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Wanted: U.S. Envoy To Talk To North Korea

Kim Jong Un's reported offer to extend the current freeze on nuclear and missile tests as a basis for beginning denuclearization negotiations with the United States is an opportunity not to be missed. Whether the opening produces significant progress toward North Korea's denuclearization or merely a lull in its activities is uncertain. To take full advantage of the opportunity, President Trump should appoint a senior envoy to represent him in the talks, backed by a strong interagency team. Of course, there is the possibility that U.S.-North Korea dialogue could begin with very senior officials, such as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, who could agree to establish a formal negotiation. But, to conduct a sustained and complicated negotiation will require a dedicated special envoy and team of technical and regional experts. Answering the question of who will represent the United States in these negotiations is especially important in view of the retirement last week of the State Department's designated North Korea envoy, Ambassador Joseph Yun. Given our experience talking to the North Koreans over the past 25 years, what each side has to say is important of course but who conducts the dialogue will be an important factor in determining success or failure. What qualities should President Trump look for in a special envoy? In the past, Washington has relied on individuals to lead the charge. Under the Clinton administration, Robert L. Gallucci, who helped cease Saddam Hussein's nascent nuclear program working for the United Nations and then in stopping the diaspora of Soviet experts in weapons of mass destruction after that country collapsed, played the central role in halting North Korea's growing fissile material production program. The U.S. point person during President George W. Bush's second term, Ambassador Christopher Hill, had played a key role in reaching the 1995 Dayton Agreement ending the war in Bosnia and subsequently served as ambassador to Poland as well as the Republic of Korea. President Barack Obama's special envoy during his first term, Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, had an extensive diplomatic career over two decades and spent two years from 1995 until 1997 as the head of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization working with North Koreans to implement the Clinton denuclearization deal. Each of these individuals had different personalities, experiences and backgrounds, but three common characteristics stand out. First, a special envoy should have extensive diplomatic experience handling tough challenges, preferably dealing with despots and dictators. All three had that experience. Bosworth helped to engineer the ouster of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. Hill dealt with Slobodan Milosevic during the Bosnia crisis. Gallucci began his career traveling to Pakistan trying to convince Pakistani strongman Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to give up his nuclear weapons and then moved on to Saddam and Iraq. Second, a special envoy should have access to and strong support from the president, the secretary of state and the secretary of defense. It's a two-way street. The envoy's 24-hour-a-day experience wrestling with the North Korean challenge — and meeting with the North Koreans — will make that person invaluable in informing more senior decision-makers. And, in turn, it is essential that they support the envoy in finding solutions to seemingly intractable problems. Gallucci played that role in Cabinet-level meetings during the Clinton administration as well as working closely with Clinton's National Security Adviser Anthony Lake and Sandy Berger, Lake's deputy. The triumvirate of Ambassador Hill, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President Bush drove North Korea policy during his second term trying to fashion diplomatic solutions. Third, ideally, the envoy should be senior enough to meet directly with Kim Jong Un, as well as the leaders and senior officials of the other countries that will play a role in the negotiations, including South Korea, Japan, China and Russia. One lesson from past meetings with Kim's grandfather and father is that direct face-to-face talks with a North Korean leader, while rare, can produce "on-the-spot guidance" that instantly becomes official policy. Finally, face-to-face experience with the North Koreans is ideal but unlikely given the years that have gone by with little or no contact between the two countries. Second best is the envoy should have a strong support team of experienced experts. By experience, we do not mean reading government documents or intelligence reports, all of which are important. But there is no substitute for dealing with North Koreans face-to-face to give you a feel for how they think and operate as well as what is and is not possible. And make no mistake about it: The North Koreans will have decades of experience learning about the United States and talking to Americans. That's importa

'Behind The Scenes' At The Vatican: The Politics Of Picking A New Pope

John Thavis covered the Vatican from Rome for nearly 30 years while working for the Catholic News Service. In his new book, The Vatican Diaries, he describes a place much less organized and hierarchical than the public imagines.

Unusual Diego Rivera Work Restored in Mexico City

The Mexican muralist Diego Rivera painted in New York City, San Francisco, Detroit, Europe and the Soviet Union. But some of Rivera's most famous murals and most unusual projects are found in Mexico City. In Mexico City, Rivera did far more than just paint. He collected pre-Hispanic pottery and indigenous folk art. And he experimented with sculpture and architecture. And between 1950 and 1952, Rivera built a giant tiled fountain to the Aztec rain god Tlaloc as part of an overhaul of Mexico City's municipal water system. "It's a very special fountain. It's one of the most important sculptures that Diego Rivera did in his life," says Lilia Haua of Probosque Chapultepec, an organization that helped raise money to restore this work by Rivera. But the fountain and murals had fallen into disrepair and, until a year ago, were closed to the public for more than a decade. "The fountain was completely destroyed, so we tried to make it as nice as we can ... always respecting the style and what Diego Rivera did," Haua says. The fountain is basically a shallow pool more than a hundred feet long and a hundred feet wide. Originally, it served as the ceremonial entry point for water from the Lerma River into the city's main reservoirs. The main flow of water has now been diverted into a pipe, but in Rivera's sculpture, the rain god, Tlaloc, still lies on his back in the pool. "In the beginning, the water was coming through Tlaloc's face, under his mouth, and then the water was coming up to here to the Carcamo," Haua says. The Carcamo is a giant tank inside a rotunda that is part of the same complex. Until the 1990s, municipal water flowed into the tank, and from here technicians could control the levels in several large reservoirs. Rivera painted the entire cement tank, including the floor, in elaborate, colorful scenes. Water Damaged The Murals But the flow of water that covered much of the murals was destroying them, so now the water is no longer there; it's been diverted. To replace the sound of the missing stream, there's now a new and unexpected element — a pipe organ. It rumbles and changes tone based on the flow of water through the adjacent municipal pipes. Lilia Haua notes that Rivera viewed water as a social issue and an element essential to life. Pointing to the mural, she says, "On this side we can see a beautiful wall, a beautiful painting, and he's talking about the origin of life and the importance of the fertility. But everything is related with the importance of the water." Strong Presence More than a half-century after his death, Diego Rivera still has a strong presence throughout Mexico City. His best-known works include murals at the National Palace and the Palace of Fine Arts. These include a re-creation of his controversial "Man at the Crossroads" at Rockefeller Center, which Nelson Rockefeller ordered destroyed in 1934 after Rivera slipped in a portrait of the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin. Then there's a huge mural made of tiny bits of tile that stretches across the front of the Insurgentes Theater. Another one of his sculptures covers the entire front of the soccer stadium at the National Autonomous University. The Blue House of his wife Frida Kahlo is more famous and attracts far more visitors, but Rivera left behind two houses in the south of Mexico City. One is a stark modernist structure that was way ahead of its time in the 1920s. The other is a giant pyramid made of black volcanic rock. One critic referred to its style as Soviet/Aztec. Rivera's iconic murals still grace the walls not only of museums but also of schools, hospitals and government buildings. His chubby face has even turned up on the new 500 peso Mexican bank note. And now, with his project at the municipal pumping station restored, his work once again gazes over the water before it flows out into the Mexican capital.

Saturday Sports: Women's Soccer Team, Jay-Z

This week talks between U.S. Soccer and 28 female players broke down. Also, Jay-Z signed a deal with the NFL to be the league's "live music entertainment strategist."

Thanks To His Dad, Baby Ryan Covers AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck'

Matt MacMillan spent a year recording his son's coos and laughs. He painstakingly isolated them by pitch and stitched them together. The result is some serious competition for AC/DC.

Parents Fight For The Right To Sell Treats At School

Psssst. Hey, kid. You want some of the sweet stuff? You know, sugar, the Granulated Monkey? Anisa Romero, mom to a pre-kindergarten student in New York City, would definitely hook you up. She and her PTA crew recently brought a slew of pastries and goodies to City Hall for a bake sale — and protest. New York City parents are demanding the right to bake their cake and sell it, too, after the city's schools began enforcing a once-a-month limit on PTA bake sales during the school day. Student groups are prohibited altogether from selling home-baked items as fundraisers. Education officials say they want only approved, packaged snacks sold in the hallways because of health concerns. But parents argue that their homemade goodies are a more wholesome way to help fund school programs in the wake of painful budget cuts in the New York school system. Romero refers to her PTA posse as "Renegade Mommas" as she offers up a slice of vegan chocolate cake — just the kind of caloric temptation that gets New York school officials really frosted. What's particularly galling to parents is that city schools are permitted to sell junk food as long as it has a package and a label and meets certain guidelines. So parents and students can fundraise anytime they want with Cool Ranch Doritos or whole-grain Pop-Tarts or Quaker Oats granola bars. The packaged food just has to have fewer than 200 calories and not more than 35 percent fat. PTA parent Leanne O'Conner held up one of her banned chocolate chip cookies, which she says is made with "organic butter, brown sugar, eggs, flour, cinnamon and chocolate chips." By contrast, the label on a Linden's chocolate chip cookie — Department of Education-approved — lists flour, soybean oil, chocolate chips, maltodextrin and partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil. "I didn't put any [maltodextrin] in mine," she says. "There's no partially hydrogenated anything in mine." It's easy to make fun of the rules. Even the man who has to defend them seems reluctant to take on the Renegade Mommas. David Cantor, press secretary for the New York City Department of Education, stood quietly at the edge of the City Hall bake sale. "We have no way of knowing what nutritional content food brought from home has," Cantor says, noting that he recently saw a picture of a school bake sale featuring chocolate chip cookies with bacon. "We're trying to balance two things: the need to deal with the major child obesity epidemic — 40 percent of our kids [in New York schools] are obese or overweight — with the need to allow parents and kids to fundraise for their schools and extracurricular activities," he says. And as organic as some treats might be, they're still desserts. Romero admits that even though her chocolate cake is vegan, it isn't particularly healthful. "Yeah, yeah — it's full of calories," she says. "But I am all about my sweets. But I want them to be real sweets. Good, nutritious, homemade sweets." So in New York City, it has come down to this: industrial junk food vs. homemade junk food. But what are schools going to do? Pay for art supplies with broccoli and Brussels sprouts? RENEE MONTAGNE, host: And now from toxic assets to fattening ones. In New York City, parents are demanding the right to put on bake sales. In the interest of encouraging kids to eat better, New York schools have clamped down on cupcake-pushing PTAs, allowing only approved package snacks to be sold in the hallways. And that has parents insisting that they be allowed to bake their cake and sell it, too. NPR's Robert Smith reports. ROBERT SMITH: Psst. Hey, kid. You looking for some of the sweet stuff? You know, sugar, glucose, big white, sweet cane, the granulated monkey? I got a connection. Ms. ANISA ROMERO(ph): My name's Anisa Romero. My daughter's in pre-k in East Village Community School. SMITH: And this mom will definitely hook you up. Ms. ROMERO: I brought a vegan chocolate cake. SMITH: But Romero and her PTA crew are no longer lurking in the school yard to pedal these treats. Theyve brought their elicit pastries and their kids down to City Hall for a protest bake sale. Ms. ROMERO: Renegade mommas, I guess. Want a piece of chocolate cake? SMITH: Ah, thats how they get you. Next thing you know it's all Rice Krispie Treats and lemon bars. It's that caloric temptation thats worrying school officials her. They're now enforcing a once a month limit on PTA bake sales during the day. The problem, Romero says, is that the crackdown is coming, just as the PTA is trying to make up for painful budget cuts in the New York City school system. Ms. ROMERO: Our schools raise money for most of the programs like music and art, and that sort of thing. SMITH: But what is particularly galling to these parents, the thing that inspired dozens of them to haul their cupcakes down to City Hall, is that in New York City you are allowed to sell junk food in the schools - it just has to have a package and a label and meet certain guidelines. So

Egypt Begins Dangerous New Phase As Interim Leader Steps In

(Click here for updates.) With President Mohammed Morsi out of sight and reportedly in military custody, Egypt has begun yet another dangerous new phase in its fitful transition to democracy. The nation is under the temporary leadership of interim President Adly Mansour. He and the military leaders who pushed Morsi from power now face the likelihood that the ousted president's supporters will — as some promised they would if he was removed from office — fight back. Mansour, the 67-year-old chief justice of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court, was formally installed in his new role early Thursday. He has been placed in his new post by the country's military, which on Wednesday removed Morsi from office just one year after he became Egypt's democratically elected leader. The military says Mansour will serve only until new elections can be held. It has also suspended the nation's constitution. As we reported Wednesday, President Obama says the U.S. is "deeply concerned" about the Egyptian military's actions, and he called on Egypt's generals to "move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government." The coup came after several days of massive, sometimes violent, protests against Morsi's government. Millions of Egyptians took to the streets to express their anger over the country's deep economic problems and what they saw as the ineffectiveness of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood colleagues. It was an ironic fall for the president, who came to power in the wake of equally massive demonstrations in early 2011 that led to the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak's regime. As NPR's Greg Myre writes on the Parallels blog, the Arab Spring has become a roiling Arab Summer. On Morning Edition, NPR Cairo bureau chief Leila Fadel spoke with Heba Morayef, director of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch. "Morayef says a coup is a dangerous precedent to set," Leila reported. "Some Brotherhood supporters have resorted to violence across the country. As have opponents to the Brotherhood. And the country remains dangerously polarized as the political elite on both sides demonize the other, she says. Opponents to the Brotherhood refer to them as terrorists. Men have been dragged by their beards on the side of the road on suspicion of being in the Brotherhood, Morayef says, fearing that now the military is joining in." Arrest warrants have been issued for at least 300 Muslim Brotherhood leaders. Also on Morning Edition, NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson said the Egyptian military "has expressed great concern about keeping the peace and limiting the bloodshed" as Egyptians react to Wednesday's coup. "The fear is that if they don't ... go after these leaders, a resistance or a backlash will be organized." But, Soraya added, Muslim Brotherhood members say the hunt for their members is a "return to the enmity of the past," when there was a crackdown on the Islamist group by the Mubarak regime. "They are still out there" and taking their concerns to the streets, Soraya said of the Brotherhood's millions of members. "The question is, will they stay out there in large numbers" as the military clamps down? We'll be watching the news from Egypt in coming days. In the meantime, here's what some other news outlets are saying in their headlines: -- "Military Reasserts Its Allegiance To Its Privileges." (The New York Times) -- "Despondent Scenes At Pro-Morsi Rally." (Al-Jazeera) -- "The Cairo Question: 'Coup' Or Something Else?" (The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire) UPDATES 8:53 p.m. ET. Military Vows To Protect The Right Of Protest: Even as Egypt's military cracks down on the Muslim Brotherhood, it's vowing to protect the people's right to protest. Reuters reports: The Egyptian armed forces said on Thursday they would not take arbitrary measures against any political group and would guarantee the right to protest, as long as demonstrations did not threaten national security. The military posted a statement to Facebook, promising to avoid any "exceptional or arbitrary measures against any faction or political current." It continued: "Peaceful protest and freedom of expression are rights guaranteed to everyone, which Egyptians have earned as one of the most important gains of their glorious revolution." That promise might be put to the test in a few hours; the Muslim Brotherhood is calling for mass protests on Friday. 4:36 p.m. ET. Egypt Tells Kerry There Was No Military Coup: Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr says the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi was not a military coup, Reuters reports. Amr spoke with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and foreign ministers of other nations on Thursday, calling Morsi's removal "the overwhelming will of the people." Amr, who is serving as interim head of Egypt's foreign ministry, says the road map for new elections will also honor the people's will. "There is no role, no political role whatsoever, for the m

Opinion: As Florence Kills Pigs And Millions Of Chickens, We Must 'Open Our Hearts'

An amazing animal rescue video surfaced last week, in the wake of the floodwaters caused by Hurricane Florence. In Leland, N.C., six hunting dogs had been abandoned in chain-link kennels, unable to escape the rising waters. The dogs' body language tells the story: first their fear at their entrapment, then their joy when volunteer Ryan Nichols releases them. Rescues of pets from this storm grab our attention, too — for most people, these animals are members of our family. Far different is the situation in the state with pigs and chickens confined on industrialized farms called CAFOs, or concentrated animal feeding operations, which house thousands of animals in crowded, often filthy conditions. As Dan Charles reported for NPR last week about Hurricane Florence, "The full picture of damage to farms and the surrounding environment probably won't be known for weeks." But day by day, the picture is slowly coming into focus, and it's a horrifying one: confirmed deaths of 3.4 million chickens and 5,500 pigs, numbers that may yet rise. We need to look beyond the numbers, though, and the tendency to focus on just the agriculture industry's losses of "swine" and "broiler chickens." As I have written elsewhere, these pigs and chickens, just like the hunting dogs, are thinking and feeling beings. It's all too easy to imagine their terror as the floodwaters rose. No one came to their rescue, and they drowned. A team from We Animals, a photography project that documents animals in the human environment, has been on site in North Carolina. We Animals photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur wrote to me in an email: Access to the CAFOs is difficult. Many are inaccessible and they are private property. You can't just walk out, even in waders, because of the poisonous snakes whose dens have been flooded. People are trying to go out in small boats to see what they can see. Our filmmaker, Kelly Guerin, spent the day out on a boat filming the turkey, chicken and pig farms flooded to the roof with locked doors. In some places, bird bodies are floating all around the CAFOs. We'll just see more of this in the coming days, and then we'll be witnessing body disposal. We've read industry reports saying that "inventory" (chickens!) loss is likely minimal, but I don't see how that's possible with all this flooding and all these barns with hundreds of thousands of animals in them and locked doors. Beyond the floodwaters and locked doors, the situation is complicated by what an "animal rescue" could possibly mean in the context of these huge industrialized farms. Could some evacuation policy be put into place, so that when hurricanes are forecast, the animals could be sent to safety? McArthur answers that question succinctly: "There is nowhere for them to evacuate and keep millions of animals safe." In North Carolina alone, there are 9 million pigs; chickens number over 800 million. Just as animals suffer because of CAFOs, so do humans. The "lagoons" associated with CAFOs, full of pig waste and bacteria, are infamous. Hog farm neighbors say the stench is intolerable; the pork-processing giant Smithfield Foods has so far lost three lawsuits filed by North Carolinians over the environmental harms of pig waste. Does any ray of hope break through this bleak picture? I think so, because it's possible to turn this kind of recurrent devastation into an opportunity for positive change. We can pledge not to turn away from the plight of these animals — illustrated so powerfully here by McArthur's and Guerin's photographs — just as we don't turn away from trapped hunting dogs or our own pets in trouble. The first step is to open our hearts to what is happening. In this case, such a pledge means realizing that the drowned pigs and chickens would have died soon anyway, if not in floodwaters, then in the slaughterhouse. In other words, it's not just the storm deaths. The whole CAFO network and its entanglement with our food system is rotten. By far, most of the food animals consumed in America come from factory farms. As this piece in The Guardian says, "Avoiding meat and dairy products is the single biggest way to reduce your environmental impact on the planet, according to the scientists behind the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet." A central message I work to get across is that our food choices are more nuanced than just "keep on as a meat-eater" or "go vegan." So here's a personal note for everyone out there who isn't prepared to give up all meat, cheese, and dairy: Taking reducetarian steps makes a beautiful contribution, too. Week in and week out, if you choose fewer meat and animal products, you're doing something to help weaken the power of these CAFOs to hurt both animals and people. The sorrows of the breaking news in North Carolina can become a catalyst for all of us to do better. Barbara J. King is a biological anthropologist who wrote weekly for NPR's 13.7: Cosmos & Culture blog. Her most recent book

Consumer Confidence Dips

Consumer confidence fell this month, according to a widely watched index put together by The Conference Board, a business research group. It says its reading slipped to 63.4 from 72 in February, and that inflation fears and anxiety about what higher prices mean for personal income drove the decline. The February reading was a three-year high. Economists watch the index because consumers purchase about 70 percent of all the goods and services the nation produces. So, their mood is a key indicator of how strong demand will be in coming months.

