. News is next. I'm Debbie rest with the b.b.c. News Helen the German chancellor Angela Merkel has said she wants to win back the voters who left her party for the far right the anti immigration a.f.d. Party has emerged as the 3rd biggest group in parliament after Sunday's election this is Michael said many people felt they were not being taken seriously Damian McGuinness is in Berlin annular MacHall may have won the most votes and will remain chancellor but she now has to cobble together a coalition between 4 different parties including the Greens and the business friendly liberals all of which have completely opposing views on key issues such as refugees or Euro Zone reform Meanwhile the anti migrant a.f.d. a Party that Mrs MacHall will not work with is struggling to stay united one of its leaders Helka pity has announced that she will not belong to the party's parliamentary group the United Nations says the human rights situation in the Crimean Peninsula has significantly deteriorated following Russia's annexation of the territory in 2014 obese is documented include arbitrary arrests and detentions and forced disappearances as well as severe ill treatment and torture Vienna phrases the un office in Ukraine which produced a report highlighting the abuses that had come to light we've also seen more broadly the impact of the requirement for individuals living in Crimea to adopt Russian Federation citizenship if individual that doesn't have Russian Federation citizenship then they are unable to access basic services such as health care they would have problems with employment problems property rights and also with regard to political issues as well the people of Iraq's Kurdistan region have been voting in a controversial referendum on independence the poll has been vigorously opposed by the central government in Baghdad which says it's illegal but the Kurds. Stone regional governments representative to the United States by and some Iraq men says Iraq failed to deliver on its promises we thought that we had signed up to a new Iraq that would be federal not central We want to democracy and we wanted a secular government is that what we have today is almost the c.e.o. Crecy a sectarian government that's far far from upholding the Constitution neighboring Turkey and Iran have condemned the exercise fearing it might start separatist feeling in their own Kurdish minorities Iran has come to sailings with the region an investigation in Syria by the campaign group Human Rights Watch has found that 2 u.s. Led coalition airstrikes killed more than 80 civilians including 30 children but its attacks were in March 1 hit a school being used by displaced people in the northern town of Mansoul era Well news from the b.b.c. The United Nations has warned that hundreds of thousands of ranging refugees in Bangladesh risk a dramatic deterioration in 2nd stances unless aid is rapidly stepped up speaking in Dhaka the head of the un refugee agency Phillipa Grandy told Jenison despite every efforts the massive influx of people seeking safety had outpaced capacities to respond. The Court of Appeal in Hong Kong has ruled that a British lesbian who moved to the Territory with her partner should be granted the right to work the B.B.C.'s Juliana Liu reports for use Hong Kong a global financial center has denied the same sex spouses of working expansionary it's these us that are normally granted to heterosexual couples the reason the city does not recognize gay marriage cutie a gay British woman had challenge that policy on grounds of discrimination a panel of 3 judges has agreed with her activists of call the decision a hard fought victory for gay rights in Asia the Italian Football Federation has banned and rare and yet the president of champions you Ventus 4 year for his role in the sale of tickets to fan groups he was accused of helping to sell tickets to so-called Ultras who are suspected of having links to organized crime and who resold them at a huge profit he was also fined 20000 euros the French government is advertising for a couple to live in the small and isolated island of command ness of the coast of Brittany that take over from the current 2 inhabitants who are leaving after 10 years they've revived the fortunes of the abandoned and windy island which at the time only had a deserted farmhouse now their farming sheep growing potatoes and have set up a bed and breakfast using only wind and sun as sources of energy just like their predecessors the new inhabitants will not be paid to live on chemists That's the latest b.b.c. News. Programming on k l w is supported in part by Litquake 2017 presenting over $600.00 authors including Jane Smiley I yell at Walden Mark Hertsgaard Jamail yogis Waldo e. Martin and celebrations of Pablo Neruda and the 50th anniversary of Garcia Marquez is monumental novel 100 Years of Solitude Litquake runs October 6th through the 14th information at Litquake dot au argy the g.o.p. Health care bill and the latest from Puerto Rico after the hurricanes coming up next on Morning Edition from n.p.r. News support for n.p.r. Comes from Fidelity Investments taking a personalized approach to help clients grow preserve and manage their wealth learn more at fidelity dot com slash wealth fidelity brokerage services l l c relatively clear skies right now it's going to be quite sunny highs in the seventy's lower eighty's here in the city mid eighty's around the bay light winds becoming west and to the north up to 20 miles per hour in the afternoon this is 91.7 k a l w San Francisco k l w dot au argy your local public radio Good morning I'm Kevin Vance the time is 807 . This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene and I'm Mary Louise Kelly good morning we are tracking reports that the latest Republican health care bill is changing the bill is aimed at repealing the Affordable Care Act according to a draft that is circulating the newest version of this news version of this legislation would shift more money to states like Alaska and Maine which are home to Republican holdouts senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins now this weekend Collins was voicing doubts on C.N.N.'s State of the Union it's very difficult for me to and fits in a scenario where I would end Deb voting for this bill I have a number of serious reservations about it Ok let's do the math here 2 Republican senators have already said they will vote no Rand Paul of Kentucky and John McCain of Arizona this means the bill cannot lose any more Republican support if it's going to pass by the Friday deadline on separate So let's remind