Minnesota Public Radio Stories

• House, Senate approve outdoors and arts program
  The Minnesota Legislature has approved the $213 million outdoors and cultural heritage bill in the waning hours of the legislative session.6:50 a.m.
• K-12 funding stays flat, but schools are still cutting
  Schools in Minnesota will get the same amount of state money next year as they got this year -- that's what the governor signed into law over the weekend. But even with flat funding, districts statewide have already made cuts to their own budgets.6:55 a.m.
• Minnesota Legislature: No deal
  The Legislature adjourned shortly after midnight without reaching a budget deal with Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who is expected to cut state spending using unprecedented measures.7:20 a.m.
• Commentator says don't move up graduation
  It is just mid-May and many college students across the country, and Minnesota, have already received their 2009 diplomas. That's caught the attention of Morning Edition commentator Peter Smith.7:45 a.m.
• St. Paul Mayor concerned about more LGA cuts
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty is supposed to start meeting today with aides to begin looking at places in the state budget where $2.7 billion can be cut or places where payments can be delayed to balance the budget. One target is Local Government Aid.8:25 a.m.

National Public Radio Stories

• Embracing A Fictionalized Memoir, 30 Years Later
  Long before some best-selling memoirs were unmasked as heavily embellished fictions, the writer Clive James embraced the concept. In the preface to his first memoir, which is being rereleased after three decades, he wrote, "Most first novels are disguised autobiographies. This autobiography is a disguised novel."
• Border Tribe In Midst of Drug Smuggling 'Crisis'
  This year, law enforcement agencies expect to seize as much as 800,000 pounds of marijuana crossing one stretch of border in southern Arizona. It's the stretch that runs through the Tohono O'odham Indian Nation. That's a billion dollars worth of pot, and the DEA estimates only about 20 percent of what's coming across is caught.
• Report: Discipline Methods Endanger Disabled Kids
  In a large number of schools, children — particularly those in special education classes — are being disciplined in potentially dangerous ways, a Government Accountability Office report finds. Some children have died or been injured after having been restrained by adults or locked in secluded rooms.
• Afghan Civilian Death Toll Disputed
  U.S. officials disagree with Afghan officials about how many civilians were killed recently in airstrikes in western Afghanistan. Afghan officials say as many as 140 civilians were killed. U.S. military officials say that's not possible.
• Public Mood In Pakistan Turns Against Taliban
  Pakistan's army is pressing deeper into Swat Valley to secure ground that Taliban extremists have held. The fighting in the northwest is unfolding just a few hours from the capital. The Taliban's infiltration so close to Islamabad appears to have persuaded many Pakistanis to support the military offensive.
• Obama To Announce Auto Pollution Plan
  President Obama is expected to propose new fuel efficiency standards Tuesday as part of a broader goal of limiting pollution and greenhouse gases. It will be the first time an attempt to reduce greenhouse emissions is linked to federal fuel economy standards for cars and trucks.
• Sidney Poitier's Introduction To Motion Pictures
  Actor Sidney Poitier's memoir, Life Beyond Measure, is out in paperback. Much of the book focuses on his childhood, growing up on rural Cat Island in the Bahamas. The Academy Award-winning actor looks back with Renee Montagne at the first time he saw a movie.
• California Proposes Selling San Quentin Prison
  Cash-strapped California is looking at ways to raise money. One of them involves selling prime, state-owned real estate — places like the Los Angeles coliseum and the Cow Palace near San Francisco. But among the long list, one property stands out: San Quentin State Prison.
• A Brain Drain In Reverse, Back To India
  Amid the global recession, the Indian economy is still relatively strong, and many Indians living in the United States have decided to head home — for better jobs and lifestyles.
• Escape From Reality: India's Barbershops
  For the past month, India has been holding a general election. With it seems to have come a lot of noise — at least from TV anchors. And it just happens that this time of year, the temperatures there are sweltering. So where do men in India go to escape the heat and noise?

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