The Artful Reinvention Of Klansman Asa Earl Carter

In the early 1990s, The Education of Little Tree became a publishing phenomenon. It told the story of an orphan growing up and learning the wisdom of his Native American ancestors, Cherokee Texan author Forrest Carter's purported autobiography. The book was originally published in 1976 to little fanfare and modest sales, but in the late 1980s, the University of New Mexico Press reissued it in paperback — and it exploded. By 1991, it reached the top of The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list. It was sold around the world, praised by Oprah Winfrey and made into a Hollywood film. The Education of Little Tree would go on to sell more than 1 million copies. But the book and its author were not what they seemed. Meet Asa Earl Carter Three decades earlier, in Alabama, Asa Earl Carter was a Ku Klux Klan organizer, a rabid segregationist and a talk show host who expounded on the dangers of integration. In 1963, he drafted an inaugural address for Alabama Gov. George Wallace that would become one of the most notorious speeches of the civil rights era. "In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth," Wallace said, "I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!" Wallace's words came from Carter's pen, but as the decade progressed, Carter turned against Wallace. According to Tom Turnipseed, Wallace's national campaign manager, Carter felt that Wallace had gone soft on the issue of segregation. By 1970, Turnipseed says, Carter's ideas had become "too extreme" and Wallace pushed him aside. Alabama reporter Wayne Greenhaw covered Wallace's 1971 inauguration. Before he died last year, Greenshaw said he found Carter behind the Capitol after his speech. "He started crying," Greenhaw said. "He said that Wallace had sold out to the liberals." Then Carter got up, turned around and bid Greenhaw farewell. "And that was the last time I ever saw Asa Carter," Greenhaw said. "It's like he just vanished, dropped off the face of the earth." Ron Taylor was a close friend of Asa Carter's. He remembers Carter calling him one day to say he was going away. "He just pulled up out of the Choccolocco Valley, tanned himself up, grew a mustache, lost about 20 pounds," Taylor says, "and became Forrest Carter." From Asa Earl To Forrest And then Forrest Carter became a novelist. Through the 1970s, he published four books: Gone to Texas (later made into the Clint Eastwood western The Outlaw Josey Wales), The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales, The Education of Little Tree and Watch for Me on the Mountain. Chuck and Betty Weeth were running a bookstore in Abilene, Texas, when, in 1975, Forrest Carter walked in and introduced himself. He was dressed in jeans and a cowboy hat, had a dark complexion and told the couple that he was Cherokee and had been raised by his grandparents in a Tennessee cabin. "I liked him from the start," Chuck Weeth says. That same year, author Forrest Carter appeared on The Today Show, where he was interviewed by Barbara Walters. "She'd ask him questions and he'd mumble these answers," Greenhaw said. "He said he wrangled horses and, when he was in Oklahoma, he was the storyteller to the Cherokee Nation." Ron Taylor says when he saw the interview, "I literally got down on the floor laughing. Asa's on TV! He had pulled it. He had fooled them." "I was bumfuzzled," Greenhaw said of his own reaction to the broadcast, so the reporter decided to look into what Forrest — or Asa — was up to. He started calling around, interviewing people who knew Asa and after a few days, Forrest Carter got in touch. Greenhaw said he had clear memories of the call: "He said, 'You don't want to hurt old Forrest, do you now?' And I said, 'Come off of it, Asa, I recognize that voice.' " In 1976, Greenhaw published a New York Times article drawing the connection between Asa and Forrest Carter. Readers Saw What They Wanted Historian and George Wallace biographer Dan Carter (no relation) is working on a book about Asa. He says fans of The Education of Little Tree should have known that it wasn't what it appeared to be. For one thing, the Cherokee words that Forrest Carter used in the memoir weren't Cherokee — they were just made up. "Most people who loved the book couldn't imagine that a former Klansman, racist, anti-Semite could have written The Education of Little Tree," Dan Carter says. But the genius of the book is that people took what they wanted out of it. "One way you look at it, it's a tree-hugger book," Taylor says. "But the other way, it's a right-wing, government-leave-me-alone book. That's how I took it." Almost four decades after they first met Forrest Carter, Chuck and Betty Weeth remain perplexed that the man they knew — the man they considered a friend — had a dramatically different past. "I didn't like Asa Carter," Chuck Weeth says, "but I did like Forrest Carter." Forrest Carter died in 1979 in Abilene. He was buried

In Exit Interview, Sen. Barbara Boxer Considers Path Forward For Democrats

NPR's Kelly McEvers talks to California Sen. Barbara Boxer, who is set to retire after three decades in Congress.

Children's Book Finds Hope In Haiti's Rubble

When a massive earthquake struck Haiti, killing more than 230,000 people, it was almost impossible for grown-ups to avoid the tragic headlines. Now, nine months later, Haitian-born author Edwidge Danticat has found a way to share the earthquake story with an audience that was largely shielded from it — children. Danticat has written a children's book about a 7-year-old boy named Junior who gets buried in the rubble of his Haitian home during the quake and is rescued eight days later. She tells NPR's Linda Wertheimer that she began writing the book, Eight Days: A Story of Haiti, in an effort to explain the ordeal to her 5-year-old daughter. "When the earthquake first happened, my 5-year-old ... kept asking us about her [Haitian grandmother]," Danticat says. "She eventually blurted out a question like, 'Is Grandma under her house?' " She says that because she and her husband were so wrapped up in and worried about their Haitian family members, they didn't get around to answering their daughter's questions until now. "I wrote this story to try to explain to her what had happened," Danticat says, "but also to find a kind of hopeful moment in it so it wasn't, at least to a child, all devastation." Danticat's book opens with Junior's rescue eight days after the earthquake, then goes on to describe what he did during his eight days in the rubble. He flies a kite with his best friend, Oscar, who was with him during the quake. He plays a game of marbles with neighborhood kids. But, of course, none of that actually happened. "It's a mix of imagination, but also memory, because one of the things I kept wondering about the children [was] what kept them still — because I have two small children and they don't stay very still very long," Danticat says. "I was wondering what resources they would pull on, and that's how I came to this use of imagination for Junior." Danticat says that while the book isn't intended for very young kids, it can be therapeutic for their older peers. "I've read it to some children in Haiti and what I've seen when I've read it to different children is that a conversation begins, and we start talking openly about sad things," Danticat says, "not only the earthquake, but other things that sadden children." She says she has found that there are a lot of Haitian children who can relate to the story of a little kid buried in darkness, not knowing if he'll be rescued. It's a sad story, and it gets even gloomier on Junior's fifth day in the rubble when he imagines playing soccer with his friends. After the game they all sit down to rest, but Oscar — Junior's best friend — is tired and goes to sleep. He never wakes up after that. "A lot of children were in that situation," Danticat says. "When I read it to this particular group of children in one of the camps, one of the little girls raised her hand and said, 'Come on, tell me straight: Did Oscar die or not?' And it's funny, especially in the midst of tragedy like this, children seeking directness and facing an adult that's trying to go around it. But for a lot of these children — even Haitian-American children who are removed from what happened — there's still the reality of lost loved ones and you can't pretend that it didn't happen." Danticat says the book isn't based on one real story so much as it is derived from many, including that of Danticat's cousin — who was lost in the rubble along with his 10-year-old son. Still, the author says that at its core, Eight Days is a hopeful story. Illustrated with the bright and colorful paintings of Alix Delinois, the book shows the countryside outside Port-au-Prince in the classic style of Haitian painting. It's a portrait of a pre-earthquake Haiti that's largely gone today — but that still survives in Haitian memory. "When you live outside of the place where you were born, there is a tendency to idealize it," Danticat says of the lost Haiti. "But what's great about memory, what's great about art," she says, "is that we can reinterpret and re-create and hopefully dream a better world."

Break Dance Contest Celebrates Hip-Hop Culture

<EM>Day to Day</EM> technology reporter Xeni Jardin reports on an urban dance contest in Los Angeles, where kids from a wide variety of backgrounds celebrate the roots of hip-hop culture.

What's The Meaning Of Life? Ask Protomartyr

Protomartyr doesn't make music for the casual listener. Over the course of four full-length albums, the Detroit-based band has produced a collection of lyrically dense, deeply philosophical (and usually very loud) songs that grapple with some of life's thorniest questions: What does it mean to be human? What is truth? What is the nature of good and evil? Protomartyr lead singer and lyricist Joe Casey is, to say the least, a seeker — an existential traveler in search of a higher state of consciousness and meaning in an often callous, senseless world. When you listen to Protomartyr's latest full-length, Relatives In Descent, it's not clear whether Casey is any closer to finding the answers. It's nearly impossible to catch all the literary, historical and pop cultural references he makes on a single track, let alone across the album. So to help make sense of it all, we asked the normally soft-spoken singer to share some of the stories and thoughts behind these powerful, but mostly pensive, songs, track by track. Casey reflects on the economic blight of his native Detroit, capitalism, the cruelty of others and the thoughts that keep him up at night. 1. "A Private Understanding" "[Guitarist] Greg [Ahee] had given me a demo of this song at the very beginning of thinking about the next record. Even in that form it sounded like it could be the opening salvo and he was thinking the same thing. After that agreement, we put it aside and it cleared up my anxiety knowing that it was lurking in the background somewhere. Any little inspiration or dumb bit of line I came up with got thrown in there at some point. Pretty early on I had, 'She's just trying to reach you,' but I didn't know who 'she' was or what she was trying to say. I'm still not one hundred percent certain. I also knew I wanted to start the album with an apology or a warning that whatever followed was maybe not completely true. Those two ideas were all I had — the one line and feeling I needed to cover my ass. "Reading The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton was a big inspiration. It was heartening to read that a guy in the 1700s was wrestling with the sadness of living and the inequities of the world. 'The more things change,' and all that. It's where I found out about Heraclitus, which gave me a roundabout way of singing about the Flint water crisis. I guess that part is about the unceasing wheel of tragedies and how the Flint story has receded from the headlines even though the man-made suffering remains. The Elvis story is from a biography by Peter Guralnick. Al Stewart also wrote a song about the same part in the book, which I didn't know about until recently. I guess that proves it was the most interesting part." 2. "Here Is The Thing" "So, since I know we're opening with 'A Private Understanding' as almost a worldwide proclamation about the dire state of things (with apocalyptic trumpets even), I figured this song could be a repeat of the same feeling but with a more personal, local take. Since our first record, No Passion All Technique, I've been talk-singing about Detroit, and a lot has changed in the city since then. It's an odd feeling to live in a city that's run by two or three billionaires while our country is being run by a 'billionaire.' I also wanted to point out that I felt like I had slept through how drastically things have changed here. I woke up and it seemed like everybody walking around town was an 'innovator' or a 'creative.' It all feels like something out of science-fiction and I wanted a little bit of that feeling in the song. Whether it's good or bad, I don't know. "This song was written pretty fast. The fellas seem to have found a very strange 'groove.' I'm worried I might need to dance during the solo/breakdown or whatever you call it. That has me worried. The 'Thing' in the song is unfettered capitalism at the expense of humanity." 3. "My Children" "I had this title kicking around for a bit. I bet at first I had the idea of writing a song about being childless and getting older. Having children was something I was so sure was going to happen when I was younger and now that I'm on the other side of 40 and in a bizarre profession with no financial security, it's looking less and less like a certainty. It got me thinking about legacy and what we leave behind: offspring, stone monuments, genetics, weird songs that are about only leaving behind weird songs and a couple of t-shirts. I was watching a documentary about David Bowie after he died, so that's why 'don't lean on me, man' is in there. "The bit about 'spewing forth in the drive-thru' came from waiting in a Tim Horton's drive-thru on the way to my brother's house. The guy in the pick-up truck in front of me was chewing out the cashier – pointing fingers, dropping f-bombs, the whole peeling out thing. I don't usually like to small-talk the put-upon saints at Tim Horton's, but I had to ask them what the deal was. They said he came by at least once a week and did that every

Senate Holds Hearing on Civil Rights Enforcement

Criticism of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division came to a head Thursday when the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the division's activities.

More Latinos Read All About It In English

A growing share of Latinos in the U.S. are getting their news in English. New survey results released Tuesday by the Pew Hispanic Center show that 82 percent of Latino adults, up from 78 percent in 2006, use some form of English-language news media. At the same time, fewer Latino adults — now at 68 percent, down from 78 percent in 2006 — are consuming news from Spanish-language TV, print, radio and online outlets. The trends, researchers say, are the result of changing demographics within the Latino community. The Pew report attributes the shift to four demographic trends: Immigration has been on the decline. Fifty-one percent of Latino adults today are foreign-born. That's down from 55 percent in 2006. Latino immigrants on average have spent two decades in the U.S. That's up from an average of 16 years in 2000. A growing majority of Latinos, now at 59 percent, speak English well. That's up from 54 percent in 2006. More young American-born, English-speaking Latinos are entering adulthood as news consumers at a rate of about 800,000 per year. Almost a third of Latinos get their news in English only. That's up from 22 percent in 2006. The share of Spanish-only news consumers is down to 18 percent. (You can get more into the numbers in the full report.) For Spanish-language media, though, it's not all bad news. The report points out that while there is a lower share of Latinos consuming Spanish-language media, there are now a record number of Latinos, 35 million, who speak Spanish at home.

In A Crisis, A Family's Faith Is Rewarded

Lillian Howell lived through the 1929 stock market collapse, which happened 79 years ago this week. Howell, who was 10 at the time, recalls the desperate move her family made to survive after her father was laid off. Howell's father, Charlie Hannabass, worked at the Kroger grocery in downtown Cincinnati. When the Great Depression cost him his job, "we didn't know what we were going to do," Howell said. So the family made a tough decision: to pull up stakes and move to Virginia, where they had relatives who, they hoped, could help. To pay for the move, they sold their few household possessions — everything except an ivory dresser set that Howell says was her mother's prized possession. The family used the money from the sale to buy a Ford Model T, and then set out for Bedford County, Va. Many roads back then were unpaved and unreliable — and filling stations and motels could be hard to come by. The Howells ran into other problems, too. "Somewhere along the way, we were out of money," Howell said. The family found a grocery store that also sold gas for 10 cents a gallon. It was then, Howell said, that her father remembered the dresser set. "There's nothing to do but to pawn it," she recalled her father saying. "We've got to have the money; we've got to have food; we've got to have gas." "My mother," Howell said, "she reluctantly gave up her prize." When the family stopped to rest on the last night of the trip, they slept on the road. "It was cold, and the wildcats were just howling," Howell said. She recalled being frightened, but her father told them all not to worry. "As long as I keep this fire going, they're going to stay on that side of the river," he said. "We're going to stay on this side of the river." The next day, the family arrived at the home of Howell's aunt. "We were so welcome," Howell said. "It felt so good to have somebody that cared about you, that seemed to want you, who loved you." And her hosts shared what they had — including, Howell recalled, a warm soft bed. It was a welcome change to the days and nights spent on the road. "That bed felt so good," she said, "that I just felt wonderfully warm and secure." Produced for Morning Edition by Nadia Reiman. The senior producer for StoryCorps is Michael Garofalo. STEVE INSKEEP, host: It is Friday morning, which is the time we hear from StoryCorps. This project is recording the stories of everyday Americans like Lillian Howell, who lived through the 1929 stock market collapse, which happened 79 years ago this week. Lillian Howell was 10 years old at the time, and she recalls how her family's life changed in the weeks that followed. Ms. LILLIAN HOWELL: My father worked at Kroger's in central downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. He got laid off and we didn't know what we were going to do. We came up with this idea to come back to Virginia to live with some family and we sold what household things we had, which was very few, but we took the one prized possession that my mother had, an ivory dresser set. And it was a three-day trip in that Model T Ford my dad purchased with all the money he could get together. There were no filling stations, there were no motels. Many of the roads weren't even paved. Sometimes the curves were so bad Dad was afraid he'd run off the road, that he'd have us get out of the car and walk. Somewhere along the way, we were out of money. We found this grocery store and it had gas, it was only 10 cents a gallon. My dad remembered that dresser set and he said there's nothing to do but to pawn it. We've got to have the money, we've got to have food, we got to have gas. And my mother, she reluctantly gave up her prize. And our last night we slept on the road and it was cold, and the wildcats were just howling. And I was so frightened, and Dad built a fire, and he says as long as I keep this fire going they're going to stay on that side of the river. We're going to stay on this side of the river. And the next day, we arrived at my mother's sister's. The thing that I remembered most was when we got to Aunt Mamie's, we were so welcome. It felt so good to have somebody that cared about you, that seemed to want you, who loved you, but most of all that people shared what they had. They gave us a bed, and after being in that car and sleeping out on the road, that bed felt so good that I - I just felt wonderfully warm and secure. And it was just the way that people gave to each other that helped us through the toughest times. INSKEEP: That's 89-year-old Lillian Howell, at StoryCorps in Roanoke, Virginia. Her interview will be archived at the Library of Congress. And you can find more stories from the project in the StoryCorps book "Listening is an Act of Love," which is now in paperback and also at npr.org.

Recordings Reveal That Baby Humpback Whales 'Whisper' To Their Mothers

Baby humpback whales seem to whisper to their mothers, according to scientists who have captured the infant whales' quiet grunts and squeaks. The recordings, described in the journal Functional Ecology, are the first ever made with devices attached directly to the calves. "When they're born, these whales are around 5 meters long," says Simone Videsen at Aarhus University in Denmark, who notes that this is "pretty big considering it's a baby." Calves must travel with their mothers for thousands of miles during an annual migration to the food-rich waters of the Antarctic. Exactly what happens during that period is a mystery. "These early life stages of wild whales are so elusive because they're an aquatic animal," Videsen explains. "We can't follow them around all the time to see what they're doing." However, she and some colleagues recently were able to track eight baby whales, using special sound and movement recorders. These recorders had suction cups that let the researchers just stick them onto the babies' skin. "It can stay there for about a day and then it falls off," Videsen says. The researchers weren't sure exactly what they'd hear when they retrieved the devices and played the audio. It turns out that the babbling of baby whales is very different than the haunting, eerie songs sung by adult male humpbacks. "It's like a squeaky sound, and some of them are really like grunting sounds," Videsen says. What's more, the sounds are very quiet — like the baby humpback is whispering so that it won't get overheard by something dangerous lurking nearby. "There are lots of killer whales in the area which are predating on these calves," says Videsen, "and they can use these sounds between mother and calf as like homing cues." So why do the calves say anything at all? The researchers found that baby whales mostly whisper when they're swimming, rather than when they're resting or nursing, so it may be that these intimate sounds help mothers keep track of their young in murky waters.

