I'm Scott Simon Rodney Stotts was a drug dealer on the streets of Washington d.c. Today he's a falcon and he teaches young people about hawks and even you realize from who used to do. All use the cold as pain tears and cold laughter until saving birds and lives in the inner city later this hour also a former Bill Clinton staffer on the run in the White House in a blizzard of scandals the latest daytime hit Sean Spicer in the White House briefing and of the Cavs and warriors headed for a 3rd round 1st we have our newscast today Saturday May 22017. Live from n.p.r. News and Washington I'm Winsor Johnston President Trump has arrived in the Saudi capital for his 1st official foreign trip N.P.R.'s Chana raff reports it's a historic visit for the Saudis as well the 1st concern is security roads have been blocked around the hotel where Trump is stating and soldiers posted at major intersections along with presenter of the Saudis are hosting almost 40 heads of state from the Middle East Africa and Asia for related summits it's the biggest gathering of leaders they've ever had here it's a big deal of course for Saudi leaders but if you speak to Saudi people they're also pleased the Trump is making their country his 1st stop for a lot of them that makes up for anti muslim comments he made during the election campaign the u.s. Has a long history here discovered oil in Saudi Arabia and Saudis are hoping this visit will open a new chapter in stronger relations Jane around n.p.r. News Riyadh Iranian state television are declaring incumbent president Hassan Rouhani the winner in the country's presidential election the country's interior ministry says voter turnout in the election was about 70 percent the b.b.c. Reports Iranian voters have given Mr Romney's it ministration another 4 years to fulfill his promise to further open up Iran to the world and kick start the economy but will Iran's unelected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini respect the president's mandate a mess or on his success will also depend on how much room the Trump administration will give to international banks to do business with Iraq the B.B.C.'s of Ashar to lend reporting the White House says the wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has been nominated to be u.s. Ambassador to the Vatican N.P.R.'s Tom Gjelten says the appointment of Calista Gingrich is significant because of her husband's marital history Calista Gingrich was raised Catholic but attended a Lutheran College of the music scholarship. An accomplished singer she's performed for many years in the choir of the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington her only political experience came as a congressional aide and is a supporter of her husband's career her marriage to Newt Gingrich however has also been the subject of controversy she had an affair with Gingrich while he was still married she is his 3rd wife and the issue of how to deal with someone who remarries after a divorce divides the Catholic Church Calista Gingrich was a big factor in her husband's conversion to cut Allah says them in 2009 her appointment as Vatican ambassador requires Senate approval Tom Gjelten n.p.r. News Washington the man accused of driving a car into a crowd in New York City's Times Square yesterday is being held without bail 26 year old Richard Rojas is charged with killing one person and injuring $22.00 others Authorities say he had a prior record in 2012 he was accused of beating a cab driver for overcharging him this is n.p.r. . Candidates for French President Emanuel Kranz new party have less than a month to campaign before parliamentary elections in June N.P.R.'s Eleanor Beardsley reports he must win a majority in the French parliament to implement his program in Paris is 19 found this moment 31 year old moon near my Subi is shaking hands at a campaign event Britain learned there is more than $100.00 per measure would be who ran the digital arm of my phone's campaign is now running for a seat in Parliament supporters here say the young computer technician whose parents immigrated from Morocco can win and despite facing an entrenched socialist voter Eileen. It is amazing I wasn't surprised and I immediately understood what's Emmanuel Michael could bring you know what kind of person he was what he's thinking was so says Max and measurably are the change France has been waiting for Eleanor Beardsley n.p.r. News Paris Defense Secretary James Madison as the u.s. Needs to find a peaceful solution to the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program and he says international support is needed to accomplish that if this goes to a military solution it is going to be tragic on an unbelievable scale and so our effort is to work with the u.n. Work with trying to work with Japan work with South Korea to try to find a way out of Madison as North Korea's latest missile test was a clear indicator that it was in heating cautions from the international community I'm Winsor Johnston n.p.r. News in Washington support for n.p.r. Comes from Babble a language app that teaches real life conversations in a new language including Spanish French and German Babble's 10 to 15 minute lessons are available in the app store or online at Babel be a b b e l dot com and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This is Weekend Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Scott Simon not a news cycle goes by without a new report about the firing of James Komi or about Michael Flynn probably not at the same party this weekend now or what President Trump told the Russians or the Russians told each other or investigations into ties between the president and Russia Robert Mueller has been named a special counsel there are also inquiries in the House and Senate Special Investigations can last years but White House staff under intense scrutiny make a lot of news and take a lot of time and attention Don Baer joins us he was the communications director for President Bill Clinton just as the Whitewater investigations got underway and that led to perjury and obstruction of justice charges against the president for lying about his relationship with the White House intern Mr Baer thanks so much for being with us thank you Scott. Is it difficult for president in the White House staff to get much done in the middle of what people consider a scandal. Well it is and let me just make one quick correction when I started in when the Whitewater investigations began I had just started as the chief