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House Passes Republican-Endorsed Tax Cuts

The House of Representatives passes a Republican plan to cut taxes and continue capital gains breaks through 2010. Supporters say the plan has helped the economy grow, while opponents -- mostly Democrats -- say it benefits only the rich. The House bill differs from what is being considered in the Senate.

Week In Politics: House Intel Committee, GOP Health Care Bill

NPR's Audie Cornish talks to political commentators Kimberly Atkins of the <em>Boston Herald</em> and Guy Benson of Townhall.com for the about the controversy surrounding the House Intelligence Committee, the debate over the GOP health care bill and Democrats' plan to filibuster Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

Mormons Confront Negative Ideas About Their Faith

The failed presidential bid of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has many of his fellow Mormons wondering why so many people seem to dislike them. The Romney candidacy focused unprecedented attention on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons who took part in the effort were surprised by the anti-Mormon sentiment they encountered. "I just simply called to say 'I'm a volunteer for the Mitt Romney campaign,' and as soon as the Mitt Romney name was out, that's when they'd bring up the issue of Mormonism, and ... it being a cult," recalls Jenna Riggs, a stay-at-home mom in Alexandria, Va., who worked a Romney phone bank the night before Super Tuesday. The resistance to a Mormon candidate was especially acute among evangelicals who don't believe Mormons are Christians. "We are a Judeo-Christian country," says Cindy Mosteller, a Southern Baptist and former Republican county chairwoman in South Carolina. "I think to give the presidency to a religion that isn't Judeo-Christian-based in any way, shape or form ... is really giving away our heritage." Differences Between Faiths This is what really galls Mormons: "It just is mind-boggling how we could not be Christian," says Russell Ballard, a Mormon apostle who manages public relations for the church. "There is no organization on Earth that has more devotion or acceptance of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ than we do." Ballard acknowledges that the Mormon version of Christianity isn't the same as other Christian faiths. Those differences attracted opposition to the faith as soon as Joseph Smith began preaching the Mormon gospel more than 150 years ago. The Romney candidacy highlighted some of those differences in ways that many Mormons had not experienced before. The spotlight on the faith revealed prejudices that some found surprising. And the resistance wasn't limited to evangelicals on the right. "Romney comes from a religion founded by a criminal who was anti-American, pro-slavery and a rapist," Democratic analyst Lawrence O'Donnell said on The McLaughlin Group in December. O'Donnell's comments got him suspended from the television show, but similar sentiments have appeared elsewhere in mainstream media. Unaware of Image Public opinion polls also repeatedly show resistance to putting a Mormon in the White House. Survey after survey finds that from 25 percent to 50 percent of the respondents would not be comfortable with a Mormon president. "I myself have not really come across, directly, a lot of prejudice about my religion," notes Romney phone bank volunteer Jenna Riggs. "So it really was surprising to me how often I came across people that said it wasn't his platform that was the issue, but it was his religion." Ballard characterized some of what he heard as "mean-spirited and untrue. It was hurtful that anybody would have that deep of bigotry and meanness." "Mormons had come to the conclusion that their religion was pretty much accepted," says Richard Bushman, a visiting professor of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University in California. "But these horrendous poll results that indicate that Mormons are not first-class citizens because of their religion were terribly shocking." Bushman describes a comfortable self-image and tendency toward isolation, which left some Mormons unaware of how far the faith's negative reputation had spread. There was also far more positive attention relatively recently, when the Mormon capital of Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. Thousands of reporters flocked to Salt Lake City then and wrote stories about the faith that focused on "Mormon behavior," says Jan Shipps, a non-Mormon historian at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, who is writing a book about recent Mormon history. The image then, Shipps says, was "the Mormons as gracious hosts, the Mormons as having wonderful families, the Mormons as being humanitarians, the Mormons as friendly, the Mormons as welcoming. This whole pattern allowed (the church) to undercut notions about Mormons being weird, being quaint, being odd." The Romney candidacy attracted reporting that focused on Mormon theology, including its unique approaches to Christian belief and practice. There were references to "sacred underwear, the notion that Romney's ancestors were polygamists, the whole business about not being able to talk about what goes on in (Mormon) temples," Shipps says. "Mormons don't like to talk about how their beliefs are distinctive. (But) it wasn't enough to say, 'We are Christian.' " "Sacred underwear" is how some non-Mormons describe special undergarments orthodox Mormons wear in the belief they provide divine protection. Polygamy was once a tenet of the Mormon faith and many members, including Romney, have polygamous ancestors. Mormon temples are open only to faithful Mormons deemed worthy by their local ecclesiastical leaders. Many temple ceremonies are considered sacred and private and Mormons are warned

Charles Barkley for Governor?

Commentator Todd Boyd discusses = the former basketball star's viability as a gubernatorial candidate. = Boyd is a professor of critical studies at the University of Southern = California School of Cinema-Television. =20

Willie Mae Seaton's Legacy: A Restaurant That Defines New Orleans

Seaton won a James Beard award for her cooking, and her restaurant, Scotch House, became internationally famous. It wasn't about scotch; it was about fried chicken. Seaton died Saturday at 99.

Markets Teeter As Tuesday's Debt Deadline Nears

The debt ceiling stalemate in Washington has given some investors the jitters. The market saw a 600-point drop last week and many warn that the county's AAA credit rating could suffer if a debt deal isn't reached by Tuesday's deadline. NPR's Chris Arnold reports that most economists are hopeful that lawmakers will find a way to strike a bipartisan deal before Tuesday.

Tired Of Doom And Gloom? Here's The Best Good News Of 2013

Being a news consumer means you're constantly on the receiving end of bad news. War, unemployment, crime, political dysfunction — it can be enough to make you think we humans aren't doing anything right. But good news: We are. As the year draws to an end, here's a look at a few areas of real progress in the U.S. and around the world. Air Safety Let's start with flying. It's not a lot of fun: baggage fees, pat-downs, cramped seating, disappointing snacks. But the odds are remarkably good you will land safely. "For a person who boarded a flight anywhere in the world earlier this year, the chance of being killed in an accident is about 1 in 15 million," says Arnie Barnett, an MIT statistics professor who studies aviation safety. So what does that mean when we're up in the air? "At that rate, 1 in 15 million, you could go approximately 40,000 years, taking a flight every single day, before you would, on average, succumb to a fatal crash," Barnett says. Big onboard safety improvements like collision avoidance systems were introduced more than a generation ago. "We haven't had a midair collision in the United States involving a commercial plane in more than a quarter century, when we used to have them every two years," he says. Airline safety has been improving steadily. There have been 256 fatalities worldwide to date this year, according to the Aviation Safety Network, compared with an average of more than 700 deaths each year over the past 10 years. Barnett says that when crashes do occur, they're more survivable, thanks in large part to fire retardant materials. A case in point is the Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco in July; there were more than 300 people onboard, and three deaths. "The survival rate was 99 percent, even though the plane was utterly engulfed in a conflagration," Barnett says. "But the extra time it took for the conflagration to take hold allowed hundreds of people to get off the plane and to survive." Fewer Cancer Deaths The next area of progress is the diminishing threat from cancer. Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, says the death rate from cancer in the U.S. has declined by 20 percent. "A person in their mid-50s ... has a chance of dying from cancer that's 20 percent lower than a person of that same age in 1990, 1991," he says. Part of the reason for that decline is that more people — especially men — have stopped smoking, he says. A combination of screening and improvements in treatment has contributed to about a 35 percent decline in breast cancer death rates, he adds, and colorectal cancer deaths have also fallen by about 35 percent. That's encouraging, but we shouldn't get carried away. Brawley says there's a development that could stop much of the progress. "Increasingly, we're figuring out that a high caloric diet, lack of exercise and obesity is a huge cause of cancer and might surpass tobacco as the leading cause of cancer over the next decade," he says. Stronger Economies In Sub-Saharan Africa OK, we can be optimistic about cancer and big advances in flight safety. But the global economy is still a mess, right? In much of the world that's true, but not necessarily in sub-Saharan Africa, one of the world's poorest regions. "Africa is no longer a place that is purely in the future," says Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group. Growth in sub-Saharan Africa has been running at nearly 5 percent over the past several years, well above the global average, he says. Africans are moving out of extreme rural poverty and into cities, where many start businesses or find work for better wages. "Africa is now more urbanized as a whole continent than India is as a country," he says. "Women are getting much better education; health care is improving." And mobile commerce is making a big difference. "You've got 800 million Africans with cellphones," says Bremmer, "and they now can act as consumers because they can have bank accounts." Inequality is growing as more wealth is amassed, he says, but overall, the economic momentum is going in the right direction. Need some more good news? HumanProgress.org collects indicators that show that humanity is improving.

Azerbaijan Pipeline Project Prompts Opposition

Construction begins on a 2,000-mile pipeline that will pump crude oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey. But some criticize the project, saying the pipeline cuts through environmentally and culturally sensitive areas, including the Gobustan National Reserve. The reserve is home to some of the world's oldest human settlements. Hear Natalia Antelava.

The Swell Season live, 07-27-2007

The Swell Season in concert. Playing under the name The Swell Season, Irish singer Glen Hansard and Czech new-comer Marketa Irglova sing affecting folk-rock songs with blissful harmonies. Hear the stars of the sleeper hit musical Once recorded live in concert from Washington, D.C.

Double Take 'Toons: Senators Cheney And Palin?

Sarah Palin says she's considered entering Alaska's 2014 Senate race, and Liz Cheney has announced she'll try to unseat GOP Sen. Mike Enzi in Wyoming. Lee Judge and Jimmy Margulies give both the traditional cartoonists' welcome.

More Evidence Confirms ISIS Is Behind Paris Attacks

Steve Inskeep talks to Dina Temple Raston about a suspect French police have identified as the mastermind. And, Will McCants, author of <em>The ISIS Apocalypse</em>, comments on the impact of ISIS.

Getting Tough In Bosnia

-- NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that the US has decided to get tough on Bosnia and make sure the Dayton peace accord is implemented. Advisors say a small group of powerful Serb hardliners has been sabotaging the peace process. A week ago, NATO forces moved to arrest two indicted war criminals, one was killed, the other taken into custody. A new bill requires the administration to consult with Congress before ordering any new arrests.

A Basement Full of Bob Marley

In the first of a two-part series commemorating the life of the late musical legend Bob Marley, NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates visits reggae historian Roger Steffens and examines his vast collection of the singer's memorabilia -- posters, records, t-shirts and other items that fill up his Los Angeles-area basement.

'Healing Through Harvesting': Gleaning Unwanted Fruit Helps Refugees In Need

Tilahun Liben thought he was seeing things. Surely that mound of orange orbs under those trees near his church couldn't be oranges. Could they? It was 2010, and Liben had just arrived in Tucson, Ariz., as a refugee from Ethiopia. He had been a musician, playing saxophone in nightclubs, but that life ended abruptly in 1999 when an oppressive regime imprisoned him for three months for his political dissent. After Liben's release, further persecution forced him to flee his homeland: He ended up at the Kakuma refugee camp, in Kenya, where he waited 10 years to be resettled. Liben, 46, hadn't been in the city more than a few months when he met Barbara Eiswerth, an American who had, by chance, visited Kakuma during Liben's stay. Here in Tucson, Liben learned, Eiswerth had founded an organization called Iskashitaa Refugee Network that helps refugees find community and purpose through gleaning backyard fruit, which they eat themselves and share with other Arizonans in need. Gleaning — or harvesting unwanted fruit — was a new concept to Liben. Then again, so was the sight of oranges and grapefruit piling up beneath trees. "In Ethiopia, the owner of the tree will get the fruit to the market," Liben says. "And when there was fruit on the ground, people would pick it up and use it. There's no waste." Within days, Liben was knocking on Iskashitaa's door. Eiswerth started Iskashitaa in 2003, after she mapped Tucson's public fruit as part of her doctoral program in geology — a project that revealed to her the area's edible inventory. Not wanting that bounty to go to waste, she and her colleagues had distributed it at several "free farmer's markets." One of these events specifically targeted refugee children, whose enthusiasm for the gleaned fruit blew Eiswerth away. "I thought, wow, the need is here in this refugee community,"she says. "Why not teach them about local food resources while teaching them to fit in?" The produce makes a difference to Tucson's refugees, who despite having an organizational sponsor, often live in poverty. In nearly two decades of working with refugees, Eiswerth, 55, has seen the depth of their talents and skills, but also their hardships. "I've gone into refugee homes and opened a fridge to see a gallon of milk, a few bottles of water and a few fruits," she says. While Iskashitaa doesn't pay refugees to glean, Eiswerth does whatever she can to help them out — offering gift cards, clothing vouchers, donated toiletries, referrals to grief and trauma programs, and, of course, hundreds of pounds of fruit. Iskashitaa — which means "working cooperatively together" in Somali Bantu, the ethnicity of many early volunteers — provides more than just healthy food. It also serves as a refuge and an opportunity for those whose lives have been radically disrupted. "We provide healing through harvesting," Eiswerth likes to say. "We help refugees belong to something, and we give them a chance to give back to a country that gave them a second lease on life." For some, that sense of community is as important as Iskashitaa's mission. Faeza Hililian, an Iraqi refugee of Armenian descent, volunteers at Iskashitaa partly because she has the time — she's a retired dentist — and partly to keep her mind occupied. "I don't like to stay home and think about the past and get sad. Nobody can imagine how in one minute you can lose everything," says Hililian, 70, whose family spent more than three years in Syria before being accepted into the United States. Iskashitaa's refugees find the idea of harnessing American excess to feed those in need compelling. The organization rescues 50 tons of produce annually, but that's only about 10 percent of what's locally available. (Nationally, about a third of fruit and vegetables are lost or wasted along the food chain.) "The waste makes me so sad because a lot of people around the world don't have anything to eat," Hililian says. "I am happy to work to save every food [item], because I think, 'We could use that!' You can make many things out of the fruit and vegetables — juice, pickles, jam. Don't give it to the garbage!" And so Iskashitaa extends the shelf life of citrus by making jam and converting dates into honey in the commercial kitchen of a local church. It also holds free classes on gardening, cooking, juicing, dehydrating, fermenting, pickling, canning and making fruit syrups, which it sells at farmer's markets. Refugees also coax meals from often-ignored foods. Floyd Gray, a longtime volunteer and fruit donor, said he's learned plenty from having refugees harvest his garden excess. When Iskashitaa sent a few Iraqis to pick grapes from his home arbor, Gray was thrilled to learn that the leaves were also sought to make rice-stuffed dolmades. And he was surprised when a few West Africans harvested his squash leaves. "They just boiled 'em up and ate them! It's pretty interesting to see other people's cooking styles and what they do with things we never thought were edible," says

In The Pandemic's 1st Year, 3 Huge Losses In 1 Family

In the year since the World Health Organization first declared a global pandemic, on March 11, 2020, millions of families have endured the excruciating rise and fall of the U.S. outbreak. The waves of sickness have left them with untold wounds, even as hospitalizations ebb and infections subside. Some Americans have experienced tragedy upon tragedy, losing multiple family members to the virus in a matter of months. For the Aldaco family of Phoenix, Ariz., it shattered a generation of men. In just six months, three brothers — Jose, Heriberto Jr. and Gonzalo Aldaco — were lost to COVID-19, each at different moments in the pandemic: Jose died in July, Heriberto Jr. in December, and Gonzalo most recently, in February. Their deaths are now among more than 530,000 in the United States, where, even as millions are vaccinated, the virus still leaves families grieving new deaths every day. The U.S. mortality from COVID-19 now averages around 1,400 deaths per day. "Those three men, they drove the family, they were like the strong pillars, the bones of the family and now they're all gone," says Miguel Lerma, 31, whose grandfather Jose Aldaco raised him as his own son. To Lerma, their deaths were the abrupt end to an epic American story of resilience, courage and hard work. All three brothers came to the U.S. as immigrants from Mexico and over the decades made this country home for their families. "They literally showed that you can come from nothing and struggle through all that and still build a life for yourself and your kids," says Lerma. "It just upsets me this is the way their story has to end." Jose's daughter Brenda Aldaco says with so many Americans gone, the magnitude of each death and its reverberations are profound. "When you really think about each single person, each person individually, what did that person mean to someone? It's just overwhelming. It's overwhelming," she says. Building an extended family always 'ready to create memories' Jose Aldaco, 69, arrived in the Southwest in the early '80s when his daughter, Brenda, was still an infant, following his sister, Delia, and older brother, Gonzalo, who had both left Mexico not long before him. "They came out here for a better opportunity — I don't even want to say a more comfortable life — but a more attainable, elevated life than what they had," says Priscilla Gomez, Jose's niece and the daughter of Delia. Gomez thinks of all three uncles as central figures — symbols of strength — for her and the entire extended family. "They were so consistent, the most consistent male figures for me," says Gomez. Big family gatherings were a staple of life growing up in the Aldaco households. "Those three men, when they were in the same room, it was just a good time," says Lerma, a dance teacher in Phoenix. Reunions and holidays often evolved into joyous, music-filled events, where Gonzalo, the oldest, would pull out the guitar and the rest of the family would dance and sing together, into the early hours of the morning. "If it was someone's birthday, they would sing 'Las Mañanitas' ... they were just always ready to create memories for us," recalls Priscilla Gomez. Lerma says what Jose cultivated most of all was a family where love and affection was the main currency. "He's the one who taught us to be so amorous," says Lerma. "He was that warmth. He was that love for us." Intense waves of coronavirus swept Arizona After a calm spring, the pandemic hit Arizona with terrifying force — the first of two waves that would rip through a state where officials were slow to adopt pandemic precautions, and quick to dismantle them. Lerma says his family heeded the rules and warnings. "We were a family that accepted the pandemic was real," he says. "We did take it seriously." Jose and his wife, Virginia, lived at their daughter Brenda's house, where they helped her out with the raising of their teenage grandson. Jose worked a few days a week at his job in a hotel restaurant, but was mostly retired. "He was perfectly able — doing yard work, cooking every day, jogging three times a week at the park," says Brenda. Despite the family's effort to stay safe, the virus found a way into their household that summer. Jose was the first to get sick, but soon all four of them were ill and isolating in their bedrooms. They waited on test results. Both grandparents were getting worse. When the bedroom door was open, Brenda's son could hear his grandfather. "My son would say, 'Mom, Abuelo doesn't sound good... he sounds like he's dying," recalls Brenda. She felt paralyzed, though. Her mother was adamant that she didn't want Jose to go to the hospital. Eventually, Lerma, who lived separately and did not have COVID-19, put on a mask and came to coax his parents to go to the hospital. Lerma found Jose lying in the bed, covered in a sheet, with a sky-high fever. "He was forcing fast breaths, to try to get any air that he could into his lungs," says Lerma. "That's when I started freaking out and l

Who Are You Calling A Racist?

