Rains in the region Michael Marks is a reporter for the Texas standard and site Cypress Texas near Houston He says residents report as much as 40 inches of rain fell in 2 days took varies from community community the rains have come down and a fairly common trait of pocket so you've got places in Houston out of that but that it doesn't and 48 hours well but a rural area about an hour west of you over 40 inches and that then there's folks over there saying that the flooding is worse than experience during a hurricane Harvey flash flood watches are still in effect this morning officials report at least 2 weather related deaths the center as a Benny Gantz is declaring victory in Israeli elections over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but it's unclear which one of them will be chosen to form the next government N.P.R.'s Daniel Estrin reports from Jerusalem with 99 percent of the votes counted from Tuesday's election guns his party has a clear lead with 2 parliamentary seats more than a Tanya his party but neither candidate can build a majority coalition without the other gods in the Tanya who both say they want to join forces in a unity government but the 2 disagree on whether religious parties should be a part of the coalition and who should lead the government or whether the 2 candidates will take turns serving as prime minister Israel's president will meet with all the parties early next week to hear who they would recommend for prime minister before giving either guns or Netanyahu the 1st crack at trying to form a majority coalition Daniel Estrin n.p.r. News Jerusalem students around the world are skipping school and staging demonstrations today to demand governments take immediate action to fight climate change protests are planned in about 150 countries they're partially inspired by 16 year old Swedish student credit Berg who has staged weekly demonstrations every Friday for the past year this is n.p.r. News from Washington. The United Auto Workers Union says there are still many unresolved issues preventing an agreement on a new contract with General Motors auto workers went on strike just after midnight Monday idling $33.00 manufacturing plants in 9 states even the Fischel say negotiations will continue this weekend and beyond if a tentative agreement has not reached the gun manufacturer Colt says it's suspending production of a ar 15 rifles for the civilian market as Connecticut Public Radio's Ryan Lindsay reports cold says it will limit production of the weapons to police and the military the gun company says this is not a political decision c.e.o. Dennis Vo said in a statement that quote is quote a stout supporter of the 2nd Amendment but he says the market for a ar 15 is oversaturated Professor Robert Spitzer of Suny Cortland says Colts decision is significant even though the rifles in question represent a small percentage of guns in America politically speaking weapons have come to be . Sort of a core America's gun problem the company says that it's a ar 15 sales have been declining but it could resume selling them to civilians in the future for n.p.r. News I'm Ryan Lindsay in Hartford federal health officials say more than 500 people have been diagnosed with breathing illnesses related to vaporing at least 7 people have died legislation was introduced in the Senate yesterday to discourage raving especially among young people it would ban flavors that appeal to teenagers regulate the designs of aping devices and impose a tax on a cigarettes I'm nor Rahm n.p.r. News in Washington support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Stations other contributors include constant contact with email marketing tools to help small businesses build their brands online through customizable email templates and email editor and now a website builder more at constant contact dot com. This is g.m. D.n.a. Hope you join me along with host Andy zinc on global spin every Sunday evening from 7 to 9 pm right after the Moth Radio Hour the world comes together as we present an exciting mix of international music from the ancient to the Contemporary from the traditional to the eclectic that's global spin every Sunday evening on k.c.b. Xor on demand any time. Oh r g. Every Monday night between 10 pm and midnight we take a journey in search of great Latin music called throat the moon goes our journey is rhythmic soulful cross cultural and always full of joy joy meet David Figaro as we listen across John rose and boundaries to bring you the best in Classic in modern mountain sounds from the Americas the Caribbean and Europe listen live anytime on demand at k.c.b. X o r g. This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Rachel Martin and I'm know well King good morning a complaint by a whistleblower has raised questions about President Trump's dealings with an unidentified foreign leader we don't know who the whistleblower is but the intelligence the intelligence community's inspector general found the complaint troubling enough to bring it to Congress and then over several hours before the House Intelligence Committee yesterday the inspector general refused to provide any details here's House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff talking N.P.R.'s Audie Cornish the whistleblower complaints according to Inspector General contains credible evidence of wrongdoing Congresswoman Jackie Speier of California is a member of that committee she was briefed on this yesterday and she's with us now Congresswoman good morning good morning Noelle great to be with you Inspector General Michael Atkinson who fielded this whistle blower's complaint testified in privateer committee yesterday what can you tell us about the contents of this complaint Well I don't have any information about the contents of the complaint what I can tell you is that the inspector general believed it to be credible after doing it a 7 day review and more importantly he found it to be urgent he has been the inspector general appointed by President Trump for 15 months in all of his workings with the House and Senate intelligence committees where he has sent over complaints but with the blowers not one of them reached the urgency classification so this is a very troubling set of circumstances particularly since the law says that the director of the National Intelligence Center will shout the word is shall transfer a complaint that is found to be credible and urgent to the committees the d.n.i. Chose not to do that raises a very important question is an inspector general actions in breaking the law. By not telling Congress what is in the complaint one of he is not breaking the law because it's the director of the National Intelligence that is supposed to transfer that whistleblower complaint but he is you know stepping out to the extent that he is challenging the director of national intelligence the director of national intelligence who is an acting person right now then went to the attorney general which it's not required nor appropriate