Ssion from n.p.r. News. Ok Could your corner store also become your health clinic will ask our consumers may or may not benefit I'm Steve Inskeep And I'm Rachel Martin congressional Republicans scored a win with the votes to overhaul the tax code now they're faced with the threat of a government shutdown and unless they pass a spending bill and where the Democrats know this we'll talk with Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland this hour and the u.s. Supreme Court hears a case about sports betting and states' rights It's Monday December 4th rapper and hip hop mogul Jay z. Is 48 years old today. The news is next. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Corba Coleman a week ahead of Alabama's special Senate election President Trump is underscoring support for embattled Republican candidate Roy Moore N.P.R.'s Scott d'être reports Trump is tweeting his strongest indorsement since Moore was 1st accused of soliciting sexual encounters with teenage girls including alleged assaults Republican leaders from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to House Speaker Paul Ryan have called on Moore to drop out of the race they and many other Republicans say they believe the women who say more pursued relationships and sexual contact with them when he was in his thirty's and they were teens but on Twitter today Trump said quote We need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama and said a win by Democrat Doug Jones would quote hurt our great Republican agenda after The Washington Post published its 1st report on the more allegations the White House issued a statement saying that quote if these accusations are true Moore should step aside but in recent weeks Trump has been increasingly supportive of Moore saying publicly that Moore totally denies the accusations being made against him Scott Petro n.p.r. News the drugstore chain c.v.s. Has a deal to buy the health insurance giant Aetna for $69000000000.00 If approved it would bring together c.v.s. Is $9000.00 drug stores with Etna's insurance covering about $22000000.00 people N.P.R.'s Allison Kojak reports the companies are looking to change the way people get basic medical care c.v.s. And Aetna say they want to create community based clinics in c.v.s. Stores that can provide basic health care according to the companies the expanded walk in clinics would give people a place other than the emergency room to go for a simple health needs like strep test and they say the clinics would allow people with chronic illnesses to be monitored between doctor appointments the companies say these services would cut health care spending overall But consumer advocates worry that the giant new health care company could take away choices from patients . May be required to buy their prescription drugs at c.v.s. Stores rather than at the pharmacies they choose Alison Kojak n.p.r. News former South Carolina police officer Michael Slater learns his fate in federal court this week Slater who's white shot and killed black motorist Walter Scott who was fleeing a traffic stop in 2015 a judge will sentence later on a civil rights charge that carries up to life in prison South Carolina Public Radio's Victoria Hanson has more Slager was trying for murder but the jury deadlocked the state decided not to retry him later pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating the civil rights of Walter Scott federal prosecutors want the stiff this punishment possible life behind bars Slater's attorney 87 says their motives are political Victoria Hanson reporting President Trump is visiting Utah today he's expected to shrink the size of 2 large u.s. National monuments You're listening to n.p.r. News. It's 7 o 4 I'm Andrea telephone with 91.5 k. R.c.c. News data shows a record number of residents moved out of the state last year new annual figures from the u.s. Census Bureau's American Community Survey show Colorado saw its 1st drop this decade in the number of people arriving from other states well those leaving has hit a record high that's resulted in the lowest net migration number in 7 years the data says 10000 more Coloradans moved away last year than in 2015 a state lawmaker has drafted a resolution to oust Representative Steve from office is accused of sexual harassment 91.5 k. R.c.c. Benta Berkland reports there's just one known example in Colorado history of a lawmaker being voted out of office by his peers go back 100 years to 915 that's when Representative William Howland was removed for perjury now Representative Matt Gray says it's time for his fellow Democrat led to go given what we know about his conduct I don't believe it's fair to ask another woman to ever have to interact with representative of sockets of powerful member of the General Assembly faces to formal complaints about his conduct in the wake of stories we broke last month 3 other women have also come forward to us to complain about lapse sock sock has refused calls for his resignation including from the governor led sock repeatedly has denied any wrongdoing it would take a 2 thirds vote of the house to remove it from office for 91.5 Care News I'm bent to Birkeland at the state capitol and you're listening to $91.00 k. R.c.c. News 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 failed with activities souvenirs maps and stickers learn more little passports dot com slash radio. America's 1st line of defense How about diplomacy I'm appalled you cannot and should not and must not hollow out the diplomatic aspect of our lives since January the Foreign Service has lost 60 percent of its career ambassadors and that has a lot of people here and overseas worried the state of the State Department next time from w.a.m. You and n.p.r. . Join us for one and that's coming up this morning at 10 o'clock on 91.5 K.R.'s c.c. Southern Colorado's n.p.r. Station Good morning to you it's 6 minutes past 7 o'clock ledger here with me this morning coming up on Morning Edition the ban on sports betting in most States gets its day in the Supreme Court Nina Totenberg reports on that coming up in 15 minutes programing on 91.5 k. Or c. C. Is supported by Casa seeking volunteers to advocate for the safety and wellbeing of abused in the collective children the next Casa information hour is December 19th at the Casa office downtown info at Casa p.p.r. Dot org by old world bagel and deli featuring New York style boil bagels made in house daily and a breakfast and lunch menu to pick up or even from sandwiches to salads Old-World bagel and Deli is located one block west of south circle and I 25. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Steve Inskeep And I'm Rachel Martin Democrats in Congress find themselves in an interesting moment they've been left out in the cold on the tax bill Senate Republicans passed their bill in the early morning hours Saturday and they did it without a single Democrat vote but now there's a government shutdown looming and Republicans now need at least some Democrats to get on board in order to prevent that from happening we are joined now by Senator Chris Van Hollen on the line he's a Democrat from Maryland who sits on the Senate's budget committee thanks so much for being with us Senator Rachel great. Let's start with the tax bill this looks to be a done deal the House and Senate will now reconcile their 2 bills in conference it'll go to the president's desk for his signature by Christmas they anticipate what do you believe will be the most significant consequences of the Republican tax plan. Well I think the public is the union to find out just how bad this bill is which is one of the reasons Republican leaders of tried to rush through so quickly you're going to see giant tax cuts for big corporations and they are going to be financed in a couple ways one millions of middle class families will see their taxes 'd go up to even after that you're going to see a trillion dollars added to the dad that's a low number over the next 10 years and number 3 in the Senate bill you're going to see people who are in the health care exchanges. Have their premiums go up and according to Congressional Budget Office $13000000.00 Americans will have access to affordable health care and you have this is the pay for these big tax cuts for big corporations so we're going to be challenging part always as the months go by too. Fast workers you know where's your $4000.00 wage increase from so we'll see how all this shakes out is there anything that could be done in conference as the House and Senate try to reconcile and that would ease your concerns I mean there's talk of of reducing the corporate tax cuts perhaps. I think that the corns bill is so rotten that the only way to fix it is you know throw this out and start again we would all like to have bipartisan tax reform we do need 'd to have tax reform simplification in the country but this has been a Trojan horse for providing tax cuts for the very wealthy and again financed by raising taxes on millions of folks in the middle class Meanwhile there's a government shutdown looming as you know you all need to pass some kind of temporary stopgap measure by Friday to prevent a shutdown Republicans need you now they need some Democrats to make this happen what could get you to yes. Well we'd like to see adequate investments in the economy and things that help me grow including our kids' education excluding modernizing our infrastructure and you have a lot of these Republicans who are just voted to increase the national debt by over $20.00 who now want to cut our investments our kids' education so we're not going to support bills that really cut into those important levers for economic growth we also need to deal with the Children's Health Insurance Program which it also enters we've got to deal with some important issues related to immigration so there's a whole 'd lot on our plate right now but how likely is it not that would happen that's a long laundry list you're talking about reauthorizing the Children's Health Insurance Program and to stalk about education there's also Democrats who say you've got to stabilize the Affordable Care Act's insurance markets you mentioned DACA are you can overplay your hand here well a couple of nice things we're now promised are Republican senators as a condition of them supporting this big tax cut bill for example Senator Susan Collins said she got an agreement to pass the bipartisan 76 to some of the fordable Care Act exchanges now it's not going to undo the damage that was in the tax bill but that was a promise made to her. Jeff Flake said he was promised that they would do it with the dreamers issue So Republican leaders now said that they'll be willing to act on some of these things and we'll have to see of course months ago President trunks that he wanted a well good government shutdown we hope that they don't take us in that direction so you're referring to a tweet the president sent out in May a saying exactly not the country could use a centrally a good shutdown to fix this mess but do you think a shutdown would actually hurt Republicans politically. I think a shutdown would hurt the country we saw what happened in 2013 shameful government shutdown about 16 days created chaos not just within government services around the country. Results of. Sodomy So it's really important we avoided. I really hope readers will follow through on that earlier suggestion in presence helps tweet earlier this year but you would you be able to prioritize that laundry list that you just laid out would you be able to prioritize it if it meant keeping the government open you've got to pick one or 2 can you do that. When these are all vital things in other words down to make sure we get it right part of the government open number to the Children's Health Insurance Program is running out as we speak so it's all that we do those things and do you. Do you need Doc protections to be in there to pass and we we we have to deal with the docking issue 'd. By the end of the year and what form that takes a year out of yes it promised Senator Flake that they would address this issue and so let's see if they through on the promise Democratic Senator Christopher Van Hollen of Maryland thanks so much Senator thank you now we have an update on the largest mass migration in human history it's the flow of hundreds of millions of Chinese into big cities they powered China's factories but the government of Beijing wants money to go back authorities consider that giant city too crowded and they've been nudging people to leave a few weeks ago on this program we met migrant workers children who must attend special schools some of which are shut down now a big fire has become an occasion to evict migrants from a particular part of Beijing N.P.R.'s Anthony Kuhn went there and found migrants being thrown out. To women in dusty clothes or carrying a heavy wooden wardrobe added their home and on to the street where they loaded onto a cart authorities have given migrant laborers in this town on the city's southern fringes just days to clear out before they shut off all electricity and water one of the women speaks up she asks to remain anonymous because she's afraid the government will punish or did the law they. Well they also there's a lot had a lot of this is too unfair to us how many folk we've suffered too much after all the years we've worked here we have to throw everything away and return