And his office has said that the surgery was Mark's pensive than anticipated he's missed votes this week and McCain is suffering from brain cancer and currently hospitalized receiving treatment for the side effects of chemotherapy N.P.R.'s Domanick Monson are on the u.s. Special envoy for North Korea says he hopes North Korea will respond favorably to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offer of unconditional talks envoy Joseph Yoon was speaking to reporters in Thailand at the end of a trip that also saw him stop in Tokyo Michael Sullivan has more human expressed optimism that talks could help bring an end to the current impasse between the u.s. And North Korea over Pyongyang's accelerating nuclear weapons program he said there were no preconditions Let's see how they respond he said even though the White House earlier this week played down secretary Tillerson for insisting that North Korea take sincere and meaningful actions toward denuclearization before any talks could take place humans visit overlapped with a visit by North Korean officials to the north and tie city of Chiang Mai but he called this a coincidence and said he had no meetings with them here in Thailand or in Japan for n.p.r. News I'm Michael Sullivan in Chiang Rai Thailand on Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 106 points at 24615 The Nasdaq is up more than 30 points at $6887.00 you're listening to n.p.r. Support for n.p.r. Comes from little passports a subscription service for kids where every month they can explore a new country packages arrive in the mail filled with activities souvenirs maps and stickers learn more at little passports dot com slash radio. Good morning It's Morning Edition p.b.s. I'm Deb Welsh new research from Sharp Mary Birch hospital suggests a novel way of handling premature births or rather babies at birth may provide long term benefits p.b.s. Health reporter Kenny Goldberg says the study tested 2 different methods of giving cord blood to 135 premature infants babies born prematurely leave a lot of blood behind in the placenta standard practice at birth is to delay cutting the umbilical cord for a few moments so that more blood can transfer over researchers tested that method against one called cord milking in which blood is transferred to the baby by gently squeezing the cord Dr a new cut Feria is director of the neonatal Research Institute at church Mary Birch hospital he says that 2 years of age the babies who received cord milking scored higher on tests of cognition and language and so this is the sort of 1st signal suggesting that this technique might actually be better than it was never been described until now and it may be fact in the future help change our guidelines for all we currently do cut Feria is leading a world wide study involving 1500 premature babies to see if the results can be duplicated Kenny Goldberg Kaye p.b.s. News Macy's department stores in Southern California and Kaiser Permanente have both announced initiatives to help victims of Southern California's wildfires including the lilac fire in San Diego's North County Kaiser said it will give $250000.00 to the American Red Cross for disaster relief for victims of the lie like fire and to Los Angeles area fires plus $350000.00 earmarked for victims of the Thomas fire in Ventura County Macy's said it will provide discounts on clothes home items and furniture to algebra customers who show their Fema or insurance card over the next 6 months it's 7 o 6 Friday morning traffic time years. Back south 5 a little slower now current is bad and a salon to be to north 5 slowing down mainly the 15 into downtown little back up behind the 52 north they don't have also slow here from National City in a Mission Valley crushing University on the shoulder also backed up behind the 52 and north of thousands getting so are now City Heights up to Arrow drive traffic made possible by the Jewish community foundation of San Diego as the Jewish community celebrates Hanukkah you can light the way for generations to come with a legacy gift info at j.c. At San Diego dot org for k p p s m Tory Pac This is Morning Edition on k. P.b.s. . P.b.s. Is supported by Credit Karma showing individual credit scores offering credit monitoring and used by more than 75000000 people at Credit Karma dot com or the Credit Karma app available for download at the App Store Kaminski design and remodeling a boutique remodeling experience designed to reflect your personality and lifestyle Kaminski team can help transform your existing space into a custom home or add on to accommodate a multigenerational family details out next remodel dot com Your listening to k. P.b.s. Member supported public radio. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Rachel Martin in Washington d.c. And I'm David Greene in Culver City California for the Republican Party this was supposed to be a year of getting things done the g.o.p. Controls the White House and Congress and yet they are reaching right now for their 1st big legislative victory a tax overhaul and even that seems a little shaky with several Republican senators expressing reservations now this week as well the g.o.p. Lost a Senate seat in reliably red Alabama we've been painted in unfavorable and on. Face for life that is the voice of Roy Moore there who lost the election I want to bring in Chris buzz Kirk he is in Phoenix Arizona he hosts a conservative radio talk show there he's also the publisher of the site American greatness and he's come on our program a bunch of times Hey Chris welcome back Oh thanks David Oreo I'm good thank you it's been a week for your party I think it's safe to say I just wonder what listeners calling in to your show are saying about that election loss in Alabama. Well today I think they're going to be saying thank god it's Friday. You know it's been all it's been all week for sure but you know this is what I love about call about call in radio is you get a feel for I think what the what the pulse is a list of a certain part of the of the electorate there's there's some consternation for shore but you know what I keep hearing over and over again is it is not is not so much being upset with the president or even with were more of the people view understand that he's an unusual character I'm being polite but there's a lot of it to put the being represented towards Mitch McConnell towards congressional leadership saying Gosh can't these guys get their house in order can't they figure out how to recruit candidates that people want to support and then can't they get behind them in support of all the way through the election from the primary to the general and there are there's concern about whether or not whether or not congressional Republicans can get together and run effect of campaigns in 2018 so