under the law to do so but he did and then the attorney general came up with the opinion that said that this really doesn't deal with someone within the intelligence community which of course raises red flags that maybe it isn't fact the president but it does deal with issues choose surrounding national security and therefore should be sent to these various committees what's most important is that we are having a situation here that's going to absolutely squish the whistle blower statute so no one will feel that they can come forward and be protected because this whistleblower now is in serious. Sense of being reprised against or losing his or her job using the whistleblower might have might have quite a bit to see or hear a given everything that's gone on let me ask you acting director of National Intelligence Joseph McGuire as you've said appears to be blocking the inspector general from saying anything McGuire is testifying before the House Intelligence Committee next Thursday what do you want to know from him. From what he will be testifying in open session which is very good what I want to know for him is how does he feel he could violate the law with impunity and this is such a travesty and it deals with something so critical to our national security we can't let it stand Turman ship has threatened to sue the administration for answers regarding the. Complaint do you think a broader investigation is coming just briefly Oh without doubt I do and I do think we should file for what's called inherent contempt and have these people fined for not complying with the law Ok Representative Jackie Speier of California thank you so much for joining us great to be with you know I want to bring in N.P.R.'s national security correspondent Greg Myre Hi Greg you know well Ok So big question for you this is a very complicated scenario how unusual is it extremely So I spoke with a number of lawyers who defended whistleblowers literally for decades they know that members of the intelligence community come forward occasionally but not that often they have a lost specifically protecting them but they said still this is a highly unusual case I don't recall any case like this before where you have an intelligence community member filing a whistleblower complaint against a sitting president and as the congresswoman pointed out there is obviously going to be a lot of legal action going forward right right we certainly expect that was you know any number of things could happen and leaks could certainly be part of this we should note that there is no formal requirement that this complaint or its content become public now it's supposed to go on to Congress but it could be handled privately by the House Intelligence Committee and in a closed door session that there's no legal requirement that it has to somehow come out of the public it is supposed to be addressed so that that's the important issue but I think they're going have a combination of reporting we've got more hearings set potential legal action and even though the White House itself is addressing it to some extent the President Trump tweeted about it yesterday his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani went on c.n.n. Last night and talked about it so I think one way or another we're going to hear a lot about it it's just not quite clear what that format might be Ok N.P.R.'s Greg Myre e Greg thanks so much. Here Time sure thing my pleasure. A blue plastic tarp tacked to the roof of a home means there's construction going on or at least that's what we tend to associate it with that it's a temporary kind of situation but in Puerto Rico thousands of those tarps have been there for 2 years N.P.R.'s Adrian Florindo explains after Hurricane Maria tore off part of his roof the only hook killed been made in this gut from the mayor was a blue plastic tarp 2 years later it's come loose it's tattered every day he picks up the little pieces scattered across his patio Yeah I guess. So I thought we'd get next strong wind is going to destroy He says sometimes on a windy night a sound startles his wife Oh wait what's that she asked him. And I told don't get scared it's just the wind blowing the tart and then this is that after the storm he spent months seeking help from from Puerto Rico's government from nearby mayors but nothing but they're praising him singing What are you running with he is one of the $30000.00 or so families the local government estimates are still living under blue tarps 2 years after Maria here in the municipality of Salinas on the island southern coast there are more than 300 people here got so tired of waiting that they formed a construction collective. Neighbors helping neighbors repair their home. And a small team had just torn the blue tarp up Mathilde's roof. So yes I guess. It was dangling off the back of the house now and as my dad looked on her neighbors installed the beams for a new roof Well you being out on the guessing on York and no man not awfully out about it she said she was grateful because it's been like this for years said they were going to want and they're going to want and what I want. I've always said it's the people themselves who have to rebuild their homes the government isn't. To do it he said the frustration with the government response after the hurricane is a major reason people took to the streets of the summer to force the resignation of Governor Ricardo Ross a your political chaos that followed has made people trust the government even less . Than one of the authors over know it I mean I think if we had 3 governors in one week as I was that way you can imagine what shape the government's in earlier this month Governor wonder Vasquez took her 1st trip to Washington to try to speed up the flow of billions in promised recovery funds soon after returning she held a ceremony to hand an elderly couple the keys to a new house down a level one must now be a we know everyone had hoped for a faster response basket said she said the visit she made to Washington last week will change things I think about the other thousands that are not even having an option because they don't even have the information that they have a chance to maybe access a new house but they have not what they do is director of a you that they got it legal advocacy group she's been sounding alarms about the government's plans for the federal recovery money including a new program to repair still damaged homes the local department of housing has placed some eligibility criteria that is basically threatening to exclude $1000.00 and thousands of families once again from the system one rule requires people to prove legal title to their homes but in Puerto Rico informal housing is so widespread which is white Fema rejected so many people another rule says houses in flood zones can't get reconstruction grants a quarter 1000000 aren't full and. That's what unless these rules change many people don't expect to see much help back in said Lena when the flood it was the woman who