NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 Homer, Alaska's own public radio station. NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 KBBI AM890 Thu, 24 Sep 2020 10:15:36 +0000 https://www.kbbi.org editor The photo on Twitter shows scientist Gretchen Goldman sitting behind her laptop being interviewed by CNN. She's in the middle of a living room that has been turned upside down by her young children. https://www.kbbi.org/post/viral-photo-shows-difficulties-parents-working-during-pandemic 70675 as https://www.kbbi.org Thu, 24 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0000 Viral Photo Shows Difficulties Of Parents Working During The Pandemic Mara Liasson Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. https://www.kbbi.org/post/trump-wont-promise-peaceful-transfer-power-after-election 70674 as https://www.kbbi.org Thu, 24 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0000 Trump Won't Promise Peaceful Transfer Of Power After Election editor https://www.kbbi.org/post/gale-sayers-who-inspired-tv-movie-brians-song-dies-77 70673 as https://www.kbbi.org Thu, 24 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0000 Gale Sayers, Who Inspired TV Movie 'Brian's Song,' Dies At 77 The federal government is preparing to aggressively crack down on hospitals for not reporting complete COVID-19 data daily into a federal data system, according to internal documents obtained by NPR. The draft guidance, expected to be sent to hospitals this week, also adds new reporting requirements, asking hospitals to provide daily information on influenza cases, along with COVID-19. It's the latest twist in what hospitals describe as a maddening flurry of changing requirements, as they deal with the strain of caring for patients during a pandemic. The reporting system drew national attention in July when the Department of Health and Human Services told hospitals to stop reporting information — such as the number of COVID-19 patients and the availability of intensive care beds — to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and instead report it into a new system managed directly by HHS, the CDC's parent agency. The switch raised concerns from politicians and public health https://www.kbbi.org/post/trump-administration-plans-crackdown-hospitals-failing-report-covid-19-data 70672 as https://www.kbbi.org Thu, 24 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0000 Trump Administration Plans Crackdown On Hospitals Failing To Report COVID-19 Data Tanisha Long expects to be busy in the run up to the 2020 election. For the next six weeks, Long, who founded an unofficial Black Lives Matter chapter for Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania, plans to make get-out-the vote videos, host mail-in voting webinars and work to enfranchise eligible incarcerated people in order to turn out voters she says "no one's talking to anymore." Long's concern is this: she sees the campaign for Democratic nominee Joe Biden making the same mistakes in Pennsylvania that Hillary Clinton made in 2016. Long believes the Biden campaign is failing to do enough to engage traditional Democratic constituencies. "I just can't have that happen again, it's really stressing me out," she says. Donald Trump famously lost the popular vote in 2016 by over 2.8 million votes but secured a victory in the electoral college by winning razor thin margins in key swing states, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida and Pennsylvania. Both the Trump and Biden campaigns are https://www.kbbi.org/post/outside-focus-major-parties-black-pittsburghers-vow-get-out-vote 70671 as https://www.kbbi.org Thu, 24 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0000 Outside The Focus Of Major Parties, Black Pittsburghers Vow To Get Out The Vote Chris Arnold When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Jesus Gonzalez was about a year into starting a Cuban food catering and "pop-up" business in Lexington, Ky. It's like "a food truck, but without a truck," he says. His steadiest gig was setting up tables with a spread of Cuban food at local breweries so people could eat while quaffing pints. But then all that shut down. And he says things aren't back to normal enough yet for the breweries to bring him back. Gonzalez is a single dad with a 13-year-old daughter, and he says that extra $600 a week in federal unemployment money that Congress approved in its last relief package really helped. "That was everything that made it so that I can focus on my daughter," he says. "That 600 a week made it so that I could, like, keep my head above water." He says his car broke down and he was able to fix it, and he could keep paying rent. But that extra money stopped coming at the end of July — nearly two months ago. Gonzalez managed to save some of it. But now that https://www.kbbi.org/post/desperation-and-fear-millions-congress-deadlocked-over-pandemic-assistance 70670 as https://www.kbbi.org Thu, 24 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0000 'Desperation And Fear' For Millions With Congress Deadlocked Over Pandemic Assistance Franco Ordoñez Miguel Arango had just turned 18 when he voted for Barack Obama in 2012. Four years later, he was a passionate supporter of Bernie Sanders, but opted for a third-party candidate in the 2016 general election. "I was not going to vote for Trump either," he said. "I thought all these things about him — that he was this, he was that. And slowly it started transitioning." Arango says that transition involved patriotic music that he and his brother, Federico, play together. The Colombian Americans lead a group called Voices of Freedom. They sing