Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Weather with Mark Seeley
  University of Minnesota climatologist Mark Seeley discusses the snowy December and looks ahead to the weekend forecast.6:50 a.m.
• Minneapolis will raze troubled corner store
  The city of Minneapolis will close on a deal to buy the site of a troubled corner store in north Minneapolis. The site of drug deals, shootings and a grisly homicide, the store will be torn down and replaced with housing.7:20 a.m.
• Cities plowing through winter
  This winter's white December has kept snowplow drivers busy, and the forecast is calling for more snow into next week. Even though there has been a lot of snow, city officials are reporting that plow budgets are in good shape.7:25 a.m.
• Roadside wells -- is free water better water?
  There are about a dozen roadside stops in Minnesota that offer spring water to travelers. But are these sources of water safe?7:55 a.m.
• Biggest arts stories of 2007
  St. Paul Pioneer Press theater critic Dominic Papatola picks the biggest arts stories of the year.8:25 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• A Once-in-a-Lifetime Love Story, Interrupted
  Cindy White met Dan Driggers, the love of her life, in August 1990. Six weeks later, she learned that she was HIV positive. "I don't believe I'm here because of anything less than his love for me," Cindy says.
• Train Stations Burn in Pakistan Rioting
  People in Pakistan are burning train stations and ripping up railroad tracks in the wake of the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Some train services are suspended. The former prime minister was laid to rest in a family mausoleum that holds the remains of her father.
• Top 10 Great Unknown Artists of 2007
  On Second Stage, All Songs Considered producer Robin Hilton profiles the best of music's great unknowns. He chooses the best outsider artists of 2007: musicians who made remarkable recordings that were largely overlooked, led by Le Loup.
• Stem Cell Debate Still Thorny Despite Progress
  Scientists say they've found a way to create cells that act like embryonic stem cells without using human embryos. That could sidestep a big political and moral debate. Yet some scientists say, not so fast.
• Subprime Debacle Bigger Than Expected
  A report by Goldman Sachs says Wall Street's top-tier investment banks will report bigger-than-expected write-downs on their subprime mortgage investments. Three banks will account for losses totaling more than $33 billion. Citigroup alone will acknowledge nearly $19 billion.
• Iowans Flooded with Presidential Candidates' Ads
  With just six days before the Iowa caucuses, local TV stations are brimming with political ads. The Campaign Media Analysis Group, a firm that tracks political advertising, estimates $33 million has been spent on TV ads in Iowa alone — three times more than in 2004.
• Woman Charged for Wiping Nose on Officer's Shirt
  A police officer in Dunbar, W. Va., arrests a woman he had just watched slap, bite, and spit in the face of a man. As the officer took her inside the station, she allegedly wiped her nose on the back of his shirt. This did not make the officer, S.E. Elliott, happy. He charged her with battery.
• Lawmakers' Mail Costs Taxpayers $20M
  Members of Congress sent 116 million pieces of mail last year, costing taxpayers $20 million. In theory, lawmakers are keeping you informed. In reality, the mailings include photos and promotional pieces on the lawmaker who sent them.
• 'The Wire' to Focus on Baltimore Newspaper
  The final season of the HBO series The Wire, which dramatizes how real-world institutions and leaders repeatedly failed the people of Baltimore, gets under way Jan. 6. Creator David Simon is turning his critical eye on journalism, namely The Baltimore Sun.
• Public Opinion Along Route 50
  Residents along Route 50, which runs from California to the nation's capital, discuss whether the Democratic-led Congress addressed their concerns this year. The residents are concerned about the economy.
• Presidential Hopefuls Tout Foreign Policy
  The assassination of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto forces presidential candidates to discuss foreign policy. Virtually all the GOP candidates agreed that Bhutto's death shows how dangerous global terrorism remains, while Democrats say it shows the failure of U.S. foreign policy.
• Parents of 'American Taliban' Want Commutation
  The parents of John Walker Lindh renew their call to President Bush to commute their son's 20-year sentence for fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Lindh's parents say others convicted of more-serious crimes received lesser sentences.
• Bhutto's Assassination Impacts U.S. Relations
  Hussain Haqqani was an adviser to former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He talks about her assassination and how her death affects U.S.-Pakistan relations.
• U.S. Policy on Pakistan in Disarray
  The Bush administration has severely limited diplomacy options in the wake of the assassination of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. President Pervez Musharraf is unpopular and may have to postpone elections set for Jan. 8. Pakistan is important ally to the U.S. war on terrorism.
• Consumers to Redeem Change from Gift Cards
  Retailers get an extra boost when consumers don't spend the extra few dollars left on a card, but for Californians who find themselves stuck with not quite enough to get an actual gift, relief arrives Jan. 1, when a new law lets let you cash out balances under $10.

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