The economy to claim success and question why the impeachment process is moving forward Joel Snyder n.p.r. News Washington House lawmakers have approved a gigantic spending package worth $1.00 trillion dollars to fund the federal government and P.R.'s Claudia Grisel as says the package has bipartisan support House lawmakers approved 2 massive spending bills to fund the government through September 2020 the government is operating off a temporary funding measure that runs out of money Friday night the Senate is now poised to vote on the measures later this week President Trump has previously threatened to veto spending measures but White House advisor Kellyanne Conway said the legislation should become law the president is poised to sign in to keep the government open President Trump must sign the measures by Friday at midnight to avert a government shutdown clouding the Celis n.p.r. News the Capitol scientists are reporting a sharp increase among teenagers who have been vaporing marijuana products over the past 2 years N.P.R.'s Richard Harris reports on 2 studies published in the medical journal Jonna the national youth tobacco survey polled children in grades 8 through 12 in 2018 and found that nearly 15 percent of them had vapor a marijuana product recently that was up from 11 percent just the year before many of these teens lived in households where other people other vapors or smoked many kids who had marijuana also used to back up products a 2nd independent survey found similar results extending it to 2019 the surveys were conducted before this summer which is when federal health officials started recording severe vaporing related lung injuries and now more than 50 deaths many of those are associated with marijuana vaporing products that had come from dubious sources Richard Harris n.p.r. News this is n.p.r. News. With j.d. Local News I'm Daniel rhizome as Colorado lawmakers prepare to return to the Capitol next month for another session governor Jared Polis is sharing his top priorities for the year ahead. Scott France has more as he looks forward to 2020 he says health care reform is at the top of his list a public option that sick it reduces premiums not just for individuals but also for businesses under $100.00 people more than 20 counties in Colorado only offer one insurance plan on the individual market lawmakers say a new public option will create more competition and cut premiums by as much as 18 percent I'm Scott Franz at the state capitol governor Polis says he is not close to endorse seen any of the Democratic presidential candidates who are hoping to challenge President Trump next year Polistes says he has talked to most of his fellow Democrats who are seeking the nomination however he says he wants to quote highlight the importance of Colorado issues in the campaign than a college is working on plans to create a law school that day to day symposium hosted at the campus the college explored Law School accreditation and how it ties back to its mission in a statement college president Charles Monte Russell said Navajo Nation should have a role in creating the law school this is k s j d news. Please B.-r. News I'm David Greene in Culver City California and I'm no well King in Washington d.c. Good morning today is a big day for the u.s. House of Representatives the president and for history the House is expected to vote to impeach President Trump tonight yesterday the president wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling the vote an attempted coup if the vote goes as expected in the Democratic controlled House it will lead to a trial in the Senate which is led by Republicans Democrats have asked to call witnesses for the trial Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said no he also said he has no plans or responsibility to be objective here I'm not sure if your political process is not anything judicial about impeachment. It is a political decision I also made a partisan political decision to impeach I would anticipate we will have a largely partisan outcome in the Senate I'm not impartial about this at all the Senate's top Democrat Chuck Schumer says that goes against the spirit of this process anyone in America watching this would draw the same logical conclusion that the president has something to hide and Republican senators too many of them are intent in helping him hide now many things at this trial apart from a criminal proceeding for one the jury pool the entire u.s. Senate would serve as the jury and one of those would be jurors is in studio with me now Republican Senator Mike Brown of Indiana thank you for coming in good to be here Ok so as jurors senators including you will take an oath to quote do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws and quote Are you prepared to do impartial justice here I am and I earlier was mentioned being objective I think the big issue is as we get into the Senate trial is there any other pertinent information that we hear beyond what we've heard so far and I think the easiest way to understand this idea of political is you could almost swap roles between McConnell and Shomer if you go back to the Clinton you know years so that I think is the best explanation of how this is political and look at the votes in the outcomes back then regardless of the reasons of how we got here Sal and that's a little tough for me I've come from a business world where everything I try to look at both sides on any issue I'm dealing with that must make it hard for you let me ask you I mean Senator Mitch McConnell says his mind is made up he is working in conjunction with the White House ease your mind made up I think that's based upon once we get into the trial that there's nothing else we hear and I think in that case you could again say that same thing on both sides. You know I'd wrote an op ed recently about how difficult this most must be for the 5 senators still in the presidential race on the Democratic side you know where none of us would probably be seated as jurors if you tried to parallel this completely