A Talk with the Author of 'Eragon'

Christopher Paolini, author of the Eragon series, discusses the film adaptation now showing in movie theaters across the country. Guest: Christopher Paolini, 22-year-old author of the Eragon series NEAL CONAN, host: This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. At the end of last year we spoke with Christopher Paolini. He's the 23-year-old author of a fantasy series. Since we last spoke with him, his first book, written when he was just 15, has been released as a major motion picture starring John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons. (Soundbite of movie “Eragon”) Unidentified Man (Actor): I didn't ask for any of this. Mr. JEREMY IRONS (Actor): (as Brom) But you were chosen nevertheless. A dragon will only hatch if it feels the presence of its rider. CONAN: “Eragon” was released two weeks ago, and now as part of our series following up with people we spoke to over the past year, we're joined by Christopher Paolini. He joins us by phone from Bozeman, Montana. Nice to have you on the program. Happy New Year. Mr. CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI (Author, “Eragon”): Happy New Year to you as well and thank you for having me. CONAN: And it must've been a pretty amazing year. Mr. PAOLINI: It's certainly been one of the most strange and exciting experiences I've had these past 12 months. CONAN: It must be remarkable to see something you have imagined come to life. Mr. PAOLINI: It is. The first time I saw the movie and I was hearing some of the actors, you know, say lines that come from the book or similar lines from the book it sent chills right down my spine. CONAN: Yeah, must have been goosebump city. Mr. PAOLINI: It was. And in a way it was sort of the culmination of the journey that began when I first started writing “Eragon.” Because I had imagined “Eragon” has a movie when I started it, and now to finally see it on the silver screen, you know, quite exciting. CONAN: Did you imagine everybody with English accents? (Soundbite of laughter) Mr. PAOLINI: Well, not exactly. But to be honest, I think it works. Because doing a fantasy movie with American accents for some reason just doesn't sound right. CONAN: Really? In any case, you got Jeremy Irons, John - you got some pretty great actors. Mr. PAOLINI: I know, I know. And I think Jeremy Irons did a great job in the movie, as did the young man, Ed Speleers, who plays Eragon. I mean obviously the movie represents the filmmaker's vision of the story. But all the same it was very exciting to see it. CONAN: Were you involved in the production at all? Did you monitor it as it proceeded? Mr. PAOLINI: Unfortunately, I was on a book tour while they were filming so I didn't get to visit the set. And, you know, I didn't write the screenplay or anything. But the fact that, you know, a movie got made at all is I find pretty amazing. CONAN: Did you like it? (Soundbite of laughter) Mr. PAOLINI: You know, I'm too close to the movie to be able to tell you one way or the other. Watching it was overwhelming, really overwhelming. Like I said, I think the lead actor did a really good job. And my hope is that people who enjoyed the books will enjoy the movie and vice versa. CONAN: Well, as you know as well as anybody else, if the movie does well enough there might be sequels. And funnily enough, there are books ready to go. Mr. PAOLINI: That's right. It's a trilogy. I know the movie is doing very well overseas at the moment, so we'll have to see how that goes eventually. I got to go to the premiere at London a few weeks ago and that was certainly one of the most strange - I know I keep using that word but it's the only word that applies - strange and amazing experiences. And, you know, got to shake the actors' hands and say thank you for doing such a good job in the movie and all that. CONAN: And you were on the red carpet - were people screaming and shouting your name? Mr. PAOLINI: When I stepped out of the car onto the red carpet, the only thing I could think of was somehow I must have slipped into a “Twilight Zone” episode. But, no, it was great. The fans were great, the actors were all very, very polite and very nice. And, you know, if all goes well there will be maybe a second or third movie. CONAN: You're now at the advanced age of, what, 23. This is something you wrote when you were 15. Do you cringe at some of the things you said back then? Mr. PAOLINI: Well, I'd like to think that I've certainly, you know, learned a little bit more about writing since then. So, sure, there are things that when I look at “Eragon,” I say, oh I could have done this, I could have done that. But, you know, I'm proud of the book and I think that my second books is better, and hopefully the third book will be the best of the lot. And the third book will done as soon as I can finish it. CONAN: I see. To answer questions. Anyway, we do have a caller on the line. This is Samuel with us from Antrim in New Hampshire. SAMUEL (Caller): Hi. CONAN: Hi, Samuel. SAMUEL: I was wondering

Fake News: An Origin Story

Fake news may seem new, but in reality, it's as old as American journalism. This week, we look at a tension at the heart of news coverage: Should reporters think of the audience as consumers, or as citizens? Should the media give people what they want, or what they need? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Mix: Julien Baker, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, BONZIE And More

I start this week's show with a new song Julien Baker recorded with her boygenius band mates and friends, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers. It's called "Favor." Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is back with a batch of great songs, and for one of those tracks, frontman Alec Ounsworth looks back and tries to come to terms with the discomforts of his early days in the band. The song is called "CYHSY 2005." BONZIE looks at the idea of the current moment we're in as a time to reset ourselves. Her album, Reincarnation, feels like a relatively upbeat view of our current lockdown. There are also excellent harmonies from The Sea The Sea and a song inspired by a move from the woods to the city — and imagining the stories we all carry with us as we stroll the streets. Eve Adams has a stark song about the afterlife, written after a personal tragedy; and the New York band Suss takes us on a sonic adventure with the group's "pastoral psychedelicism." 1. Julien Baker: "Favor," from Little Oblivions 2. BONZIE: "Caves," from Reincarnation 3. The Sea The Sea: "Stumbling Home," from Stumbling Home 4. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: "CYHSY 2005," from New Fragility 5. Eve Adams: "Blues Look The Same," from Metal Bird 6. Suss: "Drift," from Promise

'Dough' Tells Story of a Bakery with a Secret

For anyone who lives paycheck to paycheck, Mort Zachter's story might seem like dream come true: In 1994, a banker called Zachter's home and asked him if he'd like to take control of his Uncle Harry's million-dollar money-market account. It turned out that two of his uncles had quietly amassed about $6 million, scattered in separate accounts. Zachter's windfall let him pursue his dream of writing. His new book Dough: A Memoir, is the culmination of that dream. It's also a story of daily life at the family's bakery from the 1940s through the '60s and a snapshot of immigrant life in New York. After his windfall, Zachter delved into his family's secrets. He never found out why his uncle sat on his wealth rather than helping the family, but he realized that his uncles — like other children of immigrants who had survived the Depression — had a complicated relationship with money. His uncles Harry and Joe drafted most of the family to work at bakery, which sold bread they bought wholesale from other city bakeries. Zachter's mother — his uncles' sister — gave up her dream of teaching to work at the bakery. Her payment was leftover bread at the end of the workday. Zachter's father pitched in after his regular hours as an insurance claims examiner. Zachter grew up sleeping in the dinette of his parents' one-bedroom apartment, with his head next to the refrigerator. Though Zachter's uncles weren't generous with their own family, they were magnanimous with their patrons. They helped pay their patrons' bills and they would often change the price of bread depending on what they knew customers could afford. Though Zachter could be bitter about his family's years of scrimping and financial secrets,Dough shows affection for his quirky uncles and his close-knit family as they run a beloved family business. Jacki Lyden visited Zachter at the bakery in New York, which is now under new ownership. Awakening 1994 I'm opposed to millionaires, but it would be a mistake to offer me the position. — Mark Twain On a sweltering August afternoon, the clatter of jackhammers blasted through the open dinette window. I sat in the hallway next to the only phone in my parents' Brooklyn tenement. Their apartment had no air conditioning — never did, never would — and my backside stuck to the vinyl seat cover of the telephone chair. The black rotary phone rang. I looked down at the dusty piece of history and imagined Alexander Graham Bell calling from the great beyond. I picked up the receiver, which felt heavier than I remembered. "Hello." "Hi, Mr. Zachter, it's Bruce Geary." The voice was old but quite lively. Mr. Geary sounded Irish, but I had no idea who he was. "Yes." I was Mr. Zachter, just not the Mr. Zachter he thought he was talking to. "There is a million dollars in the money-market account. I suggest you buy a million dollars worth of treasuries to maximize the return." I was hearing things. No one in my family had that kind of dough. The heat had gotten to me. It must be a misunderstanding. A practical joke. I stared at the river of stains running down the walls from the ceiling. When I had lived here as a child, sleeping in the dinette with my head next to the Frigidaire, the upstairs apartment bathroom had leaked. Some things never change. But some do. "Hello, Mr. Zachter, are you there?" "Yes. This is Mort Zachter. My dad is in the hospital. He had surgery for colon cancer and won't be home for a while. Who are you?" "I'm your uncle's stockbroker, known him forty years. I've been working with your father recently." At that moment, Uncle Harry, who had moved in with my parents two years before due to his dementia, sat in the living room, slowly sinking into an upholstered chair with broken springs, his feet resting on a well-worn patch of carpet. His uncombed hair was more yellow than gray, his face paper white; his eyeglasses rested on the tip of his nose, but his eyes were vacant. He needed a shave. "Mr. Geary, did I understand you correctly? Did you say my uncle has a brokerage account with a million dollars in the money-market fund?" "Yes." I let that settle in for a minute. I didn't know how to respond. Growing up I had felt poor—not a homeless, hungry, dressed-in-rags poor, but a never-discussed sense that we simply couldn't afford better. Not better than our one-bedroom apartment, not better than vacations in Art Deco dives on Miami's Collins Avenue only in the summer, and not better than view-obstructed seats behind a pole at the old Yankee Stadium. At thirty-six, I knew lives of not-better-than plus a million dollars didn't add up. Mr. Geary broke the silence. "Would you like me to send you the papers to get signed giving you power of attorney over the account?" That was a loaded question if ever I heard one. Would I like financial control over an account with a million dollars? "Yes, Mr. Geary, you could mail us those papers." Mr. Geary assured me he would mail the papers out that day. I hung up and staggered to th

Mexico: Church V. State

NPR's David Welna reports from Mexico City that historical tensions between the Catholic Church and the Mexican government have flared anew in the wake of a homily by the archbishop of Mexico City in which he asserted the church's right to speak out against government corruption and human right's abuses.

Singer Faith Evans Talks Christmas Hip-Hop

Ed Gordon talks with R&B singer Faith Evans about her new holiday album <em>A Faithful Christmas</em> and life after the murder of rapper Biggie Smalls, aka Notorious B.I.G.

Mining Town Braces for a Toxic Deluge

It could be a very muddy day at the trailer park in Leadville, Colo., if a mine drainage tunnel gives way. Lake County Commissioner Carl Schaefer explains why he has declared a state of emergency.

Foreign Policy: Technology Revolution Spells Danger

David Rothkopf is a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and President and CEO of Garten Rothkopf. It can be argued that one of the several ways in which most states have lost power during the past several decades is associated with the declining inclination and ability of most to go to war. Hard as this may be to accept in a world in which wars dominate the headlines, it is a fact and it has several origins. First, fewer than 20 countries really possess the power to project force beyond their borders in any meaningful way. Further, only about a dozen have nuclear capability, and fewer still have any long-distance missile capability. And only one really has the capability to wage global war from space, land, sea, and air. (And that one seems stretched waging two regional conflicts in the Middle East.) Further the costs associated with modern warfare are too high. The 20th Century delivered this message in devastatingly clear human terms and the economic costs were also proven to be immense. War went from being an all too regularly used form of diplomacy by other means to being madness. Major powers were forced not by goodness but by a rational calculus to find other ways to resolve disputes. Not always...but with greater regularity than in the past. To take just one example, Europe, once addicted to war, effectively swore off the continental conflicts that defined its history. For the most part, war became an affliction of failed or failing states or a very regionalized phenomenon. The big powers for the most part took on much weaker adversaries or engaged in proxy conflicts. And even those engagements have grown intolerably costly as advanced technologies were demonstrated to combine well with unconventional tactics on the part of weaker states engaging stronger ones. While risks still abound, long term trends have been encouraging...Until now. Take three news stories from the past week. The first is the piece in Monday's Times indicating that U.S. commanders are contemplating increasing drone attacks in Pakistan due to concerns about inaction by the Pakistani military. The second concerns reports of a computer worm targeting the Iranian nuclear program. And the last is associated with the statement by Hugo Chavez that Venezuela, though sitting on an ocean of oil, needed to seriously explore "peaceful" nuclear technologies. The first two are worrisome because they are harbingers of an era in which bloodless, tech-empowered over-the-horizon projections of force might become more effective and pervasive. The implication might well be that advanced powers would feel enabled to once again "rationally" project force. During the first phases of the industrial era, technology raised the costs of war to prohibitive highs. That, perversely, had a stabilizing effect. But now it may well be that the next generation of technologies have ... at least temporarily while distribution of technologies or tech advantages are unequally distributed ...a countervailing impact in the opposite direction. The Chavez statement is worrisome for related reasons. First, it underscores that no one maintains a monopoly on any technology for long and sooner or later all technologies effectively become ubiquitous. Also, it hints that at some point the rational reasons for avoiding nuclear conflict won't adhere as nuclear capabilities fall into the hands of more irrational actors. Certainly risks rise. Finally, for the near to medium term, should "bloodless" white collar conflict be seen as the option of only advanced countries and a means by which they can impose their will on the unsettled regions of the emerging world...with very bloody consequences there...not only resentments grow but the poorer nations may feel legitimate in cultivating deterrents of a slightly older but still potent technological vintage. And it is worth considering that a WMD equipped terrorist is a particularly dangerous form of "medium" tech over-the-horizon option. Which leaves me wondering if the technology revolution that has kept us comparatively safer for a while may now be ushering in a more dangerous world.

After Tough 2012, Conservative Koch Brothers Regroup

The network of political groups headed by conservative industrialists David and Charles Koch spent millions of undisclosed dollars in last year's elections. Now, after failing to help Republicans win the White House or the Senate, the Koch brothers are re-examining the network, its goals and strategies. The Koch brothers rank among the most influential money men in conservative circles. Twice a year, they convene other wealthy conservatives to strategize and pledge money. They've also built a network of cause-oriented organizations over the years, ranging from the libertarian think tank Cato Institute to the not-quite-political organization Americans for Prosperity. But last fall, despite a carefully coordinated campaign to thwart Obama's re-election bid through advertising, organizing rallies and outreach, their efforts failed. And they could be drawn into an investigation in California that threatens to pierce the veil of secrecy of donors behind $11 million in secret contributions. The $11 million went to an obscure California-based political committee, the Small Business Action Committee PAC, which was advertising on two ballot questions there. It caught the attention of the state Fair Political Practices Commission. "We are bound by our statute, the Political Reform Act, to require disclosure in campaigns, and that is exactly what we're doing," says Ann Ravel, the commission's chairwoman. It turned out the money had moved quickly along a chain of tax-exempt, so-called social-welfare groups from Virginia to Arizona to California. One group was the Center to Protect Patient Rights, which is run by a political strategist, Sean Noble, with long-standing ties to the Kochs. Pass-throughs like this are common among politically active social welfare groups, and under IRS rules, social welfare groups keep their donors secret. But California law is tougher than federal law. Disclosure of campaign contributions means saying where the money originated; anything less is considered money laundering. Ravel says the commission hopes for results by mid-year. "We still don't know who the actual donors are to the patient rights organization or to the others." Noble didn't respond to an NPR query. Koch Industries has said the Kochs were not involved, directly or indirectly, in the ballot initiative battles. A company spokeswoman said they would not respond to questions for this story. As the California probe continues, the Koch brothers postponed their winter money-and-strategy gathering. They cited the need to rethink goals and strategies. The conference is now set for April. "The only way the long term actually is successful is if you measure yourself and evaluate yourself, year in, year out. So we've done that after '12, just like we do it every year," says Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity. AFP ran more than 51,000 ads in the presidential campaign, almost all of them attacking Obama. But Phillips says the real action was in ground organizing, where they couldn't match the Obama campaign. "It's maybe not sexy. It takes a lot of time, but we have seen — ruefully so — what happens when you don't have a ground game," Phillips says. Most of AFP's field staff was laid off after the election. Not because AFP was playing partisan politics, Phillips says; that would violate tax laws. He says it just makes sense to get out and talk issues with voters when they are paying attention. In this political off-season, two new Koch groups are ramping up. The Association for American Innovation is set up as a business league. There are indications it will promote free-market bills in state legislatures, much as the American Legislative Exchange Council does now. American Commitment, another social welfare group, aims to carve out a messaging niche in between think tanks like the Cato Institute, where Koch allies sit on the board, and front-line groups like AFP. "What we're trying to do is take kind of the best research and analysis, and get it into a form that's more appropriate to a mass audience, things like columns and talking points, blog posts, op-eds," says Phil Kerpen, head of American Commitment. Kerpen says it makes sense that the Koch brothers would re-examine the 2012 game plan. He says any good businessmen would look at what was spent and what they got for it. Next time, the Koch brothers intend to get more. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: These months following the 2012 election have been a time of assessment for a group that spent millions of undisclosed dollars on the campaign. The conservative industrialists David and Charles Koch funded a network of advocacy groups. For all their spending, the results were grim. So as NPR's Peter Overby reports, changes are coming. PETER OVERBY, BYLINE: The Koch brothers rank among the top money men in politics. They convene other wealthy conservatives twice a year to strategize and pledge money. And they've launched a network of groups ranging from the libertarian think tank CA

With Sights On Roe v. Wade, Anti-Abortion Lawmakers Invite Legal Challenges

Iowa's governor has signed a new law that bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat has been detected. The law's supporters expect a challenge in the courts.

Workers At Garment Factories In Bangladesh Face Harsh Conditions During The Pandemic

Bangladesh has extended its coronavirus lockdown — except for the garment factories. But with global brands canceling orders, workers face pay cuts, hunger and little to no social distancing.

World Cafe's Fall Music Fling Playlist

We here at the World Cafe spend fall in Philadelphia — but wherever you're experiencing the season, we've got an all-autumnal playlist for you. With music by Hall & Oates, Nick Drake, Eva Cassidy, Ella Fitzgerald and even the Edgar Winter Group, these are tunes for putting an extra blanket on your bed. Enjoy a fall fling Spotify playlist below.

Car Talk 0843 October 25, 2008

A family tries to turn their Dad's beloved car into a shrine. Also, a Miata owner considers looking a gift Camry in the mouth, a Plymouth van starts percolating, and why shakes, rattles, and rolls are what Jeep ownership's all about. Plus, a new Puzzler, and some new models that may be coming to a Chryotors dealership near you.

'Morning Edition' Returns: Swivel Rifle

Starting next week, the Israeli Army will start using a new rifle that uses a swivel, a mini-camera and a zoom lens to let users shoot at targets that are around the corner.

Communities Debate Whether Sharing Services Saves Money

Money-strapped municipalities are increasingly sharing services with neighboring governments. Advocates say consolidating police, fire and other departments protect them from budget cuts. Critics worry about emergency response capabilities and wonder if the savings are really there.

Tales Of City Transit To Read While You Wait For The Bus

Who needs destinations? This summer, we're focusing on the journey. All these books — some old, some new — will transport you: by train, plane, car, bike, boat, foot, city transit, horse, balloon, rocket ship, time machine and even the odd giant peach. Bon voyage! (Taxes and fees not included).

Trump Says It's Not His Job To Correct Anti-Muslim Commenter

Correspondent Mara Liasson tells NPR's Linda Wertheimer about Donald Trump's defense of his decision not to challenge a supporter who claimed President Obama is a Muslim and not an American.

Possible Source for Nabokov's 'Lolita'

Professor Michael Maar has unearthed an obscure 1916 short story published in German called "Lolita." It tells of a middle-aged man's fixation with a young girl. Scholars are now left to debate what it might mean if Vladimir Nabokov -- author of the later novel <EM>Lolita</EM> -- knew of the story. NPR's Liane Hansen talks with Maar.

Congress Relief Bill, COVID-19 Latest, Portland Protests

Lawmakers are back on the hill negotiating the next trillion dollar relief package for the struggling economy. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases surge in 40 states. Finally, an update on the clash between protesters and police in Portland, Oregon.

Father-Daughter Podcast: 'You Must Know Everything'

Even before his daughter Rasa was born, Jeremy Smith says he couldn't wait to teach her important life lessons. A decade later, Jeremy admits he has a lot to learn from his daughter

The Best Opening Tracks Ever?

What's the best opening track ever? We asked and listeners responded with roughly 800 picks, posted on our blog and via Twitter. On this edition of All Songs Considered, we gathered a crew to play the best songs that kick off albums. These are often game-changers, from Frank Sinatra to Gang of Four. Join host Bob Boilen as he chats with Tom Moon, author of 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, and Monitor Mix blogger Carrie Brownstein as they look at what an opening track can mean.

