Lebanon's prime minister Sayed Al Hariri stunned his country this weekend with his sudden decision to step down N.P.R.'s Ruth Sherlock reports many Lebanese now believe Saudi Arabia forced him to resign so he really said in his resignation speech that he was stepping down to protest outside interference in the boonies politics he pointed the finger at Iran who supports the powerful Lebanese group Hezbollah but Hariri delivered his speech from Saudi Arabia and now many Lebanese believe that the Saudi royal family actually forced her really to step down Iran and Saudi Arabia are bitter rivals in the region Lebanese officials have suggested that Saudi Arabia wants to wreck Hariri as delicate compromise government because it includes representatives of Iran's Hezbollah and its ranks Saudi politicians deny this but in Lebanon the anger still grows the country's foreign minister Gibran by c.e.o. Tweet that it should be Lebanese who decide when the politician should be removed with shellac n.p.r. News Beirut Meanwhile Saudi Arabia is now warning its citizens not to travel to Lebanon on Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 82 points you're listening to n.p.r. News from Washington. This is state wide news from Alaska Public Media I'm Emily Russell. A joint agreement between Alaska and China was signed yesterday in Beijing over the state's proposed liquefied natural gas project Russia McChesney from Alaska's energy desk tells the details Alaska will stay in the lead and continue writing checks on its gas line megaproject But Governor Bill Walker and the state gasoline corporation head Keith Meyer say they are encouraged by a deal they ain't in Beijing on Wednesday as President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping looked on Alaska's trade delegation signed an agreement with the China owned oil company giant Sinopec one of the country's banks and a sovereign wealth fund Meyer says Alaska has been trying to woo companies in China for months and through the courts we're now engaged details of the agreement are sparse but the deal links Alaska's gas pipeline project to 3 China owned entities as potential buyers lenders and investors in the project encourage Democratic Representative Karen tar says the deal is a positive step but she's not sure it's enough to convince the legislature to funnel more money into the gas line corporation Well I think it's this point the feeling in the legislature is that the remaining 700 $80000000000.00 is what a.t.c. Have to work with right now to get to a decision point Tarr says Alaska's Corp will update the legislature in May of 2018 with a go or no go decision by next December a substantive deal on the state run gasoline project could be a game changer for Alaska struggling oil based economy the pipeline would cost between $45.00 and $65000000000.00 to build and its construction would temporarily add thousands of jobs to the state's economy the more than 800 mile long pipeline would connect to oceans and pipe Elegy from Prideaux Bay to the Kenai Peninsula before loading it on to takers and shipping it to Asia from Alaska's energy desk in June. No I'm Russia McChesney. An airman attached to Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson died on a training mission overseas on Monday in a statement a spokesman for the Air Force achiever says 23 year old Airman 1st Class Derrick Jones collapsed while on a temporary assignment in South Korea though nearby service members tried to revive him they were unsuccessful the cause of John's death is not yet known Jones worked with water and fuel systems as part of a civil engineering unit and he joined the Air Force a little more than 2 years ago and was assigned to last summer this is Alaska Public Media the Alaska Morning News is brought to you in part by your local public radio station do you need health insurance but think you can't afford it Alaska's health insurance premiums are going down for 2018 if you need insurance or currently have insurance through the individual market be sure to shop at Health Care dot gov between November 1st in December 15th to confirm that you have the plan that best meets your family's budget and coverage needs for local assistance call 1844 plans aka this message sponsored by the Alaska Division of insurance support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Stations other contributors include American Jewish World Service working together for more than 30 years to build a more just and equitable world learn more at a.j. Ws dot org and the listeners who support this n.p.r. Station. This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News with Rachel Martin I'm David Greene in Washington d.c. And I'm Steve Inskeep in Beijing 2 world leaders representing the world's 2 largest economies are sharing a stage this week and their stage in a sense is this city of Beijing where President Trump dined last night at the Forbidden City and today appeared with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a business conference the American president said u.s. Trade relations with China are unfair but he doesn't blame China who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country. For the benefit of its citizens I give China great credit friendly words from both presidents papered over some big differences so what are these 2 leaders really doing N.P.R.'s Anthony Kuhn has covered China for years and he's here Hi I think Hey Steve do you hear any sign that the 2 countries are going to change their basic approach to one another not from this visit was pretty much as I expected I did not see any major breakthroughs at all as you know they trumpet ministrations main priorities were trade and North Korea they got some things they got some big deals more than $250000000000.00 worth of deal signed but no big concessions on market access that have been explained yet on North Korea no indication that China is going to go farther than it has already in completely cutting off North Korea as the Trump administration would like but I think for China you know the optics were certainly good and they