Former President George W. Bush flared against critics who called his response to Hurricane Katrina racist. Rapper Kanye West said during a 2005 telethon for hurricane survivors: "George Bush doesn't care about black people." The president responded: "That really hurt. You can disagree with my politics, but don't ever accuse me of being a racist." Host Michel Martin discusses the oft times murky intersection of race with language with linguist and author John McWhorter, and Luke Visconti, author of the DiversityInc.com column "Ask the White Guy."

Simplifying Soup: Campbell's Tinkers With Chicken Noodle Recipe

Campbell's Soup has announced they're cutting their ingredients list. NPR reports on the move to simplify soup.

Tracking Al-Qaida's Media Production Team

Analyst Evan Kohlmann talks with Renee Montagne about al-Qaida's public relations arm and multimedia production team, al-Sahab. The group produced a video that connected al-Qaida to the USS Cole bombing in 2000, and has since produced high-quality videos and audio tapes about al-Qaida's activities around the world.

What Do The Protests Say About Egypt's New Leader?

Steve Inskeep talks with Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution about how the protests in Egypt are shedding light on Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi. What kind of leader is he proving to be? And what kind of relationship can the U.S., and Obama, build with him?

The News Roundup — Domestic

The U.S economy continues to struggle during the pandemic as 3.8 million more Americans filed for unemployment. This brings the count to more than 30 million jobless in just over six weeks, according to the Labor Department.  Meanwhile, the U.S. gross domestic product fell by 4.8%, the worst economic decline since the recession in 2008. But experts fear the worst has yet to come. It’s prompted the Federal Reserve to take further measures to protect the economy and urge Congress to provide more spending. Across the country, at least 31 states will begin to re-open in some effect in the next few days. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed re-starting schools and some businesses in July, but beaches and parks would remain closed. And in South Dakota, the governor is rolling out a “back to normal” plan and a push to re-open a meat packing plant. We’ll take your questions about the week’s top national headlines on the News Roundup.

Fighting Fire With Fire: Why Some Burns Are Good For Nature

Wildfires were once essential to the American West. Prairies and forests burned regularly, and those fires not only determined the mix of flora and fauna that made up the ecosystem, but they regenerated the land. When people replaced wilderness with homes and ranches, they aggressively eliminated fire. But now, scientists are trying to bring fire back to the wilderness, to recreate what nature once did on its own. One place they're doing this is Centennial Valley, in southwestern Montana. Rimmed by snow-capped mountains, Centennial Valley is about as wild as it gets in the lower 48. In part, that's because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and now The Nature Conservancy, own big patches of it and keep it wild. But what's been missing there is fire. For millennia, fire kept this place a sea of thick, knee-high sagebrush and short grass, patched with clusters of aspen trees. A century ago, the government decided to stop all wildfires. That move upset the balance of the ecosystem. The Conservancy's Nathan Korb walks me up a gentle slope, across a meadow and into a thicket of aspen and evergreens. Red tail hawks swoop above, and every now and then, you can hear the prehistoric sound of a sandhill crane calling. I can hear chain saws somewhere in the woods. Korb is an ecologist who lives here much of the year. "So we are on private lands, adjacent to wilderness," he says, "and we're trying to make the private land safe for fire so that fire managers can allow fires to burn naturally when they get started in the wilderness." The Conservancy and state ecologists sometimes start "controlled" burns to burn off high grass and undergrowth — excess "fuel" that could turn the naturally occurring fires into out-of-control infernos. Or, sometimes they let natural fires burn instead of putting them out right away — that's a choice that accomplishes the same thing. But those fires need to be managed, so a fire crew is removing fir trees. Firs burn too vigorously and can spread fire where fire managers don't want it to go, like toward ranches. And the firs really don't belong here anyway — they push out the sagebrush and actually hurt the sage grouse, the iconic bird species that lives in the valley. Hawks roost on the tall firs to spot the grouse in the brush below. The firs give the hawks an advantage that upsets the balance between prey and predator. When fires were allowed to take their natural course, the firs were burned out. But the aspen trees, which are naturally part of this landscape, don't burn as readily. Fire managers refer to them as a "wet blanket" that slows fires down. Managing The Land A crew in Centennial Valley is taking out the firs with chainsaws. Grace Stanley, who works for the Montana Conservation Corps, puts down her saw and reaches under her hardhat to wipe some sweat from her forehead. "Right now we're working to thin conifers so aspen can flourish," she says. It's a long day's work. "We typically camp. We wake up around 6 o'clock, make some breakfast, then we do a stretch circle, then we get on the saws from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m." It's exciting work, she says, though at the end of the day, it's a little hard for her to hear. Stanley has helped start controlled burns, which, she says, scares people. "I know that every time we've done burns we get a lot of calls to the fire department, people saying, 'Oh, no, why would you do that?' People don't really understand that fire regenerates, and it's a natural process that the earth needs," she says. Down a gravel road a few miles, you can see what fire has done here. Korb and I stop and look up at a hillside that's a patchwork of green and brown. "This is the Winslow fire," Korb says, pointing into the distance. "Those two patches up there is what burned severely in 2003. To the left — those smaller patches — that's ideally what we'd like to see fire doing." The Winslow fire didn't sweep across the whole hillside as so many fires do these days. It's more like the way fire used to burn naturally, in a "patchy" way. "It creates more diverse habitats," Korb says, "different habitats for different species." Later in the day, I meet a guy who starts fires in the area: George Johnson, the burn boss for the Nature Conservancy. He and Korb walk me up to a ridge overlooking a 100-acre valley. This is the area they plan to burn this year. "That far face over there, from the ridge line toward the snow pack over there, you come down on a diagonal to creek bottom," Johnson says. He uses the natural topography of the place, along with snow lines and damp valley bottoms and a few dirt roads, as fire breaks. "So it's a mix of sagebrush and wild rye and then the conifer that you see — that's the primary burn area." The sagebrush will benefit from this fire, and it will blunt the invasion of the conifers. Johnson is a former smokejumper with more than 100 jumps in his career. He says fighting fire with fire — literally — makes sense, even if it may not seem logical t

This Thanksgiving, Indulge In A Buffet Of Musical Casseroles

Renee Montagne talks to music commentator Miles Hoffman who compares classical music pieces to casseroles. A good casserole needs contrasting but complementary ingredients to make something delicious.

Episode 682: When CEO Pay Exploded

Politicians have argued for decades that CEOs are overpaid. But there's this precise moment in the 1990s when CEO pay suddenly shot up. We find out what happened. It involves Bill Clinton's campaign promises, and Silicon Valley workers taking to the streets to protest an accounting rule. Find us: Twitter/ Facebook.

'The Blessing Cup': Polacco And Her Family Of Storytellers

Patricia Polacco has written and illustrated more than 90 picture books. Her young readers are drawn to her stories about family and growing up. She has won many awards for her illustrations, which are done in gorgeous, full watercolor. Polacco's latest book is called The Blessing Cup. Polacco tells NPR's Jacki Lyden that early life had a profound effect on her work. Many of her books feature her grandmother, called "Babushka" in Yiddish, and take place on her grandmother's farm in Michigan. She and her mother moved there after her parents got divorced. But Polacco would spend her summers with her father and his Irish parents. "So in both households I had these amazing storytellers," she says. "Show me an Irishman who can't tell a story — I don't think they exist." Polacco says her closeness with her family was helped by the fact that they didn't have a television growing up. "So our evenings were spent listening to glorious tales being told by the grandparents," she says. Her latest story takes readers back to the times of her grandparents, to the shtetls, or towns, of Russia. The story follows a young girl, Anna, as her village is going through the pogroms, or persecution aimed at the Jews. Anna doesn't understand why this is happening to her family. Polacco's children's books do not shy away from tradition and history. Take her book, Pink and Say, for instance. Say, whose full name is Sheldon Russell Curtis, was Polacco's great-great-grandfather, and fought in the Civil War at a young age. In the story, Curtis runs away from his camp, is taken in by an African-American boy, Pink, and is cared for by Pink's mother, Moe Moe Bay, whom he comes to love. When she is shot and killed by marauders, the boys make a run for it, back to their regiments. "Which, Sheldon really didn't want to do. He was a little boy, and he was terrified. Pink was brave and strong and Sheldon admired him. So, he went with him," Polacco says. Polacco says that her great-great-grandfather shook Abraham Lincoln's hand in the Battle of Bull Run. She heard this from her great-grandmother, Curtis' daughter, who would tell her to touch her hand, and then tell her: "You've just touched the hand that touched the hand that shook the hand of Abraham Lincoln." Polacco weaves that into the end of Pink and Say, as Pink touches Say's hand: "We stand only six people away from Lincoln." Though Polacco has written dozens of children's stories, she did not begin writing until she reached her 40s. Partly, she says, because of her struggle with many learning disabilities growing up, including dyslexia. She struggled with her disorders for a long time, though she says she was always good with spoken word, having come from a family of great storytellers. "But as far as reading them or writing them down, that was an enormous struggle," she says. Nearly three decades ago, Polacco's mother financed a trip for her to go to Manhattan to try to get a publishing deal. Polacco set up 16 meetings in one week, bringing seven or eight of her books with her. By the end of that week, she had submitted every one of them, and her career was about to begin. "Every one of them grabbed a book," she says, "And the rest is history."

Childhood Stories From A

Childhood stories from a master miniaturist: Maurice Ravel's "Mother Goose" Suite, performed in June at the University of Maryland at College Park by the young musicians of the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic and conductor Peter Bay. (Mobile Master Recordings)

Loch Ness Underwater Walker Nears 'Finish Line'

NPR's Melissa Block talks with Lloyd Scott, who is about to finish a marathon beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland -- wearing an antique diving suit that weighs nearly 200 pounds. Scott, who is a former leukemia sufferer, is "running" beneath the lake to raise money for leukemia charities. He expects to finish his race Thursday. Scott previously ran marathons in London and New York wearing the same suit.

The Odd Jobs Of Dave King

Among musicians, drummers are the explorers, the tinkerers, the polymaths. They don't just play one instrument, but dozens at the very least. With so many jobs to hold down at the same time, drummer Dave King — best known as a member of the trio The Bad Plus — recently spoke to me about his work life. He was on his way from Chicago's Green Mill to play the Village Vanguard with trio mates Bill Carrothers (piano) and Billy Peterson (bass). NPR Music and WBGO will webcast the group on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET. Is being a drummer a lot of work? In the pantheon of instruments? As someone who plays piano and also composes music, I have to say it's a hard job. It's one of those instruments that seems infinite. There are always so many more things to work on and so many ways to become more musical. Then why do I have an image of drummers that's completely the opposite of that? Ha! Do you? That's, of course, both funny and serious. There's a deep ignorance of drums beyond meathead rock s---. It's very simple to start playing, but it gets infinitely complicated. So I'll counter the drum jokes by telling you to ask any serious musician if a band can be good when the drummer isn't. If your drummer sucks, you suck. Like if your goalie sucks, your hockey team sucks. As a Minnesotan, you probably know a thing or two about hockey. But what are your points of comparison about how hard it is to be a drummer in terms of the other jobs you've had? I was a paperboy from the time I was 6 until I was 14. Six days a week. Wow, how many papers even publish six days a week anymore? Well, it was the '70s. My father made me do it. And it made me have a strong distaste for work altogether. He was raised on a farm and he wanted us to get up early and do some work and not be lazy. I understand the point, but it really had a negative effect on me, being that young and already having to do a job that was legal. I'm glad he didn't make you work a job that was illegal at that age. Decades earlier, young jazz musicians would have been running numbers or something like that. Yeah, right? My first actual job was cleaning an automotive center on Saturday and Sunday mornings. It was the worst. I lasted two days. And then the favorite of my young jobs was working at Orange Julius. Reid Anderson [bassist of The Bad Plus] would come in to get a free Orange Julius from me; we grew up together. I'd sit in the back washing dishes and I'd have my headphones on listening to records nonstop. And then a secret shopper gave me a negative customer-service rating because they said I was on the phone when they came up to buy something and I got fired. I probably wasn't a great worker. I have to tell you this one: I drove a delivery truck for a children's clothing store when I graduated from high school. I was playing, practicing as much as I could, and I wasn't living at home, so I had to get a job. I was so tired the first day I was in the truck with the supervisor that I fell asleep at the wheel. He hit me on the head with a clipboard. I was at a light, so at least I wasn't moving. But I didn't last long at that one, either. Do you want more of them? Or is this not going well? Why don't you tell me if any special skills you developed from these jobs parlayed themselves into your musical existence? It's funny, they're very similar when you stack them up. I'd work jobs that took very little actual interaction with people so I could be in my own thought process. I spent time doing visualization about music and about what I wanted to do with my life and career. I was doing jazz gigs, trying to be the guy that people called for things, and learning how to do all of that, as well, but I had to have some money coming in during the day. I just didn't want to do anything that would take any mental space away from my creative mind. Oh, man, I'm remembering a good one. When I was in Los Angeles, I worked at Kinko's. It was a goldmine for musicians because you can make flyers and postcards for your gigs. I got really into making these Basquiat-inspired, abstract neo-expressionist flyers that got a lot of attention for my band Happy Apple. And then I was a telemarketer selling bizarre stuff. Telemarketing is hell. I remember telling everyone this blanket would keep them cool in summer and warm in winter. And then there would be a tap on my shoulder because a supervisor had been listening to my conversation. "This call may be monitored for quality control"? I'm living proof. I was wondering where you got your skills for pitching, like on your Kickstarter campaign video for the vinyl release of the Dave King Trucking Company's Good Old Light. [There will be a new Kickstarter for the band's second album, Adopted Highway, to be released Sept. 24.] I'd never done a Kickstarter. So many labels are not releasing on vinyl because it's expensive to make and to ship. I wanted to see if I could do it and, with a lot of help from fans of the band, we were able to. We got donatio

Essay: A Peabody-Winning Everest Assignment

I received the final go-ahead from NPR to cover the Wyoming Centennial Everest Expedition -- aka Cowboys on Everest -- just three days before the Aug. 1 departure date for the three-month trip. I sprinted out to REI, dropped $2,000 on long underwear and Gortex, subleased my apartment and was off. We were climbing the mountain from the north, which meant traveling across China and then overland through Tibet. Along they way, the team of 40 or so climbers, accompanied by thousands of pounds of provisions and gear, endured a Chinese bureaucracy bent on extorting outlandish fees, monsoon rains, landslides that threatend to swallow our decrepit bus and an earthquake that knocked out the final bridge between us and the mountain. Our base camp, located at 17,000 feet on the Rongbuk glacier, provided heartstopping views of Everest's northern face. It was there that I set up shop with a satellite phone the Cowboys inherited from a departing British team -- a big clunky model powered by a generator, not the sleek suitcase versions we now employ. This would be one of NPR's first forays into sat. phone technology and was the reason I, a novice climber, lobbied hard for the trip. I would be able to send back reports that caught the immediacy of an expedition in progress. Remember, this was 1988, the early days of instant information and also a time well before every person with a down jacket and a pair of thick socks would attempt to climb the world's highest peak. Over the next two months the Cowboys arduously tromped their way up the mountain. I followed behind, carrying not much more than a tape recorder and, as I got used to the thin air, a growing daydream that, hey, maybe I could summit the mountain too. This was not to be. For any of us. The days were spent acclimatizing, plotting routes, fixing ropes up ice walls and negotiating bottomless crevices. The nights were passed tossing fitfully in double sleeping bags, trying to catch your breath and not mix up the bottle in which you relieved yourself (it was way too cold to leave the tent) and your water bottle. In the morning your lips, which had been seared by the sun during the day, would be sealed together. Prying them apart was a messy task. As the weeks passed I would gather enough material for a story or two -- a profile of a climber, a gasping first-person account, a story about Yaks -- and periodically hike down to base camp to file the pieces back to Washington, where they would be mixed and broadcast, usually on All Things Considered. Over the course of the trip I filed 15 or so stories. The challenge, aside from not losing too many brain cells, was to report objectively on a team of men and women with whom I was sharing every moment for months on end. The expedition eventually made its way up to Camp Five at around 25,000 feet... still 4,000 feet and several days short of the summit. At this point 100 mph winds shredded our tents and sent us scrambling. We regrouped at Advanced Base Camp at 21,000 feet, tried advancing again, and again the winds proved too dangerous. It was time to give it up. So the Wyoming Cowboys and I trudged back across Tibet, sorry not to have summitted, but also happy to have breathed the rarefied air at the very top of the world (almost)... and return with all our fingers and toes.