to a court of law because I think that's the hardest thing to kind of understand it's political and I think for me the difference say between Nixon and Clinton is in the case of Trump he has mostly the personification of people in general being upset with business as usual before we got here and Clinton and Nixon or the quintessential politicians problem isn't you and that's to the media and it sounds like you are saying your mind is not made up that there's addition if you heard additional information you would be willing to vote to impeach you would be willing to vote guilty what what more do you want to learn about the president's behavior this point I don't think there will be anything more to learn because we've had 3 renditions. The hearings behind closed doors and the public hearings the 4 constitutional experts and I'd listen carefully to see if I could glean anything from the 2 later discussions and I didn't really hear anything other than kind of a re. Taishan of stuff that we heard leaked out the main hit points you know early so your mind is made up not necessarily because I will never say never something different I'll consider it because I think we need to do that do you want to hear from witnesses and if you do who do you want to hear from I believe Sure I'd love to hear witnesses that we could call and vice versa use a fix so who would you want to hear from. I would say that. I'm not sure about the whistleblower but I'd certainly. Probably want to hear from Biden Our his son Hunter probably all the ones you've been hearing about and I think they're that's a nonstarter that's a parlor game because both sides know witnesses won't be involved because you have to give the other side that same latitude and you know Chuck Schumer's already said that you know $100.00 Biden would be off the table in terms of the witness so I don't think we even start there but I know why the subject was broached It's all part of the process Ok this is the mutually assured destruction argument Matthew in the seconds we have left what do you make of the letter that the president said to Nancy Pelosi it was in his own words some people refer to it as a rant or a bit unhinged it was certainly strong it was strong and if you look at the entirety of the 6 page letter I think it was. Almost every paragraph was something I heard before and it was kind of put into a compilation because I think for President Trump as much as he lets anything roll off his back you know we're converging on a day here that you know he. Long said that impeachment is an ugly word and I think today is that day when it's formalized and for me. The foundation of how we got here in the 1st place is different from other proceedings and that to me taints the process a little bit and I think in the see that play out Senator Mike Brown of Indiana thank you so much and I want to bring n.p.r. In n.p.r. Congressional correspondent kill ceased now Kelsi is Senator Brown in line with other Republicans you've been hearing from yeah absolutely I think that there are 2 camps that I'm seeing develop here one is the camp of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said about not being impartial juror and Senator Brown appears to be falling into a camp very similar to that of Senator Susan Collins of Maine people who are saying that they will wait and see what they hear but so far they haven't heard anything that they see as an impeachable offense and the senator points to the fact that this is an historic. De is that the feeling you're getting as you talk to people on Capitol Hill Yeah absolutely Today I am at the the mood among members of Congress is extremely tense and very resolute tense and resolute n.p.r. Congressional correspondent thank you so much thank you more than a year after widespread complaints of mold mice and other issues the military is still struggling to improve conditions in private military housing the new defense budget includes language that puts greater power in the hands of tenants and local commanders Steve Walsh with member station has more. Yes and that's the intake and if I could show you on my intake at my house oh my goodness I hope when Bradley lives in military housing in San Diego Her husband is in the Navy she's become an unofficial spokeswoman for other residents in privately run military housing for some of these families this is the 1st time that they've lived away from home this is the 1st time that they have rented a home and been responsible for the things that happen with them at home and they just simply don't have the knowledge the problems with contractors who provide private military housing for each of the service branches made nationwide news over a year ago but those problems persist Marine families in San Diego have reported mice infestations inside their homes at Camp Pendleton Navy and Marine families complained about the slow response time from private maintenance contractors that's what they were asking for anything outlandish we just want the homes that don't make our children sick tenants complained about mold collecting in their ductwork in one development Lincoln Military Housing the private contractor who runs the subdivision sent a contractor who taped blue plastic all over their vents Bradley says the family hasn't been told when the contractor will be back she says the Navy has to do a better job of managing the private contractor a fellow like enough of us are saying hey guy that's not Ok Hey guy they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing for our families hey guys we need some help from somebody that can make something happen the Navy like all of the service branches vowed to get more involved after widespread complaints of substandard conditions made their way all the way to Congress last year but in San Diego alone the Navy found they had little leverage to force changes under their contract with Lincoln Military Housing right now again it's advocacy if there's a problem Captain Mark nice would tell me is the commander of naval base San Diego he says