O.-r. G. . Funding for here and now comes from math works creators of Matlab and Simulink software accelerating the pace of engineering and science learn more at Mathworks dot com from n.p.r. And Boston I'm Robin Young and I'm Jeremy Hobson. Coming up after nearly 2 years of a budget impasse Illinois lawmakers come together to try to compromise with the governor no luck so far political parties are calling it a sham session because they're just gambling in for a couple of minutes most days also president of the new leader of South Korea President moon will meet top of mind North Korea I think you know with the unpredictable nature of President Trump and also what's known of president that he tends to be somewhat more favorably disposed toward North Korea we can expect a little bit of tension and a House committee moves a step closer to opening the long stalled nuclear waste depository and President terms tweets under fire even some g.o.p. Senators say today he stepped over the line coming up here now is his 1st. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying the tribe administration's travel ban takes effect tonight days after the Supreme Court said it was Ok until it could review the full executive order this fall the 90 day ban affects visitors from 6 Muslim majority countries deemed not to have bonafide relationships with institutions or individuals in the u.s. Having extended families such as grandparents aunts uncles or fiancés would not qualify someone for a v. Set N.P.R.'s Joel Rose reports on how the impact of this ban is likely to be different from the 1st time it went into effect before the lower courts intervene the Department of Homeland Security says they're expecting business as usual and there are actually a couple of reasons to expect that this will be less chaotic the State Department says people who already have visas in hand can use them to travel that no one is going to have a visa canceled in the air this time which I think was a big source of confusion in January during the 1st travel ban N.P.R.'s Joel Rose reporting more than 40 percent of voters cast their ballots before Election Day last year part of a big shift in how Americans vote N.P.R.'s Pam Fessler has more on that and other findings in a new report by the u.s. Election Assistance Commission the American electorate is increasingly going for convenience according to the a c. Report one in 4 voters cast ballots by mail last year another 17 percent voted early and while only about 5 percent of new voters registered online for the 2012 elections more than 17 percent did so last year voter participation was up slightly from 2012 more than 140000000 Americans almost 2 thirds of those eligible foetid in last year's elections one thing did not change many election offices reported having a difficult time recruiting poll workers last year more than half of them were age 61 or older Pam Fessler n.p.r. News Washington the good when fire in central Arizona now spans run. $25000.00 acres forced officials monitoring the blaze south of Prescot say it's burning out of control still from member station k.n. a Year Ryan hunches says more communities were evacuated yesterday thousands of residents are out of their homes with the Goodwin fire more than quadrupling in recent days it's burning in thick vegetation in dry conditions on the Prescott National Forest but Todd Abel with the fire management team expects crews to increase containment of the wildfire winds are going to be down today we're looking at 10 to 12 mile per hour winds today which will help the firefighters that's what caused all those issues the days prior to the wind driven nearly a 1000 personnel are now fighting the good wind fire but residents in the town of Mayer have been allowed to return to their homes Governor Doug Doocy has declared a state of emergency and you have a Pike County in the central and western part of the state for n.p.r. News I'm Ryan hunches in Flagstaff the Dow is now down more than 200 points this is n.p.r. . There's new evidence that some widely used pesticides are harming b s but the amount of damage depends on local conditions N.P.R.'s Dan Charles has the evidence comes from large scale studies in Canada and Europe many agricultural seeds in the u.s. Are coated with so-called new Nick it's annoyed pesticides before they're planted and there's been a global debate about whether those chemicals kill bees in Europe scientists monitored honey bees and wild bees on 33 farms in 3 countries and found that those living near new nicht annoyed treated crops generally did not survive as well but there were exceptions in Germany where b. Colonies were relatively free of parasites and had more wild flowers to feed on the pesticides didn't seem to harm them another study in Canada found that bees living near cornfields get potentially harmful doses of the pesticides all summer long both studies appear in this week's issue of the journal Science Dan Charles n.p.r. News 21st Century Fox is bid to acquire the sky pay t.v. And broadband network is on hold in the u.k. Regulators say they're concerned that might give Rupert Murdoch's family too much power in Britain's media industry Murdoch's media group has a sizeable stake in sky and its attempting to have full control where u.s. Stocks are sharply lower the sour the Dow is down 200 points 221254 s. And p. Is down $26.00 to $2414.00 The Nasdaq is down $126.00 points at $6108.00 it is down more than 2 percent as m.p. And Dow down roughly one percent this is n.p.r. News support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Stations other contributors include the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the estate of Joan Kroc whose bequest serves as an enduring investment in the future of public radio and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at our w j f dot org. The phrase currency manipulation the loose definition of other countries messing with exchange rates it can hurt the economy cost American jobs so what to do we've never thought of we it's a war in which people are firing at us and we never are I'm the currency battle on Marketplace weekdays at 3 in the afternoon also at 6 30 in the evening on k.c.a.l. You live online a k.c.a.l. You Don. From n.p.r. And I'm Robin Young I'm Jeremy Hobson is here and now and we are coming up on July 1st which is a critical day for businesses and governments for many it's the beginning of the new fiscal year and in Illinois July 1st would mark 2 years without a budget the Republican governor Bruce rounder has been an odds with the Democratic legislature and for the last 9 days they've been in a special legislative session to try to hammer out a deal here's runner so once again we asked lawmakers to please do what is right for our state focus on the next generation and not just the next election for more we're joined by Niall abou who hosts the 21st to state wide public radio program produced by Illinois Public Media. Jeremy Ed so far it looks like in this special legislative session not a lot is getting done what's been happening right