speechwriter to the president and then in the course of that became communications director but it all sort of is and the next thanks of course if it can be difficult it can there can be a lot of distractions. It's especially difficult when something like this happens as early in Atlanta and administration as this happened you know the Whitewater investigation that special prosecutor did not began until the 2nd year of the Clinton presidency this is now started within the 1st few months of the truck presidency and that the routines that actually end up moving forward with things have not been set and we know that this White House is that difficult anyway because so many people have come in to the government who have never worked in politics in government before so it can really derail things very quickly and and how much just simple time and attention does it take I mean one subpoena star Klein people have to give depositions and that sort of thing. That again. No one ever sees people don't realize how much activity and attention has to go into everything that a White House and a president does every every speech every event every briefing certainly every decision there are dozens hundreds even thousands of people who are behind every one of those things and there need to be systems in place that help to move all of that forward. When you begin to have people especially senior people which seems to be the case in this White House who have to be paying attention to depositions to document requests to just thinking strategizing what should be said and when should it be set it really can take people's eyes off of the ball in the Clinton administration Clinton White House and in this started from the top President Clinton was determined that we would stay. Focused on doing the people's business when we were there and really a lot of the activity related to the investigations was taken offline and other people dealt with in my role as chief speechwriter in my house medications director I almost never dealt with any of those kinds of issues because there were others who were focused and had their attention on the on that and we were really determined to stay focused on moving the agenda forward and the president and his chief of staff and everyone who worked with him really was very very focused on you know the half minute we have left Mr Baer understand you may not be inclined to offer any advice to the Trump White House but do you have any anyway Well I'm not inclined but I do think here for the good of the American people exactly it's important to to soak us in on what you came there to do and to try to get as much of your staff to pay attention to that and not have them distracted by all of this and I think that has to start with the president who has to say to the people who work for him we're going to do that which we came here to do Don Baer was White House communications director under President Clinton c.e.o. Of the p.r. Firm Burson Marshall or thanks so much for being with us thank you Scott President Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia this morning the start of his 1st overseas trip and a test of Mr Trump's approach to foreign policy which he spelled out in his inaugural address from this day forward it's going to be only America thirsts America 1st a new n.p.r. Abscessed poll finds that Americans have widely differing views of that approach but a majority of both Republicans and Democrats want the United States to continue its in gauge went with the world N.P.R.'s Scott Horsley reports n.p.r. And its polling partner Ipsos Public Affairs surveyed more than a 1000 people across the country. Asking what America 1st means to them for Steven Coppola who lives in the brassica it means keeping the focus close to home we have our own problems here in this country and we should take care of our people 1st before we where you've met what other people are doing in other countries a man or a felt of California shares that sentiment but only up to a point I believe that we should absolutely take care of our own country but I don't believe it should be Americans 1st and forget about others indeed more than half the people we surveyed say America's foreign policy should focus on maintaining the current international order with America at the center but not all by itself less than a quarter of those polled say leaders should look out for Americans even if it harms people elsewhere we find a super majority support for basically saying the u.s. Is a force for good in the world holster Clifford young the president of Ipsos Public Affairs says that viewpoint is broadly shared across the political spectrum though Democrats and Republicans mix press it differently Democrats see the role of the United States in the world in more sort of aspirational terms while Republicans see it much more in transactional terms as a result Democrats in the survey were much more likely to say foreign policy should promote democracy and human rights in other countries while Republicans tend to prefer policies that enrich America and Americans. Well the phrase America 1st was used by isolationists in the 1940 s. Trumps national security advisor h.r. McMaster says it shouldn't have that connotation today President Trump understands that of work of 1st does not mean America alone to the contrary prioritizing American interests means strengthening alliances and partnerships that help us extend our influence and improve the security of the American people Trump's trip includes a meeting in Brussels with NATO allies the president has often complained that only a handful of NATO countries are making the necessary investment in their own defense force in the u.s. To spend more I will strengthen all friendships and will seek new partners but partners who also help us not partners who take and take and take majorities in both parties say America should provide humanitarian aid to foreign countries but Young says a large number of both Republicans and Democrats are wary of intervening in foreign conflicts to bring peace it's the word intervention yes we want to help countries but we don't want to be stuck in their conflicts forever and despite the president's frequent criticism of international trade deals the survey found large and bipartisan support for using trade as a tool of American diplomacy nearly 8 out of 10 Democrats and Republicans agree with that policy Scott Horsley n.p.r. News the White House the latest must see t.v. Or apparently White House