Like, im completely and utterly confused. John then a look at the rising cost of buying a car in america. And a new method of delivering aid that sends in resources before a disaster hits. Major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided b consumer cellular. How may i help you . Pocket dial. Somebodys pocket. You get nationwide coverage with no contract. That is kind of our think. Have a nice day. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you. Thank you john good evening. Im john yang. Russia unleashed a barrage of drone attacks today on a ukrainian port critical to the grain trade, on the eve of a new diplomatic effort to get russia to rejoin the deal that allowed ukranian grain safe passage through the black sea. Two people were reported injured in the attack on the port along the danube river, which is now the main route for grain shipments since the black sea deal fell apart in july. Tomorrow, turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to meet russian president Vladimir Putin in the resort city of sochi to press russia to rejoin the deal. Meanwhile, late today, ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is replacing his defense minister. In a statement, he said, after more than 550 days of fullscale war, he believed the ministry needed new approaches. A judge has thrown out a redistricting plan pushed by ron desantis saying it dilutes the voting power of black residents. At issue is the fifth congressional district. The redrawn map moved black voters into white districts essentially drawing a black , democratic incumbent out of office. The judge told the Republicancontrolled Legislature to come up with a new map. The states expected to appeal. And at the counterculture burning man festival in the remote desert outside reno, nevada, heavy rains triggered flash floods and stranded tens of thousands of festivalgoers. Organizers have shut down access by vehicles and attendees ve been told to conserve food. Theres been one death, which the Sheriffs Office is investigating. At least another quarter inch of rain was expected today. The festival is to end tomorrow. Still to come on pbs news weekend, the rising cost of buying a car in america and a new method of aid delivery that aims to get ahead of disasters. Announcer this is pbs news weekend from washington, home of the pbs newshour weeknights on pbs. John medicaid is americas largest single provider of health care coverage, serving lowincome adults and children, and people with disabilities. In the early days of the pandemic, congress temporarily blocked states from kicking people off medicaid even if they were no longer eligible. As a result, enrollment reached unprecedented numbers. But thats ended and now states have until next year to go back to prepandemic rules, check if those on medicaid are still eligible, and remove those who arent. Ali rogin recently traveled to arkansas, which is nearing the end of that process, known as unwinding. For Jennifer Rose and her wife, reading tarot cards is a way to spend time together and make some money. The couple regularly does readings around fayetteville, arkansas, which they have called home for three years. That is on top of her work as a massage therapist. They been on medicaid since 2020 because of their combined income and jennifers disability brought on by arthritis and a rare immune deficiency. I have 10 fusions each month. Those are lifesaving medications that are very expensive. The couple knew that arkansass Medicare Program was changing which meant people would lose eligibility. Even though jennifer said there eligibility had not changed, months earlier, they had been asked to prove it by sending additionaljennifer took no chan. I went in person to the office to make sure it was turned in. A few weeks later, she went back to her local department of Human Services. I was told by the person at the front desk i was denied, that my application had been denied. I did not even get a chance to submit other paperwork or have a conversation with a caseworker. Im feeling utterly confused. More than 230,000 recipients in arkansas have lost coverage since april. About one quarter would have lost coverage anyway because they earn too much money or asked to be removed. But most were terminated for procedural reasons. We are very concerned when we see those numbers. Jennifer wagener is an enrollment expert. So far, 34 states have publicly reported unwinding data. Can saw has one of the highest rates of ending coverage arkansas has one of the highest rates of ending coverage because of paperwork issues. It is very concerning. They recently warned arkansas the high paperwork termination rate might mean people are having trouble understanding and submitting renewal forms and needlessly losing coverage as a result. While arkansas termination rates seem high, many states are having trouble processing three years worth of renewals. The centeror medicaid and medicare warned that over half of the states kicking people off at too high of a rate in all states maybe kicking children off needlessly. In response to pbs news weekend a spokesman said there were large numbers of beneficiaries who would have been unrolled if not for the pandemic era requirement and it is not surprising this group would be disenrolled at a high rate now. Experts have noted some terminated for paperwork reasons may have been otherwise ineligible. Mark your calendar. North of fayetteville, she is an attorney with legal aid of arkansas which provides Free Services to low income people. She help jennifer with her case. People are coming to us because they he been terminated. People are eligible. Each friday, legal aid runs a helpdesk at the local courthouse. Some clients are getting quests to submit extra documents when they should be renewed automatically. It is, incumbent on these individuals to try to gather information that may be outdated that they do not have access to. The process has been particularly stressful for those from the marshall islands. The community in northwest arkansas is one of the nations largest with more than 15,000 people. Because of the unique immigration agreement, they could not get on medicaid until 2020. Now, they are having to reenroll for the first time. Many have limited proficiency in english. The state provides translations but many say they still cannot understand the form sprayed the people who translate are not from here. She spends most of her time these days helping her community navigate their status. The first time they sent out the flyer, i could not understand what they were saying. How does it make you feel . I feel it we are here, we took a step forward, and then we took a lot of steps backwards. The Arkansas Department of Human Services said it began outreach to communities more than a year before the unwinding began. The federal