wanted Well let's talk a little bit about those optics you and I watched today as President Trump and president she gave these kind of side by side speeches President Xi among other things said hey we are already buying billions and billions of dollars of American products what is the implied best edge when he stands up and says that. The implied message is that China is opening up to the outside world and if you really want to help the trade imbalance start exporting some of your high tech projects that you wouldn't give to us oh things that the United States would rather not give up for national security exactly Well stay with us Anthony because I want to bring a couple of other voices into the conversation we've been out on the streets of Beijing the last few days just talking with people about President Trump and we're going to listen to a couple of opinions The 1st comes from Oliver Wong he's a public relations professional and he had a particular view Beijing same as visitor very interesting and it where 2 men one of the richest person in the word wanting to represent the poorest Mr want spoke with our colleague Miranda Kennedy and then there is more song who works in an executive training program and who. Compare the styles of the 2 presidents and found President Xi more cautious Chinese people tend to be like if omo and American Larry is that Korean style Yeah I think it's charm that they represent about breaks down he just does it because what he thinks in that is not very to make up the Egyptian Let's talk about that freestyle politician and some of the information that people in China receive about President Trump How do the state media portray this president well don't forget there are only state media but Ok Here for example we have the People's Daily and right here on the front page you have this big picture. Paying and his wife and Trump and his wife and the whole article is about how Trump and his wife were dazzled by the splendors of Chinese traditional culture the opera they saw the food they ate the music they heard only at the very end does it mention that affairs of state came up. Well the implied message of that I guess is not really anything about President trumpets that China is great and President Trump likes China yes but let me give you another example real quick you picked up another article there Ok this is from a very nationalist tabloid called the Global Times and it says that really Chinese people like Trump more than you might think they say is a straight talker he's a pragmatic sort of businessmen doesn't hassle China about human rights and his children are very successful and could be good role models for you so basically the u.s. Media has given trump a bad rap Ok wait a minute that's a state owned publication that's very nationalistic no fan of the United States but they're writing this very flattering flattering article about President Trump what's going on there well I guess it's a nationalist love fest you know nationalist love nationalists but you know it's also very much if fits in with China's policies or there's no problem with that so as you read all these different publications. Is there a particular word or phrase or idea that's been repeated again and again this week there sure is and the whole media has been talking about the fact that China is now entering a new era and it's basically the era of season ping and the message is that during this era China is going to go from prosperity to strength and that foreign friends who want to get in on this can also make a lot of money to stay come to China and invest Anthony always a pleasure spending time with you thanks you too Steve N.P.R.'s Anthony Kuhn is here in Beijing. Hurricane Harvey because the worst flooding in Houston's history scientists are looking into why it was so bad as N.P.R.'s Christopher Joyce reports a lot of it has to do with how Houston was built in the 1st place Houston is a sprawling web of concrete 10000000 freeways and miles of strip malls. Under one of those highways I mean hydrologist Jeff East he's mapping where the flooding went so when we got here we got an overpass. Highway right this is the East Fork of the Sanderson a river during the flood the water got up actually years the high water mark over here over here is in the grass beside the highway the river is a trickle now about 20 feet below us but when it flooded it was up here by the road side where it left it's more seeds in and every debris from right that that would have floated during the flood and then when the water would you know went back down it just sort of left it that debris is essentially a bath tub ring around Harris County along with gauges in the San Jacinto River it shows flood levels never seen before this is the highest. That it's been since we've been gauging the site since the 1940 s. Each team at the u.s. Geological Survey has taken some $1500.00 measurements so far hundreds are record breakers take the Santa sent 0 for example normally pretty tame the flow is about 30 cubic feet per 2nd a cubic foot is. About enough to fill a basketball during Harvie the river was running at 80000 cubic feet of water per 2nd headed south toward the city so I go south to following the flow driving on a highway 30 miles north of Houston. You can see basically what happened to the water the fell during. There's no place for it to go this is almost all paved all the water moves south of the Gulf of Mexico the problem is that used to this and the way. The Santa Center was one of many streams and rivers that flow into Houston the city is kind of like a drain in a huge bathtub and people knew it in the 1940 s. After huge floods the city tried to stop the water before it reached Houston engineers built 2 reservoirs called attics and Barker that's my next stop to talk to Richard Hyde hides a retired Petroleum Geologists his house sits on the edge of attics reservoir he says it filled up fast took a look out back in the reservoir was coming up on the back deck and heading further from the sliding door one day and got 60 to water in the house in the apartment he's living in now he shows me a map of the area from the 1970 s. To the west it's prairie and rice fields the kind of land that soaks up rain in a current map it's now paved houses shopping malls roads that pushes more water into Houston years ago there was talk of building a 3rd reservoir they did not build the 3rd reservoir which was so badly needed Instead they built houses houses get tax money reservoirs don't have Harvey's peak the reservoirs couldn't handle the water engineers opened spillways and water shut down stream towards the city through cement lined by use in runoff from paved roads and neighborhoods right into the values as well one of those braised by you flooded a neighborhood called Myra land it's upscale but that didn't protect it piles of ruined drywall and carpeting still lying on sidewalks Marian Randy Wilkins houses. 