home she comes from a poor part of northern China's one province she's been in the capital for over a decade selling building materials and decorating homes last month a fire in this district killed $1000.00 people after that the Beijing municipal government gave districts until the end of this month to demolish illegal and unsafe housing but the woman sees that is just an excuse to kick people out. If they just fixed up the fire exits there shouldn't be any hazards to people living here they're just being unfair to migrants thanked the woman salvage is a few last odds and ends and stuff them into plastic bags she loads them onto her scooter and rides off into the freezing streets strewn with discarded clothes and rubble down the street the township government plays a recorded message it says that urban redevelopment will benefit everyone and asks residents to cooperate one of the government's grand plan is to count Beijing's population at 23000000 and move non-essential industries out of the city the recent fire seems to have just sped up the process municipal officials declined to be interviewed it's unclear how many migrants will be evicted Beijing has about $8000000.00 of them. And is a population expert at University of Wisconsin Madison he argues that the massive vixens aren't really necessary because the Beijing migrant population is already peaked you know. Even if the government didn't drive them out the flow of migrants will eventually reverse itself migrants are already leaving Beijing because it's too expensive he says and their home towns in the hinterland have started to get factory jobs high speed rail and internet if the migrants leave he says Beijing could end up looking like China's Rust Belt Beijing's population is aging and migrants now account for more than half of residents between the ages of 20. 39 so you had a big bag you had up so you what you thought is this is the most glorious age and aging is history if you stay in Beijing for another decade you will witness the city's decline Chinese intellectuals have petition the government to halt the evictions calling them a violation of human rights even some state media have criticized the campaign what angers many says he is that the government has called migrants a low end population basically implying that they're inferior quality human beings Oh well. Perhaps you got the idea that China didn't just say this and they actually wrote it and to government documents this is absurd on the street I met another migrant woman who is struggling to stay in Beijing she also asked for anonymity like many migrants she gets angry when she remembers the theme song of the Beijing Olympics nearly a decade ago it was called Beijing welcomes you I mean you Banyan there will be divine you in 2008 Beijing welcomed us last year they started to show us migrants the door this year they're trying to kick us out all together on Chinese social media criticism of the eviction of migrants has been heavily censored including the term low end population Anthony Kuhn n.p.r. News Beijing. This is n.p.r. News. $91.00 k. Or c.c. Is on Facebook and Twitter join us there and you'll find news headlines and local stories station events and announcements find us and follow us today on Facebook and Twitter at k r c c. 18 minutes past 7 o'clock on this Monday morning and you're listening to Morning Edition on Southern Colorado's n.p.r. Station 91.5 k. R.c.c. Headline News is coming up next to bitches throughout southern Colorado are mostly in the thirty's and forty's a few twenty's for the higher elevations highs today in the thirty's and forty's for much of the Southern Colorado region programming on 91.5 k. Or c. C. Is supported by some terra grill and overeasy offering private dining spaces for casual occasions and holiday gatherings at multiple locations menus photos and more on Linus on Terra grill dot com. From n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Dave Mattingly President Trump is heading to Utah today he's expected to announce plans to sharply reduce the size of 2 national monuments including the bear's ears national monument it was established in Utah last year by President Obama before leaving the White House this morning the president was asked by reporters about Michael Flynn his former national security adviser who pleaded guilty on Friday to lying to the f.b.i. About his contacts with Russia's u.s. Ambassador feel badly for General Allen I feel very badly he's led a very strong life and I feel very badly John I will say this Hillary Clinton lied many times to the f.b.i. Nothing happened they were when they lied and they destroyed his life the president offered no evidence to back up his claim that Clinton lied to the f.b.i. In a 2016 interview the New York Metropolitan Opera is long time conductor 74 year old James love online is suspended N.P.R.'s Anastasia its a kook a says 3 men allegedly behind sexually abused them as teenagers decades ago Levein his long term associations with several important summer programs for music students where young musicians often form close relationships with mentors it was it 2 of those festivals that the men say that Levein abused them officials with the Met have said Levein denies the accusations I'm Dave Mattingly n.p.r. News in Washington. David Greene chances are you might listen to me on your commute and chances are your radio is your favorite part of your car next days when the time comes don't you're right and turn it into the programs you love visit k. Or c c dot org for details on the next fresh air Daniel Ellsberg best known for leaking the classified Pentagon Papers but back then the former military analyst had other documents he wanted to leak in his new book The Doomsday Machine He writes about our government's nuclear capabilities the documents he once copied and hid have been released through the Freedom of Information Act join us. Join us for fresh air that's coming up today at noon on $91.00 k. R.c.c. C.v.s. Is a buying health insurer at Knopf for $69000000000.00 It's a deal that could shake up the insurance industry we'll hear more about that on Morning Edition from 91.5 k. R.c.c. Southern Colorado's n.p.r. Station that's coming up in about 12 minutes on Morning Edition we'll also hear the latest on the North Korea will visit North Korea Sweden's embassy in Pyongyang is stepping in there when Americans are held captive That's coming up in the next 40 minutes on Southern Colorado's n.p.r. Station 91.5 k. R.c.c. 46 degrees and a bit breezy in Colorado Springs and Pueblo 48 and Insalata 25 support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Haines donating 200000 pairs of socks to those in need and more than 2100000 pairs since 2009 information about a day in the life of a person experiencing homelessness at Hains dot com slash sock drive from e nada creators of the Japanese made Dreamwave massage chair was shot see point detection and 16 programmed massages including morning in one time session. Ins retail dealers nationwide more it Dreamwave chair dot com. And from Dana Farber Cancer Institute where physician researchers are working to create vaccines to enable a person's immune system to stop melanoma and other cancers more at Dana Farber dot org slash defeat cancer. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Rachel Martin and I'm Steve Inskeep the federal ban on sports betting is tested before the Supreme Court today now we do not know the odds in Vegas on how this case will turn out but we do know that the United States prohibits sports betting in most states the court challenge claims that that ban on constitutionally tramples on state sovereignty the ban was in acted in 1902 at the instigation of a former amateur and professional sports star turned u.s. Senator here's n.p.r. Legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg probably got up past the probably cut. Bill Bradley played 10 years for the New York Knicks helping them win 2 n.b.a. Championships the former Princeton star and Rhodes Scholar went on to serve 3 terms in the u.s. Senate representing New Jersey and winning accolades as a serious legislator in his 18 years in the Senate he introduced just one bill related to sports a ban on sports betting the bill which passed easily banned gambling on sports in $46.00 states exempting the 4 states that had already legalized it and giving all the rest a year in which to legalize it if they wanted to Bradley says his motivation was simple and person betting on sports was betting on human beings here and I thought that that was wrong that it turns players into Roulette chips it makes the game which is a game of high level competition and excellence in Tuesday slot machines and I don't think that should be what we do in this country Bradley said there was virtually no congressional opposition to his bill back in 1902 though he says that Donald Trump with failing investments in Atlantic City casinos lobbied against it believing that sports betting was the answer to his financial problems there after the bill passed New Jersey did not seek to legalize gambling in its one year window of opportunity that. Was then and this is now however now the American Gaming Association estimates that the figure for illegal sports betting has grown to $150000000000.00 a year and cash starved states are salivating at the thought of raising billions from legalizing and licensing that activity not to mention taxing the proceeds and her New Jersey home to at least a half dozen shuttered Atlanta City casinos a state where Republicans and Democrats since 2011 have been trying to overturn the federal ban or somehow get around it as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie put it bluntly in 2012 we intend to go forward with our sports gambling to happen if someone wants to stop us in the have to take action to try to stop us twice the state has tried to legalize sports betting twice the major sports leagues and the end c.w.a. Have taken the state to court each time contending that the state is violating the federal ban and acted in 1902 and twice the state has lost in the federal appeals court now however the issue has reached the Supreme Court with the state contending that the federal law unconstitutionally commandeers the states to enforce the federal ban arguing today's case will be 2 men each of whom served as solicitor general in the George w. Bush administration representing New Jersey is lawyer Ted Olson who argues that the federal government cannot tell the states that they have to carry out the federal ban on sports betting but can't say to states you're just working for us you take the responsibility we'll give the instructions we'll be the puppet master he risked his case on 2 prior Supreme Court cases holding that the federal government cannot commandeer a state's apparatus to enforce a federal law most notably in 1907 the Supreme Court ruled that the federal law requiring state and local officials to carry out background checks on gun buyers was unconstitutional. Because it commandeered or conscripted state and local officials to enforce a federal law but lawyer Paul Clement representing the sports leagues and backed by the Trump administration says this case is very different he contends that the federal ban on sports betting doesn't commandeer anything all it does is set out what states may not do here they can't authorize sports betting they can't authorize a state lottery system that involves a component of sports gambling and you know with all due respect to the other side's argument it's not that unusual for Congress to tell states that they can't do things that they want to do all that Congress did here he argues was an act of federal policy preempting what the states could do the Supreme Court has often upheld such federal preemption statues for example barring States from adding to federally approved labels for pharmaceuticals or barring States from setting trucking rates the clash of constitutional theories in this case however may be beside the point in the real world in the modern economic landscape there's a growing tolerance for sports betting even among the sports leagues that are fighting New Jersey in this case there's more interest in Congress changing the federal law and some have suggested the leagues wouldn't mind losing their Supreme Court case the reason boils down to one simple word money everybody sees a chance to profit from the states to the professional sports leagues in 2014 the n.b.a. Commissioner wrote an op ed piece in The New York Times calling for a quote federal framework to legalize sports betting the National Football and Hockey League's have decided to move major sports teams to the capital of sports betting Las Vegas play drug free $100000.00 contest with Major League Baseball as well as the. The n.b.a. And the n.h.l. Have invested in sports fancy companies and the n.f.l. As well as Major League Baseball are increasingly partnering with data dissemination firms for gambling purposes overseas so it's no surprise that even if the court does not uncork the bottle of legalized sports betting Congress just might revisit its ban for the man who started it all Bill Bradley that is dispiriting a lot of things will make money questions what's right and what's wrong do you want your children involved betting on sports where and how about a Little League How about junior high school