Jeremy actually it's an interesting thing there are some state reporters who are even taken to calling this political reporters are calling it a sham session because the actual part of a session you might think there is lawmakers who are meeting and talking about everything they're just gaveling in for a couple of minutes most days literally I'm talking about like 7 to 10 minutes but what we do what happens is they then leave and they kind of are then working out backroom deals which is basically the only way this will get done and yesterday we did actually see leaders meeting Democrats and Republicans and the significant thing that reporters are reading into the tea leaves is after the meeting they're not talking very much which for us is a good sign because it means they're not complaining about each other that much they're really trying to work out a deal hopefully what is the fundamental disagreement here between the Republican governor and the Democratic legislature Well Governor around or for has for 3 years Jeremy had this turn around agenda he's had that he wants to reform the state he said we can't have a budget without it he's whittle that down he had a huge list of things he's down to about half a dozen issues now but what he wants there's reform on things like workers' compensation term limits property tax freezes. They don't necessarily have to do with a budget but he's saying I won't sign a budget until we get agreement on these other issues and the Democrats say no way the Democrats are saying House Speaker Michael Madigan who has been in office by the way longer than you and I have been alive he has been in I don't want to a house he has said these would hurt the middle class in Illinois These are deals that would harm people and he's saying no I don't I don't want to do this and meanwhile as this stalemate has gone on over the last couple of years the state has really struggled more than most other states in this country economically Oh I mean I think struggle is probably an understatement for me it's pretty much a disaster I mean if you look at our credit rating we're close to junk rating a year ago there was one study that said 1000000 people in Illinois it's poorest residents had lost social services we're looking at public universities facing a loss of national accreditation k. Through 12 public school superintendents across the state saying they don't have money to open in the fall I talked to a hospital yesterday small a c.e.o. Of a small hospital in southern Illinois he's saying the state owes him $2000000.00 for his hospital and that's just for compensation for state workers who are coming to his hospital and they're just not paying insurance so who do Illinois blame for this I think given what it's to me is you know I think Illinois is don't have a very high opinion of government to begin with and I think who you to pick blame depends on what party you're from if you're a Republican you blame the Democrats and you say that House Speaker Michael Madigan is the real power center in the state and he hasn't done anything to move the needle if you're a Democrat you blame Governor around or and you say that he's crippling the particularly the public school system and social services and he's the real problem here so again you know kind of like a lot of our national issues I think it probably depends what party you're for although in Illinois there are a lot more Democrats that's very true in this. Very true so let's just play out the 2 possibilities what if they reach a deal in the next days that possible I think it's anything is possible but I don't know that it's particularly likely governor runner has said he will continue to ask that lawmakers meet in a special session every day after these 10 days through the weekend through the 4th of July holiday because Friday really is a big day Jeremy Friday by the end of the day is when for example there's more than 900 construction projects across the state all of those workers get pink slips on Friday there's even lottery sales Powerball sales stop being sold in Illinois last night because it's a multi-state lottery and there's no appropriation to pay them and by the way if anyone buys an Illinois lottery ticket and you win more than $25000.00 the state says they don't know when they're going to pay you and what if there is no deal by the end of the week that's a really tough thing right because this is where we've been basically for this is the 3rd year that we've been in this situation where there has not been a permanent budget I do think what we've seen in the past have been sort of stopgap measures where they passed 6 months things both parties have said that's something they're very opposed to they really do want to have a full budget in place I think a lot of people are hopeful now especially over the past 24 hours that maybe they're actually talking together maybe there's a possibility by next week they could get together to form a budget but at this point Jeremy we're almost 3 years into this I don't think anyone's going to make any predictions about what will happen other than that it will get worse for Illinois that I am confident in saying things will just get worse for the state and it's already very bad very distressing situation in Illinois who hosts the 21st that's a public radio program produced by Illinois Public Media Thank you thanks army well on a day when senators Republicans have been to kill or are scrambling to find some kind of agreement on their health care bill president personal tweets about emmas the b.c. Hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough are taking the oxygen out of Washington this morning Trump called Scarboro psycho. Joe and Brzezinski low i.q. Crazy Mika and said they insisted on joining him at Mar a Lago around New Year's Eve he said no she was bleeding badly from a facelift Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse tweeted please just stop this isn't normal and it's beneath the dignity of your office in a statement m s n b c said it's a sad day for America when the president spends his time bullying lying and spewing petty personal attacks instead of doing his job c.n.n. Tweeted we stand with meek and Joe But White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended the tweets on Fox news this morning this is a president who fights fire with fire and certainly not be allowed to be bullied by the liberal media and the liberal elites for the media are Hollywood or anywhere else I get are joining us now n.p.r. Media correspondent David Folkenflik David for people of that opinion who feel look it's a president who fights fire with fire or why are we right now even talking about tweets Why is this jumping out. It's not fighting fire with fire it's fighting fire with false personal attacks it's got nothing to do with the merits of the arguments that are being made against the president he's attacking Mika Brzezinski personally and for her looks and what appears to be it's hard to argue that it's anything but sexist and it's you know it is if anybody other than the president