coordinated the team of neighbors repairing each other's homes her own roof still leaks but after being denied by Fema she said she's not asking the government or anything else that it was held on by any means of a sale me that way it was all single Heisey of the rest of the council. So many of my neighbors that 34567 times she said that wears you down. Took me down to a house at the end of her street a brightly painted walls still stand and there's no roof a little transistor radio set on the dining room table. The only piece of furniture the hurricane did not destroy. I don't want to. Own Tears were laying wooden beams overhead after the hurricane the owner took her children and left the island the 2 years away been hard rejected her request for help so she reached up to the collective said she wanted to move back and her neighbors said yes. N.p.r. News. This is n.p.r. News. 92nd. If you google Sumatran rhino most of what you will find is that many people believe it is too late to save this critically endangered animal but hang on a handful of determine people refuse to give up recently experts around the world and officials from the government of Indonesia reached a consensus that the only way to bring the Sumatran rhino back from the brink of extinction is to relocate the widely dispersed population into managed and protected conservation breeding facilities designed specifically for their care for a species recovery effort at this scale and scope to succeed a coalition of dedicated stakeholders in Indonesia and around the world is required the work begins with a multi-year coordinated plan to secure the remaining rhinos and develop the infrastructure to care for and grow their population the plan builds on decades of scientific research and proven successes in conservation breeding programs in the past 2 decades 3 Sumatran rhinos were born at the Cincinnati Zoo and 2 calves have been born at the Sumatran rhino sanctuary in way Camas national park in southern Sumatra the 92nd Naturalis is brought to you by the gathering Center for Family and private business of value Parker delivering dollars connection and community as part of the lunar College of Business at the University of Cincinnati the Gehring center has been helping drive a vibrant regional economy since $1000.00. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Dana Farber Cancer Institute where research findings on how the immune system could attack cancer were shared worldwide to help change the course of cancer care more at Dana Farber dot org slash beat cancer from pro quo asked creators of pro Quest one academic unifying journals ebooks videos and dissertations across disciplines in one mobile enabled interface pro Quest dot com slash go slash n.p.r. And from t.i.a. Committed to the idea that while most things in life run out from clean shirts in the morning to a favorite dessert at night lifetime income in retirement shouldn't learn more it t.i.a. Dot org slash never run out. This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Rachel Martin and I'm Noel King good morning just a couple weeks ago it seemed the United States was close to a peace deal with Afghanistan but now both the u.s. And the Taliban have ramped up violence after talks between those 2 parties fell apart N.P.R.'s Tom Bowman has a look back at the war which started 18 years ago shortly after the September 11th attacks President George Bush stood on a pile of rubble in New York that was once the World Trade Center and vowed revenge . Of. The. Defeating the Taliban didn't take all that long a little more than 2 months American leaders were feeling great about how things were going Meanwhile Afghan officials considered accepting a surrender deal from Taliban leaders Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld quickly knock that down he called them terrorist just like Al Qaida Rumsfeld sarcastically brushed aside talking with the Taliban and said they'd be swift justice for Taliban leaders like Mullah Omar she has the n.d.p. Principle person who has been harboring the Al Qaeda network in that country he does not deserve the medal of freedom 18 years later the American stance seemed to come full circle the u.s. Held 9 rounds of talks with Taliban leaders some of whom spent time at the u.s. Prison at Guantanamo Bay retired Lieutenant General Dave Farnell commanded u.s. Forces in those early years he talked about a successful Afghan election in 2004 that brought home it Karzai to power we stand start a great deal of interest on the Taliban psychic men and talk find ways to you know perhaps be part of this new government the people Afghanistan made it very clear choice what kind of a government they want to have and tell them on the outside of that for years Rumsfeld and others continue to dismiss even the idea of any talks with. Taliban and I think we actually missed an opportunity during that era try and do what's happening right now but with a much stronger position politically militarily than we have today so the fight went on President Bush promised the u.s. Would continue to hunt down the Taliban and begin a massive project to rebuild Afghanistan peace will be achieved by helping Afghanistan develop its own stable government he compared the rebuilding effort to the Marshall Plan that helped Europe rise from the ashes of World War 2 peace will be achieved by helping Afghanistan train and develop its own national army and peace will be achieved through an education system for boys and girls which works but the u.s. Largely failed in that rebuilding effort says Thomas Barfield a post and university professor with long experience in Afghanistan the United States and the Bush administration was keen on a light footprint argument the Afghans didn't want to see any foreigners that we didn't need to be there but it was clear that they had no intention of doing nation building because they were keen to get to Iraq in the Iraq invasion sapped not only money from Afghanistan but also troops intelligence officials and the amount of money being devoted to reconstruction declined the political interest. Going on in Afghanistan was always secondary to Iraq Barfield and others say progress in Afghanistan during those early years was all but lost strong institutions could have been built reconciliation with the Taliban rank and file realized the u.s. Focused on the Taliban only after they started mounting serious attacks thousands more u.s. Troops were deployed rising 210-0000 tens of billions of dollars were also spent each year oftentimes landing in the pockets of corrupt officials and warlords and Barfield says President Karzai never had the support of the Afghan population the local people had governance they took care of themselves what they disliked was the car. As i government and its cronies that were going to be put in charge and they dislike the Taliep onto the Taliban continue to expand in the countryside through fear intimidation and sometimes outright support in nearly every