people the full name of this bill is Gramm Cassady Heller Johnson and Johnson in question is Senator Ron Johnson he is a Republican from Wisconsin he is one of the chief sponsors and he's on the line now good morning Senator good morning Mary Louise and David how you doing we are well thanks and thanks for being with us so this revised draft of your bill that's coming out today we mentioned it includes more money for states that are home to senators whose votes you need why make that change. Well 1st of all that the formula to make the distribution of federal healthcare dollars more equitable cross States has been in her process and there's been changes all along it's it's complex problem problem you know you have Medicaid which is you know there are all kinds of waivers out there there's nothing unique about the state being unique and so we have 50 unique states and so this is again this is just been in her process and there's been an awful lot of changes just in the last week or so not only just for those states for a number of states so again it's there's nothing unusual about this we're trying to make this is fair as possible but let me let you speak as let me know you respond to the question some people will have which is if you are giving more money to states whose votes you're going to need how do you respond to people who may see that as an effort to to buy votes for your bill but again I what I what I've been involved in is a process where foreigners have been changing to for example extend the time period it's going to take to bring greater equity the just the shift out of health care dollars and so if x. Number States in Alaska Maine be. Part of that process in terms of the adjustment process every state can be part of that adjustment process as well so but you know I had our money to every state in this in this new version. There that those states that currently get a disproportionate share a larger share of federal health care dollars particularly And you know Bamma care funding will see a reduction in what they're increased probably would be some some states might actually gives a slight decrease but you know Currently it's really been quite unfair I know that you know California New York and Massachusetts so they represent about 20 percent of population as they get close to 36 percent of federal over bomb care funding and just simply an equitable so we're trying to work with us I think is one of the major features of grant to ask you how Johnson is try try to bring greater equity in terms of federal funding you never it's never going to be perfect the funds right now are being distributed basically under under Castle Graham. On based on population of people trying 5130 percent of the poverty line again directed toward those individuals actually need the funding so we're sitting here talking on Monday morning let me put the same question that I put elsewhere on the show this morning to Senator Ron Wyden your Democratic colleague if you had to put a percentage on this where would you put the chances of this bill passing this week but I'm still consciously optimistic but if we don't get it done this week sir Senator Graham and I have both told the leadership in the Senate that we want to vote for a budget resolution that that won't give us the same possibility of the passing of a health care reform within that same process of but budget reconciliation but you know what I would say is that would be the last resort I've been pretty critical of this process I think we all should have started reaching out the other side talking about the problems the real problems we face the healthcare system the real problems created by Obamacare acknowledging the benefit 20000000 or more Americans got health care now we want to pull the rug out from underneath those working in good faith but if Democrats in the end don't work in good faith and really just a problem which I would say is skyrocketing premiums that have doubled leaving in many cases people with preexisting conditions on a 4 unable to afford health insurance to quit thinking to work so there's no absolute guarantee of people being covered guaranteed with a preexisting additions under Obamacare just real quick and I am hearing you correctly now that married just jump in here I just want to make sure I'm hearing you correctly you would like for this to pass this week but you are still you are already looking forward to maybe tying this to a budget vote if it doesn't for for next year if we don't pass this year we will get We're give ourselves that option for next year as well we we can't stop this effort Obamacare markets are collapsing greenness of already doubled nationally so this is this is a real problem I'm personally hoping that if we can pass it this week we set up this process of federalism where we turn the funding over states so they can be innovative. And I think this boy I mean there's going to be more more up to dispersed work in a bipartisan fashion as governors certainly watch to see what we can for greater flexibility that's Wisconsin's Ron Johnson who's a sponsor of the Republican health care repeal effort which is working its way through the Senate Senator Johnson thank you every day we also have here in the studio with us another voice n.p.r. Susan Davis who covers Congress so you were listening there hearing Ron Johnson defend his bill what struck you when he talked about the fact that he and Senator Graham have suggested that they would vote against the next budget resolution if they don't get health care passed that is hugely significant and that is hugely significant because the next budget resolution is what Republicans want to use to pass tax legislation and if Republicans are willing to hold that hostage to keep the repeal and replace fight alive that could down to Republican priorities this year which is health care and taxes and the fact that they're willing to make that play is the next major fight to look for in Congress not that we needed more. Chris N.P.R.'s David thank you you're welcome Ok We want to check back now with the people of Puerto Rico who are experiencing massive and persistent power outages as they try and recover from Hurricane Maria N.P.R.'s Kamila dumb and Ascii is in San Juan and joins us on the line in what is the city of San Juan look like you know roofs are making gold there's still debris everywhere and branches are bare it was really striking the picture an aerial view of Puerto Rico it's a tropical island Yeah dream right from the skies we are approaching San Juan the coastline was around the branches it