United States were doing it we'd say it's beneath contempt so it's hard not to come to that same conclusion for the president and certainly numerous senators of his own party are saying much the same today you know he's he's responding it appears to quote that she made remarks she made this morning about this report which was humorous and embarrassing for the president that he had put up a centrally fake Time magazine covers lauding him lionizing him that had been invented and she said this is a quote that people are pointing to today quote Nothing makes a man feel better than making a fake cover of a magazine about himself lying every day and destroying the country now those are tough words and at the same time they're not about his looks they're about his actions and about his leadership as president and states you're open to that only he thinks it's illegitimate and his defenders and really his apologists are the ones going out of their way to contort themselves to somehow make this about the journalistic practices the media Well Fox News was holding an interview with Sarah Huckabee Sanders They waited about 9 minutes after the tweets to bring them up but host Bill Hemmer pushed back here's part of one exchange. The president again is it going to be somebody who is bullied and allows people himself and those around him to be personally I would argue there's always going to punch back and he's not going to fire the 1st shot and perhaps he feels the criticism toward him has done more and I think the outrage is always exist take place on that show day in and day out not just at the present not against his policies not against things that he's pushing but there are personal in there not just directed at him but again everyone around him Look this came during an intensification of attacks on the media the New York Times The Washington Post c.n.n. David I'm reading my Twitter feed it's on fire with people saying this is to deflect from a failed health care bill and it could have political and the implications on c.n.n. Republican Congressman Tom Reed of New York was asked about the tweets and how they might affect the stalled debate over the health care plan. Well obviously I was just made aware of that wait and don't know the context of the exchange but obviously concerned about that type of language and maybe the intent is to distract from the health care debate but I want to be part of the debate that's impacting the American people David the g.o.p. Needs to win over 2 female Republican senators Lisa Murkowski in Maine Susan Collins Collins tweeted this morning this has to stop listen you cannot argue that Donald Trump is a grand master strategist you know he is a gut fighter and Boxer and puncher and you know even the spokeswoman for his for it the 1st lady Maloney a Trump said today if you're going to hit him effectively she said if you're going to hit him he's going to come back at 10 times harder as Jake Tapper c.n.n. Pointed out this morning in Maloney a Trump is supposedly spearheading a drive against cyber bullying which what Donald Trump does the president does on a fairly regular basis seems to exemplify on Twitter so I think that what you have here is that you know he is frustrated at the moment the Senate health care bill is registering support in about the teens I guess if you look at a number of polls even lower in at least one other poll and there is he's big events in frustration but he's doing it on the most minute and personalized things possible it is true that Mika Brzezinski made fun of what he called his little hands it's been a source of mockery that he's had from for years from satirist here in New York and it has nothing to do with his governing if you want to be president you have to be able to take some of these lumps David Folkenflik thank you. You've heard it before American families divided by colonies yes I am pro and she is on time but we're not actually talking about President Trump the president of the Philippines right Rigo do tear today as an equally divisive figure the whole country is up in the air we hope for the best but prepare have to expect the worst why some Filipino ex-pats defend him and others hate him the latest on President Tom's travel ban on the next morning edition start your day with Morning Edition until mine every week Dan k.c.l. You and Jack a partial travel ban to the u.s. Goes into effect tonight for nationals of 6 countries in the Middle East and Africa the partial approval of the president's executive order bars people with no bonafide relationship inside the u.s. Either through business or family ties bases that have already been approved will not be revoked NATO is agreeing to send another 3000 troops to Afghanistan to train and work alongside Afghan security forces it's still unclear which member states will contribute the troops and how many u.s. Is also expected to increase its own troop presence a federal report says the majority of hate crimes in the u.s. Go unreported study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics finds more than half of the quarter 1000000 hate crimes committed between 20042015 were never brought to police respondents say they didn't feel it was important enough or that police would help you're listening to here and now. I'm Tom asked for coming up on the next one point g.o.p. Health care plans on hold cyber attacks go global a partial travel ban is on our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines plus just in time for the 4th of July we've got your hot summer reading list from the hate you give to Eleanor hall up on is completely fine all cued up that's coming up on the next on polling from n.p.r. Between 9 and 11 every weekday after Morning Edition on k.c.a.l. You. I'm Ira Flatow on the next Science Friday how safety and security are being compromised at the nation's nuclear weapons labs Plus how our appetites are influenced by plate color glass shapes and even the sound of a beer being poured It's the latest in gastronomy science or gastro physics on Science Friday from n.p.r. On tomorrow from 11 in the morning till one of the afternoon on k.c. Only the funding for here and now comes from the listeners of w.b. You are Boston and Geico celebrating over 75 years of providing auto insurance for drivers across America more information on auto insurance available at Geico dot com or 180947 auto This is here and now the Syrian conflict is in its 6th year around $470000.00 people have died and ISIS has set up its defacto capital in rocka in order to defeat ISIS in Syria the u.s. Has started arming Kurdish forces called the wipe they're operating as part of the Syrian democratic forces and since May they've been getting any mission small arms and vehicles from the u.s. That has infuriated Turkey which sees the Syrian Kurds as an extension of a terror group that they fought since the 1980 s. Joining us now to talk about the ups and downs of arming the Kurds is Raj allowed in a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Doha he's on Skype and Nicholas Harris a fellow in the Middle East