Poland's Overhaul Of Its Courts Leads To Confrontation With European Union

WARSAW — Growing up under Soviet rule, Małgorzata Gersdorf says she yearned for a day when Poland would have freedom and justice. As a young lawyer, she took part in the Solidarity labor movement that sparked the transformation from communism to democracy in her country. After Poland's first democratic elections in 1989, she helped build her country's court system, and for the past six years, she's overseen the judiciary as First President of Poland's Supreme Court. "But I never expected this," she says of the current ruling party's overhaul of Poland's judiciary. "It had been our dream to be a free European country ... we thought no one would take away our freedom." The 67-year-old says building Poland's democracy took decades of work, and in a matter of just a few years, she's watched in horror as the populist party in power since 2015 has systematically dismantled it. "The only thing they haven't managed to achieve is removing me from office before my term expired," she says. Failing to oust Gersdorf was but a minor setback in the ruling party's step-by-step removal of judicial powers that led to Polish President Andrzej Duda's signing of a new law last week that promises punishment for any judge who dares to criticize the government's changes to the judiciary. "This means we no longer are a democracy based on the rule of law, as defined by our constitution," says the bespectacled Gersdorf. "The executive in Poland is now placed above the judiciary. This is totally unacceptable in a country based on the rule of law." That ruling party stripping power from Poland's courts is named Law and Justice. The EU-skeptic, anti-immigrant party was founded in 2001 by former Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński and his twin brother Lech Kaczyński, who died in a plane crash in 2010 while serving as president. The party won parliamentary elections in 2015 and again in 2019 on a platform that promised to overhaul the country's overburdened and inefficient court system. The party went straight to work, first filling the country's constitutional tribunal, the body that decides whether new laws are constitutional, with judges loyal to Law and Justice. Then, in 2017, it tried to purge the country's supreme court of nearly half its judges by introducing a law that lowered the retirement age. When that failed, the party changed tactics, turning its attention to the National Council of the Judiciary, a body charged with appointing Poland's judges. It took over the council, and when judges complained, the party then passed a law making those complaints illegal and punishable. With each step, the party's tactics were met with protests attracting tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands. Throughout its campaign, the Law and Justice party has used Poland's popular government-funded public media broadcaster, TVP, as a tool to target judges who have fought back against its changes. After one judge appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union, a host of a popular TVP nightly news program asked during a news segment if that judge thought he was part of an elite caste. The judge, Igor Tuleya, says after years of media attacks on him, he no longer feels safe. "I pass a person on the street, and they shout, 'You whore, you traitor.' After someone smeared dog feces on my doorknob, my landlord kicked me out of my flat," he says. Tuleya, who's been summoned by Poland's overhauled National Council of the Judiciary to explain his criticism of the government's judicial changes, says the Law and Justice Party has a clear goal. "They want to be famous for burning down the judicial system," says the 49-year-old. "They want subordination of the final independent institutions on which democracy is based, which is the independent courts. When that power is no more, then the fourth power — the free press — will disappear, because without free courts, you cannot defend a free press. This way, the entire state will be subordinated to the politicians of one single party." Poland's Minister of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, did not reply to requests for an interview. Law and Justice party member Marek Ast, who chairs the justice and human rights committee in parliament, calls his party's overhaul of the courts "reforms" that restore balance to Poland's government. "Until now in Poland, we've had a 'judgeocracy,'" says Ast. "It was judges who decided what the justice system looks like. They alone judged themselves within the disciplinary system. Despite their many pathological behaviors, they remain unpunished." Ast and his party brethren say they're overhauling Poland's courts because they believe too many judges are ideological holdovers from the county's decades under Soviet rule. He estimates that one-third of all judges in Poland from the previous political system continue to adjudicate cases today. The actual figure is closer to 10%, but he says it doesn't matter. "The problem is that those who used to adjudicate under communism have tra

Should the U.S. 'Talk with the Enemy'?

Is it appropriate or effective for the U.S. to initiate direct talks with the leaders of rogue nations? Leslie Gelb of the Council on Foreign Relations believes these conversations can produce positive results. Author Robert Kaufman, professor of Public Policy at Pepperdine University, is skeptical about negotiating with enemies. Sen. John McCain has been stepping up the attacks on Sen. Barack Obama, criticizing the Democrat's willingness to open a dialogue with Iran, talk to Cuban President Raul Castro or meet with other hostile leaders. Obama's supporters have fought back with video of a McCain supporter, former Secretary of State James Baker, saying that "talking to an enemy is not, in my view, appeasement." Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) has spoken on the issue, saying, "The worst nightmare for a regime that thrives on isolation and tension is an America ready, willing and able to engage." Biden reminded the crowd at the Center for American Progress this week that the Bush administration negotiated with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Republicans have also been speaking out on the issue. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) was among those encouraging Defense Secretary Robert Gates this week to engage Iran. "If we do not have dialogue with Iran, at least in one man's opinion, we are missing a great opportunity to avoid future conflict," Specter said. Gates said historians will have to decide whether the Bush administration already missed an opportunity to talk with Iran before Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president. Newspaper op-ed pages and blogs have been filled with diplomatic history lessons for the candidates about when presidents have been successful negotiators — and when they have failed. But so far, it has been more politics than diplomatic nuance on the campaign trail.

Trump's Trade Spat With Canada May Have Serious Repercussions

Trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada have strained their relationship. Steve Inskeep talks to Max Boot of the Council on Foreign Relations about how damaged relations are.

Analyzing Democrats' Word Shift On Health Care

When President Obama and congressional Democrats began their drive this year to revamp health policies, they promised to expand health care coverage and to make it more affordable. The health bill passed by the House — and a similar measure pending in the Senate — boost the number of people covered by health insurance. But critics from across the political spectrum say the legislation does little to rein in runaway health care costs. Rules Change For Payers — Not Chargers There's been a significant rhetorical shift in the way President Obama and his congressional allies refer to their health care overhaul. This summer, when President Obama was still talking about what he then called "health care reform," he promised to bend the rising cost curve of health care downward. "Our proposals would change incentives so that providers will give patients the best care, not just the most expensive care," Obama said in July. "Which will mean big savings over time. This is what we mean when we say that we need delivery system reform." Fast-forward to the day after the House passed its health care bill earlier this month. Notice how President Obama, in praising that action, no longer called it either delivery system reform or health care reform: "It brought us closer than we have ever been to comprehensive health insurance reform in America," the president said of the bill in a Rose Garden address. "Health insurance reform" is the same label other Democratic leaders are now using — a phenomenon that coincides with the insurance industry having turned against the Democrats' health care proposals, which force insurers to drop highly unpopular policies, such as denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions. A Shrinking Effort At Reform? Paul Ginsburg, head of the nonpartisan Center for Studying Health System Change, says he thinks the health care makeover has ended up being largely about putting the squeeze on insurance companies: "Insurance reform is a much more accurate label," Ginsburg said. "So we can praise that for the accuracy of labeling, but lament the fact that there's a lot of health care reform that needs doing, and our insurance reform will get us only so far." Even as they're taking on the highly unpopular insurance companies, lawmakers are not requiring big changes in the way health care is delivered by doctors and hospitals. In turn, those providers are backing the health care plans moving through Congress. But the providers' ever-increasing fees, many experts say, are driving health care costs up for everyone. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) says those constantly rising costs are the biggest worry for people in her state. "I'm very concerned that the bill passed by the House does not do enough to lower health care costs in general," Collins said. "In fact, it does virtually nothing to lower health care costs." Critics Seize On Rising Costs The absence of clear measures to rein in costs is being seized on by opponents of the legislation. A TV ad sponsored by business groups calling themselves Employers for a Healthy Economy targets Maine and nine other states. In the ad, a narrator states that the new bill does nothing to address rising costs: "Health insurance costs will skyrocket. Call Congress. Tell them the new health care bill is a bill America can't afford to pay." Even some longtime supporters of health care overhaul are dismayed. The National Coalition on Health Care is running newspaper ads that proclaim that enacting "national health care reform without cost control is like moving furniture into a burning house." Ralph Neas, the lobbying group's CEO, explains the logic behind the ad. "Because if you have coverage, if you have other things that are very important — and the bill does — but you don't have cost containment, then you're not going to have a bill that's sustainable," Neas said. Another critic of the bill, Georgetown University health economist Jean Mitchell, says the legislation perpetuates a flaw in the current system: "The way the system is, the more you do, the more money you make." Mitchell finds little in the legislation before Congress that would compel doctors to stop charging for every procedure they perform, a practice known as fee-for-service. "It's almost as though patients have become like ATM machines," Mitchell said. "You know, you put them in, and you try to extract as much revenue as you can." AMA Backs Democrats' Plan James Rohack, head of the American Medical Association, doesn't agree. "We believe that fee-for-service is a good mechanism, because it recognizes what a physician does," Rohack said. Though he defends the fee-for-service model, Rohack, a cardiologist, also acknowledges that the system gives him and his fellow doctors perverse incentives to perform more procedures than are needed. "As long as there's fixed costs and a physician isn't able to really get paid for the true cost of care, it's created this horrible problem where physicians are pressur

A Recipe of Thanks for Generosity

John and Anne Patterson from Baltimore, Md., share their recipe for Czechoslovakian Moon Cookies, writing: "This is a gift of thanks for generosity from Jaraslava (Jerri) Pouska to the family of origin of John Patterson and his wife, Anne, and their own family, his students, their friends of the heart, their family of choice, and now all those who listen and hear that this is a way to extend the gift of thanks for generosity." We hope that you can honor the Pattersons' request that those who make these Czechoslovakian Moon Cookies do so with one purpose in mind -- to give them to others as a token of generosity and thanks. Ingredients: 6 oz. chocolate bits 1/2 cup English walnuts 4 eggs 3/4 cup of butter 7/8 cup of sugar Directions Grind to a powder the 6 oz. chocolate bits and 1/2 cup English walnuts, then set aside. Beat stiff and set aside 4 egg whites. Cream together 3/4 cup of butter and 7/8 cup of sugar. Add 4 egg yolks. Add nuts and chocolate powder. Add egg whites. Stir in lightly 1 3/8 cup flour. Spread 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick in a well-greased pan (10 inch x 15 inch). Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned (10-15 minutes or when a toothpick comes out clean). Spread frosting on cookies while still warm (so it soaks in a bit, but glazes the cookie sheet), then, when cooled completely, cut into crescent moon shapes with a small glass or cookie cutter, perhaps starting each row (if cutting with a glass) with a full moon. Frosting: Cream 2 tablespoons butter 1/2 lb. 4X sugar Flavor with droplets (to taste) of almond or vanilla extract or Stroh Rum from Austria. If necessary, make creamy but not runny with teaspoons of milk, if needed. Present in a tin in layers with a full moon in the center and crescent moons in a circular fan surrounding it, or present as one layer on a serving plate.

After A Promising Start, 'The Predator' Loses The Scent

You know a movie is lousy when its most ardent partisans — which in the case of Shane Black's new definite-article-attaching Predator sequel-not-reboot The Predator, are me, myself, and this guy right here with the thumbs — are reduced to tepid, mildly defensive endorsements like "It's one helluva good time at the movies!" The Predator is that, until it isn't. The cast is quirky and fun. The one-liners are as quotable and unprintable as you (I) want them to be. The Easter Eggs for acolytes of this rickety, on-again, off-again franchise are buried deeply enough that they don't stop the movie in its tracks for the 400 normals who will see it, perhaps on airplanes. Though Henry Jackman is credited as the composer, Alan Silvestri's stirring 1987 Predator score gets reprised throughout, and there's some winky-wink casting. (But no Arnold cameo, I am sorry to tell you.) And the story, co-written by Black and his longtime pal Fred (Monster Squad, RoboCop 3) Dekker? It's something utterly without precedent in the Black oeuvre: a mess. This series has repeatedly made clear that its titular beasties do not pick fights with unarmed/non-combative opponents, so staying out of a Predator's trophy case would seem to be as easy as staying out of Jaws' Jaws. But humans can always be goaded into fighting. For a species that came up with written language, mathematics, space travel, peanut butter, and Purple Rain, we're still pretty stupid. Humanity's addiction to violence has been the leitmotif of these movies, and that ought to be more than enough to keep Black's joke machine humming along for 105 minutes. Instead, he attempts to broaden the world of the franchise, adding Predator v. Predator to the old formula of Human v. Human v. Predator. (We're not going to talk about those Alien vs. movies, because in this space no one wants to hear me scream.) He also teases the possibility that Predators are more concerned about climate change than we are, but these ideas are underdeveloped. One idea that gets a little too fully developed? A Predator dog. Black's gift for wisenheimer dialogue has always made his movies feel loose, but structurally, they tend to be watertight, rising steadily to a satisfyingly explosive climax without sacrificing tension or wit or clarity. He even got Iron Man 3 through the auteur-swallowing Marvel machine with his sensibility intact. So just how The Predator, a far less valuable specimen of IP, got away from him is a mystery that perhaps only two detectives with violently clashing personalities who learn to respect and even love one another could unravel. With its shaggy, silly, midnight-movie vibe, The Predator feels more like Men in Black than Shane Black, but his openly comic take on this material initially seems like a bet that's going to pay off. Boyd Holbrook (the villain from Logan) plays a Special Forces sniper who survives a run-in with a Predator while on a mission overseas, seizing the creature's nifty helmet and gauntlets as evidence of his close encounter. For opaque reasons, he mails these items to his P.O. box back in the States. But the package finds its way to his ex-wife's residence, where it is opened by his autistic son, played by Room's Jacob Tremblay. (The kid attends Lawrence A. Gordon Middle School, named for one of the producers of Predator, 48 Hrs., Die Hard and other long-tailed '80s action pictures.) Meanwhile, a G-man played by Sterling K. Brown recruits Olivia Munn's evolutionary biologist for "Project Stargazer." As you doubtless recall from Predator 2, the 38th highest-grossing motion picture of 1990, the U.S. government is fully aware that a hostile species has been visiting our planet to hunt big game for decades or centuries. And now Brown & Co. have captured a live specimen, one that is really quite unlikely to wake up on the operating table and break its bonds and slaughter all the puny humans in lab coats like that would ever happen I mean really what're the odds. One of the elements that helped make Predator '87 an unlikely classic over time is the diversity of its cast — there turned out to be as many future governors or writers or directors with speaking roles in the movie as there were just-plain-actors. The Predator tries to assemble a commensurate crew of 21st century oddballs, casting Keegan Michael-Key, Trevante Rhodes, Thomas Jane, Aflie Allen, and relative newcomer Augusto Aguilera as inmates of a military psych ward with whom Holbrook is confined upon his return to Texas, though it's really Vancouver. Through some predictable but still fun grinding of gears, this Cuckoo's Nest of killers teams up with Munn — whom the beast spared while staging its own jailbreak — to go prevent the abduction of Boyd Holbrook's kid, whose basement experiments with the otherworldly swag his Pop collected have drawn the notice of their owners. (There's a nice nod to another, more family-friendly '80s extraterrestrial movie when Tremblay, a victim of bullying at school, wea