when problems arise he talks to the contractor my fellow command office when they're sailors of issues please bring them up where should we suffer in silence let's hear about them. Because we don't know about the say they're maybe struggling and they don't need to feel that way local commanders haven't had the authority to withhold incentive payments for substandard conditions for camp the nice widow me that's meant limited options those 'd are the tools I have right now and the advocate for our families and could there be more tools that potentially come to the commit officers they could payments are based on things like customer satisfaction surveys recently the General Accounting Office told Congress those surveys are suspect adding the Pentagon has little insight into the real condition of housing managed by private contractors. Has included language in the defense budget that would require the Pentagon to negotiate a tenant's Bill of Rights for military housing local commanders would also have some discretion to withhold incentive payments hope Bradley who works with other military tenants in San Diego says families can feel stuck they can rent a place on their own but in pricey San Diego even finding a home can be tough our families are kind of ending position because a lot of them don't have anywhere else they can afford to live out in town in San Diego where there are complaints of mold in the docks the contractor has told the Navy that every home will be inspected though for now at least 700 families are expected to remain in hotels over Christmas with no definite answer on when they'll come home for n.p.r. News I'm Steve Walsh in San Diego. We appreciate you listening to the program this morning on your public radio station and stay in touch throughout the day you can find us on social media visit the morning edition Facebook page and we are all over Twitter and you can find me at n.p.r. Greene new Al King is at Noel King Rachel Martin is at Rachel n.p.r. And Steve Inskeep is at n.p.r. Inskeep. This is n.p.r. News 9 . The Colorado Media Project is offering a matching gift of up to $5000.00 to Colorado newsrooms including k s j.d. To inspire more people to support homegrown local Colorado news you can help grow the news here at his j.d. Starting on giving news day Tuesday December 3rd when you support k s j d during December your gift will go twice as far my helping us reach the challenge match growing news now at k.s. J.d. Dot oh ard. For n.p.r. Comes from this station and from life luck reminding consumers that are victims of a data breach that cyber criminals could use stolen information to commit identity theft any time of year including the holidays more at Life Lock dot com slash n.p.r. From c.v.s. Health where pharmacies are just part of what they do from Minute Clinic to home care visits to administering intravenous treatments in patients homes learn more at c.v.s. Health dot com health is everything. From little passports their new science junior subscription for kids aims to inspire curiosity designed to bring projects to life while utilizing new science concepts more at little passports dot com and from the any case the foundation. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Noel King and I'm David Greene with the latest beer news one of the country's largest independent craft breweries is getting a new owner shareholders of New Belgium the maker of Fat Tire voted yesterday to sell to an international beer conglomerate with a controversial background Matt Blum from member station k.u.n.c. Reports on the end of an era for long time Fat Tire fans New Belgium started in the basement of a home in Fort Collins Colorado in the early ninety's and it's since grown into one of the country's largest independent beer distributors with a devoted following it's how Mary Collins a lifelong resident explained to people over the years where she was from it was like that for Collins Oh I love that tire like that's great so like you Belgium like really put us on the map sitting at a bar in town she says the sale changes things for her it's going to be really sad for me to like like it won't be as much of a point of pride the company's new owner is a subsidiary of one of the world's largest beer makers Kiran holdings it's based in Tokyo with operations across the globe including Southeast Asia Belgium a I'm year Kiran's business dealings in Myanmar formerly Burma have come under fire by human rights groups including Amnesty International they say the company's operations there have financially benefited the military which the un has accused of serious human rights abuses Kiran has pushed back on the allegations saying any benefit provided to me and Mark was meant for humanitarian aid we a pill Service spokeswoman for a New Belgium says it stands by Kiran they also have a commitment you know culture and the well being of our coworkers and that was actually the brewery was one of the 1st to be 100 percent employee owned that model is set to go away now my hope is that I can still go to New Belgium and feel like a New Belgium as I was working there Peter Bouckaert spent more than 2 decades as the company's brewmaster. The sale makes business sense the craft beer market is more competitive than ever and beer makers need a lot of capital if they want to keep growing I'm still surprised that so many breweries are want to open a lot of home brewers want to open but they don't really understand what this business is about there's distribution special taxes marketing Bowker knows as well as anyone else he left New Belgium about 2 years ago to give starting his own local brewery a try just a few miles down the street for n.p.r. News I'm Napal him a woman named Angela Okafor has made history in the small city of Bangor Maine Okafor is an attorney and a small business owner and now she's something else too she's the 1st immigrant and the 1st person of color elected as a city councilor in Bangor Maine Public Radio's Robbie Feinberg sent us this. So I think just for that update inside her