at veterans events, and they've even submitted a song for consideration to be the anthem of the newly formed U.S. Space Force. Federico Arango, who is 30, voted twice for Obama. Like a lot of young people of color, he says the Democratic Party's message of change appealed to them. But he says they've since been exposed to new perspectives. And growing up in Miami, they see the effects of socialism and communism from family and friends. Some members https://www.kbbi.org/post/warnings-socialism-trump-seeks-boost-support-among-young-florida-latinos 70669 as https://www.kbbi.org Thu, 24 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0000 With Warnings Of Socialism, Trump Seeks To Boost Support Among Young Florida Latinos Elissa Nadworny Enrollment at U.S. community colleges has dropped nearly 8 percent this fall, newly released figures show, part of an overall decline in undergraduate enrollment as students face a global pandemic and the worst economic recession in decades. Often, enrollment in higher education spikes in times of high unemployment and recession, as students seek additional job skills and postpone entering the workforce. But the pandemic has overturned those traditional calculations, according to preliminary data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, which tracks college enrollment. Hardest hit were community colleges, which traditionally serve lower-income students and those seeking additional career skills. The enrollment drop comes as many of those schools face a host of new financial pressures. "Those are institutions that were already operating in many cases on very thin margins even before the pandemic," says Doug Shapiro, who leads the research center at the Clearinghouse. He https://www.kbbi.org/post/fewer-students-are-going-community-college-despite-high-unemployment 70668 as https://www.kbbi.org Thu, 24 Sep 2020 04:03:00 +0000 Fewer Students Are Going To Community College, Despite High Unemployment California will phase out the sale of all gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 in a bid to lead the U.S. in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging the state's drivers to switch to electric cars. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday that amounts to the most aggressive clean-car policy in the United States. Although it bans the sale of new gas cars and trucks after the 15-year deadline, it will still allow such vehicles to be owned and sold on the used-car market. "This is the most impactful step our state can take to fight climate change," the governor said in a statement. "Our cars shouldn't make wildfires worse — and create more days filled with smoky air. Cars shouldn't melt glaciers or raise sea levels threatening our cherished beaches and coastlines." Newsom, a Democrat, also threw his support behind a ban on petroleum fracking but called on the California Legislature to make that change. With extreme wildfires still burning in the state, Newsom says https://www.kbbi.org/post/california-governor-signs-order-banning-sales-new-gasoline-cars-2035 70664 as https://www.kbbi.org Wed, 23 Sep 2020 21:44:00 +0000 California Governor Signs Order Banning Sales Of New Gasoline Cars By 2035 Barbara Sprunt When President Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden face off Tuesday night in the first presidential debate, there's one topic they're not expected to get asked about: climate. Thirty-six senators, spearheaded by Ed Markey, D-Mass., signed a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates, urging that climate change receive more attention. Fox News moderator Chris Wallace plans to ask the two candidates questions from a series of topics ranging from their individual records, the Supreme Court, COVID-19, the economy and the integrity of the election. The senators point to various climate crises — including the wildfires in the West and the hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico — writing, "The climate crisis isn't coming, it's here." "It is critical that every debate includes questions that ask the candidates what they would do to address climate change and environmental injustice. Without these topics, any discussion on the economy, racial justice, public health, national https://www.kbbi.org/post/democrats-criticize-upcoming-debate-not-including-climate-change 70665 as https://www.kbbi.org Wed, 23 Sep 2020 21:34:00 +0000 Democrats Criticize Upcoming Debate For Not Including Climate Change editor Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: One of the Louisville police officers who barged into the apartment of Breonna Taylor has been indicted. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) DANIEL CAMERON: The truth is now before us. The facts have been examined, and a grand jury comprised of our peers and fellow citizens has made a decision. KELLY: That is Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announcing the indictment by a grand jury of Brett Hankison. Hankison was fired by the Louisville Metro Police Department back in June. He was the only one of the three officers involved who was charged today, and he was charged on three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into a neighboring apartment. He is not being charged for her death. Police killed Breonna Taylor, we all recall, in a botched raid on her apartment in March. Since then, activists have been calling for the three officers to be charged with her killing. One of those activists is a state representative, https://www.kbbi.org/post/kentucky-state-representative-reacts-indictment-ex-louisville-police-officer 70667 as https://www.kbbi.org Wed, 23 Sep 2020 