How Texas's Power Grid Failed

Texas is the biggest energy producing state in the U.S. But this week’s frigid weather crashed the system. So what happened? We look into the state&#8217;s vulnerable power grid and how we make it better. Guests Yasmine Smith, justice and advocacy director for the Austin Urban League. (@AAULTX) Joshua Rhodes, research associate at the University of Texas at Austin. (@joshdr83) Emily Grubert, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. (@emilygrubert) From The Reading List Texas Tribune: &#8220;Texas was &#8220;seconds and minutes&#8221; away from catastrophic monthslong blackouts, officials say&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;Texas’ power grid was &#8216;seconds and minutes&#8217; away from a catastrophic failure that could have left Texans in the dark for months, officials with the entity that operates the grid said Thursday.&#8221; New York Times: &#8220;A Plan to Future-Proof the Texas Power Grid&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;As the power crisis in Texas stretches into its fifth day, the blame game is well underway.&#8221; The Hill: &#8220;Cruz says &#8216;it was a mistake&#8217; to go to Cancun amid Texas arctic blast&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on Thursday that “it was a mistake” to go to Cancun while many Texan households were without power in the midst of freezing winter storms.&#8221; Texas Tribune: &#8220;&#8216;What happened is completely unacceptable&#8217;: Gov. Greg Abbott calls for winterization of Texas energy system&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday blasted the nonprofit operator of Texas’ energy grid for its handling of this week’s winter storm and called on the Legislature to consider updates to the state’s power plants to avoid future widespread power outages.&#8221; Associated Press: &#8220;Some electricity restored in Texas, but water woes grow&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;Power was restored to more homes and businesses Thursday in states hit by a deadly blast of winter that overwhelmed the electrical grid and left millions shivering in the cold this week. But the crisis was far from over in parts of the South, where many people still lacked safe drinking water.&#8221; Quartz: &#8220;Were the Texas blackouts inevitable?&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;Rolling blackouts that left millions in Texas without power this week were the result of a perfect storm—and not just the one that sent temperatures into the single digits.&#8221; Houston Chronicle: &#8220;Perry says Texans willing to suffer blackouts to keep feds out of power market&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;Former Texas governor Rick Perry suggests that going days without power is a sacrifice Texans should be willing to make if it means keeping federal regulators out of the state’s power grid.&#8221; This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: The Oscars, 'Drag Race' And Shut-Ins Edition

When we taped this show on Tuesday, we had all had quite a lot of the Oscars, to be honest. And we secretly suspect that with the all-out pile-on that continues for months before the ceremony, you might not require an all-out assault on the whole thing. So this week, you'll hear a quick wrap-up of how we felt about the hosting, some of the speeches, some of the great moments of Adele Nazeem-ing it up, and then we'll bid the entire thing farewell until next year. Next year, Oscars. Far more fascinating to us was our exploration of RuPaul's Drag Race, which just recently kicked off its sixth season. Both a reality-competition show and a send-up of reality-competition shows, Drag Race got us talking about identity, turning up the volume, the aesthetics of a very specific part of culture, and, of course, proper pronoun use. And then, with a shout-out to a great friend of the show who's spending some time at home, we take a look at some of the culture and cultural ideas you can take full advantage of when you're not quite such a social butterfly. I suggest a new look at an old format and a good show about to get a new lease on life. Trey has a couple of suggestions for keeping yourself productive and crafty, Stephen suggests new media and clutter clearing, and Glen offers one good book and then another. As always, we wrap up the show with what's making us happy this week. It's the time of year when Stephen is happy about one of his most loved and most draining projects (aside from the kids). Trey is happy about an essay that might make you think differently about a very popular actress with a very engaging personality. Glen is happy about a comedy project starring one of his favorite inhabitors of multiple identities. And I'm happy about a new project from one of the many fine interns we've sent into the world, as well as about some blistering reviews of a very bad television show. You can find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter: Stephen, Glen, Trey, me, producer Jessica, also-producers Lauren and Nick, and our lifelong pal and music director Mike Katzif.

Police Make Arrests In UConn Football Player's Death

University of Connecticut Police announced on Wednesday several arrests in the stabbing death of student Jasper "Jazz" Howard, a senior cornerback on the school's football team. The police said they arrested John W. Lomax III, 21, of Bloomfield, Conn. on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault. Lomax was being held on the $2 million bail. Two other individuals were also arrested. Hakim Muhammad, 20, also of Bloomfield, was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree assault. Jamal Todd, 21, of Hartford, Conn., was arrested on charges of pulling a fire alarm during a campus party in the student union. Jasper was involved in an altercation after the fire-alarm was pulled and that's when the fatal stabbing occurred. Jasper died soon after the stabbing. His death attracted national attention, coming as it did after a Connecticut victory over Louisville in which a big defensive play by Howard contributed to the outcome. His funeral was held yesterday in Miami with more than 1,700 people attending, including his University of Connecticut teammates.

Why No One Feels Rich: The Psychology Of Inequality

When Keith Payne was in the fourth grade, he realized he was poor. The epiphany came to him in the cafeteria. "We had a new cashier in the line that day," he said. "And when I got to the cashier's desk she asked me for, I think it was $1.25. That was the first time that anybody had ever asked me to pay for my lunch because I'd always been on free lunch." Keith had been blissfully unaware that many of his classmates were paying for their meals every day. But now, he began comparing himself with his peers. "It's not like I was poorer the day after that than I was before. Nothing objective had changed. But because of that subjective awareness, now everything seemed different to me." Keith Payne is now a social psychologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He's the author of The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die. He says it's human nature to compare ourselves to others. But that instinct can cause psychological stress. "We think about ourselves in terms of being on a certain rung with some people above us, and other people below us. Where we think we stand on that ladder tells you a lot about a person's life and their life outcomes." This week on Hidden Brain, we explore the psychology of inequality. Additional Resources: "Physical and situational inequality on airplanes predicts air rage," by Katherine A. DeCellesa and Michael I. Norton, 2016 "Income inequality, poverty and crime across nations," by Paul-Phillipe Pare and Richard Felson, 2014 "The performance effects of pay dispersion on individuals and organizations," by Matt Bloom, 1999 Hidden Brain is hosted by Shankar Vedantam and produced by Jennifer Schmidt, Parth Shah, Rhaina Cohen, Laura Kwerel, and Thomas Lu. Our supervising producer is Tara Boyle. You can also follow us on Twitter @hiddenbrain, and listen for Hidden Brain stories on your local public radio station.

California's Fire Season Extends Beyond Summer Months

Steve Inskeep talks to Lenya Quinn-Davidson, fire adviser for the University of California Cooperative Extension, about what an extended fire season means for state residents.

Money Monster and Eurovision

Weekend Edition Books Editor Barrie Hardymon joins the crew this week. They discuss <em></em>George Clooney and Julia Roberts in their new movie, <em>Money Monster, </em>before moving on to the sparkling singers of Eurovision.

Beyoncé, Dua Lipa Headline 2021 Grammy Nominations

The Recording Academy announced its 2021 Grammy nominations on Tuesday, with Beyonce, rising pop star Dua Lipa and stoner superstar Post Malone leading a diffuse field. Beyonce features on two songs in the record of the year category, which essentially rewards the year's best single: the remix of Megan Thee Stallion's "Savage" and her own "Black Parade." The latter was also nominated for song of the year, which is awarded to the winner's songwriters. The Grammys made several changes to its structure this year, including increasing its voting membership by 2,300 and tweaking its nominations process after years of criticism over a lack of diversity amid the ceremony's top categories. The moves were meant to "to evolve with the musical landscape and to ensure that the ... nominating process and rules are more transparent and fair," according to a statement on its website. The Academy also made its rules and guidelines public for the first time, including definitions for previously murky eligibility requirements and voting guidelines. It also changed the names of several categories — the Latin Pop Album category was renamed to the slightly more-inclusive Best Latin Pop Or Urban Album — and instituted a method for flagging conflicts of interest on its still-secretive Nominations Review Committees, whose members are not made public. In addition, the Academy made several personnel changes, most notably the firing its first female CEO, Deborah Dugan, after less than a year on the job. Dugan had accused the Academy of being "rigged" and "corrupt," while the Academy had said she was terminated following a confidential investigation into allegations that Dugan had bullied a senior member of the Academy. Former Google executive Valeisha Butterfield Jones was appointed to Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, a new position created in response to recommendations made by a task force focused on diversity and inclusion. She will "design, build and implement world-class programs and industry standards focused on inclusion, belonging and representation for underrepresented communities and creators." The results of these efforts at the top of the marquee are mixed. The eight nominations in the album of the year category, for example, are gender-diverse but mostly white, save for the rock group Black Pumas and the multi-racial pop singer Jhene Aiko. Record of the year nominees form a richer field, including the fast-rising rapper DaBaby, pop provocateur Doja Cat, and the aforementioned Megan Thee Stallion. All of the nominees for best pop vocal album are white artists. In a sign of ostensible forward motion for the organization, however, this year's nominees for best new artist might actually be new to most people. Country artist Ingrid Andress released her debut album, Lady Like, this year; Phoebe Bridgers is a highly respected indie artist, whose album Punisher broke into the top 50 of Billboard's 200 albums chart this year; fans of the Tiny Desk may recognize Chika, a Nigerian-American rapper; this makes Noah Cyrus' second year of being up for a best new artist award (after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2017); D Smoke turned a win on a music competition show into real cultural relevancy; Doja Cat has parlayed a viral hit into a proper career; Kaytranada is another confusing choice for best new artist, considering the length of his resume; and finally, Megan Thee Stallion, who likely needs no introduction. The 2021 Grammy Award Nominations Record Of The Year Awarded to the artist and producer(s), recording engineer(s), mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist. "Black Parade" — Beyoncé "Colors" — Black Pumas "Rockstar" — DaBaby Featuring Roddy Ricch "Say So" — Doja Cat "Everything I Wanted" — Billie Eilish "Don't Start Now" — Dua Lipa "Circles" — Post Malone "Savage" — Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé Song Of The Year A songwriter(s) award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the eligibility year. (Recording artists' names appear in parentheses.) Singles or tracks only. "Black Parade" — Denisia Andrews, Beyoncé, Stephen Bray, Shawn Carter, Brittany Coney, Derek James Dixie, Akil King, Kim "Kaydence" Krysiuk & Rickie "Caso" Tice, songwriters (Beyoncé) "The Box" — Samuel Gloade & Rodrick Moore, songwriters (Roddy Ricch) "Cardigan" — Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift) "Circles" — Louis Bell, Adam Feeney, Kaan Gunesberk, Austin Post & Billy Walsh, songwriters (Post Malone) "Don't Start Now" — Caroline Ailin, Ian Kirkpatrick, Dua Lipa & Emily Warren, songwriters (Dua Lipa) "Everything I Wanted" — Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish) "I Can't Breathe" — Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. & Tiara Thomas, songwriters (H.E.R.) "If The World Was Ending" — Julia Michaels & JP Saxe, songwriters (JP Saxe Featuring Julia Michaels) Album Of The Year Awarded to artist(s) and to featured artist(s), songwriter(s) of ne

Brazil Has The 2nd-Highest Number Of The Coronavirus Cases In The World

Brazil now has the second-highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world. The U.S. has recently banned all travel from Brazil, in a blow to pandemic-skeptic President Jair Bolsanaro.

Week In Politics: Breaking Down Trump And Biden's Last Presidential Debate

With the election fast approaching we discuss the implications of this week's debate between President Trump and Joe Biden.

A Family, A Traffic Ticket And A 2-Year Lie

Dear Sugar Radio is a weekly podcast from member station WBUR. Hosts Steve Almond and Cheryl Strayed offer "radical empathy" and advice on everything from relationships and parenthood to dealing with drug problems or anxiety. Today the Sugars tackle three separate questions. First, a letter-writer is in a bizarre situation: her sister gave her name when she was stopped for a traffic ticket. The most unexpected part is that the rest of the family concealed this episode from her — for two years! Then, the hosts hear from a woman who isn't happy with getting a cheap wedding ring from her boyfriend. How cheap? $20.99 cheap. Finally, a 24-year-old man has bad relations with his birth parents, and he wants to go through with getting legally adopted by another family. Is it worth it? Dear Sugars, I found out that my younger sister gave my name when she got a ticket for an illegal U-turn two years ago and that my entire family covered it up. I've always been proud of my clean driving record, so I didn't think I'd have any problem passing a motor vehicle background check in order to volunteer to help refugees acclimate to my city by driving them to the library, etc. I got an email today stating that I had failed due to two moving violations. I thought it was a mistake, and immediately called my dad for advice on how to correct this. When he paused for a bit too long, I knew something was wrong. He said, "I didn't think we'd have to tell you this," and explained that my sister had given my name when she got a ticket two years ago and my parents had decided that was an acceptable thing to do, and as long as she never told me, it would all be OK. To make matters worse, there is also a speeding ticket that was given four days after the U-turn that she won't own up to either. I'm so hurt that my family lied to protect my sister, and didn't think about what the lie would do to me. They think I'm making too big a deal out of this and should drop it, but I feel betrayed. My mom and sister are two people I trust more than anything, and to know they've lied about this makes my stomach churn. They don't seem to understand how I feel. I've barely gotten an apology from them. Am I in the wrong here for making a big deal out of this? How can I move past it? Signed, Stolen Identity Cheryl Strayed: Stolen Identity, you are not wrong to make a big deal out of this. This is so absurd, it's almost beyond belief. It's so strange to me that your parents would want to protect your sister at your expense. Your family needs to make it right as quickly as possible, whether that means you get an apology from them, or they fess up to the authorities and your sister deals with the consequences. At the bare minimum, they need to take this seriously, and stop enabling your sister, who is committing crimes that you are the victim of. It's absolutely wrong. Steve Almond: This isn't just about protecting your own interests, it's about making sure your parents and sister don't keep playing out a pattern that is ultimately going to screw your sister over. It's deeply unhealthy, and you need to let your family know that in no uncertain terms. Dear Sugars, My boyfriend and I had our first baby last month, and now I'm fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home mom to our beautiful 7-week-old boy. Since getting pregnant, we've discussed getting married, and we decided we should get engaged. A few days ago, I came across a ring-sized box my boyfriend was obviously planning to give me. It had the name of a company on it, and I immediately Googled it out of curiosity. I was taken aback when I found that this company sells cubic zirconia rings that cost about $20. So I did something that I now regret — I peeked inside the box. It was an engagement ring and wedding ring set that I saw on the website costs $20.99. I'm both upset and baffled by this, because my boyfriend is not one to be cheap when it comes to jewelry. I'd shown him a ring that I wanted, which cost around $300. I thought that was fairly inexpensive for an engagement ring. So here's my question: Do I say something to him about it when he gives it to me? I'm truly hurt that he would be so cheap when it comes to such an important moment. Then again, I don't want to be shallow, and I'm incredibly grateful for our life together. I'm lucky to have such a great partner. The ring itself is fine, and actually pretty, but it's not really what I wanted. Signed, Speak Now or Forever Hold My Peace? Cheryl: Speak Now or Forever Hold My Peace, you're not being shallow by telling your boyfriend that he made a mistake. I don't think he meant to hurt your feelings, but I think he was wrong to give you a ring that cost less than $21. I would sit him down and say, "I'm so touched that you gave me this ring, but it is not what I had in mind. It's important to me that I look down at my hand for the rest of my life and feel nothing but love and joy and gratitude for this bond that we have, and this ring makes me feel b

Nigerian Hunters Ready To Help Find Missing Girls

In Nigeria, hundreds of traditional hunters have gathered, eager to use their skills and what they believe to be supernatural powers to help find the nearly 300 schoolgirls abducted by Islamic extremists. The hunters &#8212; armed with homemade guns, spears and other weapons &#8212; have been waiting in Maiduguri for two weeks to receive support from the military so that they can move forward in their efforts. Michelle Faul, the Nigeria bureau chief for the Associated Press, joins Here & Now&#8217;s Robin Young from Nigeria to discuss the details of this latest attempt to bring back the missing girls. Guest Michelle Faul, Nigeria bureau chief for the Associated Press. She tweets @maffaul. ROBIN YOUNG, HOST: It's HERE AND NOW. Hundreds of traditional hunters are lining up in the Nigerian countryside to search for the nearly 300 missing schoolgirls kidnapped last month by Boko Haram. They're armed with swords, homemade guns, bows and poisoned spears. We'll post an AP photo at HereAndNow.org, as Associated Press Nigerian bureau chief Michelle Faul joins us by Skype. Michele, your colleague visited these hunters. They gave demonstrations? MICHELLE FAUL: Well, it's amazing. These are traditional hunters. I mean normally they would be going into the forest, where it's believed the girls are being held, to hunt things like antelope and monkeys. In this case they're saying that their stalking and tracking skills are enhanced by what they believe to be supernatural powers. And that these powers can make it that much easier for them to find the girls. And my colleague, Haruno Umaro(ph), he described the scene to me. The younger hunters gave him this dazzling display of dexterity with swords and daggers, and like slashing themselves but, of course, no blood is drawn. And they were claiming that this was because of their spiritual powers, and not because of any sleight-of-hand. YOUNG: Oh, quite something. Of course, it's also quite a startling image from the one that we have of other ways the girls are being searched for - unmanned drones, for instance. This is at the complete other end of the spectrum. FAUL: Exactly, I mean we've got U.S. aircraft and drones carrying cameras up in the air above Nigeria. They've been there for a week now, also joining in the search for the girls. But to go back to the hunters, I mean they said: We're not saying we're better than the soldiers but we know the bush better than the soldiers. You know, and suggesting that that local knowledge, you know, should be used in the search. YOUNG: Well, and one would think that that makes a lot of sense. But what's been the response of the Nigerian government? FAUL: Well, we haven't been able to get a response from the government or, more particularly, the military, who we were saying, you know, will you be taking advantage. There are actually 500 of them who've gathered in Maiduguri. And they're aged everything from like 18-year-olds whose grandfathers were hunters and fathers were hunters, to grandfathers in their 80s. Now, on the ground in Chibok, we had the chance today to speak on the phone with family on the ground. And they're still saying that from Chibok, they have not seen a single soldier to go into the Sambisa Forest. They say that they, you know, get messages regularly from villagers who have hamlets and live in the forest. Now, Nigeria's military insists that it is diligently searching and that the aerial surveillance goes beyond the forest and across, you know, right up to Nigeria's borders with Cameroon, with Chad, where we've heard that possibly some of these girls have been taken, you know, cross borders into other countries. YOUNG: And, Michelle Faul, again, Nigerian bureau chief for the Associated Press, did the hunters express any fear of what they're trying to do? Boko Haram, of course, a murderous organization. It's interesting - there are some reports today that there are Nigerians who were concerned that all this attention on them is sort of playing into their hands. But what did these hunters say about going out with bows and arrows and their mystical powers, to potentially confront them? FAUL: Well, they say that Boko Haram can't harm them. They have these amulets that I'm told have things like animal teeth and herbs, other substances that they say protect them against bullets and that, you know, they feel fearless and they would not have a problem confronting the bullets of Boko Haram. And yes, of course, there is this fear. Certainly in the last video with the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, there was no fear that you could see on his face. You know, instead he seemed to be leering and glorying in the attention that they have drawn with this mass abduction. YOUNG: Well, what more do we know about how other organizations are approaching Boko Haram? The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Western powers are pressing the U.N. to designate the group a terrorist organization. That would subject the group members to

Sequester Has Air Force Clipping Its Wings

The Pentagon says the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration could leave the U.S. with a military that is simply unprepared for the most challenging combat missions. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told Congress in April that the military is eating its seed corn. "The cuts will fall heavily on maintenance and training, which further erodes the readiness of the force and will be costly to regain in the future," he said. "As the service chiefs have said, we are consuming our readiness." The Air Force says it's in a special bind. Cuts in flying hours mean that pilots can't do the thing they need to practice most: flying. Out Of Practice At Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, training flights are part of the daily routine. F-15 fighter jets roll down the flight line and launch into a cloudy sky. The base is home to the Air Combat Command's Fourth Fighter Wing, which is made up of four squadrons of fighters. They practice and practice so they can be ready to deploy anywhere in the world, at any time. But the skies are a little quieter now because the leadership has been told to save money. "We were told to cut our flying budget roughly in half," Lt. Col. James Howard says. Because of that order, Howard says, he had to ground the 336th Fighter Squadron so that the other units on this base could keep flying. The tricky thing for Howard is that the longer his pilots remain idle, the longer it will take for them to get ready to fly again. Fighter pilots must fly and drill their skills on a regular basis, from dogfighting to helping ground troops under fire. Otherwise, they lose their certification. "All those skills are extremely perishable," Howard says. Most pilots, he says, are required to do eight to nine flights per month to maintain readiness status. We Did It For The FAA ... Some Pentagon budget hawks say these complaints are just part of the military's propaganda effort to avoid budget cuts. They say the military is hoping to win sympathy by deliberately cancelling high-profile programs, like appearances by the Blue Angels and Fleet Week in New York. The cancellations make it easier for Pentagon-backers like Republican Sen. John McCain to argue that the military should be protected from these automatic cuts. On Meet the Press last month, McCain said Congress should do for the military what it did for the Federal Aviation Administration after travelers complained about flight delays caused by budget cuts. "I think we have our priorities a little bit skewed here. Look, I'm for giving the FAA flexibility, but I also want to give the military flexibility. And I don't want the sequestration cuts to be as deep as they are on national defense," McCain said. Getting Strategic The problem right now is that Washington still looks at sequestration as a temporary problem. Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, says Congress and the military are banking on the chance that next year the budget will be back to normal. "You may be willing to make a strategic choice and say, 'I will accept a lower level of readiness for some period of time just so that I have the option of turning back on that readiness quickly and having all of these aircraft and these pilots ready to go,' " Harrison says. In other words, it could be better to ground a few pilots now, hoping you won't have to make permanent cuts, like having fewer pilots or fewer planes. The Pentagon hopes to get limited relief soon by asking Congress for permission to shift money around in order to protect top priorities like flying time. But the long-term solution is a budget deal — which isn't even visible on the horizon. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: Now to the Pentagon, where officials say the automatic budget cuts could leave the military unprepared for the most challenging combat missions. Here's how Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel recently put it: SECRETARY CHUCK HAGEL: The cuts will fall heavily on maintenance and training, which further erodes the readiness of the force and will be costly to regain in the future. As the service chiefs have said, we are consuming our readiness. SIMON: The Air Force says it's in a special bind. Cuts in flying hours mean that pilots can't do the one thing they need to practice most - flying. NPR's Larry Abramson reports. LARRY ABRAMSON, BYLINE: At Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, F-15 fighter jets roll down the flight line and launch into a cloudy sky. (SOUNDBITE OF JETS TAKING OFF) ABRAMSON: Training flights are part of the daily routine at this base, which is home to the Fourth Fighter Wing of the Air Combat Command. The wing is made up of four squadrons of fighters that practice and practice so they can be ready to deploy anywhere in the world anytime. But the skies are a little quieter now because the leadership has been told to save money. LIEUTENANT COLONEL JAMES HOWARD: We were told to cut our flying budget roughly in half. ABRAMSON: Lieutenant Colonel