security program at the Center for a New American Security and let me start with you Nicholas Harris the u.s. Supplied arms to the Syrian Kurds you think that's a good idea why. The u.s. Has a narrowly focused mission which is to conduct the counter ISIS campaign and in order to facilitate the capture of ISIS as capital of Raka the u.s. Military has determined that it has the ability to maintain a limited supply of are meant to particularly units within the Kurdish majority peoples protection units which is within the larger Syrian democratic forces coalition and this is a focused mission it's not about providing a blank check or an open inventory of weapons for Syrian Kurds is about empowering in certain elements of the Syrian democratic forces coalition that will be in the beginning and the the tip of the spear of the campaign to conquer aka runs you say this could backfire spectacularly on the u.s. . Well I think and it was said the word that I've been thinking a lot which is narrowly focused mission the problem here is not so much what the u.s. Starts I think everybody agrees. Is the most effective Western friendly force capable 'd of confronting ices capable of liberating Iraq or the problem is what the u.s. Isn't doing and that's adding a political component to its strategy it's engagement you need to have an ally that is willing to engage with other actors that is inclusive that engages with the principles of good governance of the rule of law because if that does not happen than then act will become a liability in the future there will be multiple conflicts challenges and problems to deal with once record is liberated Well what about the issue that's come up time and time again when the u.s. Arms a group to try to achieve its military goals which is that some of the people that we arm end up fighting against us well I think with the they were the Syrian Kurds in general whether that's the y.p. Cheel the other multiple Kurdish actors the Us will have no problems there because historically the Kurds have generally been Western friend the Western aligned actors they've generally looked to the u.s. As a superpower that can give them that legitimacy the white b.g. Is a secular force at the same time as well its ideology isn't oriented around attacking the us or attacking Western targets unlike for example some of the Islamist groups you have in Syria the White b.g. Certainly doesn't fit into that category of anti western anti American ideals Nicholas do you agree that there's not a risk that by arming the y.p. Gee that later on they'll end up using those weapons against u.s. Interests I agree that the y.p. G. Is an unlikely force to turn its web. Ns against the United States the u.s. Has a real opportunity here to try to promote authentically pluralistic governance in an area of Syria that has historically been repressed there is a real need for the Trump administration to define what it wants to do with territory that's been conquered from ISIS and how if it wants to continue to maintain a residual u.s. Force in eastern Syria how it plans to prevent communal conflict in this area so that there can be a stable area of Syria and you have a local security force that represents the various different communities that have raised their hands and said yes we want to fight with the u.s. Against ISIS and we look for a better future for Syria but some people may hear you say that and think well is that we've kind of been trying to do in Iraq and Afghanistan and it hasn't really worked out the way that people would have liked. Well the issue at hand is that the Obama administration made the decision in the end of 2014 that it wanted to conduct a Connor ISIS campaign via a quote unquote light footprint approach which means that minimises the the number of u.s. Soldiers are around in Syria so it decided to go with a to build up a local Syrian partner force to make it a multi-ethnic force and to him to support that force as it went in conquered territory from ISIS Unfortunately neither the Obama administration more it seems at this point the Trump in the distraction has really thought through what is the price of success for the u.s. Led coalition in Syria you know that in some respects the u.s. Could and up by the end of the Connor ISIS campaign over de facto control or influence over 40 percent of Syria's territory and a quarter of its population and that presents numerous challenges for the what is the phase 4 or the post I. This governance consolidation security build in face and I agree with the idea that if the u.s. Is going to invest in these local Syrian partners there may need to be a real detailed articulation from the trunk ministration of how it plans to make sure that that area of Syria that is conquered from ISIS will be stable and will will minimize conflict and we'll provide for their people run July what are your thoughts on the the idea of whether you can really successfully outsource a fight to another group in have it work out for you in the end I don't blame any American or anybody else that points towards the the blot on the treasure that has been spilt in places like Iraq there's been billions of dollars invested in Iraq in the state and the country has very little to show for it but I think in this particular case ISIS did represent an imminent threat not just to the region but we've seen with the number of recent attacks that it is a transnational international terrorist group that has the capacity to either direct or inspire attacks in America and so forth so something had to be done hence the triggering of the u.s. Led military campaign against ISIS but in the case of the Kurds you do have reliable actors that I capable of militarily defeating these groups but as we saw in Iraq what we really did was contain the threat of terrorism we never really eliminated the threat itself we never really suppressed fully the space that allows these groups to thrive to operate well let me ask you Nicholas about Turkey's objections to the us arming the y p g This is the Secretary of Defense James Mattis after the u.s. Made its announcement about arming them. And can't is to work with the Turks with alongside one another to take rocket down and we are going to sort it out will figure out how we're going to do it but we're all committed to it we will work. To our NATO allies and our best way forward war sometimes doesn't give you all good options of the major war is it worth upsetting the Turks to this degree in order to arm the y. P.g. . Well the Obama administration and the trumpet ministration have both made the calculation that the alliance with the Syrian democratic forces coalition of which the y. P.g. Is a pot is valuable for conducting the Congress his campaign if the u.s. Objective in Syria is to defeat ISIS However it defines that and then to walk away then you could see an expansion of the Turkish zone of influence that has been formed in northern Syria which in and of itself would cause a conflict with the local Kurdish community which does not want to see expansion of the Turkish zone and also