21:28:00 +0000 Kentucky State Representative Reacts To Indictment Of Ex-Louisville Police Officer Malaka Gharib It's a bit hard to describe Vietnam's Intergenerational Self Help Clubs. But one thing is easy to say. If you're older — like above the age of 60 — and need help, the club will help you get it. That could mean a microloan if times are tough, a drum lesson as a chance for self-expression and social activity (and to prove that old people can play drums, too). And during the pandemic, the clubs have played a critical role informing and supporting its members. There are around 3,000 of the clubs in Vietnam, with 160,000 participants, most of them older people. The goal is to help older people and people with disabilities — and people in any age group can volunteer. That's why "intergenerational" is part of the name. But the idea is for club members to find solutions to their own problems. It's a model that's earned the club the grand prize for the Healthy Aging Prize for Asian Innovation in July. Organized by the Japan Center for International Exchange and the Economic Research Institute https://www.kbbi.org/post/older-people-got-pandemic-problem-club-help-you-figure-it-out-yourself 70666 as https://www.kbbi.org Wed, 23 Sep 2020 20:48:00 +0000 Older People, Got A Pandemic Problem? A Club To Help You Figure It Out — Yourself Adedayo Akala Nationwide protests have cast a spotlight on racism and inequality in the United States. Now a major bank has put a price tag on how much the economy has lost as a result of discrimination against African Americans: $16 trillion. Since 2000, U.S. gross domestic product lost that much as a result of discriminatory practices in a range of areas, including in education and access to business loans, according to a new study by Citigroup. It's not an insignificant number: By comparison, U.S. GDP totaled $19.5 trillion last year. And not acting to reverse discriminatory practices will continue to exact a cost. Citigroup estimates the economy would see a $5 trillion boost over the next five years if the U.S. were to tackle key areas of discrimination against African Americans. "We believe we have a responsibility to address current events and to frame them with an economic lens in order to highlight the real costs of longstanding discrimination against minority groups, especially against https://www.kbbi.org/post/cost-racism-us-economy-lost-16-trillion-because-discrimination-bank-says 70660 as https://www.kbbi.org Wed, 23 Sep 2020 20:09:00 +0000 Cost Of Racism: U.S. Economy Lost $16 Trillion Because Of Discrimination, Bank Says Danielle Kurtzleben Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST: Mourners lined up outside the Supreme Court today to honor Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Beyond her place in history as a legal icon, Ginsburg was also a cultural icon, the subject of countless T-shirts and tote bags and memes. As NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reports, many of those who showed up today were honoring a woman they didn't just respect but revered. DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE: Ginsburg occupied a rarefied place in American politics, serving for 27 years on the highest court in the land. So it's striking how intimately people are feeling her death, like Shasta Collins, a paralegal from Colorado. SHASTA COLLINS: It felt very personal to me, her passing. I've never even been to D.C. before, and so I wanted to be here because it's affecting my life, her death. KURTZLEBEN: Collins flew to Washington so she could get in line to pay her respects this morning. COLLINS: I was a homeless veteran for years. And although I'm now https://www.kbbi.org/post/mourners-gather-us-supreme-court-pay-respects-ruth-bader-ginsburg 70663 as https://www.kbbi.org Wed, 23 Sep 2020 20:06:00 +0000 Mourners Gather At U.S. Supreme Court To Pay Respects To Ruth Bader Ginsburg editor Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: News now from the public broadcasting world. The CEO of American Public Media Group has announced he will step down. His organization produces shows such as "Marketplace" and runs public radio stations in Minnesota and California. Just to be clear, American Public Media is a separate organization from NPR, though many NPR member stations also air APM shows. And just to be clear on the timing, the departure announcement comes as some APM journalists have issued statements saying they have lost trust in the company's senior leaders, specifically concerning gender equality and racism in the workplace. To sort through this, we are joined by Tyler Falk of Current. That is a publication that covers public media. Tyler Falk, welcome. TYLER FALK: Thanks for having me, Mary Louise. KELLY: All right. So who is the outgoing CEO, and what is he saying about why he's stepping down? FALK: Yeah. That's Jon McTaggart. He's the CEO of https://www.kbbi.org/post/american-public-media-ceo-resign-amid-pressure-institutional-change 70662 as https://www.kbbi.org Wed, 23 Sep 2020 20:06:00 +0000 American Public Media CEO To Resign Amid Pressure For Institutional Change editor Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST: An ode is a typical kind of poem, a celebration of an object or a person or place. Joshua Bennett's new poetry collection is full of these types of poems. His book is even called "Owed," but he spells it O-W-E-D, as in something that needs to be repaid. JOSHUA BENNETT: What I wanted to do in this book was to create those kind of poems of celebration for places and people that were denigrated, right? So they're also poems of reparation for me. PFEIFFER: There's a