small shop in downtown Bangor Angela Okafor is chatting with a local mom and she braids her hair a few feet from the styling chair for his young daughter glides on a scooter through shelves of international foods and spices racks of African clothing sewn by okra for the Wall it's a busy place she says and one that the city's small immigrant population seeks out for food and connection I have but I have jumpier groups that have 0 people bring come here to shop with the kids I write invites me to see so what a shop like this didn't exist when over 4 and her husband moved to mean from Nigeria about a dozen years ago on a work visa like most of the state Bangor is overwhelmingly white and for says the adjustment was hard people couldn't understand her and would often stop and stare and despite holding a law degree from her home country and passing the New York bar exam for says it was nearly impossible to get any job in the legal field employers told her she was either overqualified or said she needed main experience they are frustrated he's been. The description I feel free to talk this now because I am my own employer it watching a lot of other people who. Cannot speak up so for took things into her own hands 3 years ago she launched an immigration law practice which she could operate with her out of state license because of its basis in Federal Law She then opened her international food store and hair salon to provide needed services to Bangor immigrant community but she wasn't done earlier this year after seeing other immigrants bring their concerns to local leaders who were all white Okafor realized they needed representation and you know who better to do that I'm not so one needs to do that when I'm like why not me so for got into the race for city council and last month she won handily becoming the 1st immigrant and a person of color elected in Bangor is history city council chair Claire Davidge says that before will bring a needed perspective to city leadership and then to have her knowledge of law and as a small business owner that representation matters so much especially as we are losing workforce and trying to rebuild that is one of dozens of women of color nationwide who have jumped into politics in recent years Kimberly Peeler Allen is a visiting practitioner at Rutgers University who founded higher heights I'm national nonprofit to elect black women to office she says her organization identified about 90 black women running for federal in statewide executive office in the 2800 cycle already they know there are more than that in 2020 and with months left to go until the filing deadlines in several states she says those numbers could easily keep climbing Peeler Alan partially attributes the shift to the national prominence of candidates like Camila Harris as well as dissatisfaction with current leaders particularly at the federal level is really propelling more women to say what else can I do you and how can I. Deeper level and I'm not happy with my current elected leadership so I think I think you a better job and they're throwing their hat in the ring tox careful between customers in her small shop in Bangor Angela Forbes says she feels grateful for the newfound prominence in her city after years of overcoming barriers for me this is you know I grew up struggling I struggled at not growing up so. Right now I feel privileged I feel I'm very religious I feel blessed and while she still learning the ins and outs of her new role on the Bangor City Council before says she wants to focus on improving public transportation which she says has long affected families and small businesses now Okafor says she's in a position where she can make a difference for n.p.r. News I'm Robbie Feinberg in Bangor Maine. And this is n.p.r. News. A historic day in Congress the full House of Representatives debates articles of impeachment against President Trump as in past impeachment inquiries technology has played a leading role received text messages on a 3 way what's up next a conversation with investors both groups on the I'm Ari Shapiro test and impeachment this afternoon on All Things Considered from n.p.r. News. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Janine Herbst as the house gets set to vote on impeaching President Trump protests took place around the country last night in favor of the measure the. The Marches were held in hundreds of cities around the country including Minnesota where protesters held up signs saying impeach Trump Meanwhile the president sent a 6 page letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last night calling the impeachment proceedings a coup and saying he is innocent of the charges N.P.R.'s Nell has more on Palosi Israeli action she sent a letter to her own members following the letter from President Trump and she never really might happen says the letter from Trump but clearly and of has it in her mind she says that Democrats should proceed in a manner worthy of our oath of office to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and she repeated a phrase that Trump himself criticized in his own letter that she was approaching this prayerfully N.P.R.'s Hilsey Snell 1000 Pietschmann gets underway at 9 Eastern this morning with debate scheduled to take about 6 hours a vote is then expected later tonight then a trial will be held in the Senate next year well financial markets Asian markets mixed by the Bell The Nikkei is down more than half a percent the Hang Seng up 110th of a percent European markets are trading a mixed territory this morning u.s. Futures contracts are trading in positive territory you're listening to n.p.r. News from Washington with j.d. Vocal News I'm Daniel rhizome as Colorado bomb makers prepare to return to the capital next month for another session governor Jared Polis is sharing his top priorities for the year ahead stretes Scott France has more as he looks forward to 2020 he says health care reform is at the top of his list a public option that is good reduces premiums not just for individuals but also for businesses