after all he says there's money to be made by betting on the spread in those games to a decision in the sports betting case is expected later in the Supreme Court term Nina Totenberg n.p.r. News Washington. It's n.p.r. News who is generation the oldest members of the group are in their early twenty's and they have never known a world without the Internet they communicate using. Animated gifs I use them every day and almost every conversation that I have instead of telling someone how good I look I can just send them a picture of the Queen's alphabet I'm Kelly McEvers that story this afternoon on All Things Considered from n.p.r. News. Today into all things considered starting at 330. Morning I'm Rachel Martin a guy named Alex Bowen went into a Waffle House restaurant in South Carolina last week around 2 am for some very early morning drive but there was only one employee in the whole place and the person was fast asleep Alex took things into his own hands he went back in the kitchen and made himself a double bacon cheese steak melt snapping selfies along the way Boeing took a photo to prove that he did pay his tab and lest he be accused of leaving a mess he also cleaned the grill It's Morning Edition. We've been talking about the future of political parties and hearing from both sides of the aisle one longtime Republican thinks the soul of his party is lost and has become a fear of standing up and doing what they think is right sometimes because of where the base not only is going but it has definitely gone next time on the take away from w. N.y.c. N.p.r. I Public Radio International. Tune in to the takeaway that's coming up immediately following morning edition at 9 o'clock on 91.5 k. R.c.c. Southern Colorado's in p r station. You can experience a winter wonderland it shine mouths inaugural electric blue light adults evening event on December 7th information on this can be found on our community calendar link. Orgy. It's 731 and you're listening to Morning Edition on this Monday morning the 4th of December Good morning to you clowns are here with me this morning temperatures throughout southern Colorado are mostly in the thirty's and forty's twenty's for the higher elevations currently in Colorado Springs It's $38.00 and probably $45.00 and Insalata $21.00 Temperatures today will be in the thirty's and forty's so certainly not changing very much and it does look to be a breezy morning throughout the southern Colorado region temperatures tomorrow will also be in the thirty's and forty's for southern Colorado just as has been swift for some of the men accused of sexual harassment in the media and entertainment but in politics the consequences haven't been as swift or decisive The biggest reason democracy Tamara Keith has more on that coming up in about 15 minutes on Morning Edition programing on 91.5 k. Or c. C. Is supported by Dale Payne certified financial planner promoting financial literacy through a new generation financial planning transparent and fully disclosed in all matters including commissions. Ash Financial dot com support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and 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 empower retirement and power partners with more than 35000 employers and 8000000 individuals as they journey to and through retirement learn more at empower my future dot com and from the ne Casey Foundation. On a Monday It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Steve Inskeep And I'm Rachel Martin there is news of a merger this morning that could change how you and your family get your health care drugstore chain c.v.s. Is preparing to buy health insurance giant Aetna for $69000000000.00 It is a mammoth acquisition pairing c.v.s. Is $9000.00 drug stores with Aetna is insurance that covers around $22000000.00 people we should know at now is an occasional sponsor of n.p.r. Programming N.P.R.'s health policy reporter Alison Kojak is in the studio with us this morning to talk about this Hey Allison Hey Rachel How's this we're going to change things for consumers Well so 1st you need to think about c.v.s. It's actually much more than just a drugstore chain it is what's called a pharmacy benefit manager and it's huge what it mean it manages the prescription insurance that you get with your health care coverage so you might not know that c.v.s. Caremark is taking it is managing your pharmacy benefit but they're the ones who get the co-pays and set the prices and that kind of thing so they're already in the business. But they also have all these store fronts and so the idea of what they're thinking is and at now is that they will create these sort of what they're calling health care hubs places where you can go especially if you have it Manchurians and get your basic health care you know if you have an ear ache or need a blood test or you have diabetes and knee monitoring you just go to your c.v.s. To real have a pharmacist maybe a nurse practitioner and your health insurance will be seamless and testing and we have already dabbled in that you can go get vaccinations some vaccinations their flu shots so this isn't exactly Well it's an expansion it could give them a lot more power in the industry too because if they control the insurer insurance they can say we'd like you to come to this c.v.s. Store will charge you less if you come to the c.v.s. Store and get your health care so why is this going to mean that drugs are any cheaper Well they are saying that. Make not only drugs cheaper but also the cost of health care overall it's not clear that I mean that's clearly not a unanimous opinion but people talk a lot about the high cost of drugs but other medical services actually are much more expensive or spending a lot more on hospital care and doctor care than on drugs drugs are growing faster c.v.s. And what they're saying is if we can direct people away from emergency rooms and into these sort of low cost clinics that will cut the overall cost of health care now there may also be an opportunity to lower the cost of drugs to consumers by creating this big company that has huge amount of market power to negotiate with pharmacy companies but up until now pharmacy benefit manager is the c.v.s. Type companies aren't actually known for really lowering the cost of drugs in the system because they take a share of the profit so one of the other big critiques I mean when you've got these 2 huge conglomerates merging raises antitrust issues other kinds of there's a lot of question about the market power that the company will have and there's concern that it will be too powerful in the overall industry what one analyst said to me is that this doesn't really make sense except that c.v.s. And Aetna