was totally to new that strays are still down some of them are completely blocking the roads there are still flooding shops are shuttered I mean every day life is at a halt people are standing in long lines for small amounts of gas and this is really good compared to the conditions in some other parts of the island where the hurricane hit mark a record this is just amazing they were days away I mean this is the kind of scene you expect like just hours after hurricane came through. Yeah and when you look at the power outages those are expected to continue for not just days but weeks even months people are bracing for this to last for a really long time and you know that affects water pumps food storage medicine every part of everyday life and listen to our generators are still running but a lot of people don't have generators I was talking to one guy who's in have as he said that so many people are now looking for generators after days after bad I think everybody Puerto Rico is going to have a generator. I think everybody's going to go through these and go no power again and you know he's laughing even light there but this is a really serious point that he's making that nobody wants to go through this ever again it's just so hard to cope without some sort of a power supply and again I just this is expect to last not days but for an extremely long period of time is that the kind of feel on the island that I mean it's it's so dire that you just look for moments to laugh or make light of a situation that's incredibly difficult and painful. Now a lot of people are you know expressing great resilience and enormous amounts of patience some humor and Camilla me just ask you with the power down I gather communication has just been a huge issue for people on that island I mean there must be a feeling of being totally cut off it's a tremendous issue and not just elsewhere in the world but elsewhere in Puerto Rico people also on the island you know can send whiny of people desperately trying to contact relatives in the u.s. To tell them that they're Ok and also trying to reach their own relatives here and in Puerto Rico and other areas to know if they're Ok And for a long time there was no service whatsoever on the island now there is some very limited very spotty service people are driving to an hour and a half to try to try to get a signal there's an expressway in the northern part of the island where people go to try to get service because they know it sometimes there we went there we talked to Naomi Solaire she drove there with her mom Damaris Mela they came from r.c. Boats nearly an hour to try to get a signal but they still couldn't get connected Celera told me who she was trying to reach me about. A I think in Florida. Grandmother in Florida her boyfriend in New York she just wants to tell them that she's Ok so now dad grandma and boyfriend if if you're listening she's Ok but this is happening all over people on the island trying to get word out but it's just incredibly difficult and meanwhile their family on the mainland is worried because they can't get any updates any word you know I'm sure they are well and Naomi's family I hope you heard that Camilla Domino is in San Juan never putting on the aftermath of the hurricane Thanks a lot thanks. And we will continue talking about hurricanes this afternoon on All Things Considered hundreds of thousands of vehicles were flooded by hurricanes Harvey and Irma and many Americans need wheels vastnesses set off a huge logistical scramble by the nation's rental car companies. This is n.p.r. News. Tune into cross-currents today at 5 Marine County residents are pushing for stricter regulations on r.v. Parking leaving the people who live in them scrambling to find new places to park I don't know how to describe how empty and scared and not knowing what direction you're going to go into addressing homelessness in Marin today at 5 on crosscurrents from k l w news. I'm Jane Clayson coming up on the next on point the special counsel Robert Muller bears down on Pomona for it as the Trump Russia investigation escalates we are on it that's coming up on the next on point from n.p.r. This morning at 11 right after your call a 10 year old 91.7 killed when you're away from the radio you can hear killed of your programming Wally on our website check it out on your smartphone your tablet or your desktop or a k l w dot a large. 1000 from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying a spokesman for Republican Senator Rand Paul says the latest revisions are not enough to convince the Kentucky lawmaker to support the G.O.P.'s latest proposal to repeal and replace Obamacare Paul and Senator John McCain of Arizona had already said they would oppose the belt the g.o.p. Can lose only to Republicans and still prevail parts of coastal North Carolina are under a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Maria while it's expected to stay off shore N.P.R.'s air macam reports what's happening along the mid Atlantic coast forecasters are watching the path of the storm and warning that even as Maria is expected to weekend it could still bring storm surge and heavy winds and rain to the region visitors to Oak or Coke Island in North Carolina's Outer Banks were ordered to leave and officials are encouraging everyone in affected areas to do things like secure outdoor furniture and have a hurricane plan in place the foreign minister of Iran slamming the administration's new travel ban which affects citizens from Iran and 7 additional countries N.P.R.'s Peter Kenyon has more on the controversial new restrictions Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif posted a condemnation of the new travel ban on his Twitter account calling it even more offensive than previous versions and saying it reveals trumps fake empathy for Iranians besides Iran the band restricts travel from Chad Syria Yemen Libya North Korea Somalia and Venezuela the ban takes effect October 18th this is n.p.r. News. On the next fresh air writing speeches and jokes for President Obama David was only $24.00 when he started it felt totally surreal and completely terrifying he went on to become senior presidential speechwriter and lead writer of 4 stand up appearances at the White House Correspondents Dinner his new memoir is thanks obama change the White House years join us join us for fresh air this morning at 9 just 40 minutes from now if you're on 91.7. In 2015 an investigation by inside climate news and the l a Times found that for 4 decades Exxon knew about fossil fuels role in global warming but failed to reveal its findings Instead it worked at the forefront of climate denial Harvard researchers established that Exxon misled the public about the state of climate science several cities including Oakland and San Francisco are now taking legal action join the conversation on the debut of your calls one Planet series with me. And you this morning a. Morning I'm. Calling from Caleb. In the studio forgive me. Maybe 1.7 kill w.c. And Francisco time right now is a 22. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Indeed dot com used by over 3000000 businesses for hiring where business owners and h.r. Professionals can post job openings then review candidates take notes and schedule interviews from an online dashboard learn more at Indeed dot com from Rhodes scholar a nonprofit educational travel institution dedicated to creating learning adventures for adults including cultural experiences around the world a catalog is available at r o 80 scholar dot org And from Progressive Insurance offering a way to buy home insurance with their home quote Explorer tool custom quotes and rates are available online learn more at progressive dot com or 1800 progressive Now that's progressive. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News Good Morning I'm Mary Louise Kelly and I'm David Greene Today in Your Health a test to figure out if you have outgrown your food allergy but 1st the flu can be especially dangerous for women who are pregnant N.P.R.'s Rebecca Herschel reports that researchers have been studying the flu vaccine in pregnant women and recently they published some unexpected findings let's be clear right off the bat obstetricians and researchers agree that pregnant women should get the flu shot to protect themselves and their fetuses Edward blonder runs the Center for clinical Epidemiology and Population Health at Wisconsin's Marshfield Clinic it's been recognized for a long time but I think it became particularly apparent during that and I mean pregnant women were particular risk for having severe some complications that's the 2009 each one n one pandemic another thing that pandemic did was raise questions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about how the h one n one vaccine affects pregnant women and his colleagues had studied a previous vaccine and didn't find any safety issues during pregnancy with that one so the c.d.c. Asked them to follow up with another study on the new flu shot they fully expected to get the same results but this was an unexpected safety signal this was not what we were looking for they found an association between the new flu shot and miscarriage in women who got the flu vaccine during the 1st trimester of pregnancy they did not find a causal relationship between the 2 the results are very preliminary and there are lots of reasons why somebody can miscarry of course we knew this would be controversial when established still they had to publish That's how science and medicine make progress plus I believe the best approach with the public is to be very clear and open and transparent about here's what we know here are the limitations here's why we still recommend the flu vaccine during pregnancy the overall scientific data still overwhelmingly supports giving the flu shot to pregnant women it also protects newborn babies who can't get the flu. Shot until after 6 months in reaction to the new study the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a statement reminding doctors and pregnant women that flu shots are a quote essential element of prenatal care and says it's watching the follow up studies on the topic closely women who are concerned should talk to their obstetrician about the best timing for their flu shot Rebecca her sure n.p.r. News now an estimated 4 percent of Americans have food allergies and that can show up very early in life but many kids actually outgrow some of their allergies N.P.R.'s Allison Aubrey reports on a surprisingly simple test that can tell if they have signs that a kid may be vulnerable to food allergies can show up in infancy Kendall Chechen who lives in Telluride Colorado says she remembers exactly when she saw it in her daughter Julia when she was a baby really 5 months old only she had really bad eggs and by the time Julie was a toddler allergist had diagnosed her with a bunch of food allergies the main groups were dairy eggs and nuts and tree nuts being the worst of those Julia who is now in 5th grade had to avoid all of these foods for years a few accidental exposures did cause reactions so her mom says she had to be super vigilant it definitely restricted her and I would prepare food everywhere we went and then last summer the chuch use got some good news Julie as allergy doctors at National Jewish Health in Denver had redone her blood tests and the new results suggested that she may have outgrown some of her allergies the blood test measures the levels of a certain type of antibody the higher the level the more likely a person is to have an allergic reaction to less blood revealed a drop in the antibody but the only way to confirm that it was safe for Juillet to eat a food she'd been allergic to was to take another test doctors call it an oral food challenge basically it means you try to eat small quantities of the food. We've had to avoid Here's Julia explaining the test which is done under a doctor's care what they do is they give you a really really small. Basically for July it was a crumb of egg then after 20 minutes if you don't have any reaction then you can take a dose that's a little bit if you work your way all the way up to a whole egg you have passed which means you're no longer allergic the day Julia passed her a challenge I was so glad and happy because for so long you can eat this you can eat this and then I could eat it I was very emotional in addition to egg Julich can now also eat walnuts and omens she's still allergic to some foods including cashews and dairy but her mom says adding so much back to her diet makes life easier it's a huge relief it's it really opened her diet a lot Julius story is not unusual and estimated 70 to 80 percent of kids outgrow egg allergies now a new study sheds more light on just how many people come to find out they can eat foods they've long avoided researchers studied the results of about 6000 oral food challenges all done in adults and children who doctors suspected had become tolerant to foods they'd once reacted to what they found is that only 14 percent of those patients had an allergic reaction during the test 2 percent had serious reactions but the vast majority 86 percent did not