under 100 people. More than 20 counties in Colorado only offer one insurance plan on the individual market lawmakers say a new public option will create more competition and cut premiums by as much as 18 percent I'm Scott Franz at the state capital governor Polis says he is not close to endorse seen any of the Democratic presidential candidates who are hoping to challenge President Trump next year Polistes says he has talked to most of his fellow Democrats who are seeking the nomination however he says he wants to quote highlight the importance of Colorado issues in the campaign than a college is working on plans to create a law school that day to day symposium hosted at the campus the college explored Law School accreditation and how it ties back to its mission in a statement college president Charles Monte Russell said Navajo Nation should have a role in creating the law school this is k s j d news. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from t. Rowe Price offering a strategic investing approach that examines investment opportunities 1st hand institutions advisers employers and individuals choose to Rowe Price Price invest with confidence and from c 3 dot a i c 3 dot a I's software enables organizations to use artificial intelligence at enterprise scale solving previously unsolvable business problems learn more at c 3 dot ai. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Noel King in Washington d.c. And I'm David Greene in Culver City California the western hemisphere's poorest country Haiti has experienced months of anti-government protests these demonstrations have left more than 40 people dead crippled the economy and left millions in the Caribbean country on the brink of starvation opponents of the current president say he is corrupt and has mismanaged millions of dollars and must go but he is refusing it actually appears his grip on power could be tightening N.P.R.'s Carrie Kahn is in the capital Port au Prince and joins us this morning hi Carrie good morning David can you just remind us of the context here what fueled this protest movement Haiti. It's corruption people are very upset about specifically this a low interest oil program that was sponsored by Venezuela to its ideological allies and neighbors here in the region Haiti received billions of dollars and there is no accounting for that money and people are extremely upset about that they want to know where is the money and now it sounds like going through a lot of suffering as as well I mean but but there does seem to be some sort of change me just weeks ago there were tens of thousands of protesters on the streets and it sounds like that is no longer the case I mean or are demonstrators giving up or what's happening no not at all but there definitely is a lol It sort of a holiday pre-Christian is low there is no resolution to the political crisis here but we definitely have seen a drop off in the size and the scope of the protests just Asians are tired of what they call here paid luck it's called the lockdown on the country but it just seems like a temporary calm and like he said they want the president to resign he says he has done nothing wrong and he is not budging. So what does life feel like I mean there are some summons of normalcy of the protests are dying down well the traffic is back to its horrific ways here it takes just it could take an hour to get just a few a few miles so you see activity on the street you see kids actually going back to school they're not wearing their color for old need bright uniforms that you usually see because they just don't want to draw attention themselves because they're afraid of retaliation by opponents who have tried to keep schools closed businesses closed everything just shut down Ok so you have a president who is disliked and is hanging on to power we have several dozen people dead an economy in terrible shape of a very poor country what happens now I mean is this is political stalemate get broken in some way. It's going to be. Increasingly more difficult there are supposed to be parliamentary elections in January the 2nd Monday of January but there is no signs that they can hold an election and that just means that there will be no active parliament in force in the middle of January I think there's something like only 10 senators terms have will not be turned out so that just will intensify and many people and analysts believe that the protests will resume once holidays are over. And what is life just feel like being there I mean it take us to what you've seen what people are going through it's very difficult the currency here inflation is Spike the currency is just worthless it's hard to get basic goods what is interesting though is that you have seen the president out in the open in trying to rehabilitate himself to sort of take advantage of those lol to get out he sees the largest private electricity provider in the country many say this is an illegal move to silence his opponents and the head of the company has been a very outspoken critic but he does to is asking people to be patient but patience is really run out especially when it comes to electricity he campaigned on bringing electricity 24 hours a day to people barely have 3 to 4 hours at that well N.P.R.'s Carrie Kahn in the Haitian capital Port au Prince Harry thanks you're welcome the process of applying for financial aid is really complicated and every year millions of students and sometimes their parents have to figure it out there is an act called the Future Act which is passed in Congress and it makes that process simpler President Trump just needs to sign it N.P.R.'s Alyson that were me has the story if you've ever applied to college or helped a friend or family member you've probably encountered the fafsa or Free Application for Federal Student Aid the point of the future act is to make that process a lot easier for students this piece of legislation is one giant step forward that's just in dragger president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators the future act