press briefing people are tuning in in record numbers N.P.R.'s Vanessa Romo checked in with some young viewers and asked them why you watching soap operas are out White House press briefing super n. As early as February ratings for The Daily updates usually hosted by press secretary Sean Spicer were eclipsing General Hospital and the Bold and the beautiful turns out people can't look away and here's what their eyeballs are glued to. Basically Sean Spicer is down to the mill I not only is boss but also by the media the most like the Fear Factor type show where you kind of just want to watch and see what happens that's n.y.u. Grad student Daniel Kristina he's a Republican and he says unlike what he called the boring briefings of the Obama administration the Sean Spicer show is must watch t.v. Even if Christina is away from an actual t.v. If I'm not at home I'll turn on You Tube on my phone right to the White House You Tube page the 20 year old doesn't expect actual policy information he's watching for the infotainment I believe that we have to be honest to the American people I think sometimes we can disagree with the facts there are certain things that we may not fully understand we cannot but our intention is never to lie to you Jonathan McKayla Kaczynski mollusks is on the opposite side of the country on the opposite side of the political spectrum she's consuming as many press briefings as the stomach can handle the software at the University of Oregon watches with a bit of Saddam for into and the recent chaos surrounding the administration fuels her own work as an activist I don't want to be too enthusiastic about it definitely in the face for us to fight back and win back the House and win back the presidency Still she says there's a very thin line between being entertained country and disgusted so why is America watching Well here I do have some data say hello to Michael Cornfield he teaches politics at George Washington University we looked at how many times the top people in the Trump White House were tweeted during the 1st 100 days and after Trump himself Sean Spicer is the 2nd most tweeted person 10000000 tweets which is to say he has become a celebrity but he's not a celebrity in a positive way and just like that t.v. Villain you obsessive really hate watch audiences are hooked and I think the fascination that has created the. Daytime serial that we might call the Sean Spicer show is is he going to crack either in the way that he'll say something that he shouldn't and then get fired or is he going to erupt and explode at the press corps so there's a tremendous and perversely appealing tension that tension was heightened after deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders filled in for Spicer last week and then Trump said this about the future of the press room daytime drama I actually said we should have them so fans and non-fans might be losing their favorite character let's hope it's not an ambiguous Soprano sending the Nesa Romo n.p.r. News Washington. You're listening to n.p.r. News. Right there on line and that. Is no other program but you're right. That they're mentally everywhere. This week film director John Waters story studio plus the brilliant You can't it's all been exposed for maximum fun dot org. You can catch bull's eye here on the local public radio this morning at 10 followed at 11 by snap judgment with Glynn Washington all ahead here on 91.7 k. O. W. San Francisco Good morning David Latulippe with you on this bright and early Saturday May 20th a fine weather day ahead for you time 619 Good morning. I'm Windsor Johnston with these headlines President Trump is in Saudi Arabia on his 1st overseas trip since taking office he'll address a summit of Muslim leaders in Riyadh tomorrow and then travel to Israel on Monday He'll also visit the Vatican and Brussels the wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has been nominated to be u.s. Ambassador to the Vatican Calista Gingrich has worked for the House Committee on Agriculture and served as a congressional aide her appointment require Senate approval former f.b.i. Director James Comey will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee after Memorial Day The panel is expected to question him on Russian meddling in the u.s. Presidential election call me was fired by President Trump last week I mean Sir Johnston n.p.r. News in Washington. Support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Member stations and from the Main Office of Tourism offering travelers an opportunity to explore and discover their very own main thing to be inspired be original and be yourself at Maine quarterly dot com from Tait's bakeshop whose founder Kathleen King started selling her handmade chocolate chip cookies from a dad's farm stand in the Hamptons as a child now markets nationwide gift baskets are at Tait's bakeshop dot com and from the National Endowment for the Arts art works. This is Weekend Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Scott Simon in Iran President Hassan Rouhani has won a 2nd term he easily defeated a hard line conservative cleric by a 57 to 38 percent margin the vote is seen as an endorsement of Rouhani has moved to try to open his tightly controlled country to the outside world and floating an agreement to restrict Iran's nuclear program in return for the lifting of economic sanctions N.P.R.'s Peter Kenyon joins us from Tehran Peter thanks for being with us Hi Scott and what kind of reaction are you seeing there to Ronnie's victory. Well there are a lot of happy people in Tehran today the signs had been pointing to Iranian reelection but still there was a great uncertainty and a great sigh of relief I guess I'd say when the official results matched well even exceeded the predictions this was a big win and for conservatives a decisive loss was out on the streets today got a lot of pleasurable reactions the sentiment was the hope that the margin of this victory would somehow strengthen Rouhani is hand I met this young engineer is names of a suit. He says the vote proves Iran's population which is quite young has been wanting change for a long time and he says it's building up and building up and this is what here's a bit of how he put it it's about 10 or 20 years that they're going young people wants to change the conversation you're on the condition of the revolution has been changing all the people. And the new generation wants to know I also met a young woman and she was very happy Rouhani had won she said