what I mean I Are you suggesting though that even people who were concerned about Roy Moore on the allegations of sexual abuse or even involving children they should have just gotten behind him because he was the Republican the raise. Yeah well I think here's here's what I keep hearing again I think it's I think it's pretty sensible and that this is that when people go into a voting booth and they vote for a candidate Congress or or senator or what have you they are not necessarily endorsing the worst part of that person's life people understand that these are that these are these are flawed candidates and they say you know let's let the process work itself out if we've got to oust them and in a couple of years we'll oust them if they've got to run Morris case but I think I've heard a number of people say if we want to put a Republican in there a few there's a Senate investigation an ethics investigation that winds up deposing him from his seat so be it based on that but they want to make sure that that that that seat represents the views of the people of Alabama and this is a state that voted for Donald Trump by 28 points you know Doug Jones is an anomaly there I think the analog that keeps coming up is Scott Brown in Massachusetts well and Democrat Joe Johns you mentioned there who is going to be in that Senate seat I just want to ask you you said that a lot of your listeners are going after Mitch McConnell the Senate majority leader you have as well you have an editorial that's being published today in The Washington Post saying that under the McConnell regime too many beltway Republicans continue to see the base of their own party as the problem what what do you mean. Well what I mean is that is that there is a pervasive view on the right I think it's I think by the way this is a problem on both sides but there is a pervasive view that people in Washington should be allowed to do what they want to do and that they don't need to they don't really need the bases of their own parties except at election time when they need money and votes and you know I'm a I can speak more I think more authoritatively to what's going on on the right but you know there is there's intemperate the on the part of congressional leadership to their own base to the agenda that that those people want to see prostitutes and immigration policy a change in trade policy those sorts of things where there's a lot of there's a lot of agree. On the part of voters and Washington based Republicans are saying you know what we hear you but we're not going to do it anyway we know better just listen to us and and that this is part of the problem we have a big disconnect between between elites and between voters and that's going to resolve itself over the next few cycles one way or the other when you've written about that that the party you hope will abandon some of the old slogans like supply side economics and fight more for working class Americans I just wonder this current tax bill and we should say President Trump is supporting it big time I mean doesn't that rely on the old supply side beliefs do you wish Donald Trump would be doing more explicitly to help the working class well I wish I went out what I want is to see policies that that are that directly impact the the middle class things that can grow the size and scope of the middle class and things that can strengthen the foundations of the middle class I think overall this tax bill is is decent I'm reminded that Reagan took took 3 bites of the apple with tax reform at 3 different tax bills so I'm saying that you know I hope this passes I think it well and it's a good 1st step but I think that there are targeted tax policies for instance a tax credit on employers for hiring American citizens things that one example or college tuition tax credit things that would directly impact the middle class positively I think that I think Republicans would do well by the country and by and by themselves if they were to pass those sorts of things or sell at a time Chris busk out in Phoenix thanks so much thanks David one year ago Facebook announced with much fanfare that it was going to bring in fact checkers from respected journalism groups to combat the fake news epidemic some of these journalists describe how the partnership got off to a rocky start and how they still feel left in the dark about what impact if any their work actually has we don't Facebook does pay n.p.r. And other media outlets for video content here's N.P.R.'s our 3 Shahani fact check that Oregon is at the name spelled out a fact checking nonprofit it's. Based at the University of Pennsylvania and is one of 5 partners Facebook featured when it rolled out the initiative in December 2016 yes we started agreeing to work with Facebook in December but we didn't have any resources to expand our staff to do that that's fact check director Eugene Kiley Facebook one of the largest companies on earth is meticulous one rolling out new products current and former employees have told n.p.r. About the way engineers poor over code for live video are messenger making sure it lives up to the promise and troubleshooting very very quickly but in this case there wasn't even a budget line for months wasn't until June when we got funding from Facebook he used the money to hire Saranac Hale Spencer who'd previously worked for a legal newspaper covering federal courts and then again that paper in Delaware she says this job is definitely different you know you're you're reading the fiction that other people have written and you know sort of taking it point by point and you know debunking each false thing. You know that's been said how does it feel. Oh goodness I. That's a difficult one here is how her work day starts she logs into Facebook and goes to a special dashboard it shows links users have flagged this fake news ranked by popularity so Spencer has a sense of what's getting a lot of attention a few days ago just before Tuesday Senate election in Alabama she saw fake news stories about candidate Raymore trending so there were a couple of stories that had sort of made up characters the story said 2 women who accused Moore of pedophilia were caught lying those 2 women didn't even exist Spencer and her team found that contrary to the fake news claims there was no m.s. N.b.c. Interview or any t.v. Interview record for that matter and the picture in the article was actually of a British reality t.v. Star just after a very painful pregnancy and you know she was she was weeping over this you know a picture of a woman in distress it takes Spencer about one full day of work to debunk the fake news she said met her Fact Check article to Facebook on the eve of an election the entire country is watching Clearly this is important work but that separate from whether or