have an allergic reaction at all from a big picture standpoint I think it is very encouraging that's b.j. Lancer He's a pediatric allergist at National Jewish Health in Denver he was not involved in the study but he says the findings mirror what he sees in practice it's possible that the children in the study have outgrown their allergy just like Julie did or Lancer says it's also possible they never truly had a food allergy he says it's tricky to diagnose food allergies that's because the 2 main tag. Doctors use the blood test and the skin prick test only reveal part of the story both only measure sensitization they can't tell you were diagnosed you with a food allergy they can't tell you about severity all they can tell us how likely you are to react when you eat the food and that's where the oral food challenge comes in it's become the gold standard test to rule out an allergy so if you or your child tested positive for a food allergy years ago you may want to consider seeing an allergist again Allison Aubrey n.p.r. News. Support for your health comes from home instead senior care providing help with baby medication reminders and dementia care to keep seniors at home instead dot com n.p.r. . This is n.p.r. News in 157 in Little Rock Arkansas National Guard turned away 9 African-American students from Central High School President Eisenhower sent in the 101st Airborne court them. Not be allowed to override. The surviving Little Rock 9 gather to remember that historic moment this afternoon All Things Considered from n.p.r. News later today and 3 here on 91.7 k l w It's 830 right now b.b.c. News with Debbie Ross the German chancellor I'm going to Macko has said she wants to win back the voters who have left her posi for the anti immigrant a.f.d. Party but that wouldn't entail a lurch to the right for her government there if he has emerged as the 3rd biggest group in parliament after Sunday's election. North Korea says President Trump's recent assertion that the Pyongyang leadership would not be around much longer amounts to a declaration of war speaking in New York North Korea's foreign minister a radio host said his country now had the right to shoot down u.s. Bombers even if they were outside North Korean air space. The people of Iraq's Kurdistan region have been voting in a controversial referendum on independence the holding of the poll has been vigorously opposed by Iraq's central government Turkey and Iran a judge in New York has sentence the former u.s. Congressman Anthony Wiener to 21 months in prison the sending sexually explicit messages to a teenage girl in early 2016 the scandal played a role in the presidential election because his wife worked as an aide to the campaign for Hillary Clinton the United Nations says the human rights situation in the Crimean Peninsula has significantly deteriorated following Russia's annexation of the territory in 24 team abuses documented include arbitrary arrests disappearances as well as severe ill treatment and torture Venezuela has accused the United States of psychological terrorism after it imposed travel instructions on some government officials and their families the foreign ministry said travel ban lists like the one announced on Sunday were incompatible with international law the Italian Football Federation has banned and rare and yet the president of the champions eventis for a year for his role in the sale of tickets to fan groups he was accused of helping to sell tickets to so-called Ultras who suspected of having links to organized crime b.b.c. News. Good morning I'm Mary the reason Kelly with college football news of the road kind of the University of Louisville and Kent State were squaring off when he swore old dropped on to the field and never looked back he ran 40 yards and James beats a Fox Sports called the game Thanks Steve I do thank goodness that he did so thank you yes it was in fact that squirrel scored more points than Kent State final score 40 $2.00 to $3.00 supporting edition the program plus full support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from c.f.p. 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News I'm Mary Louise Kelly and I'm David Greene and we want to turn now to our co-host Rachel Martin who is in Berlin reporting this morning on the German elections we are here in Berlin in our studios overlooking the Brandenburg Gate and it is a new day here in Germany a big thing remains the same will remain as the chancellor but there is a very significant change to the German political landscape this morning because for the 1st time in 60 years a right wing party has won enough votes to get into Parliament the party's called the a.f.d. And it stands for Alternative for Germany it is a nationalist party that is taking a very hard line on immigration party officials say Germany has too many immigrants who aren't doing enough to integrate into German society I talked with a cab driver last night who voted for the a.f.p. His name is Peter 61 years old and I asked him if immigration had played a role in his vote this is what he said absolute absolute. There say absolutely but I also have to say this is what he said I am not a Nazi I am not a racist he went on to say Germany should refugees people fleeing war but too many mistakes have been made so immigration has been a huge issue as we've said with me here in our studios in Berlin N.P.R.'s Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson who has been watching all of this unfold Soraya in the end what was the a message that ended up drawing so much support from German voters they were basically telling people take Germany back have enough faith in yourself and us to take Germany back and they managed to convince people that immigrants were the source of all their problems especially this big wave of refugees that came 2015 and we should say more than a 1000000 more than a 1000000 since then exactly it's clear that that was something that really resonated but it's also important. That it's actually a protest vote as well 60 percent of exit polls suggested that people were voting for a.f.p. To sort of show their protest and what does it mean that they're now in parliament how much power how. They will be if. If if they will be the main opposition if they're the main opposition they will have more power they'll be the main rebuttal force but otherwise they will be in Carla meant as an opposition party which will give them some legitimacy but not as much as if they were the actually the main opposition which they may not be the way things are going all right at the very least