she thinks a lot of people voted not necessarily because they love their honeys achievements which were pretty modest in his 1st term but there was a deep concern about having another hardline government especially when they look across to the u.s. When they see a government that while they see is full of American hard line conservatives and what do you think Iranians expect from her honey in a 2nd term the plea is pretty clear fix the economy now I met a lot of desperate Iranians this week just barely hanging on wondering when this big nuclear deal that's gotten so much attention and brought billions of dollars into the country will mean some real improvement in their lives jobs salaries economic growth it's a familiar tale and those are the challenges facing Rouhani now Iranian seem to be buying his argument that engaging with the world is the right way to do it but he couldn't achieve much for ordinary people in his 1st term and the question is what can he do in a 2nd and Peter What implications does Ronnie's relection hold for relations between the trumpet ministration and Iran. Well people here are hoping Rouhani selection is seen in the West as a sign of continuity stability but it's going to be a rocky road I've been told over and over again especially if the harsh rhetoric from the trumpet ministration turns into more sanctions or confrontations the Iranians are watching Trump's Mideast trip here with more than a little unease they believe the Saudis and Israelis will try to pressure Trump into confronting Iran and but when it came time to pull the trigger on the vote yesterday most of them seem to believe that it would be even worse if they had a hardliner in office N.P.R.'s Peter Kenyon and to Ron thanks very much for being with us thanks Scott there's a small nonprofit in Muncie Indiana that helps people fight cancer. But that good work did not prevent them from falling victim to a cyber attack like the one that lost computers around the world last week the organization was hacked in January and several months later it is still recovering Indiana Public Broadcasting and the Ropeik has the story everything was missing client files financial data all gone it didn't make sense to the 6 person staff of cancer services of east central Indiana also known as Little red door and then to add to the confusion says executive director any Robertson fan the staff started getting these weird text messages saying that they were going to be our new best friends and that they were going to help us Next came the e-mail the subject cancer sucks but we suck more it was diabolical It was cruel they were brutal hackers had access the nonprofit server after a staffer inadvertently downloaded malware from an e-mail the hackers wanted 50 Bitcoin or what was then about $43000.00 to return the data and keep it private I hate to use the word traumatic but it was I mean you just don't understand and what's happening is just sort of an out of body experience where you know like I we just couldn't figure out why someone would be doing this to us fan says the f.b.i. Told her They've been investigating this group of hackers that they probably wanted sensitive information bank accounts social security numbers but little red door doesn't keep anything like that on file so when they decided not to pay the ransom the hackers posted what they did have it was pretty despicable we send out grief letters to families and they did publish some some grief letters on Twitter Michael Wolff is the c.t.o. Of a local software firm you are only as secure as your weakest link in the chain so you need to be prepared for what you will do if that happens because they likely to . Of that happening is increasing a way Wolf volunteered to help the nonprofit secure what data they could but they couldn't recover everything now so we have a hell of a files in here here meaning a drawer stuffed with manila folders the staff has spent months painstakingly entering this client information back into their computers patient advocate Diana Rinker has led the effort I have a month of Bathgate to enter my goal is to have it done today and will be caught up on this a and Rinker was herself diagnosed with cancer just before the hack she's been on data entry duty between rounds of chemo it's made it a little stressful but it's so nice when our clients come to me and because we've not had one client that hasn't been understanding little red door has struggled since the hack and with more than just paperwork without all their data in hand they haven't been able to get much of the grant funding that pays their bills Michael Wolff the software company c.t.o. Has this advice for small nonprofits stop sit down with your board and think through some questions about what is your idea or structure where do you store data so I am sure that there are improvements to be made that could prevent devastation hackers don't discriminate he says no matter how small your business how noble your nonprofits mission you are vulnerable for n.p.r. News I'm Annie Ropeik. 3 d. Printers are being used these days to make all kinds of things jewelry artwork and even guns now scientists have used a 3 d. Printer to create a functioning mouse over 3 yes N.P.R.'s Rob Stein explains. So you're probably thinking why in the world would anyone want to use a 3 d. Printer to print an ovary well to resell Woodruff at Northwestern University says there's a really good reason my work has been on and trying to preserve and restore fertility to young cancer patients who will survive their cancer treatment but oftentimes that same life preserving treatment can be fertility threatening the chemotherapy that saves their lives destroys their ovaries leaving them infertile so Woodruff decided to see if she could use a 3 d. Printer to help them it's just like the 3 d. Printers people even have in their homes but the ink in this case is a biological ink it's called gelatin which is a naturally occurring substance that helps form the skeletons of organs the 3 d. Printer squirts out the gelatin ink in very precise patterns one layer on top of another to create a complex 3 dimensional structure and so we are able to use 3 d. Printing to actually lay down a scaffold that was copying what we knew the scaffold looked like of the normal ovary it's about the size of an eraser at the end of a pencil Next they put tissue known as follicles inside the scaffolds follicles contain eggs and are surrounded by cells that pump out hormones necessary for