year that fight fell to a new NATO or American military commander a revolving door of generals each one often came with a new strategy or a new effort to train local Afghan forces retired lieutenant general Sean MacFarland took part in the training effort if we'd known then what we know now about how long we would have been engaged in this country we probably could've. Grown a generation of the military and political and other types of leaders but McFarlane acknowledges even with more time that effort might have failed too because a central problem was a lack of support for the Kabul government something that has echoes with the Us training effort during the Vietnam War I mean look at Vietnam ization I mean that was a failed experiment to write is more Us troops poured in to handle the fighting that increased foreign presence often grated on local sensibilities 9 years ago n.p.r. Company Army Captain Brant Augie as he spoke with a village elder outside the southern city of Kandahar the older said through a translator he wanted nothing to do with the American only the Afghan soldier standing nearby this my brother says I'm fighting with him on those days but they made me captain Auggie your brother. That your mother's gotten some of the mouth that some of the mom of the religion is a gift and yet if he wasn't a lot of he was it might not have but that Afghan soldier like his comrades was never able to effectively push back the Taliban without strong u.s. Assistance some Afghans fought bravely many deserted 18 years later u.s. Military officials still labeled a fight a stalemate I think we're in a period now for weeks if not months were not a lot is going to happen in the Afghan people are going to pay probably the biggest price at all Kael Weston spent more than 3 years in Afghanistan with the State Department working in remote areas with the u.s. Military his Afghan friends were worried about the possible Taliban peace deal unveiled by American negotiators I'll make a little side saying it would not guarantee the successes the health and education improvements the gains made by girls and women and in their view a rush still is a bad deal so no deal is better than better than the one email from an end. Afghan friends said Afghan should have peace sooner or later but not at the cost of taking a u. Turn and letting all the democratic gains go in vain. N.p.r. News Washington. This is n.p.r. News. Swedish teenager gratitude Berg wanted more to be done about climate change I just felt like things was still too slow and so I decided to try something new and that's when I started the school strike millions around the world are expected to join a youth led climate strike ahead of the un Climate Action summit I'm Audie Cornish that story this afternoon on All Things Considered from n.p.r. News. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Dave Mattingly floodwaters are beginning to recede in southeast Texas where a tropical storm Imelda and its remnants dumped more than 40 inches of rain in the Boman area authorities report hundreds of water rescues in the past few days at least 2 deaths have occurred Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says one man drowned when he continued to drive his van on a flooded road near Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport we always told both turn around and around in this case it seems like you didn't think that warning continued right through it off Mexico Loraine a is now a Category one hurricane with top sustained winds of 75 miles per hour that storm is expected to hit the Los Cabos area later today the Taliban say they carried out yesterday's suicide truck bombing targeting a hospital in southern Afghanistan at least 20 people were killed and dozens injured in eastern Afghanistan at least 16 civilians were killed in an airstrike targeting ISIS militants Here's N.P.R.'s Dina had vs strike hit farmers who were resting after harvesting pine knots in eastern Afghanistan where it is reported that village elders had even written to provincial authorities to let them know farmers would be in the area because ISIS is also active there a spokesman for u.s. Forces said they believe they struck militants of the slot mixtape but said they were working with local officials to determine what had happened this is n.p.r. News from Washington. But apartment of Veterans' Affairs is facing a 4th lawsuit stemming from suspicious deaths at a v.a. Hospital in West Virginia they've missed to church with West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports Attorney Dino Colombo says an autopsy has revealed Army veteran Archie Di edgel died as a result of an unneeded insulin injection he died last year at the Lewis a Johnson v.a. Medical Center Colombo says edulis death follows a similar pattern seen in other deaths at the Clarksburg hospital in recent years at least 2 of those deaths are being treated as homicides the f.b.i. And the V.A.'s inspector general have been investigating multiple suspicious deaths of the facility prosecutors said earlier this month that they have identified a person of interest and they are nearing the end of their work on the case the hospital says a quote person of interest has been removed from their position for n.p.r. News I'm Dave misstates in Morgantown West Virginia registered nurses at Tenet Health hospitals in Florida Arizona and California are on strike there one day walkout began this morning over pay benefits and working conditions about 6500 nurses are striking in Arizona the union says nurses have been working without a contract for 2 years Tenet Health has 65 hospitals across the u.s. With 115000 employees members of the United Auto Workers are continuing their strike against General Motors at 33 plants in 9 states over pay benefits and job security I'm Dave Mattingly in Washington. Tune in to q. C.b.x. Tuesday nights at 10 for be on the fringe we explore the frontiers of organized sound enjoy the latest progressive rock electronic and contemporary classical releases along with a cigar you want to hear anywhere else so take a 3 hour journey and travel be on the fringe every Tuesday night of June following picking up the tempo only here on Central Coast public radio c.b.x. . Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Zoom Zoom offers cloud video conferencing online meetings and a video conference room solution in one place featuring digital video and audio with screen sharing account registration and more zoom us from Indeed with its skills tests built for employers who want to see a deeper sense of the person behind the resume learn more it indeed dot com slash n.p.r. And from the listeners who support this n.p.r. Station. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Noel King and I'm Rachel Martin while most of us were sleeping hundreds of thousands of people around the world are on the March warning of the dangers of climate change people here in the u.s. Are joining in today including workers at e-commerce giant Amazon but before those workers could strike their boss unexpectedly stole the narrative I'm joined now by N.P.R.'s Nina sell you again I'm just going to note here before we start Amazon is an n.p.r. Sponsor So Alina before we get to what Jeff Bezos did what can you tell us about what is happening today how many Amazon employees are taking part in this climate part of they're expecting more than 1500 Amazon workers to walk off the job today they are expecting to be joined by other tech workers from Google and Facebook and this is important context because there is this group inside Amazon called Amazon employees for climate justice and they previously organized a shareholder resolution that was focused on climate change for example asking Amazon to report how it plans to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and this resolution got signed by thousands of Amazon workers publicly with their names and titles which was quite unprecedented for Amazon there's a video of Amazon worker Emily Cunningham presenting this resolution at the shareholder meeting in May I spoke to her yesterday I just knew that I had to speak up I felt like it was my moral responsibility but at the same time I was also speaking out against my boss who also is the richest man in the world and so while I was very determined to do it it was also very scary and in the video you can see that I'm I'm shaking the resolution failed but it got the attention of more Amazon employees and over 8000 workers ended up signing an open letter to be asking to aggressively reduce emissions to stop contracts with oil and gas companies to stop campaign contributions to politicians who deny the existence of climate change and their next act today is the climate walkouts it's not a coincidence that Bezos chose yesterday to unveil Amazon's new and climate. I've heard you ask about what this new climate pledge does it meet those people's demands with it and not entirely it seems to be a separate thing it was presented as a very separate thing but not a coincidence and it's Amazon's plan as they put it to me the Paris climate accord 10 years ahead of schedule Here's base of speaking yesterday we've been in the middle of the herd on this issue and we want to move to the forefront we want to say look at a company of Amazon's complexity physical infrastructure delivering 10000000000 items can do this so can you it was on says by 2030 it will use 100 percent renewable energy to power the global infrastructure which if you think about it includes trucks and warehouses and massive data centers for example Amazon has put in a huge order of 100000 electric delivery vans the company's goal is to be carbon neutral by 2040 meaning it would emit far less carbon dioxide or offset those emissions by investing in things like wind farms and planting trees so we heard Bezos say Amazon has been in the middle of the herd or the middle of the pack what does that mean exactly right so when I talk to environmental advocates and groups that follow those they are good business may have been a bit generous with that description but so Amazon does have a group focused on sustainability they're working on reducing packaging waste Bezos himself has talked about how important climate concerns are before yesterday but for example it was on had not disclosed its carbon footprint like many companies have done until yesterday and it's a big one it gets a bit tricky comparing different companies here but if you look at Amazon's plans on just renewable energy other tech giants like Google and Facebook have already or almost reached the goal that Amazon just set for 2030 but on the retail side Amazon's goals are more ambitious than of its But biggest competitor Wal-Mart so inside Amazon the climate advocates definitely celebrated the news of the climate play by the workers still plan to walk out today for what they call the. Quote fight for a livable future N.P.R.'s Alina sell you. Canada's prime minister Justin Trudeau made his name as a politician with this message of tolerance and inclusion and then images surfaced this week showing a much younger Trudeau in black face he's done this at least 3 times Canadian politics are now in disarray just 5 weeks before parliamentary elections but not all Canadians are that surprised that their country is having this moment David McGuffin has the story from Ottawa this is surely not what Justin Trudeau wanted to be talking about at the end of the 1st week of his reelection campaign darkening your face. Regardless of the context of the circumstances is always unacceptable because of the racist history of blackface. Should have understood that then. And I never should have done it in what is still largely a white nation Justin Trudeau is black face moment is revealing and on happier side of Canada's past and present blacks and other minority groups are a fast growing part of the population here and they've been in Canada for centuries with longtime sizable black communities in Ontario Nova Scotia and Alberta and racism has always been a part of that picture that's something that we don't often talk about but slavery existed here we have a. A very deep and storied history of black exclusion undertow Meese is a contributing editor with Canada's Maclean's magazine and a historian focused on Canada's black history as a group Black Canadians are paid less have a harder time getting jobs getting promotions and are more likely to experience police violence than their white counterparts to me says part of the history of black exclusion in Canada includes demeaning blackface minstrel shows that began in the 18th thirty's as a reaction to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire more than 30 years before the United States circus productions from the United States and up just about everywhere in Canada with the Metropolitan audience and audiences they're thrilled to be entertained by people in blackface singing Negro spirituals and the minstrel shows remained popular the composer of Canada's national anthem starred in blackface minstrel shows in the early 20th century and while Trudeau was a teenager in the 1980 s. He could have seen black face performers in this Canadian watery ad. Or this t.v. Ad for an Al Jolson album showing the singer in full black face. God to rise up and especially in Trudeau's native coming back and Atlanta Canada the traditional black face keeps. Being up on university campuses and in popular culture so more say trance this meant a lot Ok and 2015 a controversial Montreal theater performance featured a white actor in blackface playing the role of a black hockey superstar p.k. Subban they'd pick somebody playing him in blackface and when people get upset about it you know everyone has a you know just get over it this is not the same as the United States it's our own thing it's not meant to be that it's just it's just jokes Domi says it's time for a more serious conversation about the place of blacks and minorities in Canada because we are