cuts down the number of questions on the fafsa despite concerns about privacy it allows the i.r.s. To share data with the Education Department so you don't have to submit that information in your taxes and then again when you're applying to college not only helps people apply for financial aid more easily it also prevents schools from having to constantly follow up with to verify the information that they submitted on their face. Because they'll already have it from the i.r.s. It's meant to help students like Whitney Brown. Territory Brown is a junior at Howard University in Washington d.c. Where she's studying criminology she relies on federal aid loans and a grant to help pay for school and she's the 1st in her family to go you know it's a building of a legacy you understand yes it's going to be hard but there's going to be so many more people. And things were going Ok she felt that each year she's a student leader and she has great grades but then this fall she got an e-mail that said she had been randomly flagged to verify her income on the fafsa. Back and forth with the center understanding. That information it was a long drawn out process the Education Department does this because they want to make sure that that money is going to the right people and it's a process that creates a lot of confusion for students and a lot of work for colleges and universities just in Dreger says the Education Department doesn't release how many people are verified but his organization estimates that about 30 percent of Pell Grant recipients are selected for verification and research has shown that getting verified it really changes the amount of aid you get often the most vulnerable populations are stuck in the an enviable position of having to prove over and over again to multiple agencies that they're poor Brahmas juggling all the back and forth on paperwork on top of assignments and midterms the process dragged on and since she hadn't been officially verified that meant she never got her financial aid and because she owed university money she couldn't register for classes or secure housing for the spring . To such a prestigious school and pay for it. There with me still waiting to get verified but in the meantime she's fundraised. Emergency grants and scholarships just this week she had enough money to register for classes. Then. The data agreement that would help students like Brown could also help folks in rolled in income driven repayment options paying down their federal student loans those plans require you to verify your income each year the Future Act makes the government agencies do it for you all the simplification is estimated to save the Government $2800000000.00 over 10 years and that makes it possible to provide permanent federal funding for historically black colleges and universities and minority serving institutions and let's not do any n.p.r. News Washington this is n.p.r. News. RINGBACK 2020 is right around the corner and there are some changes coming to k.s. Trades radio programming I'm Tom your programming in media director at case j.d. And I'm excited about the fresh programming we are bringing to you starting in January there are way too many changes to explain in 30 seconds but you can visit. And click on the k s j t 2020 radio programming link to see what our program schedule will be in the New Year. Good morning I'm David Greene It was the 1st lap of a muddy men cycling race in Belgium and competitors faced an unexpected challenger he's got a leash on but really lost his owner going for it right now in here place somebody is a dog somebody is dog appeared to be a German Shepherd riders pedaled past the dog as it tried to take a bite out of some bikes in the end 2 wheels beat 4 legs the dog was eventually caught and disqualified It's Morning Edition support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from campaign monitor with c.m. Commerce and email marketing solution that connects to e-commerce platforms with a library of pre-built workflows for abandoned card emails and post purchase receipts and surveys campaign Monitor dot com and from Fidelity wealth management where advisors work with their clients to develop flexible investment strategies that can evolve as their needs change learn more at fidelity dot com slash wealth fidelity brokerage services l.l.c. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Noel King and I'm David Greene good morning the new Star Wars film the rise of Skywalker continues that epic story line of in durance and rebellion those themes have long resonated with Native American fans in the Southwest who say the story speaks to their own historical experiences an exhibit by native artists called The Force is with our people is attempting to illustrate those connections from member station k.n. a Un Flagstaff Arizona Ryan Huntress reports. Orders to drain coil Wayne is piloting a custom r 2 d 2 units in front of the Museum of northern Arizona. It's life size and sounds just like the original when I was thinking about it like Wouldn't it be cool to see an arch you that's decked out like looks like actually like a pottery so along with that comes the designs and so the tans and the reddish burn marks from one they fire their pottery at 1st glance the traditional Hopi maroon and tan patterns are a surprising look for the famous Droid but Coyle when a says it makes total sense for our to a lot of elders you know our uncles our friends always tell us in ceremony no one view which means to give it your are just to be strong and to persevere I feel like the Hopi are too kind of fits in that same line Coyle Wayne is one of 25 artists from more than a dozen southwestern tribes taking part in the forces with our people curator and ethnography Tony to video got the idea for the exhibit during a trip to indigent pop acts the indigenous Comic Con in Albuquerque New Mexico I think there's clearly some parallels between native stories things like the hero twins a very prominent story and Navajo culture parallels between that and Star Wars Of course