not the work has an impact I ask a question about her fact checking article to which director Eugene Kiley responds how many eyeballs Has it reached do you know we don't know you're not given that feedback no no we don't want to be submitted to Facebook they do whatever they do with our material meaning Facebook does not tell the fact checkers how many times their work product reaches users compared with how many times the fake news reaches them could be one to 2 or one to 10 or 12100000 Facebook says that's proprietary data not for outsiders even partners to know fact checked out org another's in this partnership have asked Facebook for more transparency but even if he's kept in the dark alleys. Says he knows there is a reach however many people that may be it's certainly better than nothing in this way the fact check project exposes an ongoing question seasoned journalists and newsrooms are torn about whether participation with Facebook in fact checking and sharing content on news feed and live video is grabbing a seat at an important table or giving cover to a broken relationship a Facebook spokesperson says the fact checkers are valuable to the company and Facebook will provide them with additional tools and metrics in the New Year party Shahani n.p.r. News San Francisco. Police. This is n.p.r. News p.b.s. Is supported by price builders a design build firm for 24 years priced builders specializes in open concept design energy efficient kitchen and baths and accommodating growing families call 80619 price or visit price Builders dot com This is k. P.b.s. Where news matters Good morning I'm Terry back with a check on traffic Westgate a little bit of a slowdown here out of La makes that and heading into Mission Valley north Adolph I have a solid drive one from 47th up to Murray ridge a little break then 163 to the 52 north 5 the tough stuff is getting into downtown a little slow to downtown for the westbound 94 but really slowing just past the 8 o 5 liter the normal 52 West has been busy out of Santee and up and over the summit South I've got a solid drive now from Collins bad the salon to beach south 15 is a little bit slower here just past the 78 to be around show traffic reports made possible by Mission Federal Credit Union helping San Diego achieve their mission Fed moments all sand bags are welcome or at Mission. From n.p.r. News and Washington I'm Winsor Johnston President Trump is once again blasting accusations of collusion between his administration and Russia during the presidential campaign they are spending millions and millions of dollars there is absolutely no cover yet I didn't make a phone call to Roger I am nothing to do with Russia everybody knows that that was a Democrat Hold it was excuse for losing the election I did should have never been this way where they spent all these millions of dollars the president speaking just before boarding a helicopter outside of the White House this morning he's attending an f.b.i. Academy graduation at Quantico in Virginia hole later head to Camp David Iran is rejecting u.s. Claims that it's arming rebel forces in Yemen N.P.R.'s Peter Kenyon says Tehran claims the American evidence was fabricated u.s. Ambassador to the u.n. Nikki Haley said the weapons used by who the rebels against Saudi Arabia quote might as well have had made in Iran stickers all over them Iran denies the charge its u.n. Representative says Washington is trying to distract attention from its own arming of the Saudi led coalition fighting the Hutus in Yemen stocks are trading higher on Wall Street at this hour the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 151 points said 24659 The Nasdaq Composite up 40 points the s. And p. 500 up 19 You're listening to n.p.r. News in Washington. Good morning thanks for listening to Morning Edition Yes I'm Jeb Welsh to San Diego defense contractors have each been sentenced to 15 months in custody for conspiring to commit wire fraud and file false claims and making false statements on their federal income tax returns 55 year old Jeffrey Harrington and 63 year old Michael Mayer as mid to fraudulent obtaining money from the us government by making false claims to the Department of Japan defense for payment on items that if it is new had not been sold to the Navy authorities are asking the public for help in identifying a man who's exposed himself to children in a chill of Vista at least 4 times over the last several months the flasher is described as an unshaven 40 to 50 year old white man was short unkempt grace or blond hair he drives a small newer model blue or gray pickup truck coming up on Morning Edition accusers of a San Diego sheriff's deputy under investigation for sexual misconduct say their trust has been shattered if you want to come to my house without a uniform I never know what a lot of it was because he had his uniform on and he was representing someone as false to protect you I felt safe we'll hear from 4 of the deputies accusers at 745 a red flag warning for strong winds and low humidity will continue through 10 o'clock this morning winds will we get mid day and turn on shore this afternoon 722 support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from a.d.t. Security helping to protect homes and businesses for over 140 years a.t.t. Also provides health monitoring with medical alert services to help seniors live independently more at a.d.t. Dot com. From little passports a subscription service for kids where every month they can explore a new country packages arrive in the mail filled with activities souvenirs maps and stickers learn more at little passports dot com slash radio from Progressive Insurance offering its home quote Explorer so shoppers can evaluate options in one place when buying home insurance custom quotes and rates are available online learn more at progressive dot com and from listeners like you who donate to this n.p.r. Station. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene and I'm Rachel Martin in some ways Russell Simmons has lived a classic American success story he took an idea hip hop and he helped transform it from street art to big business he co-founded the record label Def Jam and turned it into a global influence on music and culture now Simmons is at the crossroads of a very different cultural movement me to several women have come forward to accuse Simmons of harassment assault and rape Joining us to talk about these allegations Rodney Carmichael He's N.P.R.'s hip hop writer Hi Rodney Hey Rachel how are you doing well how would you describe the significance of Russell Simmons' career and influence Well he's a godfather of hip hop he's one of the 1st to have the foresight and the hustle to really transform the culture into into capital he went from managing early acts like his brother's group run d.m.c. To building wrist really to the 1st important hip hop label and Def Jam acts like l.l. Cool j. Beastie Boys Public Enemy and you know he went on from that kind of left music specifically and really built out his empire in the comedy yeah into fashion even yoga he was everywhere everywhere Yeah. Briefly can you explain the accusations against them against him well at least 3 women have accused him of rape and several more have alleged sexual assault to varying degrees. The latest is fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone who says he tried to rape her in 1991 page 6 reported over night. These these women a lot of them were women who knew Simmons or had some sort of professional relationship with him and the incidents pretty much ranged from the late eighty's to as recent as 3 years ago. What is Simmons saying about he stepped down from all of his businesses like after the initial round of allegations came in and he apologized for being thoughtless and insensitive but yesterday he began defending himself saying that he will prove without any doubt that he is innocent of all rape charges and he posted a hash tag not me to Instagram to proclaim his innocence so hip hop has actually it's long been criticized as a genre for. Massaging us lyrics for. Somehow nodding to violence against women where did Russell Simmons stand on that I mean how did he talk about that yet will massage in is definitely prevalent in hip hop there's no doubt about that massaging is prevalent in Iraq it's prevalent throughout the music industry Simmons has been out of the industry. Quote unquote for about 2 decades since selling his interest in Def Jam I'm not sure if he ever spoke to criticism directly about massaging the stick lyrics but during and after his time as the head of Def Jam he's always defended hip hop and the music in the culture and as something that you know represented the underbelly the underbelly of society. And echo the harsh realities that these artists lived All right Rodney Carmichael is N.P.R.'s hip hop writer We're talking this morning about the allegations of sexual harassment abuse even rape against hip hop mogul Russell Simmons Rodney thanks so much for coming in this morning thank you rich. Good Friday Story Corps brings us the voices of people around the country and listeners might recognize this one it comes from Dr William Lynn Weaver earlier this year he spoke about being one of the black students who integrated his high school in Knoxville Tennessee back in 1964 this morning he remembers a Christmas he spent with his family when he was 18 years old in Mechanicsville the Knoxville neighborhood where he grew up I remember walking up the street Christmas Eve and I see this kid ran down the street on a bicycle and I said what I look like my brothers bike I get to my house I say mine was your bike and he says down on the steps I said no it's not is gone it's a small neighborhood so we find out where the kid lives who has a bike and says shack in the alley Now my brother and I are we going to beat this boy my father was there he said just shut up and let me talk so we knock on the door and this all black guy comes on McCain The house is cold on the light he had was a candle. It was his grandson who had stolen the bike so he calls him out as the same age as my brother 10 years old little boy starts crying and he says I Just Want To some for Christmas. So we get the bike and we leave we go back to my house my father tells my mother and she doesn't say anything she just starts cutting the turkey and half and all the fixings she started packing it up my father went to the Co yard and got a big bag of coal and then he told my brother he said you got another bite don't you brother said yeah. So we went back with food coal so they'd have some heat and a bite the boy just crying but the thing that moved me the most was oh man my father gave him $20.00 which was a huge deal back then and said Merry Christmas. He said thank you and then just broke down in tears. My father was a chauffeur my mother was a domestic so we didn't have a lot of stuff and that Christmas I don't remember what you have to get. But I do know that made me feel better than any Christmas after ever had. Major support for Story Corps comes from Cancer Treatment Centers of America proud supporter of Story Corps featuring cancer patients sharing their stories of challenge hope and inspiration more stories are at Cancer Center dot com slash stories and from Subaru with the 10th annual share the love of vent through January 2nd more information about the event and the not for profit organizations that it supports is that Subaru dot com slash share love it's what makes a Subaru a Subaru. This is n.p.r. News. P.b.s. Is supported by Postal Annex and Fedex reminding you this year to receive tracking for all your holiday gifts by shipping via Fed Ex at postal at x. For San Diego locations visit Postal Annex dot com sky falconry where you can experience the opportunity to put on a glove and free fly a bird of prey offering interactive educational hands on experiences with Raptors and promoting preservation through education reservations for classes or gift certificates at Sky falconry dot com You're listening to k. P.b.s. Member supported public radio Good morning welcome to Morning Edition on k. P.b.s. I'm Deb Welsh San Diego researchers are studying the Navy's sand berms on the Silver Strand they're hoping to learn how the ocean affects the protective structures as part of a strategy to deal with rising sea levels k.p.s. Reporter Eric Anderson has details sand berms protect the Navy's Amphibious Base which already has felt the effect of winter storm e weather Bob Cousy is a professor emeritus at Scripps Institution of Oceanography He's overseeing the effort to bury a pressure sensor here now that device gives researchers a picture of ocean levels and waves KUSA says studying sand berms when they're assaulted by high tides and storm driven waves unlocks important information we have a body of knowledge based on what is happening now and we can make street a 5 day forecast about the berm that put sauce in a reasonable position to try to deal with conditions getting worse the research could help the Navy design more resilient berms as climate change pushes up ocean levels Eric Anderson k p b s news it's 731 let's say good morning now to Scott Bass who's here with our surf report good morning new waste Hi plus Northwest well filling in now high tide this morning with offshore winds tore punch who has 1.8 feet at 16 seconds from the northwest a Point Loma buoy 2.4 feet at sea. Seconds and wave heights are 2 to 4 feet with pluses waist to shoulder high waves larger waves at those prime locations in the south county 7 o 7 am will see the high tide at $5.00 low tide to 11 pm and negative 0.3 So a large walking beach this afternoon and the swell fills in Saturday shoulder to head high plus for the masses large whereas at the prime locations we are expecting on shore flow Saturday supports made possible by Sullivan solar power employing nationally certified solar project developers from the nonprofit map shop Sullivan Solar Power dot com for k p b s radio I'm Scott bass now Friday morning traffic here is Tory Pac not the Tina bit busy here a 78 down to be around for a little slow down in the power way as well north they don't have one of our busiest freeways starting Imperial Ave up to Murray ridge a little break then flowing again $163.00 up to the 50 to present Wesley palms retirement community announcing new patio homes on $35.00 acres of ocean view Parkland now opened this at Wesley palms dot org Ok p.b.s. I'm Tory Pac This is Morning Edition on p.b.s. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Focus Features presenting darkest hour starring Gary Oldman as Prime Minister Winston Churchill with Kristin Scott Thomas Ben Mendelsohn and Lily James based on the true story now playing in select theaters from the pajama gram company offering $29.00 matching holiday pajama styles for the whole family including cats and dogs and with Charlie Brown and holiday themes in its fleece and flannel more at pajama gram dot com and from the listeners who support this n.p.r. Station. This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene in Culver City California and I'm Rachel Martin in Washington d.c. Every year at about this time Russian President Vladimir Putin takes questions in a marathon press conference almost all of the questions are softballs you might expect that there is a whole lot of applause but at this year's press conference which happened yesterday a.b.c. News reporter Terry Moran put a question to Putin about Russia's involvement in the Us presidential election heres how Putin answered. Why do you have these. Russian meddling hysteria Steria So the u.s. Is still investigating what Russia did and when they did it and that is something journalist Julia ya feel has thought quite a lot about she's written a piece for The Atlantic titled What Putin really wants and she joins us now thanks for being with us thanks for having me Rachel there's been this tendency to paint Russia's interference in the u.s. Election as this highly calculated very organized coordinated effort you found the Russians had a very different take on what happened how so. Well they see Russia the way they are they see the interference the way they see their everyday lives and Russia's messy uncoordinated kind of ad hoc kneejerk and that really was a how the Russians interfered in the election. It was a very. You know one Obama administration official called it throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what would stick it was very emotional ad hoc improvised attack you're right it's a great line in here that when people ask if Putin place chess or checkers it's neither he plays blackjack which reveals a lot like this is a guy who just really can tolerate a lot of risk and sometimes it pays off as it did in the presidential election right but sometimes the risk immediately blows back on him so the victories are often Pyrrhic as it was with the interference in the presidential election the f.s.b. The you know Russian security services that intelligence are exactly as now there are agents on there that are on the F.B.I.'s cyber most wanted list they used to be great allies in the fight against terror. Sanctions are now sealed in place for the next generation or so Russia lost even more diplomatic compounds relations have never been wars between Russia and the u.s. Are even worse than they were under the Obama administration every meeting every any kind of interlude between the Russians and the Americans as immediately viewed with suspicion that was never even the case under Obama so he certainly did not get what he wanted There's definitely a lot of buyer's remorse in Moscow what about among Russians I mean what what are just ordinary Russians say about. Well I think a lot of ordinary Russians don't know what to think they've gotten so much different information about. You know how they didn't manage to meddle in the elections but I think they had a lot of hopes for Donald Trump and what a lot of Russians now say is that his hands are tied that he'd like and it's actually it was actually echoed by Vladimir Putin himself at this press conference he said Trump would like to improve relations with with the u.s. With Russia but he is not allowed to by the foreign foreign policy national security establishment and Congress in Washington you make the argument that so much of the u.s. Investigation has been focused on what happened in 2016 and little is being done to focus on the future what might happen in 2018 or 2020 What are some of the blind spots and vulnerabilities for the u.s. Well the problem is that the what happened in 2016 wasn't about Trump It was about undermining our democracy it was a national security issue it wasn't about Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton and the Russians did not expect Donald Trump to win so making it so far the investigation into what happened in the Russian interference in the presidential election has been focused on Trump and whether there was collusion and whether he'll be impeached as opposed to a national security issue and what we can do to protect our upcoming elections in less than a year and what we can do to improve for example media literacy in this country so that people can distinguish you know a fake news put out there by some Russian troll and do you know an article from The New York Times or Washington Post or n.p.r. Julie her piece what Putin really wants is in the latest issue of the Atlantic thanks so much for talking with us Julia thank you Rachel. Today 9 federal judges in Chicago will continue a rare joint hearing it's being held to determine whether race is a factor in phony drug stings created by the u.s. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives what these judges decide could determine whether the a.t.f. Changes the way it conducts its undercover operations Here's N.P.R.'s Cheryl Corley the 9 judges decided to get together instead of hearing 12 cases they were overseeing separately because defense attorneys claim racial bias in all of them now those judges will decide whether discrimination is a reason why federal agents stage phony drug stash house things in mostly black neighborhoods in Chicago Chicago can't law professor and practicing attorney Richard Kling said outside the courtroom he's never seen anything quite like it never in 46 years on the not judge panel maybe the 1st of its kind cling says the a.t.f. Only drug stash house sting operation aimed at sas banks is not come to you as an a.t.f. Undercover agent or a confidential informant I say here's this house which is a lot of drugs and or you can you can get a lot of these drugs what you need to get guns and you need to get guys together you go rob the house but the drug stash house doesn't exist and neither do the drugs but the suspects some with only minor criminal backgrounds who get caught up in the sting get charged and convicted of armed robbery and other charges during the hearing some of them up deserve from the jury box the sting operation is controversial and the defense attorneys charging racial bias want the indictments of the more than 40 defendants tossed the court hearing features to doing expert Columbia Law School professor Jeffrey Fagan says his research crimes nearly 0 percent probability that the a.t.f. Stings racial disparities are by chance and David flowers an African-American who was charged along with his brother says the a.t.f. Definitely lures people in the city's black neighborhood I think they can get it in any community they want to the Chelsea but because it was so easy an army can you know guess what is that easy he says because agents dangle the prospect of an app. To Nadine who are often desperate individuals to pocket thousands of dollars the government's expert witness Northwestern University law schools and Bach has a different interpretation of Fagan study calling the data faulty and overly broad He says it's designed to show racial disparity when there is none his testimony continues today the judges may issue separate rulings or a single one sometime early next year Cheryl Corley n.p.r. News Chicago. This is n.p.r. News p.b.s. Is supported by 1st republic 1st Republic's private wealth management team is dedicated to offering unbiased advice on a broad range of solutions more information is available at 1st Republic dot com 1st Republic it's a privilege to serve you you're listening to keep p.b.s. Members supported Public Radio I'm Terry back with a check on traffic accident westbound 8 it Taylor the right middle lane is blocked off the Hotel Circle and it's still a bit tough from spring up to the. 5 busy $94.00 to that 8 again through Kearney Mesa north 5 still a bit slow out of National City kind of off and on to downtown it's starting to slow a bit through Mission Bay as well if it to us does slow down off and on over the summit slowing again behind 8 o 5 south 5 solid here Carlsbad is a lot of beach make investment in P.B.'s and ensure that generations to come can enjoy quality programming even bequest in your will or trust or information call Trina has Tourette's 619421044 p.b.s. And Tory pac. From n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Windsor Johnston firefighters are continuing to battle a massive wildfire burning northwest of Los Angeles Jonathan Bastion from member station Casey reports the so-called Thomas fire has claimed the life of one firefighter while battling the flames near the city of Fillmore 32 year old Cory Iverson lost his life he was part of a strike team from San Diego and represents the 1st firefighter casualty of the Thomas fire Iverson leaves behind his pregnant wife and a 2 year old daughter the news comes as crews prepare for what could be a long weekend with windier conditions forecasted for the region the Damas fire is about 35 percent contained and Australian Commission looking into child sex abuse has issued a report after a 5 year investigation N.P.R.'s Scott Newman reports they contain sweeping recommendations where the country's Catholic clergy the royal commission talked to thousands of victims and issued hundreds of recommendations among the changes it calls for is lifting the requirement that priests remain celibate and also once any evidence of sexual abuse revealed in the confessional to be turned over to outside authorities the commission looked at abuse in schools and sports clubs as well as churches but it found the biggest problem in Catholic institutions stocks are trading higher on Wall Street the Dow is up 132 points the Nasdaq up 39 this is n.p.r. News support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from log Mian makers of Go To Meeting a collaborative meeting platform committed to helping get work done in today's modern workforce learn more go to meeting dot com from Fidelity Investments taking a personalized approach to helping clients grow preserve and manage their wealth learn more at fidelity dot com slash wealth for Delany brokerage services l.l.c. . I'm from the John s. And James l. Knight Foundation helping n.p.r. Advance journalistic excellence in the digital age Good morning you're listening to Morning Edition on p.b.s. I'm Deb Welsh Today's the last day to apply for a rebate from the city of San Diego for taking out your grass k.p.s. Reporter Claire says the turf rebate program is back this year but homeowners should know that the money is taxable so this is $1.00 of the areas that we you know when we 1st moved and this was all grass Mike daily lives in Talmage and when he and his girlfriend moved in they took out most of their grass they got some extra funds to help with the project a rebate from the city to take out grass and replace it with drought resistant landscaping the city pays by square foot of grass removed unfortunately there was a catch it turned out the rebate was taxable income which was kind of a pain in the box because we had already so you know pretty much accounted for that money in our budget for the project despite the extra taxes the rebates are still popular the city is now collecting applications and will do a lottery to pick who gets funds clear targets or k. P.b.s. News to apply for a rebate go to San Diego dot gov slash water slash conservation k p b s news time 745 the number of women who have accused San Diego County Sheriff's Deputy Richard Fisher of sexual misconduct is now at 11 Fisher is on administrative leave while sheriff's officials investigate the allegations against him k p b s investigative reporter I mean the Sharma sat down with 4 of his accusers who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He put me in the car and as he's putting the seatbelt on he fondling and said I hope your husband doesn't mind. At that moment I was thinking what's going to happen like that you know get raped I mean that's not a normal interaction with a cop. And his partner responded to a burglary that I had at my house back in 2016 and after they did the report later on that evening there was a knock on the door and I looked through the peephole and saw it was him so I felt safe to open the door and he asked me how I was doing and I said not very good and he said You look