the placement of Turkish backed militias in their areas or alternatively if there is u.s. Investment and I agree that there if there is u.s. Investment in in prevail support and good governance in promoting local economies in trying to create in a genuinely pan sectarian pan ethnic security force that is that is representative of the local communities over which the federal northern Syrian region is being built that's the s.d.f. Built region of Syria right that's backed by the u.s. Then you may be able to mitigate over the long term potential conflict between Turkey and Syrian Kurdish areas but it's a difficult it's a difficult challenge and it's a dilemma over and let me just finally end with you and ask how often does the u.s. Or any other country that arms a group go back and get the arms when they're done with the conflict that's very difficult question but I think that you would need to have. Syria's president on the ground we've seen historically that once you give armed groups any armed group whether it's the Kurds or Arabs Islamists you name it once you give them weapons it becomes strongly difficult to take it back because they unless you have mechanisms in place you need to have a physical presence to physically get hold of the weapons right but also if the mechanisms on in place and agreed upon between the respective parties you can get those weapons back because I'm by mechanisms pacifically I mean what happens if the armed group doesn't provide it doesn't give the weapons back what happens in that case are the penalties on the repercussions and the u.s. Simply isn't in a position to demand. Of the y.p. Cheat that it gives those weapons back so I think that's probably posturing just to please the Turks and opponents of the decision to arm the white beaches. That's Runge been visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Doha We've also been speaking with Nicholas Harris a fellow in the Middle East security program at the Center for a New American Security thanks to both of you thanks very much pleasure thank you. And you're listening to here and now. West Virginia has the highest drug overdose death rate in the country on the next fresh air Margaret Talbot talks about her New Yorker story the addicts next door detailing the impact of the opioid epidemic in poor West Virginia towns also actor Sam Elliot if you don't know the name you'll recognize his voice and moustache he stars in the new film The hero join us fresh air between one and 2 we Day Afternoon Also at 8 in the evening on k.c.a.l. You live online a k.c.a.l. You dot org And at the k.c.a.l. You app. Yes. The phrase currency manipulation the loose definition of other countries messing with the exchange rate it can hurt the economy cost American jobs so what to do we've never thought of we it's a war in which people are firing at us and we never are I'm car result the currency battle next Ahman marketplace weekdays at 3 in the afternoon also at 6 30 in the evening on k.c.a.l. You live online a k c o u dot org. Music in This American Life I have no idea what gave me the confidence as a 12 year old to take some books out of the butt of my County Public Library about Magic put together a show and then just start advertising to perform at kids' birthday parties I did magic shows for years and said one of the producers on our radio program David Kestenbaum and this week he and I dive back into that world too on all kinds of things that we never knew about his kid magicians This American Life between noon and one Saturday also a 5 Sunday afternoon on k.c.a.l. You funding for here and now comes from the listeners of w.b. You are Boston where the program is produced and your n.p.r. Station math works creators of Matlab and Simulink software for technical computing and model based design math works exonerating the pace of discovery in engineering and science learn more at Mathworks dot com and a.d.t. Security helping to protect families and homes for over 140 years learn more at a.d.t. Dot com. From n.p.r. And Boston I'm Robin Young It's here now and it's been a good summer to stand outside major league ballparks you can catch something hitters are swinging for the fences we're not even halfway through this season and there have already been nearly $3000.00 homers if the pace continues the 7 all time record for homers in a single season right now the record is $5693.00 runs hit during the 2000 baseball season so what's up Mike Pesca is here now sports analyst he has the daily podcast the gist at Slate dot com Mike Ken David of writes in The New York Post there are 3 components to a homerun ball player one to you things going on wow that's trenchant analysis. There are of course a number of factors and we could go through a lot of them but I think what is likely going on and it can be a combination of things this can be what they call an overdetermined phenomenon but I think there's something called the fly ball revolution and what it is is that batters themselves are literally attempting to hit more home runs now you would say well that doesn't make sense why wouldn't batters always attempt to hit home runs time was if you asked a batter we're trying to hit a home run on that day they would always say No I was just trying to get a good line drive I'm trying to hit it as far as as well as I can and if it goes out of the park it goes out of the park but then they started measuring these things and it turns out that the batteries who have a launch angle in other words they kind of have a little more of an uppercut are much more successful at hitting home runs exit velocity which is the speed of the ball off the bat comes into play and this was known for a while but it's really pervasive now and these stats are often on t.v. And on highlights and as some players see other players adjust their swings to more of an uppercut and certain players have become superstars having tweak their swings I think of John Josh Donaldson and it becomes the newest trend I'm going to try to swing for the fences and literally it's working but there are other phenomenon phenomena at stake here well Davidoff does go a little deeper he talks about pitching a batting coach is seeing Seems that are different the ball are stronger grains of wood in the bat but is there concern that you know anything is juiced including the player. Ok there are doesn't Verlander Tigers pitcher was talking about the ball there's nothing there are seams literally holding it together but he's saying that you know used to be able to really feel them on your fingers and that you can't and they did a lot of studies of the balls are different in the balls may be different I don't think that's been demonstrably ruled out especially last season when there was a huge uptick in home runs in the middle of the season that never happens as far as P.E.D.'s there's a very good testing protocol in place that doesn't mean they're not used performance enhancers in fact we know they are because players get suspended on the other hand players are getting suspended and the weird thing is we always conflate