The Ghostly Sound Of The Theremin

Even if you’re not familiar with the musical instrument called the theremin, chances are you’ve heard its ghostly sound. The theremin is unique because of how it’s played: you make music without touching it. Theremin player Jon Bernhardt discusses the instrument and plays some music for Here & Now&#8217;s Sacha Pfeiffer. Read more on this story via WBUR [Youtube] Guest Jon Bernhardt, thereminist. SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST: Even if you're not familiar with the musical instrument called the theremin, chances are you've heard it. It's featured in "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHOLE LOTTA LOVE") PFEIFFER: And a theremin-like instrument, sometimes called the electro-theremin is used for one of the signature parts of "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOOD VIBRATIONS") THE BEACH BOYS: (Singing) I'm picking up good vibrations. She's giving me excitations. I'm picking up good vibrations. Good vibrations. PFEIFFER: The theremin is unique because of how it's played and exactly how that's done is being demonstrated by theremin players around the country as part of book tour by Montreal writer Sean Michaels. Sean has a new novel out called "Us Conductors" about the inventor of the theremin. And when Sean visited Boston this weekend he was accompanied by Somerville, Massachusetts, theremin player John Bernhardt who also joined me in our studios with his theremin. I asked him to explain what makes the theremin unusual and how it works. JOE BERNHARDT: It's unusual in that it's an instrument to play without actually touching it. Typically it's a box of some sort with two antenna that comes out of either side. One antenna controls the pitch and the other antenna controls the volume and as you move your hands closer and further away from these two antennae control you the sound of the instrument. PFEIFFER: So you're moving your hands to make the music - your hands through the air. How much control do you have over how it sounds? BERNHARDT: You have a lot of control over the pitch and the volume. It's just - it's very difficult. It's very sensitive to your body movement. You could wiggle your pinky and the pitch could change by a major third. You could go from an open fist to a closed fist and you could be changing the pitch by an octave. PFEIFFER: The best way to understand this probably is to hear you play it. Could you demonstrate on your theremin how you do this? And explain what you're doing as you do it? BERNHARDT: Sure thing. (SOUNDBITE OF THEREMIN) BERNHARDT: The problem with this is the microphone actually affects the pitches as well. So we have to be careful of how close microphone is. As my hand moves closer to the antenna the pitch gets higher. As I move my hand away from the antenna the pitch gets lower. And similarly with the volume - as the hand moves away from the volume antenna the pitch will get louder. And as it gets closer to the volume antenna the pitch get softer until it's silent. And by manipulating these two antennae you can play melodies like... (SOUNDBITE OF THEREMIN) PFEIFFER: You've demonstrated some of the sounds. Could you actually play a song or melody we might recognize? BERNHARDT: Sure, yeah. (SOUNDBITE OF THEREMIN) PFEIFFER: John, that was George Gershwin's "Summertime" and that backtrack was prerecorded. Those were other instruments that you are accompanying with your theremin. BERNHARDT: Yes, yeah. The theremin can't make those sounds. PFEIFFER: Also with us by phone is Sean Michaels the Montreal writer who's new novel "Us Conductors" is about the inventor of the theremin. Sean, welcome to show. SEAN MICHAELS: It's my great pleasure. PFEIFFER: Sean, do you play the theremin as well? MICHAELS: I do own a couple of theremins but although I like to say that any warm-blooded human being can make a sound on a theremin - but unfortunately I can't do much better than that. PFEIFFER: Anyone could do it because you just have to move your hands in front of the instrument? MICHAELS: Yeah as long as your body conducts electricity. In fact, you probably don't have to be human. PFEIFFER: Can you make a song? Can make a melody on it at this point? MICHAELS: I can play a version of happy birthday. That's probably roughly comprehensible as happy birthday if someone has a cake. (LAUGHTER) PFEIFFER: Some people describe the sound of the theremin as kind of ghostly or a little sci-fi. Is that how you interpret it Sean? MICHAELS: Yeah I do hear that. Like, where is that sound coming from? It's kind of a floating emanation or something. BERNHARDT: I will say on more than one occasion when I've played the theremin people don't believe that it's the instrument. They think I'm humming, you know, secretly. PFEIFFER: It is heard in many sci-fi movies - does that tend to be where it appears a lot? BERNHARDT: That's what most people know it from, certainly. Inevitably you hear that Wu kind of sound and people instantly identify with the sci-fi movies. PFEIFFER: John is

Californians Hope Alert System Will Help Catch Drivers Who Hit-And-Run

Most of the 7,500 people who fled an accident in Los Angeles county last year will never be caught. But a proposed statewide hit-and-run system could get some of these drivers off the streets.

Aurora, Colo., Tries To Capitalize On Its Ethnic Riches

Aurora, Colo., became a familiar name this summer, in the wake of a mass shooting at a local movie theater. But there's much more to this Denver suburb than the recent tragedy. Just ask Ethiopian immigrant Fekade Balcha. Balcha's apartment, on Aurora's north side, sits in a dense neighborhood of squat brick apartment buildings and tiny homes. "You see, in our apartment, there are Russians, Mexicans, Africans," Balcha says. "From Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, and something like that." Aurora is a real mixing bowl of a city, with more than 90 languages spoken in the public schools. In recent years, city leaders and residents have been trying to leverage its diversity to its economic advantage. Aurora is also a sprawling giant. Drive a few minutes down a road and you'll see split-level, middle-class houses. Travel a few more minutes, and you're amid shiny new subdivisions. It can take work to make a place this big feel like home, but Aurora is trying. City Manager George Noe says diversity is a big part of Aurora's identity. "If you think about the melting pot that we have right here in Aurora, that's what makes our country rich, that's what makes our community rich," Noe says. "The challenge, obviously, is figuring out ways to build on that." That's not always easy; people have to feel comfortable before they put down roots in a community. But the fact is, the most ethnically diverse part of Aurora also has a lot of problems, like poverty, transient residents and crime. Convincing Newcomers To Stay At a recent community meeting, Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates — flanked by a half-dozen interpreters — welcomes a crowd. The purpose of the gathering, he says, is to help residents feel more comfortable with local law enforcement, and for the community and the police to "continue to work on our relationship together." While instilling greater trust in the police is one part of turning this neighborhood around, the meeting also has a deeper goal: getting residents to trust each other. Bhutanese refugee Kadar Katiora has come to a number of similar events with his neighbors. "Before, I am also new and they are also new, and we are quite scared to talk with each other," Katiora says. But right now, we all are friend. They are like our relative, and we are living as a brotherhood to each other." That sense of brotherhood is no accident: Aurora's nonprofits have been working to build it for years. Just a few blocks from the police meeting, Jenny Pool Radway, the program coordinator for the Original Aurora Community Integration Collaborative, has been leading that effort. To help build community, Pool Radway picked an intriguing tool: She's organizing immigrants and refugees into neighborhood watch groups. "If people feel safe in their community, if they get to know their neighbors — even if they don't speak the same language — they're going to want to better their community and stay here," Pool Radway says. And, she says, staying here means that as these newcomers move up economically, they'll hopefully bring the neighborhood up with them. A Diverse Community, A White City Council Enchiladas are sizzling on the griddle for a midafternoon customer at La Cueva Mexican restaurant. In the front of the house, owner Alfonso Nunez stands ready to greet patrons. When he's not at his post, Nunez spends a lot of time trying to organize Aurora's immigrant and minority business owners with a simple pitch. "You know, this way, at least you'll have a voice," Nunez tells them. "And if 60 members of a business association show up at a City Council meeting, then it becomes a concern." That is of particular importance to Nunez because Aurora's entire City Council is white. Aurora has had some black and Hispanic politicians over the years, but not in numbers that reflect their share of the population. After several failed election bids of his own, Nunez is hoping economic organization among the city's racial and ethnic minorities could make up for a lack of political clout. Nunez's efforts are part of ongoing outreach by the Aurora Chamber of Commerce. But Kevin Hougen, the chamber's president, says that across the country, groups like his have struck out in their bids to bring in more immigrant and minority members. "It just seems like there's this roadblock out there," he says. "Why are we not, even after a generation, getting a little more involvement? And so nobody seems to have that answer. I think if anybody did have that answer, it would be very valuable." One possible payoff? Better cooperation could help sell the city as a cultural destination for people seeking international experiences in the Denver area. Despite its ethnic diversity, to the rest of the state, Aurora still suffers from the stigma of being a vast, bland suburb. "It's like, 'You live in Aurora? Oh, I'm so sorry!" says Adrian Miller, a soul food historian and Aurora native. "I always rise to the defense of my town. I say, 'Hey, Aurora's got a lot of stuff going on

Wie Takes Golf World by Storm

At 14, Michelle Wie is believed to be the youngest person -- male or female -- ever to play the PGA Tour, which begins Thursday. NPR's Melissa Block talks with <EM>Honolulu Advertiser</EM> sportswriter Ann Miller about how a Korean-American teenager's powerful swing and no-limits attitude captivates fans and fellow players.

English Spoken Poorly Here — and There

Sheilah Kast speaks with James Cochrane about grammatical errors that are becoming more common in spoken and written English. Cochrane is author of <EM>Between You and I: A Little Book of Bad English</EM>.

Power of Wind Can Build and Destroy

Commentator Ruth Levy Guyer reflects on the power of wind -- to spark life by spreading seeds, to cause disease by spreading pathogens, and to disturb the psyche. Guyer teaches courses in bioethics and infectious diseases at Haverford College.

Gates, Mullen Urge Patience In Afghan War

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen do not believe it is time for the U.S. to get out of Afhganistan. Gates told reporters at the Pentagon on Thursday, that he doesn't "believe that the war is slipping through the administration's fingers."

Judge Orders Boy Who Started Oregon Wildfire To Pay $36 Million In Restitution

The teenager who threw fireworks into a canyon last year, starting a fire in Oregon's Columbia River Gorge that burned nearly 47,000 acres, has been ordered to pay $36.6 million in restitution — although the judge acknowledges that the boy won't be able to pay it in full. The teen, whose name has not been released, was 15 at the time he threw the fireworks. Oregon's juvenile delinquency statute calls for restitution that equals the full amount of the victims' injury, loss or damage as determined by the court. In February, the teen admitted to throwing the fireworks and wrote an apology "to everyone in the gorge." He was sentenced to 1,920 hours of community service and five years of probation. The boy's attorney, Jack Morris, had argued that the amount the prosecutors requested for restitution was cruel and unusual punishment. In court last week, Morris had said that the slightly higher restitution figure was "absurd" and "absolutely silly," according to The Oregonian. But Oregon Circuit Court Judge John Olson wrote in his opinion that the "restitution is clearly proportionate to the offense because it does not exceed the financial damages caused by the youth." Olson also pointed to "safety valves" within the statute, "which serve to ensure that the restitution statute as applied in any particular case, even one as extreme as this one, does not 'shock the moral sense of reasonable people.' " Those valves include the establishment of a payment schedule, which the judge authorized the Hood River County Juvenile Department to do. And after 10 years, if the boy successfully completes probation, doesn't commit additional offense and complies with the payment plans, the court can grant full or partial satisfaction of the restitution judgment. The judge ordered payment to a number of entities, though it's not clear how much any of them will actually receive: $21 million to the U.S. Forest Service, $12.5 million to the Oregon Department of Transportation, $1.6 million to the Oregon State Fire Marshal, and $1 million to Union Pacific Railroad, among others. It also includes a $5,000 payment to Iris Schenk, who was living in a rental home that burned in the fire. Tim Heuker, who owned the rental home with his brothers, told Oregon Public Broadcasting that Schenk had suffered a total loss: " 'She lost everything,' Heuker said. 'Personal stuff that can't be replaced.' "Heuker said making the teen pay for the damage he caused is the right thing. He's not sure whether he'll actually receive any payments given the amount other parties are seeking. " 'I think they're going to try to prioritize stuff, and put stuff like ours more on the front end,' he said. 'I'm not 100 percent clear on that.' " A witness recounted to OPB how she saw a boy in a group of teenagers light a smoke bomb and lob it into Eagle Creek Canyon, which was soon consumed by a forest fire that blazed for months, eventually burning an area as large as Washington, D.C. OPB notes that the repayment in this case is far higher than judges have ordered in similar situations elsewhere: "In California, for example, a 13-year-old girl responsible for starting the 2014 Cocos Fire, which destroyed 36 homes, was ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution for the blaze." In November, the Oregonian spoke with the boy's mother and brother, and reported that he is from a large Ukrainian family in Vancouver, Wash., part of a Russian-speaking Pentecostal community. He likes to snowboard and was a high school freshman last year. "This is a trauma for him," his mother told the newspaper, speaking in Russian. "It was his mistake."

Katrina Evacuees Make Do in Washington, D.C.

Baby Kiara was born in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Now she and her parents are living in an apartment in Maryland. The transition hasn't been easy for them. This evacuee family is one of hundreds that are now living in the Washington, D.C. area.

On Location: Mansfield, Ohio's 'Shawshank' Industry

The 1994 prison drama The Shawshank Redemption is a Hollywood rarity, in that it wasn't shot in Hollywood. The filmmakers didn't use New York or Toronto either. Instead, Shawshank was filmed almost entirely on location, in and around the Rust Belt city of Mansfield, Ohio, about halfway between Columbus and Cleveland. This summer, as we explore the places where iconic American movies were filmed for our series "On Location," we've discovered that often, long after the cameras are packed up and the crew goes home, a film can leave an imprint on a town. In recent decades, Mansfield has fallen on hard times. Westinghouse, the Tappan Stove Co., Ohio Brass, and Mansfield Tire and Rubber have all closed plants in Mansfield since America's heavy manufacturing boom went bust. The latest casualty: the local General Motors plant, which closed just last year. All in a city of fewer than 50,000. But at least one closure has brought with it a strange bounty. After nearly a century of use, the Ohio State Reformatory closed its doors on New Year's Eve 1990. The massive prison on the outskirts of Mansfield is a combination of three architectural styles: Victorian Gothic, Richardsonian Romanesque and Queen Anne. If that doesn't mean much to you, let me put it this way: It's gorgeous — and terrifying. Which may explain why Hollywood thought it would make a perfect Shawshank Prison. Earlier this summer, tour guide Ron Puff walked me through the Reformatory. We began in the east cellblock, at six tiers high the largest free-standing steel cellblock in the world. Approximately 600 cells, 7 feet by 9 feet, held two inmates each. And that's just the east block, which was not used in the movie. But it's amazing how much of the Reformatory was used. Puff gives me a Shawshank tour, leading me through the warden's office, the Brooks library (now a storage room), the showers, and one of the most popular stops: solitary confinement. Even the fake sewer pipe that Tim Robbins' character uses to escape is still there, propped up on a little platform, as if the camera crew had just left for lunch. When The Shawshank Redemption opened in theaters in September 1994, audiences largely ignored it. Even after seven Oscar nominations, the film struggled to find an audience. But home video and cable changed that. Lee Tasseff, the president of the Mansfield and Richland County Convention and Visitors Bureau, was in Mansfield when the filmmakers came looking for a prison, and he is thanked in the film's credits. A few years after the movie opened, he says, his phone started ringing. And then people started showing up. "They were random, and we never knew where they were coming from," Tasseff says. "Sometimes it was somebody from Korea; the gentleman who hitchhiked from England just stopped into our door." I call them the Shawshank pilgrims. Michael Demetriades lives in Florida and flew to Mansfield with his father-in-law for the Shawshank experience. "In order to immerse myself into the experience," he says, "I wanted to go with actual images printed out of the movie so I could compare it back to real scenes when I was actually there in person." Demetriades printed out 120 images from the film and carried them in a binder. He also programmed the film's locations into his GPS and listened to the film's soundtrack as he went. He laughs nervously as he describes just how far he went to get ready for his trip to Mansfield. "I don't want to sound like too much of an extremist. But I was definitely prepared," he says. Here's the thing: among Shawshank pilgrims, Demetriades is no extremist. Mansfield has become a mecca for pilgrims like him. They, of course, want to see Shawshank Prison. But the biggest draw for many of them sits about 15 miles south, in an old farm field. It's a giant oak tree. As Morgan Freeman's character struggles to make sense of his life once he's been paroled, it's that tree — and a promise he made to visit it — that gives him hope. The tree is at least 100 feet tall and 175 years old. And, for many Shawshank pilgrims, seeing it is a spiritual experience. Go to YouTube, and you'll find videos of people simply recording themselves driving by it. "It's almost like a cult following here," says Sybil Burskey, an administrative assistant at Malabar Farm State Park, which sits across the road from the tree. "We get phone calls; we get visitations. You can always tell when someone's looking for the Shawshank tree because they come into the gift shop, and they kind of have a puzzled look on their face." The tree's owner — a local attorney — isn't amused by her tree's cult status. She's put up a fence, but that hasn't stopped thousands from driving slowly down Pleasant Valley Road, snapping pictures or missing the tree and ending up confused in Burskey's gift shop. Jodie Puster works Tasseff in the Mansfield Visitors Bureau. Three years ago they put together The Shawshank Trail, including a brochure and map to help visitors find the tree — a

09/19/14: NPR Presents Michel Martin: A Broader Way

On Friday, September 19th, 2014, NPR host Michel Martin had a conversation on the changing Broadway landscape. She sat down with award-winning playwrights from diverse walks of life, exploring how artists are challenging a canon that has traditionally been by, for and about the white experience. The conversation featured David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), Bruce Norris (Clybourne Park), Lydia Diamond (Stick Fly), and Kristoffer Diaz. Tony-Award nominee Stephen McKinley Henderson performed an excerpt from August Wilson's American Century Cycle. See how the public took part in the conversation by following @NPRMichel on Twitter and on Facebook at Facebook.com/NPRMichel. For more, check out videos from the event here!