a bigger megaphone moments ago we spoke with Wolfgang Ischinger is the former deputy foreign minister from Germany he also served as the German ambassador to the us and he said The good news as he sees it is that Germans voted for continuity by electing Merkel to a 4th term he said The bad news is that the right wing is on the rise it's a very serious problem for a nation that has this terrible history of movement we need to be particularly sensitive to the far right and what it might want to do so Germany is different in that sense from you know Switzerland or Spain. But then on the other hand. The I have to even if they are paying 13 percent this time. They are still not of the same quantity of the same importance as say Matthew Lipin was in France so I'm glad to say that even though this is a serious challenge Germany will have a stable government and will continue its essentially Prodi European and pro transatlantic policy approaches until Americal now wins a 4th term cementing her position as the longest serving leader in Europe she has staked out a position as Europe's strongest counterpoint to President Trump in the United States she said after trance election Europe needs to take its quote own destiny into its own hands suggesting that the relationship between the us and Europe was going to change is President Trump going to be a reliable partner for her moving forward Well let me rephrase your question if I may is the United States a reliable partner you see those as 2 separate question I think that in this current situation with President Trump in the White House we here in Europe we need to understand that the United States is more than President Trump there are 50 governess there is the Congress in other words we will have to work with all these constituent parts of the American political system not only with the White House I call this the donut policy if the hole in the middle is the White House with which we conned work we go to the parts around it but there is a drive the Trump administration as a whole in American government no no no I'm saying that if the White House is not the partner with whom we can do or achieve the the goals which we want to achieve we will want to lobby as hard as we can senators and congressmen to make sure that if that decision happens the negative fallout will hopefully. You know be reduced by the Congress to a degree that we can. We can tolerate if I could ask you to take a big step back and look more globally Could you characterize Germany's role in a world where the u.s. Is pulling back and in a world where Russia is exerting more influence for Germany the lesson of the 20th century and the lesson of the last couple of decades since our reunification was achieved is the classic nation state. Isn't going to be able to provide the answers to the global issues that we are currently confronting and that we have will be confronted even more in the future so our answer in the heart of Europe has got to be more not less Europe better Europe more respected European Union why can't 500000000 Europeans not speak up more strongly on and border issues in the world whether it's Syria whether it's grain in a world where we have now a world record of 65000000 refugees I think the e.u. Deserves to build up its capacity as an international actor and that is I think what Chancellor Merkel talks about when she says maybe we've got to take a little more responsibility on our own on our own she is not saying Germany needs to do this I think she is thinking about the European Union with Germany as an important anchor that's full thing ishe Inger at the former German ambassador to the us Germans this morning coming to terms with the results of their election here on Merkel reelected to a 4th term the right wing party the a f d elected into parliament the 1st time a right wing party has achieved Catholic holding parliament in 60 years Merkel now works to form a new coalition government she said that might take until the end of the year before she can make that happen negotiations are underway. This is n.p.r. News. Kill w. Is a media sponsor for the Jewish community center of San Francisco which invites you to join pew with surprise winning author David Eggers for reading and conversation over his children's book her right foot about the Statue of Liberty and her powerful message of acceptance Sunday Oct 8th at 2 pm information at j c c s f dot org slash arts. Time right now local public radio is $842.00. From n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying the latest Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act is undergoing yet another revision by its authors today N.P.R.'s Scott that says the measure is facing a deadline this week Republicans have until Saturday to pass this bill because after that they would need at least 60 votes to move forward that means some Democrats would have to support it so they're up against a deadline but because they're trying to pass this with only Republican votes they have very little wiggle room 2 Republican senators have already said they're going to vote against this bill that means if one more person votes no vote would fail Iraqi Kurds are voting on a controversial referendum on independence N.P.R.'s Chana raff says nearly $4000.00 people were eligible to vote on whether they want to secede from Iraq it's mostly Kurds who have come to vote even though this is an Arab and Turkmen neighborhood and it's mostly Kurds who were ecstatic at the vote today I talked to one man who had been a Kurdish fighters. For decades and he said he had dreamed of this day others are worried about whether this will actually lead to fighting either with Iraq or with the neighbors Turkey is closely monitoring the country's been fighting a Kurdish insurgency on its soil and opposes the creation of a separate Kurdish state president regift type to one says the vote will be on the agenda when he hosts Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday the Dow is off 68 points this is n.p.r. News on the next fresh air writing speeches and jokes for President Obama David lit was only $24.00 when he started it felt totally surreal and completely terrifying he went on to become senior presidential speechwriter and lead writer of 4 stand up appearances at the White House Correspondents Dinner his new memoir is thanks obama my hope change the White House years join us 15 minutes from now fresh air this morning here on $91.00 in 2015 an investigation by inside climate news and the l a Times found that for 4 decades Exxon knew about fossil fuels role in global