performance enhancing or steroids with bulk and home runs but you know proportionately more people who are suspended more players who are suspended or pitchers so they maybe have been getting at least the ones caught have been getting helped more by performance enhancers which would seem to indicate that the home runs would be going to and also small slight players use P.E.D.'s I think of d. Gordon suspended for 80 games Scott hardly has any home runs so p.d.s. Can help you do a lot of things behind besides hit the ball out of the park I want to make sure you get this in the seconds we have players are running faster. They are running faster they have a good metric that measures speed in terms of feet per 2nd and in general the best stolen bass players are the fastest players but I love Paul Goldschmidt who's a 1st baseman his $122.00 bases in his career the average rate of a major league player is 27 feet perspire 2nd he runs point one second slower than that he's slower than average and one of the base dealers he's very smart about how he steals and very smart Mike Pesca thank you very much thank you is here. With your south coast weather forecast on k.c.a.l. You I'm lost and my are cloudy skies clearing the sunshine though the beaches may remain overcast throughout the day be chives in the Santa Barbara area in the seventy's mid sixty's for Ventura County inland highs upper seventy's to mid eighty's that includes the can a ho and Simi Valley and look for that same weather pattern to repeat tomorrow with slightly warmer temperatures Moorpark has a forecast high of 76 today goal lead of 76 and 1000 Oaks 79 this is k.c.a.l. You. Jack the partial travel ban approved by the Supreme Court is due to go into effect tonight the measure bars travel to the u.s. By residents of 6 countries in the Middle East and Africa if they have no family or business ties in the u.s. Supreme Court has set to hear arguments on the full ban ordered by the president later this year British authorities are pausing a plan takeover of Sky television by 21st Century Fox Britain's culture secretary says the takeover could give Rupert Murdoch and his family too much control over British media merge company would be the 3rd largest source of television news in the u.k. U.s. Mortgage rates are dropping to their lowest level of the year mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Says the average 30 year fixed rate loan rate now stands at 3.88 percent down from $3.00 last week 15 year fixed rate loans were unchanged at 3.17 You're listening to here and now. You've heard it before American families divided by politics yes I am pro and she is I'm right but we're not actually talking about President Trump the president of the Philippines right Rigo do tear today is an equally divisive figure in the whole country is up in the air we hope for the best but prepare have to expect the worst why some Filipino ex-pats defend him and others hate him the latest on President Trump's travel ban on the next morning edition start your day with Morning Edition until mine every weekday on k.c.a.l. You tell it to the spices this Michigan woman cooked meals for total strangers I turned to my husband so let's invite some people over for dinner strangers that might have never met a Muslim before and allow them the opportunity to get to know the real Islam and total strangers do come 10 at a time to eat and talk with real Muslims who cook really well dinner with a Muslim on the world between 2 and 3 week day afternoons Also at 7 weekday evenings on k c o u Public Radio. Funding for here and now comes from w.v.u. Our Boston and college find where college mentors selected from Harvard Northeastern and other schools work with high school students through a near peer mentorship to help students discover their passions build resumes and start the college application process college Vine dot com and Geico offering auto insurance coverage for cars trucks or S.U.V.s and providing 247 customer service more information on auto insurance at Geico dot com or 180947 auto. This is here and now the House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved a bill aimed at restarting a massive underground repository for nuclear waste Yucca Mountain is about 100 miles from Las Vegas and was designated as the country's long term storage site for nuclear waste back in 1907 but decades of opposition have mothballed the project and it has been unused for years proponents of the plan have allies in the administration of President Trump For more on this we're joined by Yvonne Gonzalez a reporter with the Las Vegas Sun. Hello and how significant is this vote in the Energy and Commerce Committee Well it's moving forward a piece of legislation that Nevada really really really doesn't want and that well this repository project could go forward without the legislation this really sets it up so that the project really pushes forward it's been hemmed in by the fact that you know depending on the administration and the way the wind is blowing they receive funding or don't receive funding and as of now after the Obama administration their projects been completely dismantled so this bill really pushes that forward and one of the people who was very much against this project was Harry Reid who was the Senate minority leader so is his departure one of the reasons why this is starting to pick up speed again I think it's a combination of factors and the fact that he's no longer there he was always a really strong voice against the project but he definitely had an ally in the administration and it really is about the purse strings I mean basically if you choke off funding to a project they can't go forward and that's the tactic they've used and so this time around it's really a combination of having support top down to just push forward with a project to store the country's nuclear waste and everyone seems to think that that project needs to be yanked about and what is going on at Yucca Mountain right now or what has been going on over all these years when the project has been stalled. So a couple of the experts who have been working on that here in Nevada say that if the project were to move forward that facility would actually need to have some work done on it because the infrastructure that's been put in place so far is so old this is been going on for decades so they see some concerns with the facility itself having just sat there basically doing nothing for all these years as you have said there's a lot of opposition to this in Senator Catherine Cortez Masto who's a Democrat said in the statement on Wednesday it's unjust and unfair to force Nevadans to live next to a nuclear waste dump and the Nevada Gov Brian Sandoval who's a Republican said the trouble ministrations budget request was a complete blindside he's called the plan ill conceived irresponsible and likely illegal is there anything that these Nevada politicians can do at this point to stop this they're trying on several levels actually and there are some lawsuits right now that are currently just on hold while the licensing