How The Man In The Apartment Hit Big With 'The Woman In The Window'

Take a little Hitchcock and a touch of Gone Girl. Add in a mysterious author and rumors of a very big price tag. Stir them all together and you come up with a rare bird: A debut novel that hits number one on the New York Times bestseller list in its first week on the market. Brand name authors like James Patterson or Stephen King hit the top of the Times list in the first week all the time. Unknowns like The Woman in the Window, not so often. "It is very unusual," says Greg Cowles, the longtime writer of the Times' "Inside the List" column. He says the buzz has been building since a hotly contested auction for the novel, by an unknown author named A.J. Finn. Turns out that's a pseudonym for Daniel Mallory, an executive editor at William Morrow, the publishing company that bought the book. But Cowles says even with all that interest, no book is a sure bet. "You really never know despite the buzz, despite the huge advance sales, the publishers themselves never know, will this book hit. You can't manufacture a best seller." Mallory himself probably would know how to manufacture one. He has spent a lifetime reading, studying and editing mysteries and thrillers. And when Gone Girl sparked a trend in psychological thrillers with an unreliable female narrator, he was tempted to jump on the bandwagon "When Gillian Flynn published Gone Girl I thought 'Aha, this is the sort of book I've loved and could possible try to write,'" Mallory says. "The trouble was, I didn't have a story." Mallory didn't want to put a mystery together like a jigsaw puzzle. He wanted the book to have substance. He was also suffering from depression, which he later discovered was misdiagnosed. "For days and weeks and even months at a stretch during the 15 years in which I struggled with misdiagnosed bipolar disorder, there were times when I couldn't prize myself from bed, let alone leave the house," he says. While adjusting to new medication, Mallory took some time off from work. He watched a lot of old moves — his other great passion. And one day as Hitchcock's Rear Window played in the background, he looked out his own window and noticed his neighbor across the street. "In accordance with fine Manhattan tradition, I watch her for a couple of minutes. She is settling herself in an armchair, aiming a remote at the TV, and behind me onscreen, Thelma Ritter is chiding Jimmy Stewart for peering across the courtyard into Raymond Burr's apartment," Mallory says. "And I thought to myself, how funny that in 1954, Jimmy Stewart is spying on his neighbors, and I'm doing the exact same thing 60 years later. And just like that, an idea for a story presented itself. And striding towards that story from another corner of my brain was this character who had struggled, as I had struggled, with mental health issues, and whose grief seemed comparable to mine in intensity although the circumstances were very different from my own." That character is Anna Fox. She suffers from agoraphobia, and gets panicked if she even feels the air outside her front door. "She was once a respected child psychologist, but she has withdrawn from her profession and indeed from the world, in the wake of some sort of trauma, and we don't learn the details of that trauma until two-thirds of the way through the book," Mallory says. "She does try to occupy herself as best she can. She learns French. She counsels fellow agoraphobes through a digital forum, and she watches old films — they form a sort of soundtrack to her life." She also drinks a lot of red wine, which she mixes recklessly with her meds. And she spends a great deal of time spying on her neighbors with a long-lens camera. One day when her mind is especially foggy, she is watching Dark Passage, just at the moment that Humphrey Bogart is going under anesthesia. As the film plays, Anna looks in her neighbor's window and thinks she sees a murder. The victim is a woman who has befriended Anna — but no one believes Anna ever met her, much less saw her get stabbed to death. The murder is only one of the mysteries that will keep readers guessing. Mallory takes his time revealing why Anna is so traumatized that she cannot leave her house. "What I can say about this particular dimension of the book is that I consider it the heart of the story, and whether you anticipate its details or parameters — or not — is sort of by the bye. It's really incidental. It's not about surprise, it's not about a jack-in-the-box effect. It's about how such an event would impact someone, how they would cope with it, and how they would struggle to move past it," he says. In the tradition of many mysteries, Mallory set his story in a confined space. His next book — which he is already working on — is set in a big city, San Francisco. And he says it feels great to get a breath of fresh air. This story was edited and produced for radio by Tom Cole, and adapted for the Web by Petra Mayer.

Blasts Kill Scores at Iraqi Shia Shrines

A series of explosions rips through crowds at Shia shrines in Baghdad and the holy city of Karbala, killing scores of people celebrating Ashoura, one of the holiest days in Shia Islam. Authorities do not yet know who is behind the attacks. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

California's Sen. Feinstein Gets Democratic Primary Challenger

Feinstein's reputation as a bipartisan bridge builder and an anti-Trump climate in the state may work against her as a liberal state lawmaker plans a campaign against the 84-year-old senator.

<I>Slinky</I> to the Hall of Fame

The <EM>Slinky </EM>is one of the most popular toys in history. Next week the woman who named it is being inducted into the Toy Manufacturers' Hall of Fame. NPR's Renee Montagne reports.

Richly Atmospheric 'Beast' Is A Thriller That Outshines Its Genre

Critic Justin Chang says <em>Beast, </em>a film about two lovers on an island where a serial killer has been terrorizing residents,<em> </em>is "engrossing from start to finish" — despite its genre trappings.

Ex-Intel Heads Respond As Trump Muddles Message On Russian Influence In Election

Mixed statements from President Trump during his Asia trip drew criticisms at home Sunday, particularly over Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims that his country didn't meddle in the 2016 U.S. Elections. On CNN's State of the Union, former CIA director John Brennan criticized comments Trump made after meeting Putin during the Asia Pacific economic summit in Vietnam in which the president said he believed Putin was "sincere" in his belief that Russia did not interfere in last year's elections. "It demonstrates to Mr. Putin that Donald Trump can be played by foreign leaders who are going to appeal to his ego and try to play upon his insecurities, which is very worrisome from a national security standpoint," Brennan told CNN's Jake Tapper. Appearing alongside Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Russia "posed" a threat that is "manifest and obvious," and echoed concerns about the president's reputation among foreign leaders. "I do think both the Chinese and the Russians think they can play him," Clapper said. Earlier that day, Trump had told reporters that both Clapper and Brennan, along with fired FBI director James Comey, were "political hacks." Trump has continually insisted the investigation into Russia meddling is politically motivated, often calling it a witch hunt. But even as his criticized the former intelligence heads, he said he sided with the agencies all three officials had once lead, as NPR's Scott Horsely reports, over Putin: " 'He said he didn't meddle,' Trump said aboard Air Force One when asked whether he had discussed Russia's interference in the 2016 election with Putin. 'He said he didn't meddle. I asked him again. You can only ask so many times.' " 'He said he absolutely did not meddle in our election, he did not do what they are saying he did,' Trump added. "Later on Sunday in Hanoi, and after receiving criticism for his remarks, Trump was asked for clarification on the topic. Trump responded that he agrees with U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in last year's election. " 'I believe that he feels that he and Russia did not meddle in the election,' he told reporters. "As to whether I believe it or not, I'm with our agencies, especially as currently constituted with their leadership.' " Scott goes on to report that a statement from the U.S. State Department says conversations between the two leaders were focused on Syria and defeating ISIS there.

Reports: More Protests, Violence In Tehran

The Guardian and CNN are reporting they've been told by eyewitnesses that there's been another protest in Tehran today over Iran's disputed June 12 presidential election and that there are injuries due to a crackdown by authorities. As it has been for days, Twitter is full of reports said to be from the scene -- but it's impossible to verify their authenticity. The Associated Press reports that: A witness who walked through Baharestan Square in front of the parliament building around 7 p.m., three hours after the scheduled start of the protest, told The Associated Press it was swarmed by hundreds of riot police who did not allow people to even briefly gather. Thousands more security officers filled the surrounding streets, said the witness, who declined to give his name for fear of government reprisals. Update at 1:10 p.m. ET: The Guardian has a report from a person it identifies as a medical student in Iran. That person writes that "last night, nine people died at our hospital and another 28 had gunshot wounds. All hospital employees were crying till dawn." Update at 11:37 a.m. ET: Persiankiwi continues to be among the most active on Twitter. The latest post there, though, says "we must go - dont know when we can get internet - they take 1 of us, they will torture and get names - now we must move fast -" (Again, NPR News cannot confirm the credibility of posts otn Twitter. But, it has been a source of information from Iran that later has been verified.)

You're (Probably) Wrong About Crime

The FBI found that crime dropped significantly in 2009, despite the recession. It's the third straight year of decline, and runs counter to historical trends that link economic decline to a jump in crime. Still, a Gallup poll from 2009 shows that a vast majority of Americans believe crime is up.

The Affordable Care Act, Explained

Curious about insurance exchanges and how to shop for coverage or how Obamacare affects employers? Check out our FAQ on the health law.

The French Quarter, 'Present at the Creation'

Tourists flock to the French Quarter for Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street. But, as <EM>Morning Edition's</EM> Renee Montagne reports in the latest <EM>Present at the Creation</EM> segment, they would be wrong to think New Orleans' most famous section is totally French.

Ford Replaces CEO Mark Fields After Stock Prices Dwindle

Ford has just come off two straight years of record earnings. Its F-150 trucks are the best selling vehicles in America. But none of this was enough to save CEO Mark Fields' job. The career Ford executive has been replaced by a relative newcomer, Jim Hackett. One reason for the move: Ford's stock price tumbled nearly 40 percent in the three years Fields was at the helm.

Composers Of The Middle Ages

It was in the 12th and 13th centuries in Europe that the concept of "composer" - a creator of music who assembles diverse melodic, harmonic elements, began evolving. Daniel speaks to music critic Bob Greenberg who looks at the contributions of Leonin and Perotin, two composers living and working in Paris. These so-called "Notre Dame" composers were among the first to actually sign their music.

F-Bomb On A T-Shirt: At Trump Rallies, Profanity Comes Onstage And Off

Editor's note: This post contains language and photos some readers may find inappropriate. I've covered presidential campaigns for decades. I've never had to bleep — or drop an asterisk into — a candidate's speech. Until this year. Take this Donald Trump quote from a rally in Virginia: "We're gonna win with the military. We're gonna knock the s*** out of ISIS. We're gonna knock the s*** out of them." That's one of the big lines of a typical Trump speech. Then there was the time he didn't actually drop the F-bomb. He just mouthed it to the camera. "We're gonna have businesses that used to be in New Hampshire that are now in Mexico come back to New Hampshire and you can tell them to go ..." he paused to mouth the word, "... themselves." He seems to know his language can pack a punch. "I'm not allowed to use any bad words," Trump said at a Pittsburgh rally. "If I had used the A-word, they'd say, 'Ooh, Trump used foul language ... horrible, horrible." That's from the stage at his rallies. Outside, the expletives are on a whole different level. At a Trump rally at the Fox Theater in Atlanta this week, I came across a T-shirt vendor working the long line of people who were waiting for the doors to open. It was 8:30 in the morning. The front of the shirt he was selling featured photos of Hillary Clinton and Monica Lewinsky and a vulgar phrase: "Hillary s**** But not like Monica." And the back of the shirt — in huge, unavoidable letters — says: "Trump That B****." It's a hot seller at the rallies. Around the corner and down the block, I found TaMara Moore standing outside a van loaded with shirts. One of his shirts says — again in giant letters: "Donald F*****' Trump." And the back: "If you don't bleed red, white and blue take your b**** a** home." Over the course of the campaign, these shirts have gone almost mainstream. Early on, vendors sold them way out in the parking lot or off to the side somewhere. Not anymore. Moore said his shirts don't cross a line. When I asked him if the message was appropriate, he said, "Freedom of speech, baby." He also said families buy the shirts, even with their kids in tow. "You'd be surprised how many people have a dislike for Hillary," he said. "I was a little shocked." But not every one approves, including another vendor, Claude Stafford of Sarasota, Fla. "I'd have to pass on those," Stafford said of the crude T-shirts. I asked him why. "Just not my character. You know, you see kids and stuff, and they say, 'Mommy, what's that say?' I just can't do it," he said. Stafford was pulling a red wagon full of more traditional fare: shirts and hats that say "President Trump 2016." I also came across 24-year-old McKinley Witzler waiting in line. He argued that the shirts with rude slogans are no different from what you see at an Atlanta Falcons football game, for example. Still, he said he doesn't approve of that Hillary and Monica shirt. "The content of the shirt, it's ridiculous. It's over the top," he said. "It's demeaning to women." But he says the attention it gets is overblown. How about that other one, that says "Donald F*****' Trump?" "Would I wear that shirt personally? Probably not. That shirt, I don't really have a problem with though," he said. "If you're that enthusiastic about Trump, then that's OK with me." ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Political campaigns are almost always a rough business - attack ads demonizing opponents. Even by those age-old standards the Trump campaign is breaking new ground. R-rated language is the norm, including from the candidate himself. NPR's Don Gonyea has this report, and we should note it contains adult language and themes. DON GONYEA, BYLINE: In this story, you're going to hear a lot of this. (SOUNDBITE OF BLEEP) GONYEA: I've covered presidential campaigns for decades. I've never bleeped a candidate until this year. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) DONALD TRUMP: We're going to win with the military. We're going to knock the [expletive] out of ISIS. (APPLAUSE) TRUMP: We're going to knock the [expletive] out of them. (APPLAUSE) GONYEA: That's one of the big lines of a typical Trump speech. Examples abound. Take this one which technically doesn't need bleeping, but on the video you can read his lips. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) TRUMP: We're going to have businesses that used to be in New Hampshire that are now in Mexico come back to New Hampshire, and you can tell them to go themselves. (APPLAUSE) GONYEA: And there are moments like this. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) TRUMP: I'm not allowed to use any bad words, by the way. If I use even a little bad word like I almost used the A-word (unintelligible). But I almost used it. If I used it, they'd say these people - the dishonest media, the world's most dishonest people - if I used the A-word they'd say, oh, Trump used foul language, horrible, horrible, horrible. GONYEA: So that's all from the stage at Trump rallies. Now let's go outside. UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: How about it, guys? GONYEA: A T-shir

Guitarist David Russell

Sunday was a big day in the music business. The Grammy Awards were passed out yesterday, including all the classical Grammys. We're spending the hour with the winning recordings, starting with guitarist David Russell, who won the Grammy for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance Without Orchestra.

UNC Men's Basketball Coach Roy Williams Retires After More Than 3 Decades

Longtime men's college basketball coach Roy Williams is retiring. For 33 seasons, Williams led two of basketball's most storied programs — North Carolina and Kansas.

What's At Stake In The Trump Tax Case At The Supreme Court

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Andrea Bernstein, a co-host of the <em>Trump, Inc.</em> podcast from WNYC and ProPublica, about the Supreme Court cases involving the Trump Organization's finances.

Sikh Man Shot Outside His Seattle Home, Told To 'Go Back To Your Own Country'

For the second time in less than two weeks, an Indian-born man in the U.S. has been shot by an attacker who, before firing, allegedly shouted, "Go back to your own country." Deep Rai, a Sikh man, was wounded in his Seattle area driveway on Friday night. Authorities have not yet found the unknown assailant, who has been identified by Rai as a stocky white man about 6 feet tall. "I am sorry to know about the attack on Deep Rai a US national of Indian origin. I have spoken to Sardar Harpal Singh father of the victim," India's external affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj, said in two tweets Sunday. "He told me that his son had a bullet injury on his arm. He is out of danger and is recovering in a private hospital." The Seattle Times reports that Rai, a U.S. citizen from India, told police a masked man accosted him in the driveway to his home on Friday night. A scuffle broke out between the two men, at which point the assailant broke out his weapon and shot Rai in the arm. Police are investigating the shooting in Kent as a possible hate crime, according to CNN. "We are treating this as a very serious incident," Ken Thomas, police chief in the Seattle suburb of Kent, told reporters Saturday. "We need our national leaders to make hate crime prevention a top priority," Rajdeep Singh, interim program manager at the New York-based Sikh Coalition, said in a statement, according to the Times. "Tone matters in our political discourse, because this a matter of life or death for millions of Americans who are worried about losing loved ones to hate." As NPR's Julie McCarthy reports for our Newscast unit, this is the second time in as many weeks that an Indian politician has wished a full recovery for a shooting victim in the U.S. "This latest incident follows the targeted shooting in Kansas that killed one Indian national and injured another. The FBI is investigating it as a hate crime," Julie notes. "Shaken by the violence, many Indians here say they are thinking twice before traveling to the U.S."

Virtual Investigators Hack The Hackers

When Chinese hackers swiped classified secrets from Indian government computers, they were unaware that their operation had also been hacked. A team of virtual investigators based at the University of Toronto, headed up by Rafal Rohozinski, spends their time tracking, and stopping, e-crime.

The Deficit And Taxes: A Complex Relationship

Taxes — raising them or reforming them — could be part of the next phase of the deficit-reduction effort in Congress. The Bush-era tax cuts extended by President Obama are set to expire in 2012. Those tax cuts have contributed to the deficit. By how much is a matter of debate.

In A Setback For Trump, Judge Blocks Keystone XL Pipeline Construction

A U.S. district judge has issued an order blocking construction of the controversial transnational Keystone XL Pipeline until the State Department conducts further study of its impact on the environment. Judge Brian Morris' 54-page order, issued late Thursday, overturns the Trump administrations's approval last year of the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline and at least temporarily prevents it from being built. Although the decision does not permanently halt the pipeline's construction, it nevertheless comes as TransCanada, the Canadian company that owns Keystone, is preparing to start construction in Montana, shipping pipe to various locations throughout the state, the Great Falls Tribune reports. The order stems from a lawsuit filed by the Indigenous Environmental Network and North Coast Rivers Alliance, which alleges that the State Department and TransCanada violated National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, the environmental law described in the order as "the basic national charter for protection of the environment." Since its conception, the pipeline has sparked a backlash from environmentalists and indigenous peoples who say it violates historical treaty boundaries and would bring environmental problems. In August, Judge Morris ruled that the State Department must supplement a more thorough study of potential environmental effects of the pipeline. He had yet to rule on vacating the permit itself. In Thursday's ruling, Morris wrote that the State Department's analysis of potential environmental effects fell short of a "hard look" on the effects of current oil prices on the viability of Keystone, cumulative effects of greenhouse gas emissions, cultural resources and potential oil spills. "These omissions require a remand with instructions to the Department to satisfy its obligations under NEPA," he wrote. Morris also noted that in 2015, during the Obama administration, the State Department denied a permit to build the pipeline, citing environmental effects. At that time, the Department "relied heavily on the United States's role in climate leadership." Then came policy shifts in the Trump administration. Under President Trump, the State Department wrote "there have been numerous developments related to global action to address climate change, including announcements by many countries of their plans to do so" since the Obama administration's decision two years earlier. That statement falls short of a "factually based determination, let alone a reasoned explanation, for the course reversal," Morris wrote. "An agency cannot simply disregard contrary or inconvenient factual determinations that it made in the past, any more than it can ignore inconvenient facts when it writes on a blank slate," he continued. The pipeline was first proposed in 2o08. If built, it would transport around 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta, Canada, and the Bakken Shale Formation in Montana to facilities near Steele City, Neb. The proposed U.S. portion of the pipeline would run about 875 miles through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Another 1,200 miles would run through Canada. Four days after Trump was sworn into office, he invited TransCanada to resubmit its permit application. He signed an executive order supporting its construction in March of last year. NPR reached out to TransCanada early Friday for comment on the ruling but did not hear back by the time of publishing. "Today's ruling is a decisive moment in our fight against the corporate polluters who have rushed to destroy our planet," said Marcie Keever, legal director at Friends of the Earth in a news statement. "Today, the courts showed the Trump administration and their corporate polluter friends that they cannot bully rural landowners, farmers, environmentalists and Native communities." As NPR's Jeff Brady and Jason Slotkin have reported, "The oil industry and some labor unions have supported the pipeline, largely for the thousands of construction jobs it would provide. But those jobs are temporary. The State Department has estimated that once built, the pipeline will employ about 35 people."