Luke and layout being basically hero twins in that story a glass case in the middle of the exhibit holds tiny wooden shoe boxes carved in painted in a sparse Navajo style nearby stands a stormtrooper adorned with patterns by an Apache artist and the comic book illustration represents r 2 d 2 and c 3 pm as Navajo Code Talkers. On opening night the visitors are in chanted with the work especially Hopi are to who's the star of the show and works the room. With kids and adults interact with and even talk to the Droid as if it's an old friend. Exhibit also bridges generations drawing families made up of the wide age ranges I've enjoyed Star Wars in my artwork for her room probably since I was a little kid since the late seventy's early eighty's that's Ryan singer a New Mexico based Navajo artist prominently featured in the exhibit he paints a vivid depictions of reservation life that overlap with the Star Wars universe for him the connections run deep there's always. That rebellion kind of attitude or a spirit like the little guy people that don't have all the power and they're getting trampled over Indigenous people can kind of feel like that maybe the rebels fighting the Empire cultural assimilation and the lasting effects of colonialism are strong and singers work his painting decolonized the walk was inspired by the trauma of the forced boarding school experiences of thousands of Native Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries you can use Star Wars metaphors or motifs to kind of real people in to let them see what's happening or see what happened before say in history for a moment the parallel universes or one bring that galaxy far far away a little closer to home for n.p.r. News I'm Ryan hunches in Flagstaff Arizona. This is n.p.r. News. Yes Fun on deadline with the huge government spending plan Marketplace Morning Report is supported by McDermott will end Emery providing clarity on the regulatory sprint to coordinated care updates on changes to Stark anti kickback and more at m.-w. Dot com slash Sprint ready and by Fidelity Investments taking a personalized approach to helping clients grow preserve and manage their wealth learn more at fidelity dot com slash wealth but ality brokerage services l.l.c. 1st we call them jeeps but they're now kin to Fiat's Peugeot's in situ ns with the approval today of a merger of equals between fee at Chrysler of London them another lens and p.s.a. Of Paris this will become the 4th largest seller of cars and trucks in the world here's Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer if the merger is approved by regulators and shareholders brands like Jeep dodge Alfa rim a.o. And Opel would be under one roof the 2 auto makers say they won't be closing any factories they don't make any promises about layoffs they say the combined company will save about $4000000000.00 a year from beefed up purchasing power into bigger corporation can get better prices for parts and supplies and also from improved efficiency since most of their vehicles will be built using 2 standard platforms the merger is expected to be finalized in about a year last week u.a.w. Members voted in favor of a new contract with Reuters is reporting that it will meet with Italian Trade Unions this Friday to discuss details of the merger as a thank you for that a $1.00 trillion dollars spending deal has passed in the house and no heads to the Senate where it needs approval by Friday to avert a government shutdown $738000000000.00 for national security funding $632000000000.00 for domestic agencies and some taxes that were supposed to happen will not including 3 that have been designed to pay for the Affordable Care. Act Obamacare for instance the controversial 40 percent tax on the fanciest of employer health plans is now gone there's more let's bring in Mark maser director of the urban Brookings Tax Policy Center thanks for doing this great have a beer the legislation this week in Congress also extends some tax breaks for some specific industries want to have a couple of them for me they include a whole range of things special depreciation rules for race horses and car racing tracks special provisions for maintenance of revenue tracks. Tax credits for electric vehicles in producing renewable energy and producing bio diesel fuel one in particular was a scheduled increase in excise taxes for beer wine and distilled spirits that Congress passed in 2017 and that would expire at the end of 2019 and obviously no no congressman wants to go home and report that you're going to go up. You have the figure at hand how much is all this going to cost the Treasury i.e. The taxpayer so over the next 10 years the total cost of this tech these types of regions about 426 $1000000000.00 for $26000000000.00 I mean that's Get didn't close to half a trillion this if you round out. Correct and if you think about the $27000.00 tax bill that was one of the have trillion dollars over over a decade and that was a giant tax overhaul this is perceived as a relatively small bill and it's about a quarter of the cost mark maser director of the urban Brookings Tax Policy Center always good to talk to you great things out there it. Checking markets Londons up a term percent here the s. And p. Futures up above 2 point Marketplace Morning Report is supported by black line helping over 200000 accountants at midsize and large enterprises achieve visibility control and automation for their financial close blackline dot com because trust is in the balance and by a.d.p. Focused on transforming how work gets done with h.r. Talent Time benefits and payroll informed by data and design for people a.d.p. Always designing for people around the world pocketbook issues have been the catalyst for protests against inequality in Lebanon it started with attacks on what's up calls in Chile demonstrations started with an increase in ticket prices on public transit were protests now include calls to overhaul pensions and change the Constitution in Chile's capital Santiago the effects of the ongoing protests have brought some