reproduction would have called it up by a prosthetic and the bio prosthetic was then transplanted into a mouse that had been sterilized and now that tissue could produce the hormones estrogen and progesterone and when we made that animal the follicles were functional they Abi lated released an egg and we had life healthy offspring in the journal Nature Communications the researchers report that 3 out of 7 mice that got these printed ovaries had healthy pups Well our goal is to be able to develop the so very prosthetics for cancer patients who. Lost ovarian function by removing some of their follicles before they get treated putting them into bigger ovaries scaffolds printed on 3 d. Printers and then transplanting them into women when they're done with their chemo I think that it's really the holy grail of bioengineering for a janitor if not us and other experts agree I've found this paper very exciting could look specializes in this kind of research at New York Medical College he says a lot more research is needed to know whether this sort of thing could work in humans but he's optimistic I thing it does open a new avenue and area for reproductive biology and fertility Woodruff has already started trying to create human ovaries this way and hopes to start testing a 3 d. Printed human ovary within a couple of years Rob starring n.p.r. News and it's time for sports. Good 3 b. a Charm for one of 2 teams not to mention fans Howard Bryant of e.s.p.n. Dot com and e.s.p.n. The magazine joins us now good morning Howard good morning Scott how are you how am I Well let's Are you better than the Boston so well I don't want to make any jokes there are a fine team but all the little kids going up on the skids say Cleveland rocks today did. You see that game they won by like 104 points you know yeah it was destruction it was a demolition and to think that the red they that the Cleveland Cavaliers had are the actual to see because they played very poorly down the stretch in the Celtics are the one seed this is somewhat surprising you're looking at 2 games where the Celtics were down $6139.00 and a half in Game one and they were down 722431 Yeah and in the 2nd and at half time last night and they haven't had the lead at all in either of these 2 games. And I think that what you have here is you have 2 teams you have Golden State and you have Cleveland that have been eyeing each other ever since last year's final and right now they are on a collision course to play it's never happened in n.b.a. History you have where you've had 2 teams play to the 3 times in a row for the championship and they are just head and shoulders above everybody else right now I have to say Le Bron interestingly not even not even in the list of nominees for most valuable player this year seems to be in a whole new dimension I mean 3 blocks last night you know people go up figuring you know they've got a lay up in hand and he takes it takes it away from him as and Golden State seems to be in another dimension to my and they are and I think that obviously you feel bad for Co I lettered you feel bad for a San Antonio because let's let's remember that San Antonio was a 61 win team this year and their best player got hurt they were up by 23 points over Golden State when Co I learned got hurt and then they've been demolished ever since they've been outscored by I think 68 points ever since and so when you're looking at this series that injury has changed everything and it's not as though Sanin Tonio as had no chance against Golden State that injury was a very big deal but both of these teams are undefeated Golden State and Cleveland and let's not forget that Cleveland was down last year they were down 3 games to one golden state had won 73 games and and everything is changed since since Game 5 of last year and I think one other thing is worth noting Scott in that we have on the style Joe we have everyone has their air as you listen to the the old timers talk about how well nothing nobody was better than Wilt Chamberlain or nobody was better than than Bill Russell but when you're looking at what Le Bron James is doing right now yes I'm going to say it he's doing everything that Michael Jordan has done and by the time his career is over I'm not sure that you're going to be able to say that Michael Jordan was the greatest player of all time even. Will agree with. His elbow on chin made some news with its wake her husband Tom Brady the great Super Bowl quarterback she said suffered concussions last year. If that's true. The Patriots concealed it well and not a surprise necessarily because football is a very dangerous game who doesn't have a concussion in football the surprise is the fact that an Tom Brady 17 year career he's never been on the even on the injury list for having any sort of head injury but then again very rarely do they do that with any of the quarterbacks I thought that Tom Brady's agent done he did a wonderful job of staying staying clear of his wife of just well when she's when he gave his statement because it said that he had never been diagnosed with a concussion and so this is football and I think that the message being sent by Mrs Tom Brady was very clear that you may want to play until you're 45 years old but your body may not want you to do it and I certainly don't want you to do it Howard Bryant of e.s.p.n. Thanks very much thank you. And Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is on Weekend Edition Sunday tomorrow he'll speak with a little girl she and of are all about his 50 year friendship with John Wooden as coach of course at u.c.l.a. And you're listening to Weekend Edition from n.p.r. News. The battle over Philadelphia's soda tax is far from over even though it would have to effect back in January as Cady Coleman Ari from member station w.h.y. Why reports the soda industry is still fighting the tax in court and in the court of public opinion the soda industry's anti-tax campaign is still going strong with radio and you too bad and x. The bad tax Facebook page where customers are encouraged to post their receipts showing how much they paid. And many store owners like Jeff Brown have put the tax right there on the price tags that line the shelves the tax is almost as prominent as the price itself so we say food beverage tax recovery and the price includes the packs and the price we usually would charge Brown on $7.00 shop rates and fresh grocers in Philadelphia including this one right on the border of the suburbs he says overall business