McConnell's Impeachment Trial Resolution, China Virus Outbreak, Philippines Volcano

The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump starts on Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., released his trial rules late on Monday, and Democrats are incensed. How is McConnell limiting the trial? A new virus is causing international concern. Health authorities say the disease can spread from person to person. How dangerous is this virus? Also, more than a week after a volcano erupted in the Philippines, we get a view from right above it. How long before the next eruption?

NPR News Agenda: Moussaoui; Hamas-Fatah Tensions

On NPR today, expect coverage of what Zacarias Moussaoui has to say at his sentencing hearing. There will be no audio, so rely on NPR's reporters to fill in all the drama that tape could provide. The National Desk is working on a story of what we actually learned from the trial. It is trying to develop another piece that looks at the question: Why are all the terrorism trials of bit players and not of the masterminds of terror plots (like Sept. 11 mastermind Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who was seized in Pakistan in 2003). The piece would explore who's actually in custody and the controversies over intelligence gathering, methods used to extract information, and evidence permissible in a courtroom. All Things Considered is trying to talk to the warden of the maximum-security prison Moussaoui will be going to in Colorado to find out how you handle a prisoner like him. The Foreign Desk is working on a package that will look at the tensions between Hamas and Fatah, which used to dominate the Palestinian government. And here's an early plug for Weekend Edition Sunday: host Liane Hansen visits Ben's Chili Bowl, a Washington institution that's played a role in every chapter of the country's civil rights movement.

The Story Of Steadman, Drawn From His 'Gonzo' Art

Every morning, British illustrator Ralph Steadman wakes up in his country estate in rural England and attacks a piece of paper, hurling ink, blowing paint through a straw and scratching away layers to reveal lines and forms that surprise even him. Steadman is known, in part, for his work with writer Hunter S. Thompson, a collaboration that would come to be known as "gonzo journalism," where the tale-teller becomes the tale. Beginning in 1970, the duo produced books, including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and several articles for Rolling Stone and other magazines. Thompson killed himself in 2005, but at 76, Steadman continues to work; and his ink-splattered, anarchic drawings, paintings and caricatures continue to inspire artists and musicians on both sides of the Atlantic. Now, For No Good Reason, a new documentary that's been 15 years in the making, takes a close and personal look at Steadman's life, rise to prominence and irreverent approach to art. Case in point: One scene in the film shows Steadman and beat writer William S. Burroughs using Steadman's drawings for target practice. It's not so much "creative destruction" as "destructive creativity." The film's director, Charlie Paul, agrees. "He believes that by taking it to a point of no return at the very beginning, he has nothing to lose," Paul says. The Right 'Venom' For Professional Chemistry Hunter S. Thompson's presence permeates For No Good Reason. The film's recurring telephone ring marks how most of Thompson and Steadman's collaborative jaunts began — with a call from the writer. Then there's the title, which was pulled from something Thompson said whenever Steadman asked why they were going on a particular errand, chase or quest: "No good reason at all, Ralph." In the film, Rolling Stone's co-founder Jann Wenner explains why he felt Steadman's art illustrated Thompson's caustic, stream-of-altered-consciousness reportage better than any photograph could. "The thing about Ralph's work — it was just the energy, the anger, the venom that was just spewed out," he says. "And that's what I loved." Steadman says he could keep up with Thompson's drinking, but never had much use for the drugs. Thompson never met a substance — or politician — he couldn't abuse in pursuit of his brand of journalism, and his relationship with Steadman was difficult. Still, Thompson's suicide hit Steadman hard. The actor Johnny Depp serves as a guide in the film. Depp, who was a friend of both men, starred in the movie based on Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. In For No Good Reason, both Depp and Steadman try to make sense of Thompson's suicide. "The way I came to terms with it was that this is a man who dictated the way he was going to live his life," Depp says in the film. "He was most certainly going to dictate the way he left." In Search Of Someone To Fear And Loathe The press launch for For No Good Reason was held in an enclosed, jungle-themed courtyard — complete with a rushing stream and the occasional bird squawk issuing from unseen speakers — at London's Barbican Center. Producer Lucy Paul says even the youngest, hottest musicians instantly signed on when they heard the film was about Steadman. "Somehow, Ralph reaches the whole, kind of, creative world, on all spectrums," she says. In person, Steadman has twinkling eyes and a kindly manner — it seems that all his rage is channeled through his art. The illustrator also contributed to Thompson's Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail, about the 1972 U.S. election. He shakes his head regretfully at the lack of grist for the satirical mill in the 2012 race. "The problem is there are no Nixons around at the moment," Steadman says. "That's what we need — we need a real good Nixon." Under Steadman's pen, then-presidential candidate Richard Nixon leans over a podium, his nose morphing into a vulpine snout. Steadman longs for a contemporary figure that would inspire, well, fear and loathing, "to give something for other people to get their teeth into," he says, "to really ... loathe him, to become themselves more effective as opposition leaders." Today he says he still approaches every blank sheet of paper with no expectations, and with the same blazing desire that first drew him to cartooning five decades ago. He talks about wanting to change the world. "And I think I have changed the world, because you know what? It's worse now than it was when I started!" he says, laughing.

Bernie Sanders Has Heart Procedure, Cancels Events Until Further Notice

Updated at 12:15 p.m. ET Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is canceling presidential campaign events "until further" notice following a heart procedure, campaign senior adviser Jeff Weaver said Wednesday morning. Weaver said in a brief written statement that Sanders "experienced some chest discomfort" during a Tuesday evening campaign event. "Following medical evaluation and testing he was found to have a blockage in one artery and two stents were successfully inserted," Weaver said in the statement. "Sen. Sanders is conversing and in good spirits. He will be resting up over the next few days." The campaign has not provided further information at this time. The news comes as Sanders was preparing for Wednesday campaign events in Nevada, including a "Medicare for All" town hall in Las Vegas. It also comes less than two weeks before the next Democratic primary debate, on Oct. 15 in Ohio. As of January 2016, Sanders had "no history of cardiovascular disease," according to a letter from Sanders' doctor released as part of his 2016 presidential campaign. Health issues hurt Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race, when a bout of pneumonia caused her to leave a Sept. 11 memorial service early. A video of the incident showed a weak-looking Clinton being assisted into a van. That led to a days-long discussion in the media of her health, as well as attacks from Donald Trump. This incident could raise questions about Sanders' age. Sanders, currently 78, would be the oldest president elected in U.S. history. He is also a top candidate in a Democratic field led by septuagenarians. Former Vice President Joe Biden is 76, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is 70. This has led to concerns from some voters about whether nominating a candidate that old is the best choice for the Democratic Party. Many of Sanders' fellow Democratic presidential candidates, including Biden, Warren, California Sen. Kamala Harris and others tweeted messages wishing Sanders a speedy recovery. This week, Sanders announced that his campaign received $25.3 million in the third quarter of this year — the highest total of all Democratic campaigns that have announced their totals thus far. (Warren and Biden have not reported their numbers yet.)

The Avalanches Explain Their New Album, 'We Will Always Love You'

When The Avalanches first grabbed Australian ears back in the year 2000, it was with a song that sounded like nothing else. "Frontier Psychiatrist," as well as the rest of the songs on their debut album, Since I Left You, were an intricately assembled collage of samples. The album was critically adored and gained The Avalanches scores of fans. And then, it took 16 years for them to release another record – 2016's Wildflower. Thankfully, it didn't take nearly as long for their third album to arrive, and this time, they mix their beloved sampling style with a bevy of guest vocalists and much more live instrumentation. In this episode, I talk to Robbie Chater and Tony Diblasi of The Avalanches about their new approach, their love of sampling and why this album came so much more quickly than their last.

16 Number One Songs From Our First 16 Years

Sixteen years ago All Songs Considered started as NPR's first online-only program. This month we're celebrating its sweet 16 birthday, and to mark the occasion on this week's episode we're counting down our favorite songs from each of the past 16 years. Hearing some of these cuts is a real trip down memory lane, from the dreamy synth sound of Moby's "Porcelain," and Björk's polyrhythmic "Hidden Place," to The Postal Service, Grizzly Bear and Kanye West's brilliant and playful earworm "Gold Digger." If you've had a memorable moment with All Songs Considered, share your story in the comments section below. We love hearing from our listeners. And if you want to share your own list of number one songs from each of the past 16 years, well pass that along, too!

Researchers Test Microbe Wipe To Promote Babies' Health After C-Sections

Babies get a lot from their mothers. But babies born by cesarean section don't pass through the birth canal and miss out on the benefits from picking up Mom's microbes on the way out. Researchers studying the human microbiome have asked: Could there be a way to fix that? If so, it might help restore the microbes a baby naturally gets that help fight off disease and foster normal development. A small study published Monday in Nature Medicine provides tantalizing evidence that it may be possible. How? By slathering babies just after birth with a gauze pad that soaked up the microbes in their mothers' birth canal right before birth. "These results show that we can partially restore and normalize the microbial assembly that takes place naturally in babies," says Maria Dominguez-Bello, an associate professor of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine, who led the study. "We normalize their microbiome." Dominguez-Bello and her colleagues stress that they need to test their approach on many more babies to really know if it works. Scientists also need to follow the children for years to see if the intervention makes any difference to their health. In the meantime, they emphasize that women shouldn't attempt this on their own because there is a risk they could inadvertently transmit dangerous bacteria to their newborns. "Don't do this at home," says Jose Clemente, an assistant professor of genetics and genomic sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, who helped conduct the study. The women participating in the study were screened for known pathogens ahead of time and also given antibiotics as a precaution. When a woman is pregnant, the composition of microbes in her birth canal starts to change. "Babies pick up these microbes. And by time the baby's born, the baby's heavily colonized by these microbes that have found the right place to grow," says Dominguez-Bello. Babies who are delivered with a C-section don't go through the birth canal, so they don't get these microbes. That might help explain why babies born by C-section appear to have a higher risk for a variety of diseases, she says. "We think that the epidemic increase in asthma, allergies, Type 1 diabetes, Celiac disease, obesity are related to disturbances in the microbiome," she says. The hypothesis is that microbes help train the immune system. The link to obesity may stem from microbes helping to regulate normal metabolism. So Dominguez-Bello and her colleagues wondered whether they could somehow give C-section babies their mothers' microbes. "We are testing the hypothesis that if a baby born by C-section is exposed to vaginal fluids of his or her mom, then those bacteria that the baby should have seen naturally will find and grow in the appropriate niche of the body," she says. Other researchers say the results represent a promising first step. "It's a very important study," says Juliette Madan, who studies babies' microbiomes at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine and who isn't involved in this study. "It's showing that this is a possible intervention that might restore a health-promoting microbiome and lead to improved health outcomes for life," Madan says. For the study, which is ongoing, researchers ask doctors to put a piece of gauze inside the birth canal of women giving birth by C-section before delivery to soak up their microbes, and then take out the gauze just before the baby is born. As soon as the baby is born, the doctors swab the baby with the specially prepared gauze, focusing on the mouth and face before moving onto the rest of their body. The researchers then repeatedly sample and analyze the babies' microbes. The results released Monday focus on the first four C-section babies they tried this on, during the first month of life. The researchers compared their microbes to those of seven C-section babies who weren't swabbed and seven who were born vaginally. All together, the scientists collected and analyzed more than 1,500 microbial samples. The mouth, gut and skin microbes of the C-section babies who were slathered looked much more similar to those of babies delivered vaginally than those who weren't swabbed in their first month of life, the researchers reported. For example, the swabbed babies had greater quantities of two types of bacteria believed to be helpful, known as Lactobacillus and Bacteroides. The swabbing didn't completely re-create the combination of microbes present in babies delivered vaginally, however. The researchers have performed the procedure on more babies but haven't yet completed the same analysis. The group is seeking funding to continue and expand the study to try to determine how well the approach works and whether it improves health, which is the ultimate goal. "Obviously, the final study — the most important one — is to follow babies for three or five or seven years and determine if this restoration decreases the risk for some of the diseases that we know are as

Netherlands Has Its Own Afghan Exit Strategy

At the NATO summit, President Obama is likely to win a lot of praise for his new plan for Afghanistan. However, he may not win too many new commitments from allies. The Netherlands is heavily invested in Afghanistan, but its troops are pulling out in 2010.

Arrest Made In Detroit Bomb Case

A Michigan man "who blames the FBI for his father's murder and claims to be 'nominated President of the United States' was arrested Thursday on charges of planting a bomb last week at the McNamara Federal Building," The Detroit News writes. The arrest is connected to a situation we posted about on Wednesday — that a private security guard at the federal building put the item aside and didn't tell anyone about it for three weeks. When it eventually was examined by bomb specialists, the device was taken away and detonated. The suspect, 43-year-old Gary John Mikulich of Kingsford, Mich., "has a lengthy history of mental illness," his family says, according to UpperMichigansSource.com. The Associated Press says a judge today ordered that Mikulich be given a mental health exam.

N.C. Democrats Try To Shake Off Pre-Convention Blues

The Democratic Party will hold its national convention in Charlotte this September. The choice of venue was a signal that North Carolina would be a key part of President Obama's re-election strategy. But the state's Democrats have suffered a few blows lately. There's the high profile trial of former Democratic Sen. John Edwards. Even more troubling to North Carolina Democrats are the passage of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and a sex-scandal in the state party organization. President Obama won North Carolina by his narrowest margin in 2008 — less than half a percentage point — and state Democrats are fervently hoping to keep it "blue" for him in November. But lately, many are just feeling blue. "We've got people coming from around the world, coming to Charlotte in September, and look what ... is being splashed across the pages of the newspapers over the last several weeks," says Gray Newman, a Charlotte Democrat who serves as a precinct chair. Scandal And Setbacks State leaders of the North Carolina Democratic Party are mired in a sexual harassment scandal involving the party's director and a former staffer. The director resigned. But it turns out there was a settlement over the allegations, which led to calls for the party chairman, David Parker, to resign, too. Parker nearly did, but changed his mind when some party loyalists urged him to stay. On top of all that, Democrats are getting some push back from labor groups about their decision to hold the party's national convention in a state that limits union power. Fundraising for the convention has been slow. Two weeks ago came the real hit, says Newman, when the state voted for a constitutional ban on gay marriage. The amendment was approved by 61 percent of state voters, a percentage that Newman said "truly astounded" him. A gay rights group has gathered thousands of signatures to an online petition demanding the convention move to another state. Demoralized But Not Out While national party leaders say they're committed to making the convention a success in Charlotte, North Carolina Democrats like state Rep. Pricey Harrison admit the timing is not ideal. In 2010, Republicans took control of the state Legislature for the first time in a century. Gov. Beverly Perdue, a Democrat, has since become so powerless and unpopular she decided not to run for re-election. "There's not a lot that we get to claim credit for now because it's all been defense," says Harrison. "But I think that we've got a track record and a legacy that we can be proud of in North Carolina." Communicating that legacy is a big responsibility of the North Carolina Democratic Party, which is currently in disarray over the harassment scandal. But a spokesman says the state party is "continuing to do the work necessary to elect Democrats up and down the ticket." Getting Out The Vote Way down the ticket, Dan McCorkle is managing campaigns for several Charlotte Democrats. He says he's not too worried about the state of the state party because the Obama campaign is already in North Carolina with volunteers. "They're everywhere. They're motivated. They're working every day to get the base Democratic vote, out," he says. "And that in the end is the most important thing that is happening in North Carolina right now." Obama campaign volunteer Olivia Reburn, who lives across the state line in South Carolina, hasn't given much thought to the recent setbacks of Democrats in North Carolina. "I think this is the place to be in the Southeast, as far as you know, working for the Democratic Party and getting people energized to vote," she says. Reburn feels like North Carolina really matters in 2012. So do the Republicans, who recently announced a plan to send their own volunteers from South Carolina up to this battleground state. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: The Democratic Party will hold its national convention in Charlotte this September. The choice of venue was a signal that North Carolina would be a key part of the president's re-election strategy. But for the state's Democrats spring has been a season of setbacks. There's the high profile trial of former Democratic Senator John Edwards. Even more troubling for Democrats there: The passage of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and a harassment scandal in the state party organization. From member station WFAE in Charlotte, Julie Rose reports. JULIE ROSE, BYLINE: President Barack Obama won North Carolina by his narrowest margin in 2008 and Democrats here are fervently hoping to keep their state blue for him in November. But lately, many are just feeling blue. GARY NEWMAN: We've, we've got people coming from around the world, coming to Charlotte in September. And look what's being splashed across the pages of the newspapers over the last several weeks. ROSE: Gray Newman's a Democrat in Charlotte - a proud one who serves as precinct chair. Oh, but the razzing he's endured from his brother up in D.C. NEWMAN: His general perception is

Election Coverage: Where to Find the BPP

As the election results come in tonight, NPR will have all kinds of coverage. And we'll keep the fires burning, here and on our Twitter feed. (BPP friend Andy Carvin will be Tweeting over at the NPR News Blog, too.) If you're not right with Twitter yet, not to worry. It's easy and free, and experience says it'll be crackling tonight with Tweets from election-watchers around the world. Just head for Twitter.com and sign up. To see anything besides your own posts, you'll need to "Follow" other people. Some of them will follow you. The rest just kind of happens. After the jump, a partial list of Twitter friends. Follow 'em. They mostly volunteered. Read More >> Bryant Park Project's staff feedNPRNewsBlogSuperTweetdayacarvinBryperw8inowenheladylandrobpatrobgubillabuttermilk1Book_lady_127KristaspherecalananwareaglesumrtimeBethNbarmyFPallyourtvmergecrossRFHaardvarkoBryant Park Project aggregatorBryant Park Project's news streamNPR's All Songs Considered

Restaurant Forced to Change Anti-Soviet Name

A restaurant in Moscow called 'Anti-Soviet' has changed its name after being pressured by local officials. 'Anti-Sovetskaya,' which opened in July, was renamed 'Sovetskaya,' or 'Soviet,' on Friday. Officials said the old name offended Russia's older generation.