so invested in the idea that we're deep down good people and that we love one another and that we are multicultural country that we tolerate one another and then we have values that we contrast directly with the United States and say at least you don't live there are so wedded to that narrative and the only thing that gets our attention is issues like this issues that could bring down a government for n.p.r. News I'm David McGuffin in Ottawa This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News. There's a jukebox revival each Tuesday night on. Slide into the corner booth to listen to Patsy Cline the best new American bands and the architect. Join me. For a jukebox revival a mixing and matching of country America and plenty of surprises Tuesday nights at $630.00. We're going to fill up the jukebox one dime at a time. The Road Home is a weekly radio show of music rooted in American traditions and that's a tradition of influences from. Every Thursday night for the Road Home Americana music its roots and its branches with plenty of new releases favorites to Thursday nights from 630 to 8. For any time on demand. Good morning I'm Rachel Martin public transit certainly has its drawbacks overcrowding talkers. Commuters on a bus in St Petersburg Russia almost had to deal with a problem even worse. Opened its doors and started to get on board it was walking around free or where it wanted to go the driver was able to. Close the door before anyone could get. Its Morning Edition. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from a.d.p. An h.r. Partner committed to designing a better way to work with h.r. Talent Time benefits and payroll informed by data and design for people learn more it designed a d.p. Dot com and from Trader Joe's where new products arrive in stores weekly and new episodes of the podcast inside trader joe's arrive online occasionally at Apple podcasts and where podcasts are found more at Trader Joe's dot com. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Noel King and I'm Rachel Martin good news u.s. Tech companies really want to hire people bad news they can't find qualified candidates so they are getting creative not everyone those behind the solution here Stacey Vanek Smith and can stands a guy Ardo of our daily economics podcast the indicator from Planet Money because there is that out works at Red Door interactive it's a digital marketing firm headquartered in San Diego about 20 minutes north of the Us Mexico border the company has about 100 employees and about 8 months ago red door opened a satellite office into Juana Jose is one of just 3 employees there right now and he's working there now as a web developer to one of has been growing as a tech hub for Mexican startups over the last 10 years and recently foreign companies have begun competing for that talent and expanding satellite offices there there are a lot of people there is doing the same thing that I'm doing for American companies French companies like the us manufacturing companies have been running subsidiaries in Mexico for decades they're often called macula Doris and they make a wide range of goods for the American market but now all kinds of companies are setting up shop in Mexico including Red Door read car the c.e.o. Says he kept hearing about this pool of highly skilled tech workers just a few miles south of San Diego we have this I don't know sibling to the south so to speak and so I figure was really taking advantage of it dozens of American companies have set up shop in the Baja region just in the past 5 years and they are specifically hiring for computer science jobs for tech jobs and this is been happening for several reasons 1st most things are cheaper for companies doing business in Mexico compared with the u.s. And there's another lure the Mexican government recently introduced tax incentives for new businesses opening up along the border with the u.s. The cost of living is a lot lower as well and that means American companies can pay their workers in Mexico a whole lot less this person super talented and their. Exactly what we're looking for and they happen to be in this case not environment less expensive that's that's Ok the average base salary of a developer in the u.s. Is about $80000.00 a year and that same job pays about $18000.00 a year into Juana That's according to data from glass door the 2nd recent American companies are coming south of the border there's a shortage of qualified high tech workers in the u.s. In 2017 there are about 500000 job openings in this industry and only about 60000 computer science college graduates That's according to an industry report by the app Association companies have to look for foreign workers to bring to the u.s. And that often involves getting a special work visa like an h one b. Visa and that has been getting harder and harder lately which brings us to the 3rd reason immigration the number of h one b. Visas available in a given year has been capped at 85000 and last year there were more than 190000 applications for those visas another big attraction for Reid was just how close to one is to San Diego and that is a 4th reason proximity and that proximity can build a useful cultural connection too because people who live on the Us Mexico border are often bilingual and bicultural and that can just make them an easier fit for an American company they can kind of walk right into the job but not everyone sold many local business owners have spoken out against the trend saying American competition is pricing them out of the labor market on Sunset I don't know Stacey Vanek Smith n.p.r. News. Support for Planet Money comes from Capital One offering the spark cash card for businesses committed to helping business owners turn purchases into meaningful investments that can help drive business forward Capital One what's in your wallet more at Capital One dot com. This is n.p.r. News. This is. The beauty of a small slender snowy. Waiting in open waters and wetlands throughout much of the United States but once. During the late. $5000000.00 birds a year. Were killed so their feathers and sometimes even the whole birds could be added to the hats of fashionable ladies in Europe and America in 1906 snow we. Were worth twice as much as. In a few hours during a walk through the streets of New York City. Chapman counted 40 species of birds on the hats of the women he passed including waxwings Blue Jays bob whites and of course snowy grits the plundering for plumes continued until around 1910 when outraged citizens forced the passage of laws that reduced the slaughter these are largely the same laws that protect many birds today killer hands are now a thing of the past. It's natural habitat. Support for birds comes from the. Horses. With a new nature journalling course at Academy dot birds dot org It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm I'm Rachel Martin and I'm David. Greene and when we last saw the Crawley family of Downton Abbey there was a wedding at there in the state