businesses to the brink Here's the B.B.C.'s Jane chambers. The dignities class it's been renamed is at the heart of the protests in Chile pavement to be ripped up to make barricades and that's graffiti everywhere many of the shops are now boarded up but to the c.s.s. Suites drinks and biscuits and a small kiosk right next door to the now destroyed metro station full of a body get it every day there have been protests and after 3 pm I have to pack up and leave They destroyed my kiosk but I take all the merchandise with me and the delinquents throw rocks at the police and they fight back or take gas and water cannon my head hurts because of the take the situation has damaged my house it's not just her health that's been damaged sales at her shop the down by 80 percent compared to this is not sure how much longer she can keep Skype and but some people here are making the situation work for them street vendors have adapted their products to appeal to a new market but he hid under city's south brightly colored bandanas the flats in the political beliefs of the. There is protest it's just us and I was working as an able driver but I couldn't get around because of all of the demonstrators look in the streets now I saw souvenirs of the social unrest the tourists and protests because I walking around the streets many of the restaurants are empty or closed and hotels are having a rough time. Just down the road from class Italia she explains how the UN's decision to move its annual climate conference from Chile to Madrid this month has impacted the business that we were meant to be completely full for cup 25 and then it was canceled because of the situation here and most of our reservations were canceled the same thing happened with APAC 2 big events that meant the hotel should have been full but not now China's pastor is down an economic forecasts have been slashed since protests began in October the government's helping businesses have been looted but counted in once more to be done to get this area back on its feet. And we are asking the government for money but we do need the right conditions to work for the pavements to be fixed and streetlights to return so people feel safe walking about at night. Business owners around here struggling to pay their stuff and overheads this once thriving historic area Santiago desperately needs people to come back to spend their money if it's going to survive in Santiago and the B.B.C.'s Jane chambers the marketplace also covering news that Britain's central bank will start doing stress tests on insurance companies and banks to see how hold up in the face of climate change Marketplace Morning Report podcast feed if you missed that on the Air I'm David Brancaccio. And this is from a.p.m. American Public Media. This is b. We want to invite you to a New Year's Eve party at the sunflower theater all you have to do is show December 28th at 7 pm So bring your family and have a good time on a free admission. Or we're going to tell them about the contest I think you just did. This is case study ideas stories community 91.5 k. Stadium Cortez 90.5 k. Z e t toy 89.5 k. I c o Rico and courtesy of the nec college 92 point one k. X. w r P Saley listen and make us that 91 point one and unpleasant view at 90.9 follow us on Facebook Twitter Instagram and on the web. You're listening to Morning Edition and the f.b.i. Is facing more criticism over its surveillance of a former Trump campaign advisor it comes in the shape of a rare ruling from the secretive court that oversees intelligence gathering more Morning Edition from n.p.r. News. This hour a whistleblower complaint against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I'm David Greene and I'm no well King a former investment manager says the church miscues $100000000000.00 that was meant for charity. Also the shutdown of the Boeing 737 Max could slow overall economic growth and research shows a racial divide in the opportunity gap will go to Albany New York where kids with the best chances live in a few select neighborhoods It's Wednesday December 18th singer Billy Eilish is 18 today. And the news is next. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Corba Coleman today lawmakers in the House of Representatives will take up the impeachment case against President Donald Trump N.P.R.'s Brian Naylor reports the lawmakers will debate 2 articles of impeachment the articles charged President Trump with abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress each was approved on a party line vote last week by the House Judiciary Committee and it's expected today's vote will also closely follow party lines Democrats say the president betrayed the nation's trust by enlisting a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections and that his defiance of House subpoenas for information and testimony constituted an assault on the impeachment clause itself President Trump fired off an angry letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the eve of the vote calling the impeachment effort an illegal partisan attempted coup and telling Palosi quote you view democracy as your enemy Brian Naylor n.p.r. News Washington meanwhile thousands of people held rallies on Tuesday to call for the president's impeachment activists gathered in cities from New York to California and in towns from Alaska to Florida the League of Women Voters has filed a federal lawsuit to try to stop the potential removal of more than 200000 names from voter rolls in Wisconsin from member station Wu w.-m. In Milwaukee reports the league claims voters did not get enough notice a state judge in Wisconsin has ruled that election officials should within 30 days remove about 234000 names from the role of registered voters but the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin argues the removal would violate federal due process projections one of the league's attorneys Cecilia Hagel era of the Washington d.c. Based fair Alexion Center says the group is asking for a slow down until the election commission has an opportunity to know.