Ford Motor Company's Car Production Shifted To Make Ventilators

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Adrian Price, Ford's director of manufacturing, about the company's efforts to repurpose equipment used to make cars to now make ventilators and other medical supplies.

Rural Maine County Hosts Biathlon World Cup

Thousands of biathlon competitors and fans have gathered in rural Aroostook County in Maine for the sport's World Cup. More than 10 years ago, Aroostook, traditionally a hub for potato farming and logging, hatched a plan to reverse the stagnant wage growth and high unemployment that plague so many sparsely populated areas. The county already drew large numbers of snowmobilers to its network of well-groomed trails. So Aroostook set out to build on that base — by capitalizing on its long history of superb cross-country skiing and transforming itself into one of the world's premier Nordic sports destinations.

South Africa's President Faces 6th Vote Of No Confidence

South Africa's parliament on Tuesday holds a no-confidence vote against President Jacob Zuma over allegations of corruption and mismanagement of the economy. Zuma has been president since 2009.

Afghanistan Ambassador To U.S. Discusses U.S. Security Talks With The Taliban

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan's ambassador to the U.S., about the latest attack in her country and U.S. security talks with the Taliban.

Ride-Hailing App Geared Toward Women Debuts In Boston

A new ride-hailing service in Boston called Safr is aimed at getting female customers and employing female drivers. Some women drivers and passengers felt unsafe using other ride-hailing apps.

Google Co-Founder Moving Into CEO Slot

Google will soon have a new CEO. Oh, and the company earned $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, a 29 percent increase over the previous year. But it was the news that co-founder Larry Page will become CEO on April 4 that caught everyone off guard when the search giant announced its financial results. Everyone expects Google to make gobs of money each quarter. No one seemed to anticipate that current CEO Eric Schmidt would be ending his 10-year run in the job. A post by Schmidt on Google's official blog outlines the changes: Larry will now lead product development and technology strategy, his greatest strengths, and starting from April 4 he will take charge of our day-to-day operations as Google's Chief Executive Officer. In this new role I know he will merge Google's technology and business vision brilliantly. I am enormously proud of my last decade as CEO, and I am certain that the next 10 years under Larry will be even better! Larry, in my clear opinion, is ready to lead. Sergey has decided to devote his time and energy to strategic projects, in particular working on new products. His title will be Co-Founder. He's an innovator and entrepreneur to the core, and this role suits him perfectly. As Executive Chairman, I will focus wherever I can add the greatest value: externally, on the deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership that are increasingly important given Google's global reach; and internally as an advisor to Larry and Sergey.

Domestic Violence Policy

NPR's Martha Raddatz talks with Linda about the Pentagon's announcement today that it will comply with a new law that forbids military personnel who have been convicted of domestic abuse from carrying a weapon. Troops are being surveyed about whether they have criminal records for domestic abuse; those who have records since 1996 will be discharged.

Week In Politics: Infrastructure Meeting Goes Off The Rails

Earlier this week, President Trump walked out of a infrastructure meeting with Democratic leadership. WBUR&#8217;s Washington news correspondent Kimberly Atkins (@KimberlyEAtkins) and New Hampshire-based political reporter Paul Steinhauser (@steinhauserNH1) discuss the week&#8217;s political news with Here & Now&#8216;s Jeremy Hobson and Peter O&#8217;Dowd. This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Questions Hang in Aftermath of Mine Disaster

Two days after the West Virginia mining community of Sago learned that 12 men had died in a mining disaster, families are still seeking answers about how false hopes were raised and then dashed.

Play Connects Pakistan's Past and Present

On Thursday, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan following an eight-year, self-imposed exile. The night before, The Leopard and the Fox opened in New York. The play tells the story of Bhutto's father, Pakistan's first democratically-elected leader. He was overthrown in 1977 by his trusted military aide, Gen. Zia ul-Haq. Bhutto blames Zia ul-Haq's supporters for the bombings that marred her homecoming. Hear how a work of art tries to connect yesterday and today. SCOTT SIMON, Host: NPR's Bilal Qureshi reports on a play that tries to connect yesterday and today. BILAL QURESHI: So in 1985, the BBC commissioned writer Tariq Ali to create a three-part TV series he called "The Leopard and the Fox." SIMON: In terms of the animal kingdom, a leopard can gobble up a fox, but sometimes the fox outwits the leopard, and that is what happened in the case of Pakistan. Zia totally outmaneuvered and outwitted Bhutto. QURESHI: The BBC asked the writer to make changes. SIMON: And I said, in very rude words, which I better not repeat on radio, that my reaction would be to tell you to take a running jump. QURESHI: Playwright Rajiv Joseph says he didn't just want to restage the old work without acknowledging what was going on in Pakistan today. SIMON: It seemed that we'll be doing a disservice to this production if we didn't and somehow, like, think about that. You know, allow that - the reality of today's Pakistan to become part of the story because it is so connected. QURESHI: Here Zia ul-Haq threatens Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. (SOUNDBITE OF PLAY, "THE LEOPARD AND THE FOX") SIMON: (As General Zia ul-Haq) I called you here to talk. It is out of respect I do this. SIMON: (As Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto) Respect. You talk to me about respect, surrounding my home with tanks at midnight while my wife and daughter were asleep inside. SIMON: (As General Zia ul-Haq) Oh, you, boy. SIMON: (As Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto) My wife and daughter inside asleep. SIMON: (As General Zia ul-Haq) There are times when no one is really safe. SIMON: (As Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto) This is how you repay me after all I've given you. QURESHI: There are definite parallels between the politics of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and those of his daughter, says Husain Haqqani, the head of the International Relations Department at Boston University. SIMON: Benazir Bhutto is very much Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's daughter. She is as concerned about civilian control over Pakistan as her father was. She is as much of a nationalist as her father was. QURESHI: As for the link between President Pervez Musharraf and the older military ruler... SIMON: Zia ul-Haq believed that the Pakistan army is the only institution that can keep Pakistan together. And so for him, army equals Pakistan. And for Musharraf also the same equation holds true. QURESHI: The new play acknowledges that enduring tension between military rule and democracy in Pakistan. In an imagined telephone conversation, Benazir Bhutto taunts President Musharraf - the head of the same army that deposed her father. (SOUNDBITE OF PLAY, "THE LEOPARD AND THE FOX") SIMON: (As Benazir Bhutto) I have to hang up now, general. Think over the terms I've made and then text me your answer, or perhaps I'll just show up and you can throw me in jail, hang my corpse from a tree like Zia did my father. SIMON: (As President Pervez Musharraf) I am not Zia. SIMON: (As Benazir Bhutto) Sadly you are. QURESHI: The play opened the night before Benazir Bhutto's chaotic return to Pakistan on Thursday. After the premiere, there was a lively debate among the predominantly South Asian audience. SIMON: There was a tendency to be one-dimensional. QURESHI: Javed Jabbar would know. He was the minister of information in Benazir Bhutto's cabinet in the late 1980s. He did commend the play, however, for providing historical context to what's happening today. SIMON: I think the arts should continue to remain a mirror of the political process as well as a critic so that people are able to step back from the hurly-burly of politics. QURESHI: Samia Shoaib is visiting New York from Karachi. SIMON: It was very strange to go from talking to my husband who's like, ugh, can hear the riots to see someone who really hasn't done the research, portraying Benazir as some kind of heroine. She's killing people as we speak. People are dying on the streets of Karachi because she's coming back. QURESHI: Tariq Ali who wrote the 1985 screenplay, "The Leopard and the Fox," on which the current production is based, isn't exactly thrilled with the new version either. He says Benazir Bhutto is neither the leopard her father was nor is President Musharraf a fox. SIMON: Jackals both of them. One is a military dictator and the other is a corrupt politician. QURESHI: Bilal Qureshi, NPR News.

Snowden Says Allegations He Received Russian Help Are 'Absurd'

Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden says that when he leaked classified documents about some of the United States' most sensitive surveillance programs, he did so alone and without any help. In an interview with The New Yorker, Snowden called whispers that he received help from Russia's security service "absurd." He told the magazine that he "clearly and unambiguously acted alone, with no assistance from anyone, much less a government." He continued, "It won't stick. ... Because it's clearly false, and the American people are smarter than politicians think they are." As we reported over the weekend, Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, strongly implied that Snowden had help from the Russians not only to travel to that country, where Snowden received temporary asylum, but to also steal the information to begin with. "There's a reason he ended up in the hands, the loving arms, of an FSB agent in Moscow," Rogers said. "I don't think that's a coincidence." Rogers offered no evidence for his statements. Snowden said the allegations made no sense. Had he been spying for Russia, Snowden said, he never would have made a stop in Hong Kong and he certainly wouldn't have spent 40 days at the Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow. "Spies get treated better than that," he told the magazine.

Gwen Ifill, A Life Remembered

I spent a Millennium with Gwen Ifill. It was PBS' special Millennium coverage to ring in 2000, co-produced with the BBC. Just the two of us, planted in a studio, talking between performances, images, and interviews from around the world, hour after hour as all four numbers on the calendar flipped into a new century. At the stroke of midnight, we switched to Times Square: the great, glittering ball descended in a shower of sparks. But a commercial network had paid dearly to broadcast from Times Square all night. PBS could present just fifteen seconds. When the line dropped, Gwen and I sat up, stammered, and knew we had to talk our way to something else. But what? "Easter Island!" a producer called through our ears. "Same time zone. Welcoming the Millennium with a dance!" Our coverage cut to a group of indigenous Rapa Nui people in ceremonial dress. Both women and men wore skirts, woven from feathers, vines, and flowers, that didn't quite conceal--especially when the men swung large, long blades that looked like machetes. "The way they swing those things makes me nervous," Gwen told whoever was watching us in the first seconds of 2000. I added, "And the way they swing those machetes makes me nervous, too." It was always a pleasure to try to make the most fair minded journalist in broadcasting ... giggle. Gwen Ifill's memorial service is taking place while we're on the air today. I think she'd understand why we're here. My family and I got to take several trips with Gwen to meet PBS fans. I might have imagined that she'd be--and I hope Gwen would forgive the phrase--a role model for our daughters, who might tell them how she shattered precedents. But Gwen preferred just to laugh with them. She took particular time to talk to my mother. What the people we met got to see, up-close, was that Gwen's personal warmth was infectious; and her fair-mindedness was unwavering. She'd tell stories about those times in her career--and it wasn't just at the start--when she'd encounter racism, sexism, or incivility; and not just while working a story, but sometimes among coarse colleagues. She seemed more rueful than resentful, and when I suggested that a man who had once slighted her probably sold used cars now, while she moderated presidential debates, Gwen said, "Well, we need good used car salesmen, too." Her fairness wasn't a struggle or even a principle, so much as her view of humanity. Gwen Ifill got to the top, and made room and time for others. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: I spent a millennium with Gwen Ifill. It was PBS' special millennium coverage to ring in 2000, co-produced with the BBC - just the two of us planted in a studio, talking between performances, images and interviews from around the world hour after hour, as all four numbers on the calendar flipped into a new century. The stroke of midnight, we switched to Times Square. The great, glittering ball descended in a shower of sparks. But a commercial network had paid dearly to broadcast from Times Square all night. PBS could present just 15 seconds. When the line dropped, Gwen and I sat up, stammered, knew we had to talk our way to something else. But what? Easter Island, a producer called through our ears. Same time zone - welcoming the millennium with a dance. Our coverage cut to a group of indigenous Rapa Nui people in ceremonial dress. Both women and men wore skirts woven from feathers, vines and flowers that didn't quite conceal, especially when the men swung large, long blades that looked like machetes. The way they swing those things makes me nervous, Gwen told whoever was watching us in the first seconds of 2000. I added, the way they swing those machetes makes me nervous, too. It was always a pleasure to make the most fair-minded journalist in broadcasting giggle. Gwen Ifill's memorial service is taking place while we're on the air today. I think she'd understand why we're here. My family and I got to take several trips with Gwen to meet PBS fans. I might've imagined that she'd be - and I hope Gwen would forgive this phrase - a role model for our daughters who might tell them how she shattered precedence. But Gwen preferred just to laugh with them. She took particular time to talk to my mother. What the people we met got to see close up was that Gwen's personal warmth was infectious, and her fair-mindedness was unwavering. She'd tell stories about those times in her career - and it wasn't just at the start - when she'd encountered racism, sexism or incivility - and not just while working a story but sometimes among coarse colleagues. She seemed more rueful than resentful. And when I suggested that a man who once slighted her probably sold used cars now while she moderated presidential debates, Gwen said, well, we need good used-car salesman, too. Her fairness wasn't a struggle or even a principle, so much as her view of humanity. Gwen Ifill got to the top and made room and time for others.

Theater Of The Absurd: Have Audiences Lost Their Manners?

If you woke up this morning thinking, "I really need to hear NPR's Linda Wertheimer say the words 'noisily unwrapping her Twizzlers,'" have I got good news for you. Margot Adler had a story on today's Morning Edition about Broadway audiences and whether they're getting ruder, given recent incidents involving the aforementioned Twizzlers, rude texting, talking and other interruptions. She went to the TKTS line (where you wait for discount Broadway tickets) and asked some of the folks what they thought. Some offered the usual explanations — say, that we're all used to sitting in our living rooms watching alone, and we don't remember what it's like to use our polite-company manners anymore. One speculated that as theater has gotten more casual (less dressy, drinks allowed), people's behavior has lost its polite formality. Jan Simpson, the writer of one blog about Broadway, actually calls herself "old-fashioned" for wanting people to sit quietly while watching a show, which I can tell you caused the writer of one blog about popular culture to clutch her metaphorical pearls in horror at the thought that there's something modern about being a disruptive buffoon. Adler acknowledges that in fact, "in Shakespeare's time, they threw food on the stage." Of course, in Shakespeare's time, they died of various things we've cured, so let's not embrace that too eagerly. What emerges is partly a generational issue setting younger audiences who want to tweet about the show while it's happening (mon dieu!) against older, perhaps more experienced audiences who take a less consumer-oriented and more art-patron-oriented approach to attendance. But surely, a person of any age is capable of doing without Twitter for a couple of hours. I can do without Twitter for a couple of hours, for example, and I've been known to tweet about people clipping their nails on the Metro. It's a good thing, indeed, to avoid taking theater and making it a cloistered place for elites only (not that ticket prices don't get you a good part of the way there). But it's also a good thing to avoid giving free passes out of Rudeness Jail for everyone who simply prefers not to iron anything except cargo shorts. OK, OK, I don't really care if you wear cargo shorts. But the pockets should not be stuffed with things that beep, smoke, smell like garlic or tempt you to whisper. Deal?