poem called "Owed To The Durag" and one called "Owed To Your Father's Gold Chain." BENNETT: I had in mind all of the people, places and things that I'd been taught to be ashamed of. I was thinking about what I thought was beautiful when I was young, I had long forgotten when I wrote this book. PFEIFFER: Forgotten, he says, when he went to private school, then college and then on to grad school. So when I spoke with Joshua Bennett last week, I asked him to read part of https://www.kbbi.org/post/owed-poems-celebrate-denigrated-places-and-people 70661 as https://www.kbbi.org Wed, 23 Sep 2020 20:06:00 +0000 'Owed': Poems That Celebrate Denigrated Places And People Kathleen Gustafson The incumbent candidates for Homer City Council appeared on The Coffee Table, Wednesday morning on KBBI. The two candidates who are challenging for the seats, George Hall and Raymond Walker, were unable to appear on the show. You can access statements and contacts for all four candidates on the City of Homer's website The two incumbments, Councilmembers Rachel Lord and Caroline Venuti, spent the hour talking to KBBI's Kathleen Gustafson and standing for questions from the community. Discussion of the economic effects of COVID 19, directed the conversation to talk about the responsibility that councilmembers have to address revenue and budget shortfalls in the wake of the pandemic. The City of Homer Municipal Election is on Tuesday, October 6, 2020. Absentee in person voting is already underway in Cowles Council Chambers at Homer City Hall on Pioneer Avenue. You can hear from all four candidates for council and from mayoral candidates Donna Aderhold and Ken Castner at the Homer Chamber https://www.kbbi.org/post/coffee-table-sept-23-2020-city-council-candidates-rachel-lord-caroline-venuti 70658 as https://www.kbbi.org Wed, 23 Sep 2020 19:48:25 +0000 Chris Arnold Jean lost her job as a school bus driver in Chicago during the pandemic. She was managing OK with unemployment money. But then, about two weeks ago, she got a desperate call from her adult son. "His job had laid him off, and he wasn't able to pay rent," she says. There was an eviction moratorium in Chicago, but Jean says the landlord wanted her son out anyway. She says the landlord got someone to threaten her son, and to shoot his dog — a German shepherd mix he'd had for years. "And he called me," Jean says. "He said, 'Mom, they killed my dog. And the guy told me that he should have killed me, too.' " "He said, 'Ma, can you come over here?' " Jean says she went to his house and told her son, who has two children of his own, "OK, start packing. You got to go." They all moved in with her. Jean only wants to use her first name for fear of retribution. She says she was afraid to report what happened to police. Jean was one of more than 3,000 people who took part in a new poll released https://www.kbbi.org/post/no-one-can-live-240-week-many-americans-struggle-pay-rent-bills 70659 as https://www.kbbi.org Wed, 23 Sep 2020 19:11:00 +0000 'No One Can Live Off $240 A Week': Many Americans Struggle To Pay Rent, Bills Laurel Wamsley Updated at 2:35 p.m. ET At least 380 pilot whales have died off the coast of Tasmania in what experts are calling Australia's largest recorded mass-stranding event. Nearly 500 whales have been stranded on a beach and two sandbars along the western coast of the island state. Initial reports on Monday said that 270 whales , some of which had already died, were stranded at three sites. Then authorities surveying the area by helicopter on Wednesday discovered another 200 that were stranded about 6 miles to the south — but all of those animals were confirmed dead. Rescue efforts are focused on the larger group of 270, which is stranded near the town of Strahan, The Guardian reports . About 50 whales in that group have now been freed and have found their way to the open ocean. An estimated 90 in that group were already dead when authorities found them. "We will continue working to free as many of the live animals as we can," Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service Manager Nic Deka told news https://www.kbbi.org/post/least-380-whales-dead-australias-largest-ever-mass-stranding 70657 as https://www.kbbi.org Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:45:00 +0000 At Least 380 Whales Dead In Australia's Largest-Ever Mass Stranding Miles Parks Voters in a number of swing states this November will have more leeway in getting their mail ballots back in time to count, should rule changes announced in the past week hold up to legal challenges. But the changes could delay the reporting of election results and possibly set up court fights down the line. In North Carolina, a settlement announced by the State Board of Elections said ballots postmarked by Election Day would count as long as officials receive them within nine days after the election. And in Wisconsin, a federal judge similarly ruled Monday that ballots postmarked by Election Day would count as long as officials have them in hand within six days after Nov. 3. Last week, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court said ballots that are postmarked on or before Election Day will be counted so long as they're received within the next three days. And a Michigan state judge last week also ruled that absentee ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 can be counted if they arrive up to two weeks after https://www.kbbi.org/post/rule-changes-swing-states-mean-more-votes-will-count-results-may-take-longer 70656 as https://www.kbbi.org Wed, 23 Sep 2020 18:45:00 +0000 Rule Changes In Swing States Mean More Votes Will Count, Results May Take Longer