is down 15 percent because the tax is driving people to shop outside the city I might be able to do better financially if I did I don't feel right about that at 1st he insists that while he is against the tax he's only doing this to be more transparent with his customers as we talk Brown is standing near a new section he's created in one of his stores the shelves are stocked with untaxed items things like powdered drink mixes and bottled water a giant sign hanging from the ceiling says no soda tax in a red circle with a slash through it do big signs like that though kind of feed into it like you're almost not letting your customers forget about yeah but still that's weird because I don't think they should forget about it because it's harming them and customers are noticing I don't know why I like there are things in it is show you how much taxes we'll put on there but then they'll claim that a sale I met Rachana Bill Kareem in the soda aisle of Brown's store he points to a Monster energy drink that's on sale for $0.53 off but the price tag says a $24.00 cent beverage tax is still included in that sale price they're running your face this hour look we're going through. And you still want to buy that outrage is what Larry sized lawyer is banking on size there runs the Philadelphia p.r. Firm hired by the American Beverage Association he won't say how much the anti-tax campaign is costing but lobbying reports show the Association has spent more than $2000000.00 since the tax took effect there are 2 ways of passing go away it's either going to be ruled unconstitutional by the courts or council can repeal it so we're hoping by keeping the pressure up we are able to facilitate one of those 2 outcomes while Philadelphia City Council is unlikely to repeal it a panel of Pennsylvania appeals court judges is considering a lawsuit by the soda industry to end the tax Meanwhile Kelly Brownell says it's sending a bigger message the soda taxes are public enemy number one for the soda in the street Brownell is the dean of the Stanford School of Public Policy at Duke and he supports soda taxes as a public health measure he says the fight reminds him of cigarette taxes which made their way to every state by 1969 despite the efforts of tobacco companies to stop them and I think we see that same history playing out with the sort of the story every time we lose and it's now been a number of times the lumber replaces the room the world heard or heard from him before he is off with those places begins nor since Philadelphia passed its soda tax for other u.s. Cities have followed suit although Santa Fe residents recently voted down a measure there but Brownell thinks other elected officials will look to Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenny who pushed the measure as a revenue generator for popular projects so far it's brought in almost $20000000.00 for an expansion of subsidized pre-K. And major renovations at city parks rec centers and libraries for n.p.r. News I'm Katy call Mary in Philadelphia. This is n.p.r. News. President Trump's 1st foreign trip as commander in chief Saudi Arabia's up 1st followed by Israel we'll have the latest Plus Amber Tamblyn on her 1st film as director and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talks about his 50 year relationship with his beloved coach John Wooden Sunday on Weekend Edition from n.p.r. News at npr dot org Good morning David lot to leave with you on this bright and early Saturday May 20th you know our Make campaign on Thursday at midnight when we wrapped up listeners had given over $396000.00 to local public radio that's 99 percent of our $400000.00 goal and makes this campaign the most successful ever at Caleb your support sustains us and inspires us thank you so much for supporting local public radio. I'm Winsor Johnston with these headlines President Trump is embarking on his 1st overseas trip since taking office he arrived in Saudi Arabia this morning where he was welcomed by the Saudi king will address a summit of Muslim leaders tomorrow in Riyadh Iranian incumbent president Hassan Rouhani has won his 2nd term in office he easily beat his main challenger in yesterday's presidential election the Iranian government says voter turnout was especially high Syrian President Bashar al Assad is among one of the 1st world leaders to congratulate President Rouhani on his reelection Assad's government is strongly backed by Tehran Iman's or Johnston n.p.r. News in Washington. Support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Member stations and from Optum committed to tackling the biggest challenges in health care with data driven solutions designed to improve outcomes and make the system better for everyone learn more at Optum dot com Optum how well gets down from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value and working with partners to help and vision a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy productive life at Gates Foundation dot org And from the listeners who support this n.p.r. Station this is Weekend Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Scott Simon Paul I want to cracker How about a chocolate chip cookie players in the minecraft video game can befriend a parrot with a chocolate chip cookie but in real life don't even small amounts of chocolate can poison a parrot a campaign of concern broke out on Reddit that millions of children who play the game would try to tempt the family's blue eyed cockatoo with chocolate chip cookies Jen Bergen's didn't mind craftily designer says the cookies were intended to be a sly reference to the Nirvana song Pauly but the game's next update will offer treats that are more friendly to parents real parents have a diet of seeds nuts berries in Section large they gotta see Minecraft larva. For young people growing up east of the Anacostia River in Washington d.c. Life can be a struggle against gangs and violence and for much of its modern history the river itself has been under assault considered one of the most polluted streams in America and absence of the fish and birds that once thrived in and around it for the past 25 years in organizations been trying to save the Anacostia and the lives of the young adults that grow up not far from its banks N.P.R.'s Hannah block has the story of the Earth Conservation Corps and one member with the help of some big birds was able to turn his life around. She will certainly know he's like you are make sure you don't want to come right back the sun is finally