warming but failed to reveal its findings Instead it worked at the forefront of climate denial Harvard researchers established that Exxon misled the public about the state of climate science several cities including Oakland and San Francisco are now taking legal action join the conversation on the debut of your calls one Planet series with me. And he you will be this morning at 10 here on 91.7. Tune in to cross-currents today at 5 Marin County residents are pushing for stricter regulations on r.v. Parking leaving the people who live in them scrambling to find new places to park I don't know how to describe how empty and scared and not knowing what your reaction you're going to go into addressing homelessness in Marin today at 5 on crosscurrents from k l w news time right now local public radio is 845. N.p.r. Comes from this station and from American Jewish World Service working together for more than 30 years to build a more just and equitable world learn more at a.j. Ws Dato argy from the Walton Family Foundation working to prepare all students for a lifetime of opportunity by ensuring access to high quality k. Through 12 choices more information is available at Walton k. 12 dot org And from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at Gates Foundation dot org. This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene and I'm Mary Louise Kelly Iraq's Kurdish region is holding a historic vote today on whether to separate from Iraq the vote so far has been peaceful but the u.s. And other Kurdish allies fear the referendum could spark violence in disputed areas claimed by the Kurds Iran and Turkey have been holding military maneuvers as a warning to Kurdish leaders N.P.R.'s Gina Rafi is in the disputed city of care cook and she's on the line now hey there Jane. Mary Louise Hi So this vote I know has been especially contentious in Kirkuk where you are Remind us why and give us a sense of what's happening there today so Kirkuk is always been sort of a tinder box it's in the middle of the oil fields so there's a lot of wealth here and up until 3 years ago when ISIS came in it was essentially part of the Iraqi government control but Kurdish forces fought ISIS they've taken control of the city and now this referendum referendum hor independence from Iraq is taking place here in Kirkuk as well as other parts of Kurdistan now the issue here is it's not just Kurds it's Arabs and Turkoman and it's a very controversial controversial thing a holding the vote at this time in this place and tell us as you walk around the city today what are you seeing on unfolding Well I'm actually in a polling station so they've set up polling stations in the schools and I'm in one that's in an Arab Turkmen neighborhood not a Kurdish neighborhood I'm looking at an Iraqi flag on the wall but almost every voter who has come in here Mary Louise has been Kurdish the Turks the Turkmen and the Arabs are basically boycotting this vote and the Kurds of course are ecstatic This is their chance they say they've been waiting for 100 years for their own state and they're seizing it so the turnout is expected to be very high among the Kurds but among the Arabs and Turkoman in this divided and diverse. That's another story give us a sense of why Kurdish neighbors are so opposed to this segment Iran of course is the Saudi Arabia opposes this turkey as we mentioned opposes how come well on the part of the neighbors and Iran now is doing military maneuvers and it's got flights to the Kurdistan region Iran Turkey and Syria to some extent have their own large Kurdish populations and they're worried that if there's an independent Kurdistan here then there Kurds will want independence as well but it's not just the neighbors it's the United States and the u.n. And Europe they've all warned the Kurdistan region not to do this but President Roh suit Barzani had a press conference last night in which he made clear he thinks that all position will eventually go away he says Kurds are peaceful people but they will defend themselves he says no matter what the threats are no matter what the opposition they are pressing ahead they eventually want independence this is a 1st step that's the way they see it here so a very exciting day for the Kurds and just just quickly Jane today's vote is not binding So what happens now so it is a mandate basically that's the way the Kurdish leadership sees it it's not binding you're absolutely right what happens the day after this vote is the Kurds are hoping that Iraq will reopen talks Iraq has made clear that it's not going to do that so they might actually be heading into quite a dangerous stalemate All right thanks so much Jane thank you that's N.P.R.'s Dina raff in the city of Kirkuk in Iraq's Kurdish region. And this is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News. News the birthday of the great pianist Glenn Gould There he is tapping away on a box Goldberg Variations the 155 recording today is Monday the 25th of September 2017 the 268th day of the year the sun rose this morning at 7 o one in the sun will set at 7 o one we will have exactly 12 hours of daylight solar noon will be at 101 1st low tide will be at 920 this morning next high tide 332 this afternoon and the final low tide at the Golden Gate will arrive tonight at 1010 the moon is currently 27.5 percent illuminated a waxen crescent moon the next full moon will be on the 5th which is a Thursday and a new moon on the 19th of October moon rises a $1211.00 this afternoon today is family day international attacks yet Awareness Day math storytelling day Comic Book Day cooking day crab meat Newburg day food service employees day lobster day one hit wonder day psychotherapy day to net day world dream day and world pharmacists day it's also Armed Forces Day or Revolution Day in Mozambique day of recognition for the heart he saw in France and National Youth Day in route if today is your Birthday Happy Birthday to you you get to share birthday cake with Sean Phillips La Mole. William Faulkner Mark Rothko Dmitri Shostakovich Barbara Walters shelter Silverstein Glenn Gould in Tyson my Michael Douglas Mark Hamill Bell Hooks Christopher Reeve Heather Lockyer Will Smith and Catherine Zeta Jones on this day in history United States government establishes Sequoia National Park in 890 and in 1912 the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is founded in New York City much more upon org. I'm Kevin Vance always welcome drop me an email to Kevin underscore Vance at yahoo dot com correspondents Morning Report is next the time is 852. From Caleb news in San Francisco