are worried that Amazon is going to get into the prescription drug business and why wouldn't they there and everything else exactly and Jeff Bezos has hinted that that maybe is next step and he referred to this as a hysterical reaction of that but other people say it might make sense if Amazon were getting it's a big game of Why don't you create a lot of him and to compete with it you know we'll have to see whether or not the Justice Department Federal Trade Commission look kindly upon this they've broken up over the last couple of years proposed merges of insurance companies but because these aren't 2 specifically insurance companies that may work a little bit better so just briefly do we know how the term administration feels about this new Department of Justice we have not seen any statements from them on this in particular so we'll have to wait to see how they react and P.R.'s Alison Kojak Thanks Allison thanks Rachel. Let's follow up on the reported death of a pivotal figure in the history of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh was Yemen's president for 3 decades amid that country's civil war he is now reported to have been killed by a rebel faction the who these who control much of the country who these were solid allies until just this past weekend N.P.R.'s Ruth your log has been monitoring this story hi Ruth Hello what evidence says the former president is dead well at the moment there is a gruesome video that's being circulated by this sort of official media of one of the militias that claims to have killed him and also on Twitter and it shows a body of somebody that looks very much like Allie Abdullah Saleh wrapped in a colorful blanket being dragged out of a pickup truck and he has got blood on his shirt in addition to that members of his own political party have told Reuters. That that he has died but this is all kind of very unnamed based on unnamed sources at the moment but we do have this video which I'm looking at no it's quite disturbing to look at so yes let's talk about who we are really was who was he on before this weekend. So he was the 1st president of Yemen and he ruled for 34 years and he stood down in 2012 in response to popular protests but that wasn't the end of Ali Abdullah Saleh he came back. Later after making an alliance with a his thesis a tribal militia sorry. Ethnic group in Yemen that formed a militia that stormed the capital and along with the he's he took control of Sana That's the capital and they have control of the capital for about 2 years so he was in this alliance with them but there was always a competition for power between them and in recent weeks he felt that The Who things were not do during this. Power sharing agreement that they had taken too much and so just on Friday he broke ties with them and announced that he would actually be willing to change sides to ally with the other side in Yemen civil war that's the side that of. The hardy government in sashing recognized government which is backed by Saudi Arabia and the code and a coalition behind Saudi Arabia and so he was this kind of powerful charismatic figure and people have spent analysts I've spoken to say he was kind of the folk crim of Yemen you know nothing happened in Yemen without his knowledge or his influence what's it mean that he's gone that. Well exactly exactly the big question so some people I've spoken to say you know it's far too early to speculate who might you might take over but he is going to be sort of there saying that now without him gone the Saudis might take the gloves off and start fighting the who sees who are alleged to have been backed by Iran in a much more intense way so we can only expect this war to worsen a saying that's likely to be an intensive intensification of the conflict and that's not good for an already terrible humanitarian situation thanks very much for the update really appreciate it thank you very much that's N.P.R.'s Ruth Sherlock reporting from Beirut on the reported death of the former president of Yemen It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News. David Greene chances are you might listen to me on your commute and chances are your radio is your favorite part of your car this days so when the time comes donate your right and turn it into the programs you visit k. Or c c dot org for details and thanks to everyone who supports 91.5 k. R.c.c. Through their card donations or memberships or what have you we certainly appreciate it. At the end of the year is coming up so if you want to get that tax reduction in you can do that as well it's currently $741.00 n.p.r. Headline News is coming up programming on 91.5 k. Or c. C. Is supported by Kaiser Permanente believing that total health care requires teamwork from primary care doctors to specialists and technicians their caregivers are striving to think and work together Kaiser Permanente k p dot org. From n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Dave Mattingly some of the 10 Catalan separatists leaders being held in Spain are being released from jail Lauren Frayer reports from Madrid Spain Supreme Court has granted bail for 6 former members of Catalonia cabinet who face trial for rebellion but the region's deposed vice president interior minister and 2 civic protest leaders have been ordered back to jail they are considered a flight risk after the ex-president of Catalonia fled to Belgium Spain blocked efforts by Catalonia to break away from the country following an October referendum the u.s. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in a case testing the federal ban on sports gambling N.P.R.'s Nina Totenberg says New Jersey wants to revive it shuttered casinos in Atlantic City by licensing sports betting on one side is New Jersey and other cash starved States hungry for licensing fees and new tax revenue from sports gambling even among the sports leagues that are fighting New Jersey in court today there's money to be made from sports betting in the modern economic and digital world so much so that some have suggested the leagues wouldn't mind losing their Supreme Court case the American Gaming Association estimates $150000000000.00 has wagered on sports in the u.s. Each year illegally stocks on Wall Street opened sharply higher this morning following Senate passage of Republican tax overhaul the Dow is up more than 200 points I'm David Mattingly America's 1st line of defense How about diplomacy I'm appalled that you cannot and should not and must not hollow out the diplomatic aspect of our lives since January the Foreign Service has lost 60 percent of its career ambassadors and that has a lot of people here and overseas worried the state of the State Department next time on one egg from w.a.m. You and n.p.r. . Tune into one a that's coming up today from 10 o'clock until noon on any 1.5 k. R.c.c. . Southern Colorado's n.p.r. Station Good morning to you it is 744 And still ahead on Morning Edition in recent decades Sweden has become sort of a middleman between North Korea and the West the Swedes are very good at this to me in the Swedes have often played that kind of a role diplomacy a very kind of they are seen in some measure as an honest broker Sweden even has an embassy in North Korea more on how that happened that's coming up in 6 minutes on Morning Edition from 91.5 k. R.c.c. Southern Colorado's n.p.r. Station programing on 91.5 k. Or c. C. Is supported by old world bagel and deli featuring New York style boiled bagels made in house daily with breakfast and lunch served all day long to pick up or eat in old world bagel and Deli is located one block west of south circle and I 25. 