government is giving states up to one year to complete the unwinding process. But in 2021 Arkansas Legislature passed a law cutting it back to six months. There is an indication they are going faster than they need to. The shortened time frame could lead to unintended consequences. If there is a huge spike in volume, that suggests a lot of people were eligible and lost coverage. Six months is better than a year. The Arkansas State representative voted for the shortened timeframe. The longer we allow people to remain on the roles who do not qualify and do not need it, that is taking money out of the hands of those who are truly needy. Manpeople having trouble reenrolling have been told to reapply for medicaid. That is going to add its own backlog. Is a fair criticism. I would argue if youre doing what you need to do, if you do get kicked off, it is nice to another is a way to geback on. We have tried to let people know about it. Some efforts have not reached those in rural areas. Many are low income and change addresses frequently or do not have access to the internet. Often their first chance to address their status is through their provider. Clinics play Critical Role in ensuring those patients keep coverage. She helps patients navigate their medicaid status. There is a lack of knowledge and a lot of our patients on how to go about these things, getting information in the mail theyo not understand. They have offered help with insurance for several years but have had to hire more staff to help with the unwinding. She runs Clinical Operations here. We are constantly expanding the program as the need continues to arise. I expected to increase based of what we have seen previously. Back in fayetteville, Jennifer Rose got back on medicaid as quickly as she got kicked off. I picked up the phone. They said we made a mistake and your medicaid is fine. I said thank you, and they hung up. That was it. You got the notice in writing . She said she was only able to sort things out with the help of legal aid and melissa. I love my job. Isle of hope and people. It would give me i love helping people. It would give me great pleasure if they did not need me. You should not need a lawyer to keep your health insurance. Until then, she will be at the courthouse every friday to help. John five years ago, shoppers looking for in an expensive car could choose from about a dozen models selling for less than 20,000. Now, there is only one and there are reports it will be phased out in 2025. The average car price is now more than 48,000 and buyers are being further squeezed by rising interest rates. It is hitting Younger Generations particularly hard. Last year, 1839 had more than 20 billion in auto loans more than 9days overdue. The total outstanding are nearly 1. 6 trillion. Earlier, i spokeith tom krisher who covers the Auto Industry for the associated press. I asked if the era of an expense of cars is over. Tom krisher there will be some inexpensive suvs, but the cars are cheaper and those are gradually falling out of favor with buyers, number one. And plus, the Auto Companies dont make nearly as much money on them as they do more expensive suvs. So, the Auto Companies have gotten out or a lot of the Auto Companies have gotten out of the small car business and it just doesnt have profit margins. So, i think youre correct that were probably not going to have any or at least ry few inexpensive cars for a long time. John and not only there are very few inexpensive cars, it seems like at the top end, its growing. Its not just that cars now cost 40,000 or 50,000, but there are number of models that are more than 100,000. Tom yeah, there are 32, according to cox automotive, that are over and just five 100,000. Years ago, there were a dozen. These are a small number because theyre mostly high end european luxury models. John of those two things you mentioned at the top, customer demand being lower for small cars and also the the automakers chasing the profit margin. Which of those factors is bigger, do you think . Tom it is a good question. I would think its the shift to suvs. Americans since about 2012 have just started wanting to sit higher in vehicles. And they like the utility being able to see sitting higher up in an suv. That kind of started the downfall of cars. The Auto Companies saw t trend coming. So, they started to get out of it because the sales were dropping. It used to be the midsize car was the number one selling non pickup truck in america. Now the small toyota suv is the number one selling nontruck in the company. John when you go to Car Dealerships or talk to car shoppers, what do they say about this . Tom there are people who are disappointed. It is tough to afford something, even 20,000. You know, if you put the standard down payment down at 7 interest, which is kind of the average now on a car loan for months, youre going to be 60 paying 375 a month. And for a lot of people, if they make minimum wage or even less, thats pretty expensive. We do have quite a few other vehicles that have sticker prices starting at under 20,000. But by the time you put on shipping and then any options to them, they all got over except for the mitsubishi mirage, which was i think it had an average selling price of 19,205. John do you think this will spur the growth of not only ridesharing services, but also Car Sharing Services . Tom it is kind of tough to say. Ridesharing, i think, is going to be still more expensive than owning your own car if you drive it frequently, if you make an infrequent trip like you only have to go to the office two days a week or something, it may be cheaper to go with ride sharing. And then youve got this other kind of wild card out there, autonomous vehicles. Cruise and waymo are testing driverless vehicles, and if you dont have to pay the driver, your cost per mile is a whole lot less. So the ride sharing, ride hailing costs can come down. Those are still, you know, kind of in the test phase. But San Francisco seems to be, you know, getting quite a few of these rides. John a few years ago, there were stories saying that the Younger Generation was moving away from driving, moving away from cars. Is that holding up . Tom anecdotally, no. I use my own daughter as an example. She has a car and she enjoys being able to drive to her place of employment, park, and walk into the door. A lot of younger people, once they get out into the working world, are starting to see that it is convenient. And if you dont have good public transit, which a lot of places dont, its, you know, a much better way to get around. John you have covered the Auto Industry for quite a while. If the sedans are going away and it becomes sort of small suvs become the smallest car that the Car Companies offer, what is lost for [00 06 00]american culture and car buyers . Tom well, affordability is the top thing. But