there was a retirement new beginnings and a bit of modernity was slipping in as the Edwardian era was slipping away Downton Abbey was the most popular drama in the history of p.b.s. And now it is back Crawley's and their servants are preparing for a visit from the king and the Queen their big close up Downton Abbey the movie opens today and Morning Edition and Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan joins me to talk about it hi there Kenny Hey David So how is everyone holding up and down and did they hold up well going from from the television screen to the movie screen while they surprisingly did you know these things are never a sure thing on what I think they've got 20 members from the t.v. Cast switched over to the theatrical film that's a lot of people to make room for but they all fit very nicely and Kenny the house the estates I felt like it came alive on the big screen in a way that it didn't really on t.v. I mean 1st of all it's a real place it's called high clear so when it's blown up to the big screen it's not like a set that looks chintzy and you can see the seams this is a real dining room a real library and you see some of the grounds the grounds it turns out I didn't know this word landscape by a man with one of my favorite names Capability Brown of that he's a famous landscape architect and he did the original high clear grounds and they were great I was amazed watching it at how many plot lines they were able to squeeze and I left like counting them to did that did that work for you yeah I mean because it's somewhere to what the t.v. Show does they tease some things some things get a few seconds some things are the main themes and I felt that they really focused on 2 main lines here I think for me they were the 2 main themes of this 11 is that downstairs it turns out that the royals calm with their own servants and their own servants are very snooty they're snooty or the king and queen Yeah turns out and up stairs the Dowager Countess Maggie Smith No one else is dealing with succession issue. Who is going to run things in the future and that also becomes an interesting plot So those are the 2 main ones for me but there's all kinds of other ones that are kind of peeking in around the edges I don't think Maggie Smith could shine any more than she does in the television series but she really did I mean Maggie Smith is a great actress she's had an astonishing career and she just nails this part Julian Fellowes who created the show wouldn't write so most of the episodes and who wrote this he knows how to write that character she knows how to play it she stole everything she was in on the t.v. Series and she steals the movie so the show down Abby was this period piece but it was never like encased in amber time definitely moves on. Does the present make itself felt in this world of a wrist a present servants in this film the feeling I think only around the edges I mean Lady Mary has a very severe very $920.00 s. Hairdo which makes you think boy this is in the old days and you know they worry about the future of Downton Abbey as a place can it keep going but that's really in the background you know I think the great thing about this show is that they have a lot of problems but these are soluble problems we feel that they're going to come to a resolution in real life when you face things like direct that it almost doesn't seem like there is a solution so we want to go back to this world where no matter how difficult the problems seem when they're present that they can't work it out that's a wonderful thing. Morning Edition and l.a. Times film critic Kenneth Turan talking about Downton Abbey the movie which opens today thanks thank you get 969 was a transformative year in this country and you can really hear that in the music a look at. N.P.R.'s Ashley Westerman has this story about the surprising number one song of 1969 who knew that the year that produced the Stonewall riots a man on the moon and Woodstock would have a number one song like. Yes that's sugar sugar by the arch it hit number one for the 1st time on this day in 1969 and it went on to become the overall number one song of that year it was very . Catchy it had a great hook it was very single and we laughed we had a good time doing it singer songwriter Tony wind was one of the real people behind the Archies a made up band based on characters from a comic that comic became an animated t.v. Series and a band called together by legendary music producer Don Kirshner he had already done the monkeys and the Archies came up it was a Screen Gems cartoon program and they needed voices and he asked me and Ronnie Dante to do those voices. Initially released in May of 1969 Sugar Sugar didn't hit the. Charts until July Andy Kim co-wrote the song with Jeff Berry and says At 1st the stations wouldn't play it I had no idea what was going on except that a lot of people in the know were putting the song in the record down as if it was fluff it didn't really mean anything there was no value to it. But once radio did play it there was no looking back the Archies became the 1st group to hit number one without ever performing live on stage its popularity was thanks in part to some genius marketing that slapped the record on the cereal boxes on Super Sugar get up to 3 Archie record. A wish he would also hit number one in countries around the world such as Belgium South Africa and the u.k. Again songwriter Andy cam I was really really blown away by the fact that it became record of the year over the years Sugar Sugar has been covered by Tom Jones Tina Turner and Wilson Pickett. Prior to. The song also remains a moment of levity for those who lived through the 1960 s. And seventy's when so much was happening indie Kim says at the time he didn't understand the magnitude of it all till I got a little older and and then saw it from a different point of view and now 50 years later I'm I'm looking at it all from from someone who was on the back porch of his days and it's kind of really sweet. Actually Westerman n.p.r. News. This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News our theme music is inspired by b.j. Lederman I'm Noel King and I'm Rachel Martin. This is. H d one San Louis a bespoke h.d. One San Ardo and k.s. B.x. Santa Barbara good morning good morning southeast Texas has been hit by catastrophic flooding officials in Houston say many people were unprepared leading some to flee We'll have the latest this hour on Morning Edition from n.p.r. News. The complex story involving the president Congress and a whistleblower gets more complex I'm Rachel Martin and I'm now well King students from across the world will ditch school today to draw attention to climate change. Tonight many of the leading Democratic presidential candidates will take part in a forum focused on. Issues churches conservative and progressive get involved in the push to register voters it is Friday September 20th Italian actress and singer Sophie 5 years old. And the news is next. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm nor rom Congress and the White House are in a standoff over a whistle blower's complaint involving a conversation between the president and a foreign leader the government's intelligence watchdog called the complaint serious and urgent but the administration won't release it to the Congress the inspector general appeared before the House Intelligence Committee yesterday in a closed session but declined to reveal the substance of the complaint N.P.R.'s Greg my re says the committee chairman is not giving up Adam Schiff says he's going to keep trying he's called the acting director of National Intelligence Joseph McGuire to testify in an open hearing next Thursday September 26th he also says he might sue to get this information if he can't get it that way the Trump administration is expected to push back the president has spoken out he tweeted yesterday saying does anybody think that I would say something inappropriate in a call with a foreign leader N.P.R.'s Greg Meiring Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he now supports more money for election security as N.P.R.'s miles parks reports Democrats and election security advocates say it's a start McConnell says the Senate will approve allocating $250000000.00 toward election administration and security across the country that would be in addition to the $380000000.00 that the federal government allocated last year McConnell resisted calls for more funding for months but announced a change of heart on the Senate floor Thursday Democrats one of the money to come with new election policy regulations but this funding won't have those McConnell Republicans consider attaching those sorts of strings an overreach by the federal government election security advocates are celebrating the announcement but also say that in the long term States need consistent funding that they can plan on not this type of one off annual windfall miles parks n.p.r. News Washington New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told m s n b c This morning he's dropping out of the race for the Democratic presidential nominee. Students around the world are skipping class today as a protest calling on adults to do more about climate change N.P.R.'s Jeff Brady is in New York where one of the largest strikes is planned 16 year old Swedish activist gratitude Berg arrived here last month on an a mission free sailboat she and fellow activist will lead a March past city hall to the southern tip of Manhattan began her school strike for climate about a year ago it's grown into a global movement that has inspired teens even in small towns like Le Grande Oregon that's where 17 year old Nicholas Du Vernay says he hopes a few dozen people will attend his protest the plan is to meet Max Square which is like the center of town and we're going to March after high school and meet in the courtyard area a few school districts are giving strikers excused absences today including New York and Portland Oregon Jeff Brady n.p.r. News New York this is n.p.r. News. Support for n.p.r. Comes from the Conrad and Hilton Foundation awarding the $2000000.00 Hilton humanitarian prize to a nonprofit organization information about Prize recipients and nominations is that Hilton Foundation dot org slash Prior's and Americans for the arts it's 5 o 4 on Friday morning September 20th I'm Carol Tanja men with news automakers who want their all electric vehicles to qualify for California's rebate program would face a new requirement under a bill set to come up in January only to. Manufacture. This. Program would have cars eligible so rebates Democratic assemblyman filtering is the bill's author he says those fuel efficiency standards are the same ones the trumpet ministration revoked Thursday by pulling a waiver California had been granted it allowed the state to have tougher emission standards then the federal government team says under his bill hybrids would not qualify for a rebate or limit to resources we should only. Have Cheers between. It's on the range for automakers Ford Honda Vokes wagon and b.m.w. One around the trumpet ministration in July and agreed to make vehicles that would meet California's tougher emission standards. And a California State University University moderate Bay campus police are warning students about potentially lethal counterfeit pills being sold around the central coast. Come a hony report this past weekend campus police officers responded to a student suspected of having an overdose officers administered 2 doses of Narc hand it's the antidote to an opioid overdose paramedics said without this quick response the student may have died. According to campus police the student said they took one percocet pill police believe it was counterfeit and laced with fentanyl a synthetic opioid no wrap a hand with university communications says if anyone has pills that were not provided by a pharmacy turn them in they can either go to the police department or they can go to the health center if they would prefer to go to the health center and turn calls in their anonymously earlier this month the Santa Clara County district attorney's office said law enforcement agencies across the county have seized large numbers of counterfeit Percocet pills they look just like the legitimate pills except they have Sentinel instead of oxy Co Down the D.A.'s office says it's led to a major increase in fatal overdoses officers i Cal State Monterey Bay have been carrying our canned for about 18 months Dr Casey Grover is medical director of the emergency department at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula I'm just grateful that law enforcement Monterey County has been so quick to embrace and take on this new skill for them Grover says if you're going to have opioids in your home you can go to a pharmacy and get nor can without a prescription to protect loved ones. News coverage of California and the Central Coast will continue in about half an hour. The time is now 507. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Noel King and I'm Rachel Martin it is likely to be another difficult day in and around Houston Texas overnight officials there worked to clear freeways and abandon vehicles after Tropical Storm Amelle that reversed course and hit Houston and southeast Texas for a 2nd time Michael Marks is a reporter with the Texas standard and he joins us from the outskirts of Houston this morning Michael thanks for being here thanks for having me I understand it's been really tough for you to actually get to parts of this area of Texas that have been hard hit by the flooding where do things stand right now yeah that's right so I'm actually in Cypress which is a suburb northwest of Houston so I'm fairly close to areas of Houston that flooded not that close to the rural areas to the west that were really profoundly affected those places that got over 40 inches of water dumped on them in less than 48 hours when I tried to get there yesterday the roads were just.