poking through the storm clouds havering low over the Anacostia River as Earth Conservation Corps staffers point out a pair of prosperous nesting on the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge the Ospreys are great at catching fish but not always great at keeping them would be able to do they sit and watch them up right now was to us we got the best be able to take it from me. All that traffic noise from the bridge doesn't bother these birds but until God Nixon the founder of the Earth Conservation Corps and his team helped bring them back it was rare to spot space here at all home base for Nixon's group is the old capital pump house further down the Anacostia it was built in 1003 to provide water to steam heat the White House and the Capitol but by 1950 the river was way too polluted for that as you enter the pump house you pass a brick wall a framed photos honoring the memory of volunteers from the community the wall of the fallen Here's Bob Nixon This is money Johnson she was murdered in 1992 several years later Gerald Hewlett was killed just a couple blocks from here and sort of the Trail of Tears goes on this is Benny Jones and he was beaten to death they varied 26 quarter members in 25 years for stubbornness Bob Nixon was an outsider when he came here in 1902 he'd been a Hollywood filmmaker who made a documentary about Diane Fossey the primatologist of gorillas in the mist fame. Fasi agreed to cooperate with Nixon on one condition that he dedicate a year of his life to a conservation project was in Malibu so reading the paper I had the picture of this week the worst Creek in America blocks from the White House it was the lower Beaver Dam Creek a tributary of the Anacostia overflowing with tires and trash Nixon flew to d.c. And met with community activists and won their trust 9 young people volunteered to work with him Nixon quickly realized he was not just confronting a polluted waterway he had to work against how the kids felt they were seen by the world one of the kids told him I mean America's nightmare no one has ever thinks anything good can come out of a place like this nevertheless they got to work strapping on hip waders and slogging into that neglected Creek Anthony Satterthwaite and his friend Duncan were among the original volunteers we had hunted us and then we had $300.00 times then $600.00 in the dentist awful in the sense of accomplishment and we saw one knowing it more and more and more planes in a few months the crew had pulled more than 5000 tires from the water and as the area got cleaner they set their sights even higher it was 994 and d.c. Was in the grip of a crack epidemic with a murder rate the top $400.00 a year at that low point in the city's recent history Bob Nixon had the idea to bring the bald eagle back to the nation's capital it had disappeared decades earlier over the next few years the Earth Conservation Corps raised and released 16 bald eagles they named those 1st birds in memory of their fallen friends the corps members they had lost again Anthony Satterthwaite he wasn't supposed to live to see the age of 21. Just as any danger at this majestic bird to be trying to say so it came became very powerful and we connected to too and that's why we started our rabbit education program already starts. With the little guy we are back in 09 she was 2 weeks from today and you don't know because no one in Calgary 5 years our. Stuff Rodney Stotts is one of 4 surviving members of the original Corps and one of only 30 African-American Falconer's he says in the u.s. Today he's showing a hawk named Sky to a group of 30 nervous excited teenagers and giving them some life lessons along the way if you are free and you put this burden on you just one of the biggest things in the world to be doing this overcome the Fuel Watch you got a burger you can't be in the street if you have your bird you have trained her nothing that you love will not love you back every animal Op-Ed every everything and I love me back the same way then it's time for the kids to try holding sky the haka So the 1st brave soul to step forward is 9th grader serial about to get you ready Yeah sure you don't have to be school I would never put you in a situation where you can get hurt Ok And then John might like this stuff that. Goes out that. Old guy. Oh my God Oh my. God I feel bad and I don't have the knowledge that I don't know what you go home all over I don't come down on the stump I don't love the touch you know you don't have to worry about a guy lets loose with a party as whole but harmless but firmly. And I think they go right after the demonstration starts heads onto a deck overlooking the Anacostia Osprey. So Osprey. Declared that official some minutes Thomas is tall and lean and in constant motion he fumbles under his shirt and pulls out a small carved turtle hanging around his neck it reminds him he says to slow down I've always loved animals I don't like people I'll tell everybody for I've just never been a people person we're the only species that last steal kill for no reason it's been a long road to get here and it hasn't been a straight line Rodney Stotts used to be a drug dealer now he lives outside d.c. Runs his own small nonprofit and find satisfaction working with young people you realize from who you used to be and all used to causes pain and tears that you cause of laughter and joy when he decided he wanted to become a licensed Falconer Staats faced resistance and racism I was told that black people don't flap or eat these are hawks owls and Falcons that chickens but he ignored all that and focused on what was most important to him it's not that everything is easier perfect now far from it but Rodney Stotts says working with the birds and animals is what saved his life I'm outside I can go off and it's great to Herring took my mama somewhere else these fish swimming up the stream over here to Beaver with her babies gone out now all of them stuff that when you 1st got here was this trash all trace She ain't seen no signs of life so how can you say he had made it and want to fight and do sound when all you are seen is beauty come back so I probably didn't get into animals out of Dad injury. And they want to rock well. The afternoon over Rodney Stotts can't wait to get back to his place in Maryland and jump on one of his horses he's named them after the loved ones he's lost Hannah block n.p.r. News 'd. Odor is an artist who is charming and daring spontaneous and if you sieve her husband Graham is a button