Leaders Gather for U.N. Reform Meetings

World leaders gather in New York with the goal of adopting reforms at the United Nations. The General Assembly has approved a document that touches on issues like human rights, world poverty and terrorism. But the document was watered down greatly in negotiations just prior to the summit.

Hour Two: Tornado Hits Iowa Boy Scout Camp

A tornado struck the Little Sioux Boy Scout Ranch in Western Iowa Wednesday night, killing at least four and injuring 40.

David Foster Wallace / Jason Segel

The late writer David Foster Wallace spoke to Terry Gross in 1997 when 'Infinite Jest' was published in paperback. He talks about irony, happiness, and why he doesn't have a TV. He is the subject of the new film, 'The End of the Tour,' starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg. Segel was on 'Fresh Air' in 2009. He discusses breakups, bromance, and growing up on 'Freaks and Geeks.' Finally, David Bianculli reviews HBO's miniseries 'Show Me A Hero,' by David Simon, creator of 'The Wire.'

Those Yoga Poses May Not Be Ancient After All, And Maybe That's OK

That yoga pose you've been practicing may not be as ancient as you thought. In fact, journalist Michelle Goldberg says that most of the poses that we do in modern yoga classes have no antecedent beyond 150 years ago. "Probably the greatest myth is when you do these poses, when you do sun salutations or the warrior poses, that that there's some sort of continuity to what yogis were doing 3,000 years ago on the banks of the Ganges, and that's just not true," Goldberg tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. Goldberg is the author of The Goddess Pose: The Audacious Life of Indra Devi, the Woman Who Helped Bring Yoga to the West. Her book traces the modern Western practice of yoga to a Russian woman named Indra Devi, who was born in 1899 with the birth name Eugenia Peterson. Devi became interested in yoga after reading about it in a book written by an American new-age thinker. She studied the practice in India before introducing it to political leaders in Russia and Shanghai and, in 1947, bringing it to America, where her students included Hollywood celebrities like Greta Garbo and Gloria Swanson. "[Devi] was the one who took yoga from being what people in the West tended to imagine as sword-swallowing and circus tricks and domesticated it," Goldberg says. "The idea of yoga as a system of wellness for modern women that helps you [to] better equip yourselves for the many challenges of the modern world, that all comes back to her." Interview Highlights On the book 14 Lessons in Yogi Philosophy and Oriental Occultism, by American William Walter Atkinson, which sparked Indra Devi's interest in yoga Indra Devi discovers this book in the library of a Russian aristocrat. ... This was the sort of book you would find in the library of a bohemian Russian aristocrat. She finds this book, she thinks that it's a sort of dispatch from this otherworldly land. It kindles a fascination with India that will carry her throughout almost a century, but really it's Indian wisdom as refracted through a sort of American self-help writer, and I think that exemplifies, again, the sort of mashup that we see both in her life and her thinking, but also in yoga as it has come to us today. On why yoga is aerobic Krishnamacharya was the yogi-in-residence at the Mysore Palace, and the Maharajah of Mysore was this very progressive nationalist figure who really wanted to unite the best of the East and the best of the West. And so he sponsored Krishnamacharya to run a yoga school in the palace. Krishnamacharya — because a lot of his students were young, royal boys — created a system that would sort of capture the animal energy of an 8- or 9- or 10-year-old boy. So he put in things that if you do yoga now are really familiar to you — the jump backs and the chaturanga, which is the sort of half-pushups and these very fast, flowing movements that we call vinyasa — he created a lot of those things. On Krishnamacharya teaching Devi She was a woman in her 30s by the time she came to [Krishnamacharya]. At first he wanted nothing to do with her. ... He said, "I don't teach women and I don't teach Westerners." He wanted her to go away and she basically went over his head. She went to her friend the maharajah. She had this lifelong talent for cultivating people, for getting people to want to do her favors. Probably the most supernatural thing about her was her astonishing charisma. She went over his head, she went to the maharajah. The maharajah basically said, "Krishnamacharya, you have no choice, you have to teach her." He finally gave in, he grudgingly started giving her lessons. And when he saw how dedicated she was, he sort of relented and eventually developed enormous affection for her. And after he had taught her many of his secrets, he kind of came around ... and saw that yoga had a lot to offer people outside of his own purview and he charged her with teaching a lot of what he had taught her. On Devi teaching yoga in the U.S. in 1947 First she goes to Shanghai and she has a yoga studio in a villa that had been owned by Madame Chiang Kai-shek, and she's there during the Japanese occupation. After the war, she sails for Hollywood and she opens up one of the first yoga studios. There had been a couple of yoga teachers here and there in the United States. There was a brief yoga panic in the United States in the 1920s. ... You can see a lot of tabloid news stories about lecherous yogis luring women away from their marriages and families, but there hadn't really been very many yoga teachers in part because the Alien Exclusion Act kept South Asian immigrants from coming to the United States. So she opens a studio in Hollywood. She has some connections from her Shanghai days, people who are now in California who introduce her to various figures in Hollywood. They introduce her to Aldous Huxley, who is a famous writer who has kind of a longtime interest in Eastern spirituality. And so she opens this studio. And soon she has all sorts of famous actors and actres

Baseball Players and Fans

This week, Dodgers players went into the stands to confront rowdy fans. That this should happen is very rare. Susan speaks with <EM>Weekend Edition</EM>'s sports commentator Ron Rapoport about the invisible wall between fans and players, which seems to coming down.

How Trains 'Railroaded' The American Economy

Much of America as we know it evolved in the 19th century, as we'll explore in a series of three conversations this week with writers who seek out new ways to understand old events. There's no shortage of intrepid tales about the advent of the American rail system: Starting in the 1860s, rail companies built one track after another, across mountains and deserts, from the Midwest to California. Brilliant engineering combined with the muscle of immigrant labor unified America — or so the story goes. But that's not the story Richard White tells in his new book Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America. White describes how the rail corporations shaped the U.S. economy as we know it today — and not entirely for the better. "They bring about a great deal of political controversy and corruption," White tells NPR's Steve Inskeep. "They yield environmental damage, they are conceptually grand, and in practice, they really amount to being disasters in many respects." Interview Highlights On the railroad's legacy of corruption "It establishes a kind of networking between politics and business that persists to this day. Essentially for me, corruption is quite simple: It's the trading of public favors for private goods, and that's what happens repeatedly with the railroads and the federal government." On the transcontinental railroads being on a whole new scale "This is the invention of the modern corporation. This is why railroads are so feared: It's the first time that Americans come face to face with a new way of organizing the economy on a scale that they had never seen before. The result of this is not just going to be political corruption but, they think, an intervention into the economic lives of ordinary Americans that frightens them." On the Western railroads, which, more than the Eastern railroads, relied almost entirely on government funding "Western railroads, particularly the transcontinental railroads, would not have been built without public subsidies, without the granting of land and, more important than that, loans from the federal government ... because there is no business [in the West at that time,] there is absolutely no reason to build [railroads] except for political reasons and the hope that business will come. "What we're talking about is 1,500 or more miles between the Missouri River and California, in which there are virtually no Anglo-Americans. Most railroad men look at this, including [railroad magnate Cornelius] Vanderbilt, and they want nothing to do with it." On why the story of Grenville Dodge — the Civil War veteran and engineer who is said to have discovered the Union Pacific's key pass through the mountains — is presented somewhat less heroically in Railroaded "He's an impressive guy and certainly he tells wonderful stories — including the story of finding that pass. I'm not the first one to point out that that pass shows up nowhere in his contemporary accounts. It's not in his diaries, it's not in his letters — it's a story that he makes up later. And that's what Grenville Dodge is very good at: making up wonderful stories about Grenville Dodge, which is not to say he's not a competent engineer. "The problem with Grenville Dodge is that he is surprisingly competent at times, and at times he represents the worst of the gilded age. He is corrupt, he's a politician, he will go out and become a lobbyist for the Union Pacific and for the Texas Pacific. What he is is very adroit at finding ways in which he can get public favors for private railroads." On Grenville Dodge inventing some corporate lobbying techniques — manufacturing "grass roots" support that is actually "AstroTurf" "What he realizes is that lobbyists themselves have limited ability to gain what they want if they operate only in Washington, D.C. They have to appear to be channeling real public desire for whatever it is they're advocating. So what Dodge does is go back out and organize publicity campaigns, so he makes it appear that what Union Pacific wants and the Texas Pacific wants is what local people want. But all of this uproar of popular opinion has really been organized by Grenville Dodge. ... This is AstroTurf." On both despising and admiring historical figures like Dodge "It's easy when you're writing about these people to despise them, but it's also tempting to admire them. They are inventing, in many ways, our modern world. This is the first time that they're seeing many of these things — and they see them fresher than we do. ... They're making it up as they go along, and I learned an awful lot from watching them do it." Chapter 1: Genesis It is easier, more delightful, and more profitable to build with other peoples' money than our own. —Newton Booth In 1860, the year he won the Republican nomination for the presidency, Abraham Lincoln traveled from his home in Springfield, Illinois, to New York, a journey of about 825 miles as the crow flies, to give his famous Cooper Union speech. L

Korean Leaders Meet in Historic Summit

Leaders of the two Koreas met Tuesday for only the second time since the peninsula was bitterly divided in the closing days of World War II, with hard-line communist Kim Jong Il welcoming his counterpart to the North's capital city. North Korea's Kim displayed little enthusiasm Tuesday as he and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun walked down a red carpet flanked by a military guard. The greeting was a stark contrast to the first North-South summit in 2000, when Kim greeted then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung with smiles and clasped his hands tightly in an emotional moment that softened the North Korean strongman's stark and reclusive image. This time, Kim appeared reserved and unemotional, walking slowly and occasionally clapping lightly to encourage the crowd of thousands at an orchestrated outdoor welcome ceremony. Roh appeared to revel in the moment, waving and smiling broadly. The South Korean president has said his goal at the summit is fostering peace between the North and South, which remain technically at war since a 1953 cease-fire halted the Korean War. He has given no specific proposals for achieving the long-elusive goal, however, prompting criticism at home that the summit is an ego trip for Roh who is hoping to burnish a legacy for his unpopular administration that ends in February. Earlier, during the 125-mile journey by road from Seoul, Roh stepped out of his vehicle to walk across the border that divides the Koreas in the center of the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone — the first time any Korean leader has crossed the land border. In the first summit between the Koreas in 2000, the South's Kim flew to Pyongyang. "This line is a wall that has divided the nation for a half-century. Our people have suffered from too many hardships and development has been held up due to this wall," Roh said before crossing. "This line will be gradually erased and the wall will fall," he said. "I will make efforts to make my walk across the border an occasion to remove the forbidden wall and move toward peace and prosperity." This week's summit, which runs through Thursday, comes a year after the North conducted its first test detonation of a nuclear bomb. The explosion catalyzed world opposition to the regime but soon led to a reversal of Washington's hard-line policy on the North. In July, Pyongyang shut down its sole operating nuclear reactor that produced material for bombs and the country has tentatively agreed to disable its atomic facilities by year-end in a way that they cannot be easily restarted. Before leaving the South Korean capital, Roh acknowledged that the two Koreas could not by themselves resolve the nuclear standoff or bring peace to the peninsula. The North is involved in international talks over its nuclear weapons program with the U.S. and other regional powers. A peace settlement to the Korean War would require the participation of the U.S. and China that also fought in that conflict. "Even if we do not reach an agreement in many areas, it would still be a meaningful achievement to narrow the gap in understanding and to enhance confidence in each other," Roh said of the meeting with Kim. The United States expressed skepticism the summit would lead to progress on the nuclear standoff and noted that the peace issue was also being discussed at the international arms negotiations known as the six-party talks. "I certainly am not looking for those inter-Korean discussions to change the basic facts on the ground or the six-party talks," U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Monday. From NPR reports and The Associated Press

Lachlan Morton Sets A Bicycling 'Everesting' Record

A challenge has been growing more popular in the past few months for the truly masochistic bicyclists out there: Everesting. It's riding an elevation of the height of Mount Everest on a bicycle. Pick one hill, and go up and down, over and over again, until you've climbed 29,029 vertical feet. "It's pretty brutal," says pro cyclist Lachlan Morton. Morton just broke the record for the amount of time it takes to complete the feat — he finished in seven hours, 29 minutes and 57 seconds. He did it on Saturday on a hill in Rist Canyon, near Fort Collins, Colo. "The section I was riding was about a mile and it had 200 meters of elevation gain. And so I had to do 47 laps. And each lap was sort of more or less 10 minutes," he tells Morning Edition. It was Morton's second Everest attempt in just a week. On June 13, he went through "42 laps of hell" on the same road, only to find out a few days later that the app tracking his ride wasn't taking the right measurements. He was actually about 1,500 feet short of the goal. "I realized pretty quickly I was going to have to go and do it again," he says. When he officially broke the record the following week, he tacked on an additional lap, just to be safe. Everesting has been around for several years as a challenge for hardcore cyclists. The cycling group Hells 500, who since 2014 has been the official record-keepers of Everesting, says the first known Everesting came in 1984, when Francois Siohan rode 13 laps and more than 30,000 vertical feet on the Col de la Faucille in the Jura mountains of France. But the term "Everesting" was inspired by George Mallory — the grandson of Everest mountain climber George Mallory — who in 1994 rode on Australia's Mount Donna Buang to train for climbing the actual Everest. In the past few months, Everesting has picked up steam. With professional and organized rides canceled or postponed because of coronavirus, some pros and pain aficionados have been looking for a challenge that can be done solo. "Anyone can go and do it," Morton says. "It's accessible. You just need a hill." Morton is the third person to set a speed record for Everesting just in the past several weeks. On May 11, Phil Gaimon did the first successful run in under eight hours, in California. His record was broken just four days later by Keegan Swenson in Utah, who completed an Everest in 7:40:05. And Hannah Rhodes set the women's record in England on June 4, becoming the third woman to set a world record in a span of two weeks. Hells 500's Andy van Bergen tells NPR that before the current mountain of interest started, a typical busy month would be 120-160 submissions to the Everesting records. But last month there were 1,200 attempts and he expects the same for June. "With so many pro riders completing an Everesting, and a lack of other things to report on, the media coverage of Everesting skyrocketed," he writes in an email. "This inspired a new generation of athletes who potentially hadn't heard of the concept to tackle the challenge themselves." Van Bergen points to the additional option of vEveresting, using a virtual cycling setup and online software called Zwift, which allowed people to make attempts from inside their homes while under lockdown. "The exciting thing is that while racing will eventually return, and the pro riders will stop participating, the awareness around the concept, and the pipeline of athletes wanting to take it on is now immense," he says. NPR's Barry Gordemer produced the audio version of this story.

Southern Poverty Law Center Records Rise In U.S. Hate Groups

A new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says the number of hate groups in the U.S. increased for a second year in a row with a growing number of right wing extremists operating in cyberspace. The most dramatic change in the organization's annual count was an expanding number of anti-Muslim hate groups.

School Leaders On What Determines Student Success

Host Michel Martin continues her conversation with school leaders about students' math and reading skills.

'Signal' And 'Noise': Prediction As Art And Science

No one has a crystal ball, but Nate Silver has perfected the art of prediction. In 2008, he accurately predicted the presidential winner of 49 of the 50 states, and the winners of all 35 Senate races. Before he focused on elections, Silver developed a sophisticated system for analyzing baseball players' potential and became a skilled poker player — which is how he made his living for a while. Silver is a statistical analyst who's become something of a celebrity for his ability to plumb the meaning of opinion polls and other political data. He writes the New York Times blog FiveThirtyEight (named for the number of votes in the electoral college), which measures the meaning of political polls and predicts election outcomes. Silver's new book, The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail — but Some Don't, is about the explosion of data available in the Internet age, and the challenge of sorting through it all and making thoughtful decisions. "According to IBM, 90 percent of the data in the world was created within the last two years," Silver tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies. "So one problem is what we call the signal-to-noise ratio — the amount of meaningful information relative to the overall amount information is declining. We're not that much smarter than we used to be, even though we have much more information — and that means the real skill now is learning how to pick out the useful information from all this noise." In The Signal and the Noise, Silver looks at analysts in many fields, from weather to the economy to national security, and concludes that those who succeed at spotting new trends and understanding the future are careful to acknowledge what they don't know — and examine the assumptions that underlie their thinking. Humility, he says, is critical. In an election year, with numerous polls being taken on a daily basis, it's impossible to avoid predictions. That's why Silver finds it's necessary to look at all the data, but also consider it in the larger context of election history. "Sometimes, there's a tendency to take the result, the poll that is most out of line with the consensus because it tells the most dramatic headline," he says. "So I do urge caution about becoming attached or overly despondent about any one polling result." Interview Highlights On his forecasting of the 2008 presidential election "I think the best thing that our model did in 2008 was that it detected very quickly after the financial crisis became manifest — meaning after Lehman Brothers went belly up — that McCain's goose was cooked — that he'd been a little bit behind before, and there was such a clear trend against him that McCain had very little chance in the race from that point onward. Interestingly enough, Obama had about the same lead pre-Lehman Brothers over McCain that he did before the debate against Romney, so you see in 2008 you had a narrow Obama advantage that broke and opened up toward him, whereas this cycle, you had a narrow advantage that collapsed to close to a tie, based on a news event going the other way." On the bias of statistical models "You can build a statistical model and that's all well and good, but if you're dealing with a new type of financial instrument, for example, or a new type of situation — then the choices you're making are pretty arbitrary in a lot of respects. You have a lot of choices when you're designing the model about what assumptions to make. For example, the rating agencies assume basically that housing prices would behave as they had over the previous two decades, during which time there had always been steady or rising housing prices. They could have looked, for example, at what happened during the Japanese real estate bubble, where you had a big crash and having diversified apartments all over Tokyo would not have helped you with that when everything was sinking — so they made some very optimistic assumptions that, not coincidentally, happened to help them give these securities better ratings and make more money." On predictions of political pundits who appear on the TV program The McLaughlin Group "These predictions were made over a four-year interval, so it's a big enough chunk of data to make some fair conclusions. We found that almost exactly half of the predictions were right, and almost exactly half were wrong, meaning if you'd just flipped a coin instead of listening to these guys and girls, you would have done just as well. And it wasn't really even the case that the easier predictions turned out to be right more. So, for example, on the eve of the 2008 election, if you go to Vegas you would have seen Obama with a 95 percent of winning. Our forecast model had him with a 98 percent chance. Three of the four panelists said it was too close to call, despite Obama being ahead in every single poll for months and months and the economy having collapsed. One of them, actually, Monica Crowley on Fox News, said she thought McCain would win by half a point. Of co

N.H. Voters Discuss The GOP Field

Four years ago, Melissa Block traveled several times to Milford, N.H., to talk with voters. Friday, she talks to two of the people she met there: Noreen O'Connell and Steve O'Keefe. They discuss the current GOP presidential field.

The Not My Job X-Game

We are super excited that Mr.Tony Hawk will be joining us in Pasadena to play "Not My Job." Carl is bringing his skateboard and his street luge to get them autographed.

