nazis found living in the United States over the past three decades.
• 'The Wrestler': Low Blows, But No Punches Pulled
  As year-end approaches, the Oscar chatter gets louder, and no actor has had more buzz than Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. Critic Kenneth Turan says the hype is justified — sort of.
• Sports Dilemma: Siding With Politicians On Playoffs
  Commentator Frank Deford agrees with politicians calling for a college football playoff to determine the national champion. But it means letting go of a long-held belief: that sports and politics shouldn't mix.
• Rural Afghans Resistant To Official Judicial System
  Afghanistan's courts are too slow and corrupt to get the job done, many say. Those Afghans turn instead to local jirgas, or tribal councils, to solve legal disputes. Efforts are being made to fix the official system and teach residents their rights, but the impact has been negligible outside of major cities and provincial centers.
• Miliband: Afghanistan Needs A Political Solution
  Britain has just sent another 300 troops to Afghanistan, adding to the 8,000 it already has in that country. It's also pressing reluctant NATO allies to take on a greater role against a resurgent Taliban. British Foreign Minister David Miliband was in Afghanistan recently. He says besides a security response, the country needs a political solution.
• Is Britain's Labor Party Back To Pre-Blair Ways?
  After Tony Blair was elected British prime minister in 1997, he blurred the line between the Labor Party and its usual opponent, the Conservative Party. But the global financial crisis has forced Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take the Labor Party back to a platform of nationalized banks, government assistance for industry and massive public borrowing. Critics say the Labor Party's Socialist roots are showing.
• Ponzi Schemes Have Colorful History
  Wall Street investor Bernard Madoff is not the first person to be charged with carrying out a massive Ponzi scheme. Sometimes people call it "robbing Peter to pay Paul," or a shell game. Pyramid schemes are close relatives. By any name, the Ponzi scheme has a long and colorful history.
• Australia Allows Facebook For Serving Legal Notices
  A lawyer in Australia had been trying to serve a foreclosure notice to a couple who had defaulted on a home loan. Mark McCormack couldn't find the couple by e-mail, and he couldn't find them at their home. So he turned to Facebook, the popular social networking site. He wanted to serve legal documents to the couple's Facebook page. A court in Australia ruled last week that he may. But by the time the court approved McCormack's request, the couple had removed their Facebook profile from public view.
• Honda, GM Adjust To Economic Slowdown
  Japanese carmaker Honda has said its profits for the year could be down more than 60 percent from an earlier forecast. Blame the global plunge in car sales as well as a strong yen, which is hurting all Japanese exporters. General Motors has opened another plant in China, but demand there for cars is slowing.
• Texas Boy Hits Toy Mother Lode
  A 4-year-old boy in Beaumont, Texas, apparently couldn't wait for Christmas. He unlocked a door at his home around 3 a.m. and walked into the street. He reached the the Family Dollar discount store on the other side and started trying doors. The store was closed, but somebody had left one door unlocked — which explains why, when police responded to the silent alarm, they discovered the boy eager to show them all his new toys.
• Autoworker Worries About Her Future
  Over the past several weeks, in a series of "kitchen table" conversations, American families have been talking about steering their way through economic turmoil. Now the focus is on automakers. Julie Fagel heads a family in Kokomo, Ind., that is trying to maintain a normal home life, despite financial uncertainty.
• Toyota Suspends Plans For Miss. Prius Factory
  Toyota has announced it is suspending plans to produce Prius hybrids near Tupelo, Miss. The plant was slated to open in 2010.
• UC Berkeley: The Stadium That Seat Licenses Built
  A new football stadium is in the works for the University of California Berkeley. School officials plan to pay for the $200 million project by selling seat licenses. Instead of buying a ticket to a game, a fan owns the right to that seat for 50 years. Each seat costs up to $250,000.
• Partygoers, Caterers Miss Companies' Holiday Frills
  Corporate holiday parties usually dot the landscape this time of year. But listeners have e-mailed to say a lot of their parties have been downsized. Ed Fasani knows what that's like. He's a caterer, and business is down about 60 percent this year. Fasani says he's had to lay off staff and has even taken a night job to make ends meet.
• Fed Slashes Key Interest Rate To Record Low
  The Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate to almost zero Tuesday. It's the latest attempt to jump-start the economy. And the Fed made clear that it won't stop there. If needed, federal policymakers indicated they will use all tools at their disposal to keep the economy from sliding deeper into recession.

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