'Sing' Mourns The Dead, Both Buried And Unburied

Sing, Unburied, Sing opens with the slaughter of a goat. "The goat makes a sound of surprise, a bleat swallowed by a gurgle, and then there's blood and mud everywhere." Yes, blood and mud are everywhere in Jesmyn Ward's Mississippi, a place full of ghosts and corpses, bayous and roadkill ("possums or armadillos or wild pigs or hit deer, bloating and turning sour in the Mississippi heat"). That oozing mud sticks to her characters: They dream of drowning, of rising waters and sucking mud. And blood, well. Like Ward's previous novel, Salvage the Bones, her new novel is set in the fictional town of Bois Sauvage (wild or savage woods). This town is a rich swamp of overlapping family ties, violent history, and ever-present racism, thrumming like a sick heartbeat through the lives of everyone in it. Jojo lives with his mother, Leonie, an addict, his baby sister Kayla, and his grandparents, de-facto parents whom he calls Mam and Pop. His white father, Michael, is in prison for drug offenses, but on Jojo's 13th birthday, right before he blows out the candles on his cake, the family gets a call: Michael's getting out. Jojo, Kayla, Leonie and Leonie's white friend Misty drive to the prison in a multi-voiced odyssey reminiscent of As I Lay Dying. They are hindered by hunger, sickness, the siren call of meth — which gives Leonie visions of her murdered brother — and the cop who nearly shoots Jojo when they are pulled over and Leonie has to swallow the bag of drugs she is smuggling. Jojo's voice alternates with those of Leonie and Richie, the ghost of a dead boy who was incarcerated with Jojo's grandfather. But Ward's ghosts don't feel fantastical — rather like a kind of heightened memory, much like the ghosts of Toni Morrison, who told NPR in a 2004 interview: "I think of ghosts and haunting as just being alert. If you are really alert, you see the life that exists beyond the life that's on top." Ward's characters are alert, too: they understand animals and toddlers, and they see ghosts because they know that history and present are the same. Their ghosts wear breeches, but they also wear hoodies. Ward exposes the chilling artifice of so many official explanations for why black men are killed and incarcerated at such high rates — for instance, when Jojo recalls his father telling him about the dolphins who washed up after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, "oil burnt, sick with lesions, hollowed out from the insides." Michael says: "Some scientists for BP said this didn't have nothing to do with the oil, that sometimes this is what happens to animals: they die for unexpected reasons. Sometimes a lot of them. Sometimes all at once ... And when that scientist said that, I thought about humans. Because humans is animals." Ward's lyricism tips occasionally into floweriness. Lush phrases smother each other, certain metaphors begin to drag after enough uses, and the novel lacks the variation in voice that helps As I Lay Dying stay interesting. Jojo's sections are by far the best, both perceptive and naive. Take the way, for instance, he sees his father trying not to cry: "something in his face was pulled tight, wrong, like underneath his skin he was crisscrossed with tape." That troubled, brilliant, prophetic voice, densely metaphorical but also childish, suits Jojo — but makes less sense coming from Leonie or Richie. The title Sing, Unburied, Sing seems to echo the opening of the Iliad, when Homer asks the muse to sing of unburied bodies left on the battlefield of Troy "a feast for dogs and birds," while the dead men's souls descend to Hades. Homer's poems were meant to act as immortal grave markers for the war dead, even as the physical graves and bodies would rot away. We're still singing for those Greek corpses; why not, Jesmyn Ward asks, sing for the generations of black Southerners undone by racism and history, lynched, raped, enslaved, shot, and imprisoned? In this lush and lonely novel, Ward lets the dead sing. It's a kind of burial.

Song Premiere: Listen To Laurel Halo's 'Sex Mission'

Carnal implications abound on "Sex Mission," a new techno track from the Brooklyn-based musician Laurel Halo. There's the not-exactly-subtle title, and the EP from whence it comes is called Behind the Green Door (out May 21), a nod to a ground-breaking porn flick from the 1970s. The music itself throbs like an accelerating heartbeat. A looped grainy sample — "be still" — conjures up an imaginary lover who's about to show you a really good time. But, like Lucille Bluth, "Sex Mission" gets off by withholding. Halo keeps things at a tantalizing simmer as the song chugs along, never quite reaching boiling temperatures. It's as tasteful as the title is crass. As explicit as the song's title sounds, Laurel Halo's description of her song is nearly abstract. "The track is about driving energy and elevation via dynamic topographies," Halo told me over email. "Movement and introspection are paramount." The reminder to dance is a good one, because "Sex Mission" has the power to stop you in your tracks.

For Muppeteers, It Isn't Easy Being Invisible

Sound Stage 28 at Universal Studios in Burbank, Calif., looks like any other Hollywood set — littered with wires, crew members everywhere. We pick our way through cables and cameras and stuff that would make Oscar the Grouch's trash can look tidy. But then we head up — up a flight of wooden stairs that leads to the old set of the 1925 Lon Chaney silent film The Phantom of the Opera. It's draped with dusty red-velvet swags, and it looks like it might still harbor a ghost or two. This is where, for the first Muppet movie since 1999's Muppets in Space, a Hollywood crew has re-created the old Muppet Theatre — which, in the new film, is being threatened with demolition by a tycoon who wants to drill for oil. We've come on a day when director James Bobin, co-creator of the HBO musical comedy Flight of the Conchords, is shooting a scene in a cramped balcony box overlooking the Muppet Theatre stage. Below, a few puppets hang limply from various stands as their puppeteers ready themselves for action. Muppet captain Bill Barretta is in charge — checking sightlines, positioning monitors, tweaking costumes. Barretta also performs: He's the man behind several characters previously enacted by the late Jim Henson, including the Swedish Chef, Rowlf the Dog and Dr. Teeth. He performs some newer characters, too — not least Pepe, the little Spanish-speaking shrimp. "Not a shrimp, please — he's a king prawn, OK," Barrett objects, in Pepe's voice. "Big difference. Size is what matters, alright." Barretta says his wife's Spanish aunt was the inspiration for Pepe. "[She] had this great way of talking to people — she only spoke in statements," he explains. " 'Iz a black shirt, OK. Come on, Beulah, we go to the mall, OK.' That's what she said all the time: 'OK,' at the end of everything." It happened that during a brainstorming session for a 1996 Muppets TV show, Barretta found himself describing his aunt-in-law. "She was a little bit selfish in a way, and I said, you know, 'She's very fun but a little shellfish,' by mistake. And one of the writer-directors said, 'Wait a minute, OK, maybe it's a lobster or it's a crab or a shrimp — no wait, it's a king prawn, 'cause maybe he has a problem with size.' " Sometimes, it takes a village to make a Muppet. But then, collaboration is a Muppet tradition, according to Barretta. "That was something Jim created," he says, "and I'm just glad to be part of that process." Barretta's aunt-in-law, by the way, loved the character. "She said, 'Iz OK, OK.' " Ad-Libs And Angles Add Up To Muppet Magic Special guest stars show up on this shooting day, to do cameo roles for a scene in which the Muppet crew puts on a telethon to help save their imperiled theater. So, jammed into that small balcony box are Whoopi Goldberg, Judd Hirsch, Neil Patrick Harris, John Krasinski, James Carville and others. At the cry of "Action," they start ad-libbing with one another and the Muppets. But hand puppets can't see the stars — can't see anybody or anything, for that matter. So Barretta and his colleagues rely on strategically placed monitors, "so puppeteers can see what they're doing, and at the same time see what the other person is doing, and at the same time, moment-to-moment react as an actor would do. So all these things come together at once." The puppeteers have to pretzel themselves in the small balcony to keep out of camera range. They sit, they squat, they belly-down under tables and ledges, sometimes using knee padding for comfort. Some sets are raised a few feet off the ground for easier Muppet maneuvering. Working outside is trickier. For a big song-and-dance number, the filmmakers shut down Hollywood Boulevard for two days while dancers, human actors and Muppets all performed in the real world. "We have to be down on the ground with little rolly chairs," says Barretta, "and straining, trying to get your head down below the shot. It's much more difficult to be out in the real world." Some Things Never Change James Bobin, director of The Muppets, is making his feature-film debut. And he's a total Muppets newbie. "No Muppet training whatsoever, " he says — although he allows that the cast of Flight of the Conchords used to watch the Muppets during downtime, just for laughs. So Bobin relies heavily on veterans like Barretta. "Whenever I have an idea, I say, 'Bill, is that possible?' And he tells me yes or no. Normally he says yes, which is good for me. But there are obviously limitations using Muppets: Door handles are a nightmare — the wrong height. Windowsills are a no-no. ... They're hand puppets, so ... they often have no legs. Shh, whisper it quietly. Don't tell people that." You'd think, in this age of computer-generated special effects, they could make some Muppet legs. But Bobin says not so: "This is very much a puppet festival. It's all about felt and fur and seeing that for real, not computer graphics." (SOUNDBITE OF THEME MUSIC, "THE MUPPETS")]]>

Morehead St. Opens NCAA Tourney With Win

Morehead State has earned its first NCAA men's basketball victory in a quarter-century. The team beat Alabama State last night 58-43. Morehead earned the right to take on top seed Louisville in the first round Friday.

As Fissures Between Political Camps Grow, 'Tribalism' Emerges As The Word Of 2017

It's word-of-the-year time again. Collins Dictionary chose "Fake news" and Dictionary.com went with "complicit." Others have proposed #metoo, "alternative facts," "take a knee," "resistance" and "snowflake." It's striking how many of those are the words and phrases that warring political camps have been hurling at each other across our deepening national divide. The Trump presidency didn't create that rift but it sort of made it official. The acrimonious climate has ruined a lot of Thanksgivings, as two economists recently demonstrated. Using cellphone tracking data, they found that Americans from politically divided families spent 20 minutes less time at the holiday dinner table after the election than the year before. Wonkish terms like "hyper-polarization" don't begin to convey that sense of unrelenting rancor. Instead, the meme of the moment is to say that American politics has become "tribal," which I'll make my word of the year. It's not a new word even in that meaning, but in one form or another, it has become the ubiquitous diagnosis for most of our political ills. "America is Cursed with Tribal Morality"; tribalism is responsible for fake news and for our inability to confront sexual harassment. Meanwhile, people abroad raise the specter of the "new tribalism" wherever the traditional nation-state seems to be fraying at the seams, from Catalonia to Scotland. The word "tribe" is a little problematic even in its traditional sense, as the early social group that predates the nation-state, united by kinship, language and rituals. "Tribe" has a legal status in the U.S. and there's nothing pejorative in using it for the Chippewa or Hopi. But Indigenous people in some other parts of the world object to the word's connotations of superstition, backwardness and savagery. Organizations like UNESCO stopped using "tribe" some years ago in favor of terms like "nation" or "ethnic group." But of course it's precisely those savage "ooga-booga" negative stereotypes that make "tribe" so evocative when you attach it to the political groups of modern societies. It suggests that their members have regressed to a more primitive social level, where they're motivated only by their bond with their own kind and their hostility to outsiders. At the limit, the story goes, they're driven purely by primal emotions of fear and rage that bubble up from the evolutionary depths of what people like to call the "lizard brain." With the exception of a few white supremacists, most Americans think that tribalism is a bad idea, which is why the word is so often preceded by "ugly" or "toxic." Where we disagree is in actually identifying the tribes. To a lot of people, "political tribalism" suggests those red and blue family members glowering at each other over the holiday dinner table, impatient to hurry back to their bubbles. They're people whose partisan identity has become so central that it determines whom they're willing to date and what brands of pizza and coffee makers they buy, not to mention which news stories they're willing to believe. But for others, "tribalism" is just another name for identity politics, though which identities count as tribal depends on your point of view. A Wall Street Journal editorial inveighs against what it calls the "crude political tribalism" of the groups on the left who are trying to divide Americans by race, ethnicity and gender. But the Journal gives a pass to other groups who tend to vote Republican, like white evangelicals. Yet writers on both the left and the right have said "white evangelical" has become more of tribal identity than a theological one. The fact is that however people map out the geography of American political tribes, they always exempt themselves and their neighbors. In modern America, we don't think of our own political allegiances as tribal; we're the creatures of reason. That gives the word an incantatory power — calling the members of a group tribal is just a way of pronouncing them impervious to rational discussion. Or as one political blogger put it, "There's no reasoning with reptile." There's virtually no phenomenon in public life that someone hasn't tried to discredit as tribal. A writer in National Review blames left tribalism for creating the myth of "rape culture"; Sen. Jeff Flake says it's political tribalism for Republicans to support Roy Moore. Business consultants argue that it's the tribalism of corporate white males that keeps women and minorities out of the executive suite, but Andrew Sullivan sees feminist tribalism behind Google's efforts to hire more women engineers. The Guardian's John Abraham writes that the Republicans' tribalism has led them to deny human-caused climate change. But according to The Wall Street Journal's Holman Jenkins, it's the tribalism of progressives that leads them to refuse to debate the question. Who wouldn't find this maddening? People use "tribal" to obliterate the differences between solidarity and blind group loyalty, betwe

Tribal Rights Hinder Child Support For Mothers

Collecting child support can be difficult for many mothers, but if the father is Native American, it can be nearly impossible. Tribes are sovereign nations and don't have to comply with court-ordered child support payments. But some states, including California, are beginning to work with tribes to make sure those payments get to mothers. Christina Brown lives with her mom and four of her children in Wildomar, Calif., a small town halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. In 2007, Christina left her husband, a tribal member of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, and she's fought ever since to get child support for the three kids they had together. Christina keeps stacks of boxes in her garage containing the paper trail of her court battle. "These are all just things of me just fighting to get what I'm [owed]," she says. Christina, a high school dropout, represented herself in court. "I've gone so long without support, if I didn't do all of this, I would never see a dollar." Christina says she wouldn't be able to buy clothes for her children, or pay her mother rent. She's been on and off welfare, lost her house and had two cars repossessed. According to Riverside County court records, Sonnie Brown had to serve jail time earlier this year for failure to pay child support to Christina. He agreed to pay $30,000 in back-child support, but Christina says he's refused to pay anymore since then, even though he gets a monthly check from the Viejas tribe's casino. "He makes $13,250 a month," she says. Records confirm that amount. "He goes to the reservation, picks up his check, goes to the casino and cashes it." According to family court documents, Sonnie stopped consistently paying his $2,987 monthly child support in 2009. In April, it was raised to $4,659. Despite court orders, the state can't touch Sonnie's monthly income from his tribe. A Few Tribes Take Steps Sonnie declined an interview, and the Viejas Tribal Council also wouldn't comment on the case. However, the council did recently pass a resolution saying it would consider enforcing child support orders for tribal members on a case-by-case basis. Across the country, 50 officially recognized tribes in 18 states have used federal funding to help set up and operate child support enforcement programs. In California, however, that's not the case. "As a sovereign nation, I don't think any tribe wants the state or feds telling them what they have to do," says Chief Judge Richard Blake with the Hoopa Valley Tribal Court. It would be like California telling Mexico to obey its court orders, he says. Only about 1 in 5 tribes in the state have any kind of consistent child support program, Blake says. "Traditionally, Native people are taught that we take care of our children and our elders," he says. "Taking care of our children means child support. These children deserve better than what we're giving them at this point." Gambling Money Raises The Stakes A vocal critic of Indian gaming, Cheryl Schmit runs a watchdog group called Stand Up for California. She calls the situation "very frustrating" and says more than half a dozen women have called her for help because they can't collect child support from Native American fathers. "It would appear, in some of these instances, that tribal governments themselves are complicit in protecting these funds from being distributed to mothers and children," Schmit says. As a result, Schmit says, the taxpayers pick up the tab in the form of food stamps and welfare for these "deadbeat dads." "We're subsidizing tribal families when tribal governments should be doing that," she says. Schmit says a good start would be for the state to put complying with child support orders on the table as part of its gaming agreement negotiations with the tribes. In the meantime, the federal government recently approved one of those tribal child support program grants for the Yurok Tribe, California's largest. It's the first of the 103 tribes in California to receive one. Christina wonders how much longer it will take for all of the tribes to follow. "It's just sad, because I believe that the Indians have the right to be their own government. They need to do it themselves, and I think Indians should care about other Indians," she says. Christina says with tribes' big gaming profits, there's no excuse for fathers to shortchange their kids. This story was produced by KQED and California Watch, a project of the Center for Investigative Reporting. JACKI LYDEN, host: In California, many mothers are finding it almost impossible to collect child support payments from Native American fathers. That's because tribes are sovereign nations, and members don't have to comply with court-ordered child support payments. Kelley Weiss reports on how California tribes are dealing with delinquent fathers. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) CHRISTINA BROWN: Take your juice with you, dear. Take your juice with you. KELLEY WEISS: Christina Brown lives with her mom and four of her k

Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake Felt In Canada, U.S.

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake was felt in Toronto, Canada and elsewhere in that country as well as in the U.S. on Wednesday afternoon. The U.S. Geological Survey placed the quake's epicenter about 24 miles north of Cumberland, Ontario and said it occurred at about 1:41 pm ET. Many people experienced the shaking based on comments on Twitter and elsewhere but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the quake. An excerpt from the Toronto Globe and Mail web site: A magnitude 5.5 earthquake hit central Canada this afternoon, rattling buildings from Windsor to Montreal and several U.S. states. The epicentre of the quake was likely in Quebec, north of Ottawa, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and struck at 1:41 p.m.EDT. The area - known as the Charlevoix-Kamouraska zone along the St. Lawrence River - is the most active seismic zone in Eastern Canada, according to a report for the Canadian Geological Survey published earlier this year.