down businessman and a man of routine what it cherishes about his 2nd wife is also exactly what sometimes exhausts him than his 1st wife Elspeth reenters their lives she is composed deliberate and organized her arrival causes both daughter and Graham to reflect on the spark that grew into their love and if it ever flickers a little in the winds of real life standard deviation is the 1st novel from Catherine Heinie an acclaimed short story writer and she joins us now studios thanks so much for being with us thank you it's my pleasure when now when the novel opens the couple Graham are shopping an upscale supermarket in New York they have a happy life don't they I think they have a very good life the novel is kind of about how much they value what the half Yeah and each other for that matter when all is said and done. They have a son named Matthew who is utterly devoted origami. And Matthew their son melts my heart. But as some like this can be demanding for parents Kathy. He I think that's one of Graham's big realisations in the book is that parenting is maybe not as easy as he thought it was going to be explain to us a bit how Matthew was a particular challenge for them well when I started writing the book I knew that they had Matthew and I knew that he was the opposite of Audra and she's so outgoing and so social and she really believes she can change the world with the force of her personality and I wanted Matthew to be the opposite of that and in the book at sort of a slow reveal that he has Asperger's because it was a slow reveal to me as I was writing it that that's what his issue was. What put it in the story do you think I think just trying to make Matthew the opposite of Audra and then it began occurring to me one of the themes of the book is how there are all these sort of different universes in the world different social universes and how maybe Matthew has a gift because he can function in many of those worlds like the origami world and the real world. Audra has a gift for saying exactly what you would think to be the wrong thing but it makes everyone laugh. Is it fun to create a character who says exactly the wrong thing it was really fun I I'm so sad that it's over and she'll never talk to me again but I think that when I was writing it my own filter which isn't great diminished even more and. Like a few weeks ago my son wanted me to write his teacher an email and then he said but don't try to be funny. Like maybe I have less of a filter than I thought so that was when I started the book I wanted to write about somebody who had no filter and what it would be like to be married to that person. So I have to ask him in any way is is the marriage between Graham and daughter a. Mirror any relationship you've had in your life I think that they are I mean the title standard deviation applies I think in that Graham is. This person to whom like a standardized norms mean a great deal and Todd They mean nothing so there's there's some of that with my husband and myself of looking at situations very differently. And what about the son my son well I have 2 sons one of them did go through this very intense infatuation with origami and we wound up going to conventions and things because that's what you do when you love someone who loves origami. I now want to go to an origami convention based on what I wrote. Well it was funny because you know we went there with our son and he's given a badge with his name and I was given a badge that said non folder like subhuman. Yeah and then I put my badge in my purse when we went out for lunch and I had to find dig through my purse and find it to come back and the woman behind me was really impatient and she said you should wear your badge all the time and I said well I didn't want people to know I was going to an art comic convention and then she saw my badge and I was like oh you're a non folder I should have no idea she was really. She was very scornful. I'm very touched at the ending of the book without giving anything away when Graham. Borrows from Jim Morrison and says If you love someone you push until you get to the other side and then when you get there you have to keep pushing Yeah well I think that's true I think there's always another hurdle but it's possible to enjoy the hurdles as you push through them if that. Makes any sense at all. Katherine Heinie her novel standard deviation thanks so much for being with us you're welcome can I say one more thing every time yeah today is my birthday oh my gosh and all the way here I was afraid I was going to have some on air meltdown about turning 50 and then I thought how funny that would be but I managed to get through without it yeah you were great you were wonderful and happy birthday thanks it's such a good. This is Weekend Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Scott Simon. Support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Member stations and from the law firm Cooley l.l.p. With offices in the u.s. Europe and China Cooley advises entrepreneurs' investors financial institutions and established companies around the world where innovation meets the law from Squarespace allowing businesses to create their own website for those getting started or 1st stablished brands Squarespace this platform is designed to help businesses grow learn more at squarespace dot com and from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Gates Foundation dot org. Next time on work with Marty and Kyle Cassidy the author of this is what I like Brereton looks like on the range of options in today's and tomorrow's librarian career is certainly going to be very different than it is today plus you can call in for a work over whatever career conundrum you're facing else or try to help and work with Marty Nemko Sunday 11 at Sunday's malevolent hero 91.7. Severance Isco You're listening to Weekend Edition here on local public radio you good morning David to lead with you the pleasant forecast for the weekend today a high near 76 degrees sunny skies some winds kicking up in the afternoon gusts could reach as high as 23 miles an hour a clear evening tonight with a low around 50 to wrap that forecast around for the next several days sunny tomorrow with a high near 77 against some gusty winds clear in the evening Mike Wise for Monday a slight cooling trend as we head into Tuesday and Wednesday Thanks for tuning in to local Public Radio in San Francisco the time 7 o'clock Good morning. From n.p.r. News in Washington d.c. This is Weekend Edition.