like you need to have a gun he just grabbed and hugged me and I froze at that point and I really part of me. Is Here To Help me you know or should I be scared. My circumstances were that I had placed a call for domestic violence threat against me so when he showed up at the door I had invited him in to talk about what had happened previously and that night he said You must need a hug or something so we hugged I just thought it was like a sympathy type hug and he hugged me again that was definitely as stronger a hug then as we were walking towards the door he held me again like just really close and tight he held my butt and then he took my right hand and put my hand on his crotch and rubbed it a couple of times and I was like What are you doing I mean I am respectful classy lady I'm at I don't know what you're thinking. He did ask that I did not tell anyone about what had happened. Because I was riding my bike. And I pulled me over right in front of my storage unit there and proceeded to search my backpack he found a prescription bottle of mine and looks at him because this is a felony and right you know they can take you to jail for this only because of the kidding and then he's now like well like a. Can I have a hug now and so he hugged me so he put his hands on my doubts and I gripped it there and then as he was leaving he says I'm your only one now you know thank you that wasn't normal but I felt really relieved just in not have gotten in trouble so there's been an up whiling of sexual misconduct allegations across the country against men who are in a variety of industries a variety of professions and they have in most cases been against men who are in positions of power is the alleged misconduct acts by Deputy fish are the ultimate abuse of power and I think it is because you have to trust that they are going to be there for you when he you know was rubbing all over my breasts I was like shocked I didn't know what to do I thought well did I do something wrong and I say something to make him do this why would he do this to me. Yes it was very much an abuse of power. Kami at my lowest point I had just had my house burglarized and my husband was out of the country he knew that so I was alone and if you were to come to my house without a uniform I never what a lot of men but it was because he got his uniform on and he was representing some of us supposed to protect you I felt safe saying my many showed up at the door I felt comfortable having him come in and talk about what had happened I was already on edge because my boyfriend had threatened to drive his car through my garage so I'm very vulnerable I was just feeling very sad and he just scared me so bad that I would never let out an officer at my house again. Do you feel like your allegations are being taken seriously by the department. No I don't think. I'm surprised. I feel the same way they're done with my investigation I'm sure they're done with several others as well he should be arrested at this point it's wrong Thank you all of you for speaking today. In a statement the sheriff's department reiterated it is conducting both administrative and criminal investigations of the accusations against Fisher It's 750 time to bring you up to speed on Friday morning traffic Here's Tory Pac that was a tailor accident has been cleared out of lanes but it's backed up often on out of buff just like Marie here ne all 5 slow in North Park and one more time Kearney may say the 52 west a little slow still out of Santee on the summit there a little back up behind the 8 o 5 south by was busy as well poinsettia to Manchester traffic made possible by Sky thought the rain offering interactive educational hands on experiences with Raptors info on classes and give certificates at Sky falconry dot com Ok p.b.s. And we're expecting mostly sunny skies today throughout the county warm temperatures to a red flag warning however is set to expire later this morning coastal highs will be in the low to upper seventy's in and highs in the upper seventy's to the low eighty's This is Morning Edition on Cape p.b.s. . Ok p.b.s. Is supported by Susan g. Komen filling in the gaps for breast cancer patients when government programs or private insurance don't meet the patients needs more information on how you can support their efforts during this holiday season are a common Sandiego dot org Support the news you trust on K.B.'s become a member make an additional gift or renew your membership before December 31st Plus you'll be entered into our year end giveaway for an i Pad Pro go to K.B.'s dot org or call 180-576-5727 thanks. In a few minutes how the personal and economic effects of sexual harassment are felt around the world Marketplace Morning Report is supported by Qualcomm inventors of the technology smartphones rely on to be so smart learn more at Qualcomm dot com slash we invent and buy a.t.t. A.t.t. Believes home isn't just a place it's the feeling of knowing you're safe a.t.t. Let you take that feeling with you more at a.t.t. Dot com I'm David Brancaccio in New York 1st the National Labor Relations Board has overturned a law in a way that will make it harder for contractors and workers at franchise businesses to form unions marketplaces and you'll has more of what this means for businesses and for the people who work there back in 2050 and n.l.r.b. Ruling said contract workers at a recycling center were jointly employed by a 3rd party staffing firm and the recycling business they work for this latest ruling found that workers can only be recognized as employees when a firm has what's known as direct control over workers mentality is with the International Franchise Association Nobody likes to have 2 bosses and yesterday's ruling helps clarify where responsibility lies direct and immediate control opponents of the move say this will limit the ability of workers to collectively bargain Paul succumb to teaches labor law at Marquette University he says employees at a McDonald's franchise for example will have less leverage with their bosses your We're going to ising can employees against their local franchise as opposed to organizing tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of employees again you know the corporate parent in Illinois there's a huge difference the n.l.r.b. Has a history of shifting decisions according to which party is in control I mean for Marketplace. Checking my live markets screens here the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 103 points 4 tenth's percent the Nasdaq Composite up 510 percent the s. And p. 500 up 6 tenth's percent this is said to be driven in part by the assumption the tax overhaul passes in the coming days and Washington stock in the railroad company c s x down nearly 7 percent this is about the c.e.o. Running into medical complications