New York Watches for Immigrant Boycott

In addition to a boycott, immigrant-rights advocates are planning to join hands at a number of locations in New York. Cindy Rodriguez of member station WNYC reports on the day's events.

Millenium Bomb Plot Suspected

Host Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Cokie Roberts about the arrest of an Algerian man who was trying to smuggle explosives into Washington state. Ahmed Ressam, was charged on Friday with trying to bring explosives into the United States in what officials suspect may have been part of a millennium bomb plot.

Seymour Hersh On Covert Operations In Iran

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh believes that the United States may be closer to armed conflict with Iran than previously imagined. He writes about Congress' funding of covert military operations in the upcoming issue of The New Yorker. A regular contributor to The New Yorker, Hersh exposed the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in a series of articles published in the magazine early in 2005. During the Vietnam War, Hersh was the first to report on the My Lai massacre. He has been the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, five George Polk Awards, two National Magazine Awards, and a dozen other prizes. He is also the author of eight books, including Chain of Command about Abu Ghraib.

Cheney Wins Round Over Energy Policy Task Force

A federal judge tosses a legal challenge brought by the General Accounting Office, in which the agency sought to learn more about meetings between Vice President Dick Cheney, energy company lobbyists and oil industry officials. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales

Forum in conversation with Jimmy Wales, founder of the online interactive encyclopedia Wikipedia.

A Musical Tribute To The

A musical tribute to the Cleveland Indians, who this weekend make their first World Series appearance in 41 years. Ross Duffin, who chairs the music department at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, has added some new words to music that Henry Purcell composed for his birthday ode "Come Ye Sons of Art." The result is "Come All Ye Baseball Fans." (WCLV, Cleveland) (repeated from PT 951020)

Climate Change Has Ski Industry Bracing For Shorter Winters

The ski industry is an important contributor to the winter economy &#8212; and it&#8217;s dealing with some pretty big changes. Among the biggest is climate. Winters are getting shorter and mountain resorts are having to adapt. Ali Budner (@ali_budner) from KRCC reports.

The IMF: Economic Shepherd Or Black Sheep?

Two years ago, global economic consensus held that the International Monetary Fund — the lender of last resort for ill-managed countries with a desperate, immediate need to borrow — was dying or dead. Its bungling of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 harmed its reputation; the availability of foreign capital made it obsolete. But global economic consensus now holds that the IMF will play an integral part in alleviating today's crisis. The "Great Recession" has created a strong demand for its lending, and the G-20 countries tripled its resources to $750 billion at their latest conference. Once a black sheep, the IMF overnight became the world's economic shepherd. Yet the reforms undertaken to expand the IMF dramatically alter its modus operandi and fundamental purpose. They might even make the fund less effective over time. At the latest G-20 conference, the IMF announced two major changes in response to the global economic crisis: It eased the conditions on its standard loans and created a new lending facility for approved countries. Standard IMF loans now have negotiable installment schedules and easier conditional restrictions. Countries were once required to make big changes — rewriting their tax codes, for instance — in order to receive loans. Now, the fund is much less aggressive in cleaning up governments' acts. Second, the IMF created the "Flexible Credit Line" (FCL) program to provide loans to countries with strong macroeconomic fundamentals. FCL loans have essentially no conditions whatsoever — and Poland, Mexico, and Colombia have already received them. Thus, the IMF has greatly expanded and turned itself into a provider of loans to prevent crises, not just alleviate them. The amount pledged to fund borrowers is now twice as much as was committed at the height of both the Asian crisis in 1998 and the Latin American crisis in 2002. That is all well and good for the Polands and Colombias of the world. Their IMF loans will surely help them avoid economic catastrophe. But it isn't necessarily good for either the developing countries that may be worst hit by the crisis, or for the IMF itself. Indeed, with its much-heralded unveiling of the FCL, the IMF placated G-20 countries unwilling to provide loans to struggling countries themselves. Industrialized countries, such as the United States, pledged to lend directly to the fund to meet the $750 billion goal. But middle-income emerging countries, like Brazil, Russia, India, and China, proposed to provide resources in the form of purchases of IMF-issued bonds, rather than permanent lines of credit. These new resources will help the fund better meet the challenges of the economic crisis in the short term. In the long term, however, they mean that Brazil, Russia, India, and China will have a greater procedural voice within the fund. The golden days of the IMF being autonomous and distant from the desires of developing countries has surely reached an end. Second, the fund's easing of conditionalities stemmed from a perceived need to reduce the stigma associated with seeking a loan from the IMF. But many countries value these conditions and tolerate the stigma. In a weak state, politicians might not want to take vital steps that will be electorally costly, such as cutting government spending or raising taxes. The fund plays a valuable role as a scapegoat, providing political cover for policymakers and ensuring changes are made. Making conditionality "cheaper" by reducing the stigma, then, may net the IMF more loans as states with weak commitment seek fund programs, but it is not likely to produce the reforms many of these countries urgently need. These developments should temper our enthusiasm about the reemergence of the IMF. A more responsive fund is not necessarily a better one. Having a degree of autonomy from member states allows international organizations to be influential. The conditionality reforms, combined with the likely exchange of bond purchases for more voting power, by diminishing this autonomy, may make the fund's new prominence brief indeed. Martin Edwards is assistant professor at the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University and the author most recently of The International Monetary Fund, Conditionality, and the World Economic Crisis: New Beginning or False Dawn?

Pakistani Journalist Hamid Mir

Forum talks to Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir, the only one to have interviewed Osama bin Laden after the events of September 11, 2001.

IMDB Turns 15 Years Old

The Internet Movie Database marks 15 years of existence this year. Commentator John Ridley points out that the Web site has become a handy tool widely used by film buffs and casual moviegoers alike, not to mention for movie industry types. Ridley is a writer and director, and author of <EM>The Drift</EM>.

Coleman's 'Grammar' Proves Prize-Worthy

We're hearing from Pulitzer Prize winners on today's show. Yesterday the Pulitzer for music was awarded to the 77-year-old jazz saxophonist and composer Ornette Coleman, for his live album <em>Sound Grammar</em>. It was cited for its "elastic and bracing" music. When Coleman came along in the 1950s, his detractors said his rough and wayward jazz was too crazy to stand the test of time. The Pulitzer is the most recent proof of how wrong they were. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead had this review last year when the CD was released.Ornette Coleman has won the Pulitzer Prize for music with his recording Sound Grammar, a document of a 2005 concert recorded live in Italy. Coleman's music was not among the 140 music nominees. Pulitzer panelists used their prerogative to skirt traditional rules by purchasing the CD and nominating the 77-year-old jazz master. This is the first time a recording has won the music Pulitzer, and a first for purely improvised music. The concert features an unorthodox line-up of instruments, including two double basses (one plucked, the other bowed), Colemans son Denardo on drums, and Coleman himself playing alto saxophone and trumpet. Coleman has continued to shake up the jazz world ever since releasing his innovative recording The Shape of Jazz to Come in 1959. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1930, Coleman received his first saxophone at age 14. His mother saved money to buy the instrument by working as a seamstress. At first, Coleman struggled to find his own sound on the alto saxophone, but eventually developed his own formulas of composition, breaking down traditional definitions of harmony and melody. The concept, called "Harmolodic," Coleman says, removes the caste system from sound. Coleman has written music outside of the jazz realm, including string quartets, music for dance, woodwind quintets, and in the early 1970s, a symphony called Skies of America, composed with support from his Guggenheim Foundation Grant. In 1994, Coleman earned a MacArthur Genius award, and has been inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Angular, Skittering Rock with a Creamy Center

Rahim not only draws inspiration from a specific sound -- think Fugazi, The Dismemberment Plan, and other bands that add an element of adventurousness to rock and hardcore punk -- but it also expands on those acts' exploratory sensibilities. The trio maintains exacting control over its requisite angular guitars and skittering drums, at the same time doling out unexpectedly lush backup harmonies and a melancholy, restrained organ. On "Forever Love," the group creates an enchanting post-punk ballad with a creamy, gooey heart. An ode to a beloved sweetheart, the song tells a tale of timeless romance, while evoking disparate eras, childhood memories, and hazy summers. Images of green grass and spiral staircases glide effortlessly by on a bed of sweetly refined melodies. Buffed into perfection by producer J Robbins, "Forever Love" juxtaposes sharp instrumental edges with the billowing softness of Michael Friedrich's rich, soothing vocals. Rahim's fresh instrumentation sounds sparse, yet it still feels lush and playful -- a perfect counterpart to the song's witty, literate lyrics. Listen to yesterday's 'Song of the Day.'

On The Money with Chris DiSimio from 91.7 WVXU

Chris meets with John Schmitz and Declan O'Sullivan from Bahl and Gaynor Investment Counsel.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Matthai

A discussion with Nobel Peace Prize-winning biologist Wangari Matthai. (pre-recorded)

Obama Keeps An Eye On Democrats' Political Scandals

Democrats are busy working to get past scandals and a messy debate concerning overhauling health care. The party is worried about how November's elections might affect President Obama's effort to get a health bill passed.

3 Afro Dominicana Writers Reflect On Their Truths

The Dominican Republic has the historic distinction of being the landing spot of Christopher Columbus in 1492 after he sailed the ocean blue, but that European invasion set off a series of historical and social events that reverberate to this day. As we've discussed here on Alt.Latino many times, the Dominican Republic is also a musical hot house. Countless musicians have sailed beyond the beautiful island environment to spread sounds like merengue and bachata throughout the Spanish-speaking world. It's also the source of a distinct literary tradition. Writers from the island and from the Dominican diaspora, such as Julia Alvarez and Rita Indiana to name just two, have blessed us with stories, essays and deep thoughts about the effects of colonialism and the beauty of the indigenous Taíno culture as well as everyday life on the island. Which brings us to this week's show. On this episode, we'll talk to three Afro Dominicana writers who are part of a recent wave of authors who use literature, poetry and even social media to reflect the contemporary Dominican experience. Danyeli Rodriguez del Orbe, Amanda Alcantara and Elizabeth Acevedo join us as does NPR Kroc Fellow and current Alt.Latino contributor Jessica Diaz-Hurtado.

Christmas Around the Country

From concert halls across the nation, Perfomance Today presents Christmas Around the Country, an annual celebration of holiday music in America. NPR's Fred Child hosts the one-hour special, with music from the Boston Camerata, Counterpoint, the St. Olaf Choir, the Pittsburgh Symphony Brass, the Spivey Hall Children's Choir, Canticle, and the Handel & Haydn society.

Doctor Accused Of Murder

NPR''s Wendy Kaufman reports that a well-known pediatrician in Port Angeles, Washington is expected to be arraigned today on charges of second degree murder. The doctor is accused of smothering a three-day old baby who was one of his patients.

New Radiohead Album Drops A Day Early, Video For 'Lotus Flower' Released

Radiohead's new album "The King Of Limbs" is out 24 hours early. The album is being sent to those who pre-ordered it earlier this week. (Note: It's 6:20 a.m., and I've just been authorized to download my purchased copy.) This is the statement on the XL Recordings website. "With everything ready on their website, the band decided to bring forward the release by a day rather than wait until the planned date of Saturday, Feb 19 to deliver the music." Here's the first video from the album. Orders for the download or the special edition, which is packaged in Radiohead's version of what the band is calling a newspaper, can still be placed at radiohead.com. XL Recordings will release the album on CD and vinyl on March 28.

Novelist Philip Roth

His book <EM>The Human Stain</EM> is about a professor accused of racism who has a secret about his own ethnic identity. It's just been adapted into a new film starring Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman. <EM>The Human Stain</EM> won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. It is the third of a trilogy that includes his <EM>American Pastoral</EM> and <EM>I Married a Communist</EM>.

Recovery Won't Be 'Truly Established' Until Jobs Come Back, Bernanke Says

"With output growth likely to be moderate for awhile and with employers reportedly still reluctant to add to their payrolls, it will be several years before the unemployment rate has returned to a more normal level," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke just told reporters in Washington. And, he added, "until we see a sustained period of stronger job creation, we cannot consider the recovery to be truly established." Bernanke's address to members of the National Press Club is posted here. He's delivering it right now, and will take questions afterward. MSNBC is streaming the event here. We'll hear much more about employment tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. ET, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics is due to release January unemployment and hiring data. The jobless rate stood at 9.4 percent in December.

Spintronics: A New Way To Store Digital Data

Scientists at the University of Utah have taken an important step toward the day when digital information can be stored in the spin of an atom's nucleus, rather than as an electrical charge in a semiconductor. The scientists' setup requires powerful magnets and can only be operated at minus 454 degrees Fahrenheit, so don't expect to see spin memory on the shelf at a computer store anytime soon. Christoph Boehme, an associate professor at the University of Utah, says the most important thing he and his team have done is show that it's possible to store information in spin and read it rather easily. Here's how they did it: First, they used a strong magnetic field to make sure all their atoms were pointing in the same direction. Then they measured which way the nucleus of an atom was spinning. Physicists don't talk about spinning clockwise or counterclockwise -- they call the spins either up or down. "This up and down can now represent information," says Boehme. "An up means a one, and a down means a zero." Storing and manipulating these zeroes and ones -- bits, in computer parlance -- is at the heart of how computers work. Today, those zeroes and ones are stored using electric charge -- positive or negative. In the future, things might be different. "Instead of electronics, people want to use spins and build spintronics, and if you do so, you need to be able to store information," says Boehme. 'Multiple Universes' As they report in the journal Science, they were able to store information in spins for nearly two minutes. But that wasn't the key achievement. "The main focus of our study was to show you could read it with an electronic device," he says. In other words, they could use conventional electronics to read out the stored memory. Spintronics has some advantages over electronics. In theory, spin memory should be faster and take less energy to run than electronic memory. Now, Boehme is working with conventional bits of information. But because he's working with atoms, the setup can take you into the mind-bending world of quantum information. Quantum physics is all about how atoms work. "In quantum information, I can have a bit which is zero and one at the same time," says John Morton, a physicist at the University of Oxford in England. This idea of being in two places at once is hard to explain. Morton says one way to think about it is to imagine there are multiple universes out there. "Whenever quantum mechanics allows something to exist in two states at the same time, the universe splits," says Morton, "and you have a universe where it's one thing and a universe where it's in the other state. You can along those lines think about a quantum computer as many parallel computers running in different universes." And as long as you can get those universes to talk with another, then you have a very, very powerful computer. The Magic Of Quantum Computing Now, don't feel bad if you're not quite getting why quantum computing is such a desirable thing to have. "It's not an easy one to explain," says Stephen Lyon, a professor of electrical engineering at Princeton University. He and his colleagues are always trying to entice undergraduates to go into the field of quantum computing. "The approach we've been taking is to say, if you think of a number between one and four, with a quantum computer you could know the number every time with only a single guess. That doesn't at all tell you how it works, but it does tell you that there's something in there that's kind of different from what most people are used to," says Lyon."It's kind of magical." Of course it's not really magical -- it's physics. Weird physics, but physics. DON GONYEA, host: Here in Washington, spin is everywhere. It's dizzying. Journalists, of course, would generally prefer to do without the spin and get to the straight facts. Physicists, on the other hand, love spin. In fact, researchers around the world are trying to use spin to revolutionize the world of computing. NPR's Joe Palca has the straight story. JOE PALCA: In the world of atoms, things spin. Electrons spin, the nucleus at the center of atoms spins. It's this nuclear spin that physicist Christoph Boehme wants to make use of. It's possible to measure which way a nucleus is spinning. Physicists don't talk about spinning clockwise or counterclockwise. They call the spins either up or down. Mr. CHRISTOPH BOEHME (Physicist, University of Utah): This up and down can now represent information. By saying, OK, an up means a one and a down means a zero. PALCA: Storing and manipulating these zeroes and ones is at the heart of how computers work. Today, zeroes and ones are stored using electric charge -positive or negative. In the future, things might be different. Mr. BOEHME: Instead of electronics, people want to use spins and build spintronics. PALCA: Boehme and his colleagues at the University of Utah have come up with a way to store zeroes and ones using spin. They take a bunch of spinning n

Federal Government Systems Hacked

A major hack of federal government computer systems appears to be state-sponsored espionage. And we talk through Joe Biden's latest cabinet picks.Connect:Subscribe to the NPR Politics Podcast here.Email the show at nprpolitics@npr.org.Join the NPR Politics Podcast Facebook Group.Listen to our playlist The NPR Politics Daily Workout.Subscribe to the NPR Politics Newsletter.Find and support your local public radio station.