Excerpt: As Chimney Sweepers Come To Dust

ONE "Banished!" the wild wind shrieked as it tore at my face."Banished!" the savage waves roared as they drenched me with freezing water."Banished!" they howled. "Banished!"There is no sadder word in the English language. The very sound of it—-like echoing iron gates crashing closed behind you; like steel bolts being shot shut—-makes your hair stand on end, doesn't it?"Banished!"I shouted the word into the tearing wind, and the wind spat it back into my face."Banished!"I was standing at the heaving prow of the R.M.S. Scythia, my jaws wide open to the gale, hoping that the salt spray would wash the bad taste out of my mouth: the taste that was my life so far.Somewhere, a thousand miles behind us over the eastern horizon, lay the village of Bishop's Lacey and Buckshaw, my former home, where my father, Colonel Haviland de Luce, and my sisters, Ophelia and Daphne, were most likely, at this very moment, getting on nicely with their lives as if I had never existed.They had already forgotten me. I was sure of it.Only the faithful family retainers, Dogger and Mrs. Mullet, would have shed a furtive tear at my departure, but even so, they, too, in time, would have only foggy memories of Flavia.Out here on the wild Atlantic, the Scythia's bow was hauling itself up .?.?. and up .?.?. and up out of the sea, climbing sickeningly toward the sky, then crashing down with a horrendous hollow booming, throwing out great white wings of water to port and starboard. It was like riding bareback on an enormous steel angel doing the breaststroke.Although it was still early September, the sea was madness. We had encountered the remnants of a tropical hurricane, and now, for more than two days, had been tossed about like a cast--off cork.Everyone except the captain and I—-or so it seemed—-had dragged themselves off to their bunks, so that the only sounds to be heard as one reeled along the pitching, rolling corridors to dinner were the groan of stressed steel and, behind closed doors on either side, the evacuation of scores of stomachs. With nearly nine hundred passengers on board, it was a sobering sound.As for me, I seem to be blessed with a natural immunity to the tossing seas: the result, I supposed, of seafaring ancestors such as Thaddeus de Luce, who, although only a lad at the Battle of Trafalgar, was said to have brought lemonade to the dying Admiral Nelson, and to have held his cold and clammy hand.Nelson's last words, actually, were not the widely reported "Kiss me, Hardy," addressed to Captain Thomas Hardy of the Victory, but rather, "Drink, drink .?.?. fan, fan .?.?. rub, rub," whispered feverishly to the wide--eyed young Thaddeus, who, although reduced to tears at the sight of his mortally wounded hero, was doing his best to keep the great man's circulation from crystallizing.The wind ripped at my hair and tore at my thin autumn coat. I inhaled the salt air as deeply as I dared, the sea spray running in torrents down my face.A hand seized my arm roughly."What the devil do you think you're doing?"I spun round, startled, trying to wriggle free.It was, of course, Ryerson Rainsmith."What the devil do you think you're doing?" he repeated. He was one of those people who thought that the secret of gaining the upper hand was to ask every question twice.The best way of dealing with them is not to answer."I've been looking everywhere for you. Dorsey is beside herself with worry.""Does that mean there are now two of her to put up with?" I wanted to ask, but I didn't.With a name like Dorsey it was no wonder he called her "Dodo"—-or at least he did whenever he thought they were alone."We were afraid you'd fallen overboard. Now come below at once. Go to your cabin and put on some dry clothing. You look like a drowned rat."That did it. It was the last straw.Ryerson Rainsmith, I thought, your days—-your very hours—-are numbered.I would go to the young and handsome ship's doctor, whom I had met at supper the night before last. On the pretext of an upset tummy I would beg a bottle of sodium bicarbonate. A healthy dose of the stuff—-I smiled at the word "healthy"—-slipped into Rainsmith's invariable bottle of champagne would do the trick.Taken on a full stomach—-no worries about that where Ryerson Rainsmith was concerned!—-sodium bicarbonate combined with effervescent alcohol could be deadly: first, the headache, which seemed to grow by the minute, followed by mental confusion and severe stomach pain; then the muscle weakness, the thin stools like coffee grounds, the tremors, the twitching: all the classic symptoms of alkalosis. I would insist on taking him out on deck for a healthy walk. Forcing him to hyperventilate in all this fresh, invigorating air would speed up the process—-like sloshing petrol onto a fire.If I could manage to raise the pH of his arterial blood to 7.65, he wouldn't stand the chance of a snowman in Hades. He would die in agony."I'm coming," I said sullenly, and followed him at the speed of a sleepy snail, aft across

First Listen: Anthony Hamilton, 'Back To Love'

Audio for this feature is no longer available. A few months ago, I was lucky enough to see Anthony Hamilton perform before a few thousand fervent fans at an outdoor concert in the Deep South. The 40-year-old singer and songwriter was opening for his recent duet partner, Jill Scott. But for the hour in which he led his funky band through a set that was as funky as beautiful gets, this was his revival meeting. As Hamilton went deep in the pocket with his band, sexy slow jams segued into gospel testifying. The singer shouted the crowd to its feet and then took us down to a simmer with the deep amber falsetto he's known to break out. He cracked jokes, prayed and humped the floor. As my husband remarked, the performance made the whole idea of retro-soul irrelevant. Hamilton's songs about surviving hard times and keeping the flame of steady love were soul, that's all — as connected to present realities as music gets. Hamilton has made a steady career in R&B by mindfully responding to the genre's legacy. His baritone, one of the few on the charts today that has real grit, touches on the magnificence of Teddy Pendergrass and the tenderness of Donny Hathaway. A North Carolina native, Hamilton also sometimes reminds me of my favorite Southern gentleman: Bobby "Blue" Bland. His ownership of soul's legacy is one thing, but Hamilton also has serious hip-hop bona fides. In the 1990s, he toured with D'Angelo's legendary Soultronics, and he's sung on tracks by the likes of Tupac and Eve. Working with great rhymers has helped the singer shape an exquisite sense of timing. Even when he's clearly looking back to Stax or early-'70s funk, Hamilton stays free of the straitjacket of nostalgia by connecting with hip-hop's incessant inventiveness. Back to Love is Hamilton's sixth album, and also his most consistently hooky and inviting. On previous efforts, he's developed strong grooves and showcased his killer pipes, but only sometimes hit on great hooks. Here, working with an array of producers who understand that "classic" and "contemporary" aren't contradictory terms, Hamilton has created a set that becomes more addictive with every play. Variety is the spice of Back to Love — out Dec. 13 — as Hamilton applies his commanding vocals to rock-tinged funk, cool quiet storm and bare-bones balladry. The legendary Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds produced three cuts, including the bumping "Woo" and the hymnlike "Pray for Me," and his coolly open-minded approach infuses the whole album. That's Hamilton's approach, too, and he never gets lost working with a wide range of collaborators. Salaam Remi takes Hamilton into the Curtis Mayfield zone for the creamy title track. "Sucka for You," co-authored by Hamilton and longtime collaborator Kelvin Wooten, is a climb-on-the-chairs stomper. A Keri Hilson vocal and a squeaky synth beat make "Never Let Go" totally now, while listeners craving Southern funk ought to be satisfied by the bluesy "Life Has a Way." "Life humbles you down," Hamilton moans in that song, a mournful acknowledgment of how hard the journey can be. He's always been the paragon of modesty, a great talent without much interest in bragging or high rolling. More than ever before, this music makes the case for his importance. Let him lift you up.

Bic Is On A Mission To Save Handwriting. Does It Need Saving?

You may have seen or heard the ads from Bic, encouraging kids to &#8220;Fight For Your Write&#8221; to learn handwriting. The company &#8211; best known for making ballpoint pens &#8211; is on a mission to &#8220;save handwriting.&#8221; It&#8217;s encouraging students and teachers to get excited about handwriting again, in this age of technology. Here & Now&#8217;s Jeremy Hobson talks with Pam Allyn, Bic&#8217;s &#8220;Fight For Your Write&#8221; spokesperson and founding director of the global literacy organization LitWorld, about whether handwriting is really disappearing from schools, and why it&#8217;s important to &#8220;save&#8221; it. Interview Highlights: Pam Allyn Does hand writing need to be saved? “You know, it really does. I think we’re in a moment where people feel that technology’s going to kind of be the solution for everything, and in fact, technology’s a tool, but handwriting is a very powerful and beautiful technique and strategy that people have used for many, many years to make ideas come alive on the page. And I think right now, my concern is that especially in schools, but just in thinking about raising our kids as parents and educators that we are very focused on, you know, ‘OK, it’s all got to be about moving in that technology direction,&#8217; but the fact of the matter is writing by hand is a reflective cognitive thinking strategy that actually really helps kids.” On the cognitive differences between writing with a pen versus using a tablet “There are actually a couple of really interesting differences. Speaking as a literacy educator and both in terms of looking at the research and also being in classrooms alongside children, I see some profound differences and one of them is that making letters on the page is a lot different from pressing a keyboard. They’re looking at the letters, they’re thinking about the letters, they’re forming the letters. So something from that – moving from the cognitive to the actual movement of your hand on the page &#8211; is very powerful because then when you’re going to your own reading experience, for example, and you look at those letters they have more meaning. Just like the artist, you know, making a color on the page, then goes and looks at that painting, feels a lot differently about it, can really understand what went into it.&#8221; For me, I see it as a blended world. I grew up in a world where I got to learn how to write by hand, and then I got to learn how to use a tablet, and I want to make sure kids can do both. &#8220;And then the second thing that I think is really interesting, and I see it time and time again when I’m working with children and even young adults, teenagers in schools, when they have a pen in their hand I see more creative thinking &#8211; like they’ll turn the page around, there’s more doodling, there’s more kind of a thinking on the page going on. Whereas when they’re especially emerging writers, when they sit down &#8211; like a 7 or 8-year-old who’s still growing as a writer, not yet completely set even in grammar or language skills on the page or on the screen &#8211; there’s something about having the pen in the hand that gives them more ownership, more control, they can feel like they’re in charge, you know, that idea of authorship. &#8230; And there’s something incredible that happens with that and so I don’t want to lose that and I don’t think it’s an either-or. You know, I don’t think it’s ‘Well, now we can’t use tablets. We should only use pens.’ For me, I see it as a blended world. I grew up in a world where I got to learn how to write by hand, and then I got to learn how to use a tablet, and I want to make sure kids can do both.” On her message and Bic&#8217;s campaign “For myself, I am a literacy advocate, expert, author. I’m a teacher. I spend thousands of hours a year on schools and I would never say anything that I didn’t think was good for kids. And when Bic found me and they said ‘Look, you know, this means a lot to a lot of people. Parents approach us. Teachers approach us. They’re concerned because they’re saying, you know, ‘In our schools, or even at home, we’re just wondering what are we supposed to be doing?’ And, you know, when you ask ‘why should we believe this?’ I think the thing is I’m inviting people to be a part of this mission because I do believe in it&#8230; You think about how incredibly important the lives and stories of children are for me and my work, there is nothing more genuine than my mission to make sure that children’s stories will get heard and also will get preserved. There was a story of a baseball player who the kid caught the ball at the stadium and he went over to sign the ball for the kid. And he said to the kid, ‘Kid, you got a pen?’ And the kid said ‘No. No I don’t have pen.’ And the guy said ‘You got to have a pen.’ You know, and that’s it. I mean, that kind of sums it up. You can’t lay your tablet on the baseball. You know, it’s just moments in your life when i

How Chocolate Became A Sweet (But Not So Innocent) Consort To Valentine's Day

A heart-shaped box of chocolate is a sign of love, a symbol — and often tool — of romance, and an intrinsic part of Valentine's Day. From at least the time of the Aztecs, chocolate has been seen as an aphrodisiac. So it's reasonable to assume that it has been connected to love's dedicated day of celebration for many centuries. But, that isn't the case. The roots of Valentine's Day are ancient but far from clear, and likely originated in the pagan Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia. Those Romans, though, exchanged not candies but whippings — part of a complicated fertility ritual that began with sacrificing a goat and dog. This morphed into a tamer Christian feast day in A.D. 496, when Pope Gelasius I commemorated a martyred saint, Valentine. Or saints. In the third century, the Roman emperor Claudius II executed two men named Valentine on Feb. 14th, albeit in different years. It was Canterbury Tales author Geoffrey Chaucer who first specifically linked the holiday with love birds — literally. In his 1382 dream poem The Parliament of Fowls, a large group of birds gather on "Seynt Valentynes day" to choose their mates. Love-gazing poets followed Chaucer's lead, helping to popularize the amorous day through tales of courtly love, chivalric knights and fair maidens. Amateur bards took up their quills, too, and followed the tradition of writing verse to their paramours for the occasion — teasing couplets and sappy sonnets often surreptitiously passed in early valentines. By the mid-19th century, Feb. 14 had become the day in Britain (and the U.S.) on which people expressed their affection by exchanging lavish cards decorated with lace, ribbons and plump, bow-and-arrow-wielding Cupids. Amongst these maudlin missives arrived chocolate, with its lustier undertones. From Europe's first contact with it, chocolate had a reputation for aphrodisiac powers. Bernal Díaz Castillo, chronicler of Hernan Cortéz´s conquest of Mexico, claimed that during a banquet with Moctezuma, the great Aztec emperor was served gold cups "with a certain drink made of cacao, which they said was for success with woman." At first the Spaniard paid little attention, but then "saw that they brought more than 50 great jars of prepared cacao with its foam, and he drank that." Mugs of the frothy drink proved immediately popular back in Spain. And chocolate was embraced with equal passion when it traveled beyond Spain's borders, going to Italy, France (perhaps in 1615, when Anne of Austria, chocolate lover and daughter of the Spanish king, married Louis XIII), and, step by step, across Europe. Wherever chocolate went, its reputation as a sexual stimulant seemed to follow. Giacomo Casanova called chocolate the "elixir of love" and the notorious Marquis de Sade celebrated its potency. In Restoration England, the learned physician Henry Stubbe wrote in The Natural History of Chocolate (1662) of the "great use of Chocolate in Venery [sexual indulgence], and for supplying the Testicles with a Balsam, or a Sap." Stubbe not only advocated the drink, but often prepared it for the insatiable Charles II, whose notorious appetite for sex was matched only by that for chocolate. In 1669, the merry monarch, England's first chocoholic, spent £229 10s. 8d. on chocolate. That's significantly more than he spent on tea (just £6), or even what his chief mistress received for an allowance (£200). For most people, though, chocolate was still an extravagance out of reach. By the time the more staid reign of Queen Victoria began in 1837, that had changed. Valentine's Day was hitting its stride, thanks to the rise of the inexpensive penny post and mass-produced cards, and chocolate had become affordable to the middle class. Its popularity was soaring. In 1847, the British chocolate maker J.S. Fry & Sons produced the first modern-day bar —that is, chocolate to eat rather than drink. The company combined cacao powder and sugar with cacao butter (the fat extracted from cacao beans) to form a moldable paste. A few years later, the company sold the first filled chocolates with flavored centers. But its rival Cadbury would ultimately be the one to connect Valentine's Day with chocolate. Tapping into the Victorian fondness for ornamentation, Richard Cadbury launched "Fancy Boxes" of chocolates in 1861. Inside, under a heavily decorated lid, assorted bonbons filled with marzipan, chocolate-flavored ganache and fruity crèmes nestled in lace doilies. It didn't take long—1868 according to The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets — for Cadbury to create a Fancy Box in the shape of a heart for the romantic holiday. Once the chocolates had been eaten, the boxes were deeply prized by sentimental Victorians, who stored love letters, lockets of hair, and other treasured mementos inside. The idea took wing globally and became a lasting commercial phenomenon. In the United States this year, some 40 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates will be sold for Valentine's Day. Over half of tho

Researchers Look For Gun Violence Clues In Google Searches And Background Checks

After the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Conn., people across the country went out and bought guns. A study published Thursday concludes that a subsequent increase in gun exposure led to more accidental firearm deaths than otherwise would have occurred in the months after the school shooting. "It was the spike [in sales] itself that sort of drove us to initiate this project," says Phillip Levine, a professor of economics at Wellesley College and author of the study that appears in the journal Science. "It just led us to ask the question, 'Given that many new guns being added to society, what impact does that have?' " The answer may seem obvious. But restrictions on funding have left gaping holes in U.S. gun safety research. "Although the evidence that firearm ownership and access to firearms is associated with health risks is fairly strong, the estimates very widely," says David Studdert, a professor at Stanford University who studies trends in gun violence and who wasn't involved in the new study. "There's clearly a strong relationship with firearm-related suicide," he adds. "Some studies show a relationship with firearm-related homicide. But we need better evidence." The new analysis, which only considers accidental firearm deaths, required cobbling together multiple sources of information. American data on gun violence is notoriously incomplete — not all states reliably report crime information to the federal government and there is no national gun ownership database. The Wellesley team used data on background checks to estimate gun sales and Google trends data about gun-related searches to approximate exposure to firearms. It's an imperfect approach, Levine acknowledges. "Background checks don't perfectly capture gun sales," he says, pointing out that guns bought at gun shows don't require a background check. Also, people buying multiple guns at the same time only undergo a single background check. "In reality it doesn't 100 percent matter that we have the exact right number of guns," he says, because the increase in background checks reflects the overall increase in exposure to firearms. In Google search data, the team saw spikes in searches including the terms "clean gun" and "buy gun" immediately following the Newtown shooting. The term "clean gun" is, they argue, an indicator that people may be removing guns they already own from storage in order to clean them. In all, the study concludes that increased gun exposure after Newtown led to an additional 66 accidental shooting deaths in the U.S., a third of whom were children. "It's very challenging to estimate empirically," says Studdert. "If we really wanted to understand the health effects of firearm ownership, we would randomize the ownership of weapons in different households and observe their effects over time. Of course, we can't do that." He thinks the approach, using a surge in the supply of firearms to ask a question about accidental deaths, is a good one. But, he says, the study leaves larger questions unanswered. "Accidental deaths are quite a small part of firearm mortality. Around 2 to 3 percent of all firearm related deaths are accidental deaths. The lion's share are homicides and suicides," Studdert points out. "The much bigger question is, 'What effect does firearm exposure have on firearm-related suicide and homicide?' The design of this study didn't allow them to answer that." The new study also found smaller increases in gun exposure after major gun policy events, including a speech by President Obama in which he called for tighter gun purchase laws, and the announcement of a task force to study such legislation. That finding makes explicit a dilemma policymakers face after mass shootings, Levine says: "Introducing unsuccessful gun control legislation isn't necessarily helping. It may be hurting."

A Celebration Of 'Vinyl' And Pop Critic Ellen Willis

In 1975, Ellen Willis went to see a Rolling Stones concert. "I spent most of the evening dancing in my seat," she wrote in her review for The New Yorker magazine, "and in my seat merely because the people behind me insisted." As a critic, she was always shaking her hips. Willis was The New Yorker's first pop critic from 1968 to 1975, and her essays made the connection between music, pleasure and politics. In pieces about Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, the Velvet Underground or Stevie Wonder, her thoughts were complex, but her words were as accessible as a great backbeat. Out of the Vinyl Deeps, edited by her daughter, brings together many of her pieces from The New Yorker and other publications. As the gushy reviews start to pile up, I'm starting to think Willis might have invented the way my generation thinks about pop. Of course she would never make such a fancy claim. She was one of those shaggy-haired, direct action-oriented baby-boomer bohos who had no use for pretense. She herself turned away from music writing by the 1980s, after her beloved Bob Dylan went evangelical and rock turned out to not be the revolutionary force she'd hoped it was. Though she moved on, Willis' early days speaking truth to Mick Jagger established her as the spiritual mother of today's most intellectually ambitious, emotionally engaged writing about pop culture. Her words connect the energy and experimentation of the counterculture of the late '60s with the intellectual rigor of today's pop scholars bearing master's degrees. Most important, Willis wrote like someone who lived in a body. Her reviews are peppered with scenes of her standing on theater seats, dancing in her bedroom, or having a flash of insight while waiting for her clothes at the laundromat. She wrote about laughing, and having doubts. "I believe that body and spirit are not really separate, though it often seems that way," she wrote. "I believe that redemption is never impossible and always equivocal. But" — and here she's quoting Velvet's leader Lou Reed — "I guess that I just don't know." That paragraph is pretty deep, but the punchline brings it down to street level, where Willis lived. She was always giving the reader a friendly shove back into life's specifics: "On November 7," she wrote in an essay on coming to terms with punk rock, "I admitted I was turned on by the Sex Pistols." And then she tells you exactly how that happened and why (she got back from a shrink appointment one day to find a friend had sent her a bunch of British vinyl singles and albums, and the moment was finally right). Willis made sure her mental footwork was easy to follow, and that's what makes Out of the Vinyl Deeps so relevant. Post-Internet, everybody's a critic, but the best writers know that what matters isn't showing off, but starting a conversation that feels relevant and real. Pick up her book, and you just might discover a voice you've been ready to love for years. Dylan Nearly two years ago, Bob Dylan had a motorcycle accident. Reports of his condition were vague, and he dropped out of sight. Publication of his book, Tarantula, was postponed indefinitely. New records appeared, but they were from his last album, Blonde on Blonde. Gruesome rumors circulated: Dylan was dead; he was badly disfigured; he was paralyzed; he was insane. The cataclysm his audience was always expecting seemed to have arrived. Phil Ochs had predicted that Dylan might someday be assassinated by a fan. Pete Seeger believed Dylan could become the country's greatest troubadour, if he didn't explode. Alan Lomax had once remarked that Dylan might develop into a great poet of the times, unless he killed himself first. Now, images of James Dean filled the news vacuum. As months passed, reflex apprehension turned to suspense, then irritation: had we been put on again? We had. Friends began to admit, with smiles, that they'd seen Bobby; he was rewriting his book; he was about to sign a contract with MGM Records. The new rumor was that the accident had been a cover for retreat. After Blonde on Blonde, his intensive foray into the pop demimonde, Dylan needed time to replenish his imagination. According to a less romantic version, he was keeping quiet till his contracts expired. The confusion was typical. Not since Rimbaud said "I is another" has an artist been so obsessed with escaping identity. His masks hidden by other masks, Dylan is the celebrity stalker's ultimate antagonist. The original disparity between his public pose as rootless wanderer with southwestern drawl and the private facts of home and middle-class Jewish family and high school diploma in Hibbing, Minnesota, was a commonplace subterfuge, the kind that pays reporters' salaries. It hardly showed his talent for elusiveness; what it probably showed was naivete. But his attitude toward himself as a public personality was always clear. On an early recording he used the eloquent pseudonym "Blind Boy Grunt." "Dyla

Udents React To Shooting

-- Students from McClymonds High School in West Oakland and Berkeley High School, Berkeley, California, react to the shootings in Springfield, Oregon.