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 spend Mendelson in the early James based on the true story now playing in select theaters from the pajama gram company offering 29 matching holiday pajamas styles for the whole family including cats and dogs and with Charlie Brown and holiday themed in its fleece and flannel more at pajama gram dot com and from the listeners who support this n.p.r. Station. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Steve Inskeep And I'm Rachel Martin more high profile allegations of sexual assault New York's Metropolitan Opera has suspended its conductor after he was accused of sexually abusing 3 teenage boys accusations against James Levein go as far back as the late 1960 s. He is the latest in a string of high profile men accused of sexual assault or harassment but while there have been swift firings and resignations for figures in the worlds of entertainment and media such public accusations against members of Congress haven't had the same result N.P.R.'s Tamara Keith explains why Harvey Weinstein Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose were out almost as soon as the allegations against them were made public in part because their alleged behavior created p.r. And economic problems but as accusations about members of Congress come out they've so far been able to hang on to their jobs we have to remember that business does not operate like the government Laura Brown is director of The Graduate School of political management at George Washington University the government is a democracy and what that means is that these individuals who are incumbents or are elected officials. They have been put there by voters voters who get their say every 24 or 6 years Brown looked at the electoral fortunes of House members who faced scandals all kinds going back to 1966 and what she found is if they didn't succumb to pressure to resign their chances of staying in office were pretty good about 2 thirds of members with scandals and up surviving when they do run for office Case in point Gerry Studds a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts who had a central role in the 1983 congressional page sex scandal he had a relationship with a 17 year old congressional page in the wake of it he also came out as being gay and he was censured by Congress for his behavior but he also won reelection in Massachusetts Studds continued to be reelected and served in Congress until $997.00 says Brown So the electoral process and insulated incumbents from the effects of scandals because most partisan would prefer to have a member who is not so great from a character standpoint but good on their issues California Democrat Jackie Spear is leading the push to update the way the House handles sexual harassment you know when a c.e.o. Of a company is found to have sexually harassed employee they don't wait until the next annual meeting so that the shareholders can determine whether or not he should go it's determined by the Board of Directors in this analogy the shareholders are the voters and the board of directors would be the House and Senate Ethics Committees which can recommend that members of Congress be censured or even expelled but unlike a board of directors the ethics committees don't exactly have a history of swift justice Meredith McGee He runs issue one a. It is an organization that describes itself as trying to fix democracy their standard operating procedure or their m.o. If you will is to put these way on the back burner and hope everybody forgets about it but I don't think that's going to be the case here they want to get it dealt with so I would expect that they will be looking to move with a speed that they never show in media but fast by congressional standards is still slow compared to the private sector and that's why some in Congress are putting pressure on colleagues to hurry up and resign Tamara Keith n.p.r. News. This is n.p.r. News on the next fresh air Daniel Ellsberg best known for leaking the classified Pentagon Papers but back then the former military analyst had other documents he wanted to leak in his new book The Doomsday Machine He writes about our government's nuclear capabilities the documents he once copied and hid have been released through the Freedom of Information Act join us. Join us for fresh air that's coming up today at noon on Southern Colorado's n.p.r. Station 91.5 k. R.c.c. During his campaign President Trump promised to put detainees away went on about day which by the way which by the way we are keeping open which we are keeping and we're going to load it up with some bad dude's believe me just ahead an update on the nation's longest court case ever which is taking place in Guantanamo that's coming up in 20 minutes on $91.00 k. R.c.c. Will also hear more about the tax bill that the Senate has passed the House has also passed a version host Steve Inskeep speaks with a Peter Morici and Jared Bernstein from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities about the challenges of reconciliation that. Thomas ation is just ahead on Southern Colorado's n.p.r. Station 91.5 k. R.c.c. Programming on 91.5 k. Or c. C. Is supported by your optics Colorado's locally owned I wear galleries celebrating the holidays with a 2nd pair of event at the promenade shops at Briar gate and online at your optics dot net through December 31st your optics the art of optics by the millibar Art Theater celebrating the holidays with follow an adult circus cabaret and the family friendly return of the Christmas mouse December 7th through the 24th tickets online at the Matt dot org. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Rachel Martin and I'm Steve Inskeep when Americans are held captive in North Korea which happens they cannot call the United States embassy there is no u.s. Embassy in North Korea so another embassy in Pyongyang steps in North Korea and the u.s. Don't have a diplomatic relations is acting as it will be playing here with the u.s. Or not had direct relations with the North Sweden acts as its representatives Sweden serves as the protecting power for the u.s. Ok so what are the Swedes doing in the hermit kingdom their presence involves a fleet of Swedish cars N.P.R.'s Danny Hage explains on August 5th 20092 American journalists stepped off a plane in Burbank California finally home after being detained in North Korea for 140 days that is one leg in the way I think of American story Laura Ling spoke at the press conference you know I would just like to express our deepest gratitude to President Clinton President Obama and then she said this. We also like to thank the Swedish ambassador mats foyer. And we are so happy to be home the Swedish ambassador to North Korea he actually visited them during their captivity Ling still remembers the moment the ambassador walked into the drab Pyongyang hotel room I. I just lost it I was really overcome by emotion because I knew that he was the one person in North Korea who was working on my behalf he was my lifeline. So what was we didn't doing there in North Korea. Goes back to a deal that included a small Swedish car. For 4 Grand Lux. On the road. Real that the Valvo 144 is from another era boxy frame on small wheels round headlights like a tank. These cars are the remnants of North Korea diplomacy with the west obviously they were great cars urban later was working for The Wall Street Journal back in 1990 so you were on a reporting assignment yes in North Korea yes writing in a. In of all yes you know ever it was the same thing you had an interpreter and a driver and of all the oil and you were a family for 2 weeks later heard rumors from the other reporters the North Koreans had bought these cars and then. Valvo and not paid and so we joked that we were running around from stolen cars maybe there's a little truth to that in a country that seems so shut off these cars somehow got in so you saw these Vaal those 2 yes you couldn't help but notice them Jonathan Pollack is with the Brookings Institution he visited North Korea in 2009 my initial impulses where did they get these cars and the answer is they had them all along all the way back to the 1970 s. From Sweden right and Sweden of course had a particular role in North Korea that roll business deals back then Swedish export companies were sending over tons of Swedish made factory equipment and those of all those 1000 of them were part of the package why would Sweden ever do business with North Korea North Korea after the Korean War Their economy was rebuilt it became a functioning industrial state still very aid dependent but it wouldn't have seemed like such a bad bet under the circumstances I guess is the way I would put it Sweden ended up shipping over 70000000 dollars worth of stuff mining equipment the Vaal those and the export companies wanted someone on the ground keeping track of payments so North Korea allowed Sweden to open an embassy in Pyongyang I mean this was unprecedented Sweden needed one of their best and they had just the man for the job they all asked me 5 or like to open this embassy in North Korea and I said Yes Eric Cornell a veteran diplomat he's retired now 87 years old and lives outside Stockholm he remembers the day he arrived in North Korea winter 1975 remember very well. It was an emphatic slow it when the code and so on Monday came to Pyongyang No you started from scratch there came North Korean authorities provided the staff plus a car a Valvo $144.00 Oh yes of course for those who are good for a Swedish. Cornell served as the embassies xargs a diff air up until 1977 it was a grueling assignment he was sensing things you never have picked up from the outside here was this country spending a fortune on foreign goods get the capital city was sparse you could be into a coffee or a restaurant so because. It sounds like there wasn't really much of a social life at all it was kind of lonely maybe the rules were the conditions of life Cornell could see the obvious North Korea wasn't actually paying for any of the Swedish goods they had overspent and then the hood of a payback so trading stopped Cornell says the factory equipment was left to rust away in North Korean warehouses and those 1000 involved all these years later are still not paid for according to the Swedish export credit agency North Korea's debt to Sweden has grown to over $320000000.00 But Eric Cornell had managed something a lot more valuable small sense of trust with North Korea's leadership just like the valve us the Swedish embassy is still there we have kept the confidence in this way and that's been crucial Jonathan Pollack from Brookings says out of that ill fated trade deal Sweden grew to become the middleman between North Korea and the West and the Swedes are very good at this I mean this weeks of often played that kind of a role diplomacy of various kinds they are seen in some measure as an honest broker which is why since the ninety's the u.s. Has entrusted the Swedish embassy to serve as protective power in North Korea. Like that time in that drab hotel conference room in Pyongyang when Ambassador for a are wafted he's this tall lanky man and who has the large glasses and just the kindest expression on his face Laura Ling who sweetens a basket or was there for her so I remember embracing have and just not wanting to let go embassador for your couldn't negotiate her release but from time to time she brought medication and letters from home he was my connection to my family and I thought that through his eyes they would in turn be able to see me. You know those old evolve those are still driving around North Korea over 4 decades later Sweden is still holding out hope that one day they'll get paid back for maybe 1000 unpaid evolve it's just the cost of doing diplomacy. Danny Heydrich n.p.r. News. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Steve Inskeep And I'm Rachel Martin we've been talking about the future of political parties in hearing from both sides of the aisle one longtime Republican thinks the soul of his party is lost and has become a fear of standing up and doing what they think is right sometimes because of where the pace not only is going but it is definitely going That's next time on the take away from w. N.y.c. N.p.r. I Public Radio International and. The takeaway gets underway in an hour on Southern Colorado's n.p.r. Station 91.5 k. R.c.c. Good morning to you it is Monday the 4th of December and you're listening to Morning Edition on southern Colorado zoo.