Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Retailers hope for a post-Christmas sales bump
  Retailers are scrambling in these final days of the year to try to salvage what has been a dismal shopping season for them. Many stores are cutting prices 30 to 70 percent, trying to boost sales.6:20 a.m.
• Standing at the back of the line, but never losing hope
  As people piled into the Xcel Energy Center to catch a glimpse of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the line out the door kept getting longer. At one point, it stretched for more than a mile and a half. For people at the end of line, they never gave up hope.6:50 a.m.
• New Year's Day is bittersweet for commentator
  New Year's Day is right around the corner. For a lot of folks, this can be a bittersweet time of year. There is all the promise of great things ahead. But, as Morning Edition commentator Peter Smith says, there are those things you find yourself reluctantly leaving behind.6:55 a.m.
• Meetings planned statewide to decide fate of rejected ballots
  As the Senate recount continues, several meetings get underway around the state Tuesday morning to determine which of the 1,350 wrongly rejected absentee ballots belong in the recount.7:20 a.m.
• Minnesota's court budget woes are part of nationwide trend
  With Minnesota and other states projecting big deficits, the courts can also expect deep cuts. While Minnesota's court funding situation is one of the worst in the U.S., it is by no means the only one struggling.7:25 a.m.
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  8:45 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• For The Higgins Clarks, Suspense Is A Family Affair
  For Mary and Carol Higgins Clark, the family business is suspense — of the fictional order. The mother and daughter write suspense novels separately, and also team up to write a series of holiday mysteries, most recently Dashing Through the Snow.
• The Year In Music For Kids (And Parents)
  One of the best years for kids' music in recent memory includes releases from artists with feet firmly in both kid-friendly and adult-oriented worlds. Old favorites went in new directions, while emerging artists gave a glimpse of the future of a genre as diverse and unpredictable as kids themselves.
• How Pakistan Views The U.S. After The Bush Years
  The Bush administration is winding down its term and will say goodbye to the White House next month. Morning Edition is talking with foreign analysts this week about how the U.S. looks from abroad as the Obama administration prepares to take power. Columnist Fasi Zaka says Pakistanis form their opinions of the U.S. by how the U.S. engages with the outside world.
• 2008: The Year That Surprised Political Pundits
  There were many surprising moments in politics in 2008. The year seemed to catch political observers and financial gurus by surprise.
• Found, Returned $10,000 In Cracker Box
  A California woman bought some crackers. Inside she found an envelope containing $10,000 in crisp $100 bills. Police told Debra Rogoff that the money might be part of a drug drop. Later she heard that an elderly woman had mistakenly returned the cracker box to the store. The elderly woman and her life savings were reunited.
• Coup Leaders In Guinea Work On PR Campaign
  Leaders of a military coup in Guinea are working to justify their actions to the world. A group of soldiers took over the government of the small West African country last week. The new leaders appointed a civilian prime minister Tuesday. And they're telling foreign diplomats that the government they replaced was not much of a government.
• Banks Got Bailout; Are They Making More Loans?
  Most of the billions in bailout money that the government has handed out so far has gone to the nation's banks. The idea was that with more money on their balance sheets, banks would make more loans and that would help jump-start the economy. But it hasn't quite worked out that way.
• Government To Give Billions To GM's Funding Arm
  The government says it will provide $5 billion to GMAC Financial Services from the $700 billion bank rescue program. The Treasury Department also says it will lend up to $1 billion to GM so it can participate in a debt for equity swap with GMAC, which is seeking to raise additional capital. The loan is in addition to the financial assistance the government announced earlier this month for GM and Chrysler.
• New Year Brings New Rules For Detainees In Iraq
  Beginning January 1st, the U.S. will have new rules when it comes to detaining suspects in Iraq. The changes are part of the recently negotiated security pact between Iraq and the U-S. The Americans will begin handing over many more detainees to the Iraqi prison system. Also, the Americans will need permission from an Iraqi judge to hold a suspect.
• In China, More College Grads Than Jobs
  China is worried about unemployment. Recent college graduates are among the hardest hit. More Chinese are attending universities than ever, but now, there are more college graduates than jobs.
• Professor In Gaza: Life Is Like Hell Here
  Israel has been conducting air strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip since Saturday. Conditions inside Gaza are very dangerous. Mkhaimer Abu Sada is a political science professor at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City. He says where he lives in northern Gaza it is not safe to walk around. He tells Steve Inskeep that "life is like hell here — it has been very bad here."
• Israel Bombs Gaza For A Fourth Day
  Israeli airstrikes have been pounding Hamas militant targets in Gaza, reducing dozens of buildings to rubble. Five ministerial buildings have been destroyed by Israeli missiles. Meanwhile, Hamas continues to launch rocket attacks from Gaza on southern Israel.
• Arabs Protest Israel's Airstrikes In Gaza
  Protests are being held in the Arab world as the violence around Gaza continues for a fourth day. Israel on Tuesday rejected any truce with Hamas. The Arab League will meet Wednesday in Egypt to discuss the crisis. More than 360 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli offensive started Saturday. Rockets from Gaza have killed five Israelis.
• Coup Leaders Tighten Grip On Guinea
  The African Union has suspended Guinea from the organization after a bloodless military takeover last week. Yet, many people in the West African nation support the coup leaders. They are on a charm offensive to win over their critics in and outside Africa.
• Wis. Web Site Puts State Capitol In Minneapolis
  Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board is having to account for why its new Web site shows the state capitol in Madison in front of the Minneapolis skyline. An ethics officer explains that the Minneapolis skyline is a placeholder until an image of Madison that isn't copyrighted is found. The board didn't explain why the outside company that it paid a million dollars to design the Web site couldn't just take a picture.

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