Kasey Chambers: 'Wayward Angel'

When Kasey Chambers was dubbed the "the freshest young voice in American roots music" by Rolling Stone magazine, it was quite an achievement -- especially considering that the singer-songwriter hails from the Australian outback. Her clear tone evokes a whole history of country, with shades of Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and the Carter Family. After a brief hiatus taking care of her 2-year-old son Talon, Chambers is back with a third solo CD, Wayward Angel. Last year, the CD debuted at number one on the Australian pop charts, and recently, it was released in America. Chambers and her band join NPR's Liane Hansen for a live performance in NPR's Studio 4A.

Paulson Says Focus Of Bailout Will Shift

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Wednesday backed away from the government's plan to use $700 billion in bailout funds to buy troubled mortgage assets and instead called for a fresh injection of cash to financial institutions. Paulson, seeking to defend the unprecedented and controversial Troubled Asset Relief Program from critics, said the government's new goal would be to support financial markets, which supply consumer credit in such areas as credit card debt, auto loans and student loans. To date, no toxic assets have been purchased with the bailout funds. At Wednesday's news conference in Washington, Paulson said, "Our assessment at this time is that this is not the most effective way to use TARP funds. But we will continue to examine whether targeted forms of asset purchase can play a useful role, relative to other potential uses of TARP resources." He said the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve had "taken the necessary steps to avoid a broad, systemic failure" of troubled banks and financial institutions. Credit markets became dangerously logjammed in September as interbank lending and loans to businesses ground to a halt, threatening to bring down the global economy. The Bush administration responded with a rescue plan passed by Congress in October that had originally been aimed at buying up bad debt from banks so they could continue lending. But Paulson said the financial industry's situation has worsened since the bill was passed, prompting him to spent nearly $250 billion to buy equity stakes in banks. "Although the financial system has stabilized, both banks and nonbanks may well need more capital — given their troubled asset holdings, projections for continued high rates of foreclosures and stagnant U.S. and world economic conditions," Paulson said. The Treasury secretary warned that the nation's financial system "remains fragile" and that "significant illiquid assets" continued to present difficulties. But "overall, we are in a better position than we were" two months ago, he said. Paulson's remarks came on the same day that the Federal Reserve and three other federal banking regulators issued new guidelines to institutions to work with mortgage borrowers to avoid defaults. In addition, the guidance encourages banks to set dividend payments for shareholders and compensation for executives with the current crisis in mind. Referring to the move, Paulson said that "'ordering' is too strong, but 'encouraging'" best described the guidelines. He said the Treasury Department was evaluating a second program that would provide government investments that would match private investments in efforts to raise capital. "In developing a potential matching program, we will also consider capital needs of nonbank financial institutions not eligible for the current capital program," Paulson said. Earlier, the White House appeared to rule out a rescue for the nation's ailing auto industry, and Paulson on Wednesday reiterated that the financial industry is "where the focus is right now." He did not rule out expanding the program to car manufacturers, but he warned of the danger of bailing out industries without government oversight. "I know the automakers are important to the U.S.," he said. "They are a key part of our manufacturing industry. I have said and the administration has said, very clearly, we need a solution, but we need a solution that leads to viability." As Paulson spoke, U.S. stocks extended early-morning losses that followed on Asian and European markets. From NPR and wire reports

Pterrifying Pterodactyl Meets Sexy Detective

Rosecrans Baldwin's latest book is Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down. Most of what you read about contemporary Paris is pretty cliched stuff — baguettes, cigarettes and the cast of Gossip Girl drinking white wine on the Seine. But if you like your Francophilia with a bit more punch, imagine stepping back into the early 20th century: 1911. It's Paris during the Belle Epoque, the city's golden age. World War I hasn't begun, but the city is being attacked — by a bloodthirsty pterodactyl controlled by a scientist endowed with supernatural powers. Pharmacists, widows and house painters are being murdered. The prime minister is outraged. And the only person who can save the French capital is a young writer with the brains of Sherlock Holmes, the body of Angelina Jolie and the stoic fortitude of the Marlboro Man. Her name is Adèle Blanc-Sec, and she won't take non for an answer. Thus begins Volume 1 of The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, recently translated and printed in fine editions by Fantagraphics Books. I'm not much for graphic novels, but this series by the great French comics artist Jacques Tardi has become an infatuation of mine. The books are part adventure comic, part hardboiled fiction. They're terrific whodunits that conjure up all the precise atmospheric detail of, say, a Georges Simenon novel, but with twice the plot. And the artwork is striking, paneled like a comic but with historical grit. Here is Paris in its authentic beauty: rainy, crowded and bristling with characters who wear their neuroses like carnival masks. But the star is Adèle. As the mystery unfolds, she's a brooding young woman who drinks, smokes and ruminates her way through gas-lamp Paris, frequently dressed in a man's suit. Her soul is opaque to us: We don't know much about her origins or her motivations, except that she's canny, surly and quick with a gun. She's one of the good guys, but of a darker, idiosyncratic shade, and in that way, she's a lot more gumshoe than superhero, more Philip Marlowe than Marvel Girl. This is the sort of artful comic that Raymond Chandler might have drawn, with brutal gangsters, vain politicians and a bumbling, power-hungry police officer named Inspector Caponi, who resents a busybody female journalist meddling on his turf. But the story, for me, takes a back seat to the atmosphere. The sublime value of The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec is exploring Tardi's re-creation of Paris at the turn of the 20th century. We see, for example, the orientalism craze that occupied the city before World War I. Or we trip down the stairs of a secret cult's hideout that has been constructed underneath the Pont-Neuf. This is Paris not only as it existed, but as it might have — the real and the imagined vigorously combined. My Guilty Pleasure is produced and edited by Ellen Silva and Rose Friedman with production assistance from Annalisa Quinn.

Lou Reed, Tinariwen, The Bad Plus

A musical trainwreck from Bill Joy; The poetry of Poe as sung by Lou Reed; Rebel warriors turned musicians: Tinariwen; Vanguard electronica producer Suba; A jazz trio does Nirvana: The Bad Plus Download this show in the All Songs Considered podcast. Sign up for the All Songs Considered newsletter and we'll tell you when new music features are available on the site.

U.S. Braces for (Indian) Mango Madness

Imports of Indian mangoes, which already account for almost half the world's mango output, are expected to hit U.S. stores over the next month. A new trade agreement lifts a U.S. ban on Indian varieties of the fruit that was implemented in the mid-1980s over concerns about fruit flies. Bhaskar Savani, a Philadelphia dentist who was among the first to import Indian mangoes under the new rules, tells Robert Siegel that American mango-eaters have been missing out for years. ROBERT SIEGEL, Host: Last Wednesday, White House press secretary Tony Snow was back on the job after cancer surgery facing some persistent questioning about Iraq, al-Qaida and the president's prewar polemics. The exchange came to a crashing close when Snow did what White House press secretaries in need of punctuation tend to do. He called on a member of the White House press corps who was guaranteed to change the subject - in this case, Raghubir Goyal of the India Globe. RAGHUBIR GOYAL: What message does mangoes bring, as far as India-U.S. relations are concerned, say and other issues? TONY SNOW: I don't know. It is my first mango-related inquiry. (SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER) SNOW: I think, Goyal, I think what you do see is constantly - India is a very important partner for the United States, so we... SIEGEL: We have observed here in the past, the phenomenon dubbed the Goyal foil which can switch any subject to Kashmir or U.S.-Indian nuclear cooperation or other news that we might otherwise have missed - in this case, the breakthrough on Indian mangoes. MRON SOMERS: The Bush administration has removed the last of the barriers that for 18 years has prevented the import to the United States of delicious Indian mangoes. SIEGEL: That is a taped message from Mron Somers, president of the U.S.-India Business Council, an arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He goes on to quote India's commerce minister. SOMERS: America for too long has denied itself the taste of delicious Indian mangoes, and he's right. This breakthrough of opening mango trade is highly emblematic of a push by both the United States and India to deepen two- way trade to $50 billion this year. SIEGEL: Since the 1980s, concerns about foreign fruit flies kept the Indian mango out of the U.S. market. Now they are on their way back. On the world mango stage, India is a colossus accounting for close to half of the world's mango output, and producing such sweet varieties as the Alphonso and the Kesar. BHASKAR SAVANI: The aroma, the fruity fragrance after eating will be in your mouth. You don't need to use any mouth freshener, and the taste will be lingering in your fingers for hours. SIEGEL: That's Dr. Bhaskar Savani of Philadelphia. He's a dentist by trade. But he also claims to be the first importer of Indian mangoes under the new rules. Dr. Savani says American mango eaters have been missing out for years. SAVANI: If you look at anybody who knows mangoes and the Floridian mango we call it comes from South American mango, it absolutely misses the flavor of the mango. SIEGEL: Savani says those Floridian mangoes known to most U.S. shoppers are actually descendants of Indian mango rootstock brought to the Americas by the British. SAVANI: It looks bigger. It looks better. A lot of my American friends they say it looks so beautiful; they buy this mango to decorate the fruit table in the party. SIEGEL: Uh-huh. SAVANI: Not to eat. SIEGEL: Now what are some recipes, what are some dishes through which the mango is renown say in Indian cuisine? SAVANI: I mean of course there's mango varieties like mango milkshake, mango lushes, which is mango from yoghurt. You know, mango and yoghurt. SIEGEL: Uh-huh. SAVANI: And that's pretty tasty. And then the raw varieties of mangoes, they use for mango chutneys. SIEGEL: Uh-huh. SAVANI: Or mango, you know, dipping sauce. But the mango lush or mango milkshake is really, you know, tasteful and it gives you the amazing flavor and the taste. SIEGEL: That's Dr. Bhaskar Savani of Philadelphia. He is among the first legal importers of Indian mangoes to the United States in 18 years.

Democratic Agenda for Congress Starts with Ethics

Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen from Maryland says ethics changes are at the top of the Democratic agenda for the new Congress. Van Hollen, who is chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, talks about the agenda with Renee Montagne.

Acid Attacks on Women in India Prompt Protests

Haseena Hussain was an attractive, upwardly mobile woman in Bangalore, India, with everything going for her. But it all changed in 1999, when she turned down her former boss' marriage proposal and he sought revenge by pouring two liters of concentrated hydrochloric acid over her body. Hussain now works with the Campaign and Struggle Against Acid Attacks on Women (CSAAAW) to fight the surge of acid violence against women. Since 1999, the group has documented 61 such attacks. In the most recent case, a 22-year-old mother of four children was doused with acid and forced to drink a deadly concoction of a corrosive chemical and alcohol by her abusive husband in the city of Mysore. CSAAAW has had some success in persuading the courts and police to take acid attacks more seriously. In a recent ruling, the sentence of Hussain's attacker was increased from five years to 14. But even that measure of justice rings hollow to Hussain, who had burns over most of her body and lost her nose and eyesight. In that ruling, the judge also demanded that the government set up a fund of about $250,000 to cover the costs of reconstructive surgery that many of these women need. Survivors of the attacks say that the fund is only enough to care for two women — far short of the needs of the more than 60 survivors. Even with excellent medical care, the best that most of these women can hope for is survival. If not treated immediately, they can lose their eyesight and spiral into depression. Many commit suicide. Acid violence seems to be almost unique to South Asia, with most incidents occurring in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Part of the reason is that acid is cheap and widely available. Many Indians use concentrated acid to sterilize their kitchens and bathrooms, as Americans would use bleach. But the problem affects more than just the women represented by the campaign. A number of politicians, including the wife of the former prime minister of India, have had acid thrown at them. It is also commonplace in mob violence. Popular televised serials and films reinforce the idea by repeatedly portraying acid attacks. Perhaps the most dangerous thing about acid attacks is the fear that they create. With just a few rupees, anyone can buy a weapon that can ruin another person's life in just a few seconds. For this reason, activists from CSAAAW will raise their voices until the government does something to regulate acid.

We Have A ScuttleButton Winner!

The thing about me doing my part last week and going on furlough -- something everyone at National Public Radio has to do, part of NPR's attempt to get back to fiscal solvency -- is that it allowed me to sit back and watch all the offers of financial aid come pouring in. I'm still waiting. But the good news of the previous week was that ScuttleButton has returned, after some technoglitches (and a vacation) that kept it off the Junkie Web site for three weeks. And many ScuttleButton junkies were thrilled -- I reprint a bunch of their comments below. But first things first: It's time to announce the ScuttleButton winner. Read More >> And since I was out last week, perhaps some folks forgot how to play? It's easy. Just check out my button puzzle each Friday. Take one word or one concept per button, add 'em up, and arrive at a familiar saying or a name. (Seriously: a saying that people from Earth might be remotely familiar with.) Submit your answer and hope you're the person chosen at random. That's it! Oh wait. You MUST include your name and city/state to be eligible. And also remember, the answer does not necessarily have to be political. For instance, the answer to a puzzle a while back was "Minnesota Twins" -- not political at all, unless you're thinking Mondale and Humphrey instead of Killebrew and Oliva. Here are the buttons from the last puzzle before I was banished to furloughville: I'm the NRA and I Vote -- Distributed at C-PAC by the National Rifle Association. The Pop -- A British punk rock group. Heidi for Governor -- Heidi Heitkamp was the Democratic nominee for governor of North Dakota in 2000, losing to Republican John Hoeven. I'm for Saylor for Congress -- A Republican, John Saylor represented Pennsylvania's 12th District for a dozen terms until his death in 1973. He was replaced in a special 1974 election by John Murtha, a Democrat, who still serves. Button of a man -- Not much more I can say. (Anyone recognize this dapper fellow?) So, when you add I'm + Pop + Heidi + Saylor + Man, you kinda get ... I'm Popeye the Sailor Man. And just in case you're dying to hear that song again ... Assuming you've now recovered from listening to that classic tune, it's now time to declare a winner. And that winner, selected completely at random among the correct responders, is (drum roll) ... Alan Burch of Wichita, Kansas. But, as I said, the best news of the week was the great e-mails that poured in from people thrilled with the return of ScuttleButton. Laurel Stanley of Caenarfon, United Kingdom, writes, "Thank God ScuttleButton is back -- Fridays have been soooo empty." "Please, ScuttleButton," begs Deirdre Carroll of Seattle, "don't ever leave me again!" Chris Hagedorn of Tempe, Ariz., writes that ScuttleButton "is back just in time. I was starting to dig through old boxes of political crap to get my fix." Melissa Hamilton of Locust Grove, Ga., says she was "starting to feel like my brain was going to waste" in the three weeks without the puzzle. John Kirk of London wasn't happy that I compared the return of ScuttleButton to a rescue of "our American way of life." John writes, "ScuttleButton has become an essential part of British life for me too!" And Joel Shapiro of Bound Brook, N.J., says, "If ScuttleButton did not come back, God would stand before you and all your cronies at NPR." Joel has been attending too many health-care town-hall meetings. But Marilyn Holland of Goodyear, Ariz., summed it up best: "Thank heavens ScuttleButton is back. The terrorists lose." (Similarly, Brian Francis of Charlotte, N.C., wrote, "The return of ScuttleButton somewhat softens the week-long furlough news, but only because ScuttleButton is so awesome. Take that terrorists!") Wanna be alerted the moment a new ScuttleButton puzzle goes up on the site? (How can you NOT???) Sign up on our mailing list at politicaljunkie@npr.org. New ScuttleButton puzzle up every Friday.

Alaska's Growing Kelp Industry Helps Drive Sea-To-Table Movement

In February of last year, Alaskan Gov. Bill Walker signed an administrative order to help jumpstart mariculture, or sea farming, in the state. One Juneau couple is whipping up a recipe to make local kelp an enticing business and snack. They're part of a growing number of startups that see Alaska seaweed as a marketable food. Kelp has become a big part of Matt Kern and Lia Heifetz's relationship. "It's basically all we talk about it," Heifetz says with a laugh. "Every day of the week. Every night of the week. Every weekend." Kern and Heifetz are dedicating so much of their time to seaweed because they've been laying the groundwork for a new business. "Kelp salsa," Kern says. "It's made predominantly from bull kelp that we harvest from around Juneau." The Alaska Department of Fish and Game doesn't have a formalized process for collecting wild kelp for commercial use — at least not yet. So, the couple forages under an experimental permit. A lot of work and late nights go into making a batch of salsa. Kern pops the lid off a small mason jar and opens a bag of corn chips. "Today we have a green salsa verde," he says. "And another flavor called campfire that has roasted garlic and onions." Both jars of salsa contain lots of minced bull kelp. The campfire flavor is tart from the seaweed and mildly spiced. The couple recently received a $40,000 Path to Prosperity grant, which helps Southeast Alaskan entrepreneurs grow their business. Last year, they made about 2,000 jars of salsa, mostly cooked up in their home kitchen and sold at the local public market. But they want to eventually expand distribution beyond Juneau. Having access to enough foraged seaweed for that expansion could be difficult, but a California-based startup might be able to help. Blue Evolution is looking at the prospect of seaweed farming in Alaska. Right now, the company grows the plant in Mexico, dries it and turns it into pasta. "They were really interested in doing domestic production," says marine biologist Tamsen Peeples, who is employed by Blue Evolution and works on the science of seaweed farming at the University of Alaska Southeast. She says coastal states like Maine are already kelp farming, but developing it in Alaska has its advantages. "Alaska has bountiful amounts of coastline, obviously, and clean water," Peeples says. "As an Alaskan, I think it's a great opportunity for individuals who otherwise in the winter are laying low between commercial fishing and tourism." But one thing Alaska doesn't have is easy access to kelp seed. The department of fish and game says you can only farm with plants native to the region. An oyster company in Homer, Alaska sells some wild seaweed that grows on its lines. But the farmed variety is only growing at a couple of test sites in the state. That's where Peeples' research comes in. She's been working on propagating seed from local kelp spores. "In order for this industry to grow, we're going to have to get a number of other hatcheries to come online," Peeples says. A new House bill could make it easier for nonprofit hatcheries to receive state loans. Even though those wouldn't apply to a company like Blue Evolution, Peeples thinks it's a good thing. So far, she has successfully incubated varieties like sugar and ribbon kelp. And those plants are growing in the waters of Kodiak and Ketchikan. Blue Evolution will buy the seaweed back in the spring. As their kelp salsa business grows, Kern and Heifetz say they're also interested. "We plan to be sourcing directly from farms in the future," Heifetz says. For them, it's not about building a seaweed snack empire. "This wasn't a huge day-to-day leap in our lives ... to go from doing it on our home scale," Kern says. "'Because this is what we'd be doing with our time anyway." That means building their business sustainably, making thousands of jars of kelp salsa and sharing it with friends and customers. This report comes from Alaska's Energy Desk, a public media collaboration focused on energy and the environment. You can hear the audio here.