after being taken ill last week the number of people defaulting on their student loans continues to climb at last count 4600000 people are in that jam according to federal data Marketplace's Kimberly Adams has more twice as many borrowers are in default on their student loans as there were just 4 years ago Robert Kelch and that Seton Hall University says that's despite the economy going fairly well and income driven student loan repayment options then Miller at the Center for American Progress says some of those defaults just reflect more people going to college and the skyrocketing cost every year we have about a $1000000.00 people enter default partially because the number of student loan borrowers keeps growing but there's another reason some big for profit colleges have gone belly up there's some unknown subset of borrowers who are in default on a loan where they essentially used it to pay for a fraudulent Education the Department of Education's own inspector general took up that issue this week it charged the d.o.b. With failing to process over $25000.00 loan forgiveness applications associated with for profit schools the agency says it will start reviewing those claims soon in Washington I'm Kimberly Adams for Marketplace. Marketplace Morning Report is supported by the candidate a fund working to advance individual dignity and sustainable communities through investments in transformative leaders and ideas learn more a k e n d e d a fund dot org. I.c.b.w. Get your network checked for hidden malware and other risks with a c d w threat check c d w people who get it and buy Kronos with cloud based work force management solutions designed for organizations to maximize their most valued asset their workforce Kronos dot com Kronos workforce and of ation that works now to sexual harassment and other abuses of women in workplaces around the world Corish move us one is the Asia business correspondent for our partner broadcaster the b.b.c. She's been talking to women in a cross-section of Asian countries about what is now a growing global consciousness about the treatment of women on the job I reached her from the b.b.c. Bureau in Singapore charisma thanks for joining us thank you here in the u.s. Among the most vulnerable groups of people apparently are people who work in the fast food industry where many of the workers are not empower the bosses especially powerful What are you seeing in places like garment factories I know you've been making some inquiries for instance in Cambodia the garment sector is hugely critical for Cambodia's economy it's the 3rd biggest sector in the in the economy not withstanding that what's has happened as a result of women being the main employees in this sector has been that they have documented incidents of exploitation. Meant on the factory floor sexual harassment is costing the Cambodian economy something like 0.5 percent worth of g.d.p. In 2015 down things like the loss of productivity people taking time off work not wanting to go back to the factory where they're facing these sorts of issues and also you're seeing this in the more developed richer economies of Asia for instance Japan the Japanese case is really quite interesting because as we know you know the Japanese economy they've been trying to include more women into the workforce as part of Prime Minister Shinzo. Program to increase productivity increase economic growth the problem with that. Has been that Japanese culture by and large has kind of seen the women in charge of the home or in this very subservient role where business is often done over drinks in the evening and it's a man's Well they end up plying men with drinks after hours now you have a situation where women are entering this very male dominated world in Japan it's very uncomfortable for senior women within the Japanese corporate environment so widespread problems you non-government organizations and others are documenting But is there any sense that a period of reckoning is coming to some of these countries on this issue of workplace culture I do think there is something that is happening mainly in the professional environment in the office space environment but still for the women out in you know the paddy fields or in the garment factories or out in the marketplaces it's still very much the same thing that they are in positions of weakness they are often the main breadwinner for their families and they turn not let go of these jobs even if they wanted to quit duration of us wanting is the Asia business correspondent for our partner broadcaster the b.b.c. Persian thank you you're welcome. As this year draws to a close we're highlighting some crucial but underreported stories on our beat from around the world our senior producers Nicole child is our digital producer is Janet when our engineer this week is Brian Alison in New York I'm David Brancaccio with the Marketplace Morning Report. From a.p.m. American Public Media p.b.s. Is supported by Alexandria real estate Alexandria is a real estate and investment partner for San Diego's life science and technology companies Alexandria building the future of life changing innovation they are Valentino at the Lodge a torrid Pines with panoramic views and farm fresh ingredient dishes by Executive Chef Jeff Jackson Jr Valentino serves breakfast 7 days a week beginning at 7 reservations available at a r Valentini dot com This is k p b s Sunday a go k 206 and k.q. Vo Calexico I'm terrific with a check on traffic I new x. That on the westbound date at the 163 as they work to get a few cars out of lanes here it's backed up from San Diego State pretty solid up to Taylor crash there now on the shoulder a westbound $94.00 the lighter of the 2 some traffic to deal with out of Oak Park just kind of off and on to the 5 or 5 little slow down town it's getting just a bit tougher past the 8 heading up to look north they don't by flowing north park over the Mission Valley bridge flows again through Kearney Mesa traffic made possible by r.v. Solutions visit Airstream Solutions dot com for air stream travel trailers and touring coaches in San Diego County for k.p. Vs some Tory Pac It's 8 o'clock. Good morning President Donald Trump addresses a graduating class at the f.b.i. National Academy It's Friday December 15th This is Morning Edition on k.p. Yes I'm Deb Welch the White House meantime says newly revealed f.b.i. Records show extreme bias against the president among senior leadership at the agency in San Diego taking up. Slack regulations in fire prone areas that is for Also coming up on Morning Edition this week Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he's willing to talk with the North Koreans that story just ahead in the San Diego forecast mostly sunny skies a red flag warning in effect until this morning news is.