you also have a fuel economy, an suv, because it sits higher, it has more wind drag, and you cant defeat the laws of physics. A smaller sedan or even a midsize sedan that sits lower gets way better gas mileage. And people are spending more on gas because they have these suvs and cars generally do a better job with that. John is the shift to electric vehicles going to change this or change this dynamic . More sedans are going to be in demand . Tom that is a possibility. It may change the affordability issue, too, because if you get a 7500 tax credit and you buy, say, a chevrolet bolt, which i think starts at 26,000, but it can go up, you know, rapidly. So say you pay 30,000 for an electric car. Its really 22,500 because you get a 7500 tax credit if you make enough money to get that credit. But that makes it a whole lot more affordable. They say that the prices of batteries and components are going to come down, the more electric cars you build, then the price could even drop further. John tom krisher, auto writer for the associated press. Thank you very much. Tom you are quite welcome, john. John on monday, the first Africa Climate summit begins in kenya with the goal of better preparing the continent for climate disasters. When disaster does strike, foreign countries, International Aid organizations, and individuals often send aid. But what if that help preceded the disaster . Ali rogin is back with a look at a new method of delivering aid that uses technology to help predict the greatest need. The concept of anticipatory action isnt completely new, but its something that has been gaining traction within the humanitarian community in the last few years. The basic idea is that instead of waiting to deliver cash and resources to communities after predictable disasters, organizations get ahead of them. That way, the people affected are better equipped to deal with the aftermath. The International Rescue committee, a humanitarian organization, recently tested this theory in flood prone areas of northeastern nigeria. To discuss the results, im joined by the director, babatunde oji. Sandy, thanks so much for joining us. How did this Pilot Program work . Thank you very much, ali. So the project was actually as a result of us realizing that the flooding in nigeria was getting to a level where there was a need to actually work with communities and to see how they could actually be better prepared for flooding, which is resulting from climate change. And also, in terms of making sure that we also provided them with some information. So, fortunately, we google provided us with resources and we worked with the International Food policy Research Institute to initiate this project, which was targeting 1450 smallholder farmers in adamawa state, where we we had 725 of this 1450 household farms. They were the ones that got resources preflooding and the other group which was like the control was provided resources postflooding. We worked with the National Meteorological institute to provide us with data and information that could actually help us to know what the flood regimes were. So those were the triggers that helped us to know when we were able to provide that cash to to the farmers. We have been able to establish that providing anticipatory cash to farmers was a better option because you reduce the chances of them adopting some negative coping strategies. And then, we worked with Government Agencies that naturally will provide Weather Information on forecast. But now, weve made those Information Available to farmers for them to make decisions that enable them to actually reduce the shock that would have come from the flooding that came. And so, when the floods came, what were some of the differences that you saw in terms of the responses from households who had received the money before the flooding versus those who received the money after the flooding . The vulnerability of the people of the group that got the cash prior to the flooding was highly reduced and they were able to actually be better prepared for the flooding because one was they had the cash in hand. And secondly was that they had the meteorological iormation in hand. So, some of them were able to actually invest in some productive activities that that could also support them. For example, like some of them were able to buy things that help them with early harvests of their cropping. Some of them were able to raise the level of their barns where they keep their food produce. We also saw some of them being able to buy some other food items to prepare for the shock. However, for the group that that were provided cash postflooding, it was more like trying to survive the shock more than being able to prepare for it. So there was a huge difference between both. And for us, its really convincing that anticipatory supports makes a lot of sense, especially in some of these communities where we work. Were seeing more and more extreme weather events around the world. Do you believe that anticipatory actions going to become more of the norm in terms of how humanitarian aid is distributed . I believe so. Two things here. One is not just providing the cash, but also providing them the information and also using traditional structures, existing structures and traditional practices. Because you could give money, but if you didnt have Early Warning systems in place, that could actually have an impact. The fact that they had that information, they had the means to be able to prepare better prepare for it, shows clearly that this is really a positive way to actually support communities that are in the line of some of these climate related disasters. One of the things we realized from our study was that beyond the disaster, the flooding, some of them still had some available resources from what was given to them to be able to also continue even after the the flooding, to continue to provide for their families, to continue to actually maintain a good level of living. So, for us, i think its really the way to go rather than the usual, you know, providing the assistan after the disaster has happened. Babatunde o. J. , nigeria director for the International Rescue community, thank you so much for joining us. John that is pbs news weekend for this sday. Im john yang. For all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. Have a good week. Major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by consumer cellular. This is a pocket dial. Somebodies pocket. With consumer cellular, you get nationwide coverage with no contract. That is kind of our thing. Have a nice day. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you rodeo was kind of, like, my everything. Our culture, our language shes the one who holds that so close. Nothing can replace the way i feel when i come out here and i look at this land and know that its because of what we did