process for the Regulatory Commission has on hold and now that it is weighing in on a Texas lawsuit Texas is suing the federal government saying that they have shirked their responsibility to safely store the nation's nuclear waste and so you know that is weighing in on that lawsuit you know basically saying you know we have a seat at the table this is an issue about Nevada and so they're weighing in on that and basically pushing on all legal fronts the attorney general governor stand of all and all of these various agencies in the state that are working on this are actively pushing to make sure that this doesn't happen and they've been actively pushing on that front for several decades what are people saying who are in favor of opening up Yucca Mountain and allowing the federal government to store nuclear waste there night County and 8 other rural Nevada counties are actually very interested in getting the licensing process restarted they want to hear the science behind it and they want to potentially see I guess what the bright side could be if the project were to actually. Come to fruition in Nevada what it would mean for jobs what it would mean in terms of constructing a facility and what it would mean in terms of bringing in federal dollars that's Yvonne Gonzalez a reporter with the Las Vegas Sun thank you thank you well to Alaska now where the anchorage petroleum Wives Club has been around longer than Lask has been a state the club was founded in 1957 after the 1st big oil discovery in Alaska to welcome the wives of oil workers flooding in but a lot has changed since then so the anchorage petroleum Wives Club recently decided it's time to rebranding Elizabeth the hard ball of Alaska's energy desk has the story. At the lakefront hotel in Anchorage a few dozen women gather for a working lunch I have this right here is our ballot really a voting lunch Anchorage petroleum Wives Club president won a award greets the women from behind a small cardboard ballot box you could complete it and then put the form here in the ballot box that would be great as it turns out it's a historic vote after nearly 60 years as the petroleum Wives Club the members decided unanimously to update the name I am proud to announce that in 2017 we are going to hack the person unanimous vote at 23 to 0 our membership It has voted to change your name to the anchorage petroleum Women's Association effective she's. President when they award says there are several reasons for the replanting One is that petroleum wives might paint a misleading picture in some people's minds I don't know if this was true but supposedly the gossip throughout the organization was that we were approached by some reality show wanting to talk about you know the do the Desperate Housewives of Orange County or whatever and so there was interest in doing some wives thing I have you know encouraging that's just not us the petroleum wives want you to know they're not a group of cocktail sipping Pearl wearing socialites although some do get together for a ladies' night out now and then take word for example her husband may work for Conoco but she's a Ph d. This spring board earned her doctorate in public communication and technology she wrote her dissertation on the petroleum wives sheet their eyes is the group change just name because the petroleum industry has changed word says she is one of a growing number of club members who work we're not all the. Superwealthy just trying to throw money out there or we're trying to destroy the earth one step is time and we're trying to make our way in this world we're trying to get back we're trying to find meaning in addition to getting together for activities like hiking playing cards and making crafts the petroleum wives also spend time volunteering and raising money for local charities but increasingly the meet ups have to be scheduled around the 9 to 5 work day Ward says another reason the club changed its name is to welcome a new kind of member My name is Jay I'm a petroleum geologists for glacier oil and gas there are lots more women working in Alaska's oil industry than when the club started in the 1950 s. The petroleum wives recently changed its rules to allow oil industry workers to become president or vice president of the club Balaji says replacing wives with women in the name means a lot to her I thought well my husband is actually a fisherman sportfishing on the Kenai River he's not in the oil industry am I able to join the organization says she appreciates meeting other women who understand the industry's ups and downs after all prices crashed in 2015 many companies announced mass layoffs members Zoe Smith's husband was retired from b.p. By then but she says during the downturn petroleum wives came together to help each other cope especially the older ladies like myself we've been through these cycles before someone else's husband got laid off so you have a little bit someone else to talk to and work at through and just give support that maybe you don't find with your neighbor because they don't really understand the petroleum wives kept meeting throughout the tough times even after losing about 80 members close to a 3rd of its membership today they're still going strong back in April about a dozen members. Got together to make Easter goody bags for a homeless you shelter in Anchorage lead to the Mall of the spirit of the holy organized to get together please husband an oil industry engineer was transferred from Canada to Alaska in 2012 it's pretty common for oil companies to move employees every few years Lisa's finding friends in Anchorage wasn't easy at 1st but then she joined the petroleum Wives Club where we are often and many of us out of our own country were away from our family and like so many people who live in Alaska and so this current provides a connectivity that I desperately need at least says Some might argue that petroleum wives shouldn't change their name in years ago but she says for some of the members the name represented a long tradition of women forging close friendships over their shared connection to the oil industry and in that way the anchorage petroleum Women's Association hasn't forgotten its roots for here and now I'm Elizabeth hardball in Anchorage and Elizabeth story comes to us from Alaska's energy desk a public media collaboration focused on energy and the environment it's here now. By now it's a familiar story a police officer goes on trial for a fatal shooting the trial ends in a hung jury or an acquittal one reason juries are reluctant to convict cops. Mind is these are the people who are coming to help me I don't want to cause them fear that would cause them not to show up if I need that story this afternoon on All Things Considered from n.p.r. News later today at 330 until 630 this evening on k.c.a.l. You live online a k c o u dot org I'm Robin Young the officer in the traffic stop shooting a friend. But his fellow officers are not celebrating right the point now where it's going to be tough 2nd guessing if I pull this car over do I have to worry about defending myself and