I'm an hour and this is the cross-currents Morning Report context culture and connection from around the bay area I live in Santa Clark's county I live the no a ballot in Nevada. If you get sick or you're injured and go to the hospital for most people the expectation is you get better and you go home but what happens if you're not quite well enough to do that. Patients with ongoing daily medical needs that aren't any merge unsee that can't be taken care of at home go to something called a skilled nursing facility but around the Bay Area those have been disappearing patients at St Luke's Hospital in San Francisco's Mission District were set to be shipped out of the county until public pressure compelled hospital administrators to change their minds earlier this month but local governments are still grappling with a thorny or a problem of what to do with patients who need extended nursing care. Laura when it's reports. Elderly. Praying for I report he has his hand on her forehead as she lies nearly motionless in her bed at St Luke's Hospital in the Mission district comes here regularly to visit and pray for the woman who used to play the organ at his church and. Her daughter Marcia tells me she's been here for 4 years. And the families of the other 23 patients in the unit some of whom have been here a decade or longer have been fighting to stay. They're particularly fragile skilled nursing patients in an even more demanding level of care called subacute California Pacific Medical Center which runs the hospital was planning to close the skilled nursing and subacute facility their patients were looking at their relocation options some of which were as far away as San Jose or even Los Angeles the families were not having it. Was. Ok. So. After months of protest and pressure from city leaders California Pacific Medical Center promised in early September to find room for the patients in at San Francisco hospitals supervisor Hilary Ronan counted it as a major win for patients make no mistake about this this was a community victory. C C meet coming together and say we are not going to excess profits over people we're not going to except when you say no we're going to fight until the moral and ethical thing is done and done correctly but this reprieve is only for the patients currently getting this care once they're gone there is no commitment to new patients st lukes was the only subacute facility in the city for years even with this change in plan the city may be left with no subacute beds at all. Why is San Francisco having such a hard time providing this kind of care. Is the deputy director of the Department of Public Health the financial incentives for companies to provide it and like ours are complicated medical is a low payer for this kind of service and it's also the primary payer appears more a little bit for subacute care but generally doesn't pay very well and when you couple that with the high cost of living in San Francisco high cost of doing business in San Francisco it makes it difficult to locate in the city it's not just San Francisco when families thought they needed to leave they found their options limited especially for the more complicated subacute patients Alameda County has 149 subacute beds Sacramento has 52 and cemetery has 40 for the lack of skilled nursing beds is a problem years in the making Here's supervisor Norman we've been using kinds of health care facilities. Are just residential care facilities and services. To the point where we can to his residence and we have to get the money here to get it somewhere else which means that the families can't reach this of them regionally and even nationally skilled nursing beds are disappearing especially in hospitals Medicare and Medicaid generally don't pay hospitals for the cost of this care very well and regulations are stricter for facilities in hospitals than outside them in the Bay Area the average occupancy rate at some acute facilities is 88 percent a shortage of long term critical care is a systemic problem. San Francisco's Health Department estimates that if current trends of aging and population continue the city will need almost $4300.00 skilled nursing beds by 2030 Currently it has just more than half but many a shortage like that means unnecessarily extended hospital stays it's not good for the patient because that they're on a more restrictive level of care that doesn't they can meet their needs but if they don't have to be there it's not good for the hospital because it backs up the hospital with a patient who doesn't need to be there or not opening a bed for the patient who might need to be there so it's a whole system system issue. While San Francisco has been trying to figure out how to address the cycle in the last 2 years 2 similar facilities in the city were closed the best hope so far is for the city to find some kind of incentive to get providers to jump back in the skilled nursing and subacute game and that's true not just for the city but for the region we've already initiated conversations with sanitation County to see if we can come up with a regional approach place for that we can solve their problems and ours because I think as I said the challenge is not just our own it's a nationwide issue as far as skilled nursing care goes it's up to local and state governing bodies to make an effort to add beds one thing's for sure the families and activists at St Lukes have made a lasting impression supervisor who represents San Francisco's district 11 asked the Department of Public Health to put relatives of patients on a working group tasked with finding solutions to the problem. Patients families and up not just protecting themselves they may not get the chance to make sure future families don't have to do the same. In San Francisco I'm Laura oneness for crosscurrents. Find more health care reporting online at k l w dot org click cross-currents for k l w News I'm. Hosting b.b.c. News. Following historic elections I will remain a leading the biggest policy but it has suffered its worst results in nearly 70 years and we speak to the a.f.d. The right wing anti immigration policy which will have a significant presence in Palm meant. Capitalism has been around for 500 years maybe it's time for a change to Minton the next edition of alternative radio to hear Cynthia Kaufman on capitalism getting past. That turn to give radio Monday afternoon Atwood right here on. Cape. San Francisco. In Philadelphia I'm Terry Gross with fresh air today writing speeches and jokes for President Obama David was only $24.00 when he started it felt to total.