Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• Health exchange bill passes House; abortion restrictions out
  Landmark health insurance legislation is on its way to the Minnesota Senate after the House on Wednesday night approved a bill enacting a Minnesota health insurance exchange, a cornerstone of the federal Affordable Care act health care law.5:40 a.m.
• Gun background checks bill heads to full Senate
  A bill that would require background checks for nearly all gun buyers will get a vote by the full Minnesota Senate after the Judiciary Committee approved it Thursday night. The bill cleared the committee on a straight party-line vote: Five DFLers voted for the bill and three Republicans voted against it.5:45 a.m.
• White Earth to get federal crime-fighting help
  Federal help to fight crime is coming to a northern Minnesota Indian reservation. The U.S. Department of Justice announces Friday that White Earth will be the first reservation in the country to be awarded a shared jurisdiction. It means tribal, state and federal authorities will now share responsibility for investigating and prosecuting crimes.6:20 a.m.
• Dayton: Higher tobacco tax is about health, not revenue
  DFL Gov. Mark Dayton says the income tax increase on top earners in his revised budget plan is all about fairness. But his proposal to raise the tobacco tax by 94 cents a pack will disproportionately hit Minnesotans of modest means.6:50 a.m.
• Climatologist says snow storms this March set some records
  MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with University of Minnesota Climatologist Mark Seeley about a snowy March in much of Minnesota, and he tells us about the dense water content of all that snow.6:55 a.m.
• Goblins, ghouls bring national attention for Minneapolis writer
  William Alexander was as surprised as anyone when he won the National Book Award for his debut novel "Goblin Secrets." His second book, "Ghoulish Song" is now in bookstores and he's pondering what it all means.7:45 a.m.
• SXSW festival a whirlwind of music
  It is going to be another busy day today at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin,Texas. MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with Jim McGuinn, who is the program director at our sister station The Current. He's there, taking in as much of the music as he can.8:45 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Game Of Change: Pivotal Matchup Helped End Segregated Hoops
  Mississippi State University defied its state's unwritten rule of never playing against a team with African-Americans. Its 1963 NCAA tournament match against Loyola University, which had four black players in its starting lineup, became a symbol in the effort to overturn Jim Crow policies.
• For GOP Hopefuls, CPAC Is The Place To Be This Week
  The Conservative Political Action Conference is drawing a huge crowd of politicians, activists and Republican presidential hopefuls, all looking to break the Republican Party's recent string of presidential election losses. It kicked off Thursday with speeches by two young senators interested in the White House — Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky.
• At CPAC, GOP Makes Push For Young Voters
  Winning over young voters is one of the biggest challenges facing conservatives. At this year's CPAC, there's an extra push to counter the advantage Democrats have enjoyed with voters under 30 in the past two presidential elections.
• JPMorgan In Hot Seat Over London Whale Losses
  Last year, JPMorgan Chase acknowledged that it lost $6.2 billion in a hedging strategy gone awry. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has spent months investigating how the losses occurred, and on Friday, it will publicly grill some of the executives involved.
• 'Bankers' New Clothes' Leave Too Little Skin In The Game
  Anat Admati, finance professor at Stanford and co-author of a new book on American banks, argues that banks carry too much debt and have too little equity. Government support allows them to hide their risky behavior, distorting the economy as a whole, she says.
• Chavez Faithful Look For A Way To Keep His Memory Alive
  Ten days after his death, Hugo Chavez's remains are being moved to a museum after being on display at a military academy. The government has been debating what to do with the body long term. His political heirs simply say they want to keep his memory and image alive.
• 50 Years After Key Case, Problems Defending The Poor Persist
  Next week marks the anniversary of a landmark Supreme Court decision that says defendants facing substantial jail time deserve legal representation in state courts, even if they can't afford it. Now, many lawyers say the system for providing defense attorneys for the poor is in crisis.
• How Close Are The NRA And Gunmakers, Really?
  Steve Inskeep speaks with Paul Barrett of Bloomberg Businessweek magazine, who has been investigating the relationship between the gun industry and the National Rifle Association. Gunmakers and the gun lobby are often seen as partners, in lock step. But Barrett says the relationship is not always so amicable.
• Samsung Unveils Its Galaxy S4
  Samsung is rolling out a new smartphone — the Galaxy S4 — as the company continues to snag new customers, often at the expense of Apple.
• Angry Birds TV, Coming To A Mobile Screen Near You
  The wildly popular game has been downloaded 1.7 billion times. Now, the company that brings these birds — and the pigs they love to hate — to your phone is launching an animated series, which will be distributed via television and app.

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