quite frankly that's not a police officer yet that believes this should have been charged That's next time here in. Stay with us for another hour of here and now ahead between noon and one on k.c.a.l. You n.p.r. For the California coast funding for here and now comes from the listeners of w.b. You are Boston and your n.p.r. Station Staples offering copy and print services for businesses from color copies to presentations to promotional products more at Staples stores or Staples dot com Staples it's pro time and math works creators of Matlab and Simulink software for technical computing and model based design math works Excel are writing the pace of discovery in engineering and science learn more at math works dot com. It's here and now President Trump welcomes the new president of South Korea to the White House tonight you remember there was a snap election after the last president left in a scandal moon arrives as tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalate North Korea boasting of soon having a nuclear armed missile that can reach the u.s. Some young Lee is Professor of Korean studies at the Fletcher School at Tufts He joins us now Professor Lee Welcome thank you so President moon the new South Korean president was said to be more aligned with the previous presidents sunshine policy toward the North the North Korea start there what was there and where does President stand on North Korea the probably most important issue the moniker sunshine policy comes from one of Aesop's fables the sun and the north wind have a contest to see who is stronger who can't get the man on the street wearing a heavy winter coat to take it off the wind huffs and puffs the man holds onto his coat the sunbeams his warm rays and gets the man Fonterra Lee almost to take it off the idea behind it was through engagement generous aid and gradual reform South Korea sought to change North Korea this policy was in place between 19982008 the jury's still out on that but I think a lot of people feel that that kind of unconditional aid no questions asked billions of dollars in aid did not get very far and certainly President Trump would not be a sunshine policy kind of guy so what you're into is a patient of how the 2 my square that or if they'll even bring it up some are saying that there may not be policy discussions a summit meeting especially one between allies are usually routine some approaches a affairs there are pronouncements of reaffirmation of the alliance I inquired and so forth but underneath this particular meeting there is some tension and I think it's quite likely that there might be some frosty moments in might not be at summit meeting just overflowing with. Bonamy why because there have been such tense meetings between u.s. President and South Korean president just 2 years ago Parker in there who was recently removed from office Mr Park she visited President Obama in October 2015 and she was one with true bona fides when it came to South Korea's support for the United States and also her less than favorable view of North Korea the communist regime however because Mr Parker attended a major Chinese weapons parade celebration on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of China's purported victory over Japan in early September 2015 which was attended by various dictators of the world President Obama admonished President Park and said when China breaks international norms and rules I expect South Korea to call China out on that why because post-war international norms and rules have been very good for South Korea so I think you know with the unpredictable nature of President Trump and also what's known of President moon that he tends to be somewhat more favorably disposed toward North Korea we can expect a little bit of tension but there's also tension we understand over the anti-missile system that the u.s. Recently installed in South Korea the u.s. Of course has American troops stationed there this anti-missile system was said to be to protect them from a possible tack by North Korea but China is not very happy about that they think it might be used often simply against them so talk a little bit about how that might come up yes that's a crucial issue because this sophisticated u.s. Anti-missile defense system called fat it's been controversial winter in Christian Moon's special advisor just 2 weeks ago in Washington said that Thad was primarily intended to protect u.s. Troops in South Korea suggesting that it didn't apply to. The defense of South Korea or South Koreans which is somewhat absurd and this has been a useful gambit to President moon in the run up to his election victory because it was a way to placate China which is strongly opposed to South Korea's deployment to fad and also it was a way to send a signal to North Korea that he would be amenable to reengage in North Korea in dialogue and I think for President Trump he may be willing to bend more make concessions on economic issues but when it comes to the lives of u.s. Troops I don't think he's willing to compromise professor. President Trump has done a lot of chest thumping towards North Korea what's your sense of how South Korea feels about that what might they welcome maybe even a military confrontation with North Korea or is that the last thing they want given the horrendous war you know they all went through what's your sense South Korea is in a very difficult position of course it has to sort of co-exist with North Korea and in truth no one wants a war chest thumping show of force these are necessary aspects of sending a strong message of deterrence both ways at the same time chest thumping without real policy doesn't get you very far I don't think there's a strong possibility of the United States using military force against North Korea anytime soon for the very simple reason that it's never been tried since the end of the Korean War in 1953 we know that North Korea is no Syria is no Iraq is no Afghanistan they have the intent and the capability to shoot back and that's been a strong deterrent for the u.s. And South Korea so newly professor of Korean studies at the Fletcher School at Tufts professionally thank you so much thank you for having. Me here in our production of n.p.r. And you are in association with the b.b.c. World Service I'm Robyn young Jeremy Hobson this is here and now. Funding for here and now comes from the listeners of w.b. You are Boston and posters Smith printing posters on wrinkle resistant foldable fabric that transports flag for conference presentations poster Smith provides a service to research communities worldwide learn more at poster Smith dot com from the police chief studios at California Lutheran University this is k.c.a.l. You. I'm Ira Flatow on the next Science Friday how safety and security are being compromised at the nation's nuclear weapons labs Plus how our appetites are influenced by plate color glass shapes and even the sound of it be are being poured It's the latest in gastronomy science or gastro physics on Science Friday from n.p.r. 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