2 blocks from the bike if you want to go inside the inside it's a rock. Oh my. God the pants go in the walls are gong to chest height just wooden studs most of the furniture is gone to that couch like floating throughout the house of my other couch as well Randy Wilkins who has a speech impediment says they flooded 3 times now. So every year for 3 years I just like. The work and say this was the worst flood by far Mary Wilkins blames over development outside the city and they've just let them bill without accounting for how their drainage was going to be addressed so it just keeps coming downstream and I think that from rice field to concrete Where's the water going to go the rainfall was record breaking but that's just part of the story people built Houston in a way that made things much worse that's a point that photo expert Sam Brody at Texas a and m. University wants to drive home we're piling in people with roads in rooftops in parking lots in these low lying coastal areas were exacerbating these these problems and that is an urban human development don't environment problem you can't move Houston so what's to be done officials are now talking about building that 3rd reservoir and demolishing houses that repeatedly flood bodies' team is advising those officials he says the city needs more radical changes like requiring new homes to be built 3 feet above flood level he says yes preparing for future floods will be expensive but cheaper than paying up after the next one Christopher Joyce n.p.r. News. This is n.p.r. News. Do you need health insurance but think you can't afford it. Are going down for 2018 if you need to. Have insurance through the individual market be sure to shop at health care. Firm that you have the plan your family. With. This message. From n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying congressional Republicans are attempting to advance 2 bills to overhaul the nation's tax code N.P.R.'s Kelsey Snell reports the House and Senate are each taking steps to approve measures by Christmas Republicans in the House and Senate aim to advance 2 separate plans to overhaul the tax code before the end of the week they say both bills will cut tax rates for the majority of businesses and individuals without adding more than $1.00 trillion dollars to the deficit the goal is to pass both bills in a matter of weeks so that the 2 chambers can pass a compromise by the end of the year President Trump is touting what he calls a growing friendship between the u.s. And China his 2 day visit has been filled with pageantry as well as dialogue over major differences including trade and Beijing's inability to convince its ally North Korea to halt its nuclear weapons program the prime minister of Turkey is meeting Vice President Mike Pence today hoping to get the u.s. Turkey Alliance back on track but the Turkish official comes with a long list of grievances as N.P.R.'s Michele Kelemen explains why minister be not only yielding Reims says he had been hoping relations would improve under President Trump but little has changed so far Turkey is still seeking the extradition of a Turkish cleric in the u.s. Who are a says was behind a coup attempt last year and the prime minister is blasting the u.s. For our main Kurdish fighters in order to defeat ISIS in Syria this is n.p.r. News. I'm Emily Russell with this news for youth in Alaska the company that own stores across the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta has introduced a new way for its customers to support native languages Alaska Commercial Company stores or AC as they're known locally are using labels and you pick that's in conjunction with a smartphone app that reads the labels aloud Walter Pickett is the owner of Alaska Commercial Company he says he wants to install the program in any community with the large native population residence and any ACA monic Hooper Bay colic mountain village St Mary's pilot station and also McGrath will be able to start accessing the app this month. And an ash plume drifting from a Russian volcano has prompted flight cancellations in northern Alaska William Walsh is a spokesman for brave in Alaska he says the airline cancelled flights Wednesday to and from Kotzebue and also dead horse but so far the state's larger airline company hasn't been affected Oskar Airlines officials say no flights were immediately canceled Dave Schneider with the Alaska Volcano Observatory He says the cloud originated from a volcano on Russia's come Chaka Peninsula which erupted Tuesday sending an ash cloud about 26000 feet into the atmosphere the plume drifted over parts of northern Alaska on Wednesday that prompted the National Weather Service to issue volcanic ash advisories in Alaska sense any ash clouds above 20000 feet can potentially harm aircraft This is Alaska Public Media. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering creating solutions to global challenges through discovery design data and entrepreneurship Duke engineering outrageously ambitious at engineering dot Duke dot edu from a.c.l.u. An organization of people who believe in the power of action for nearly 100 years the a.c.l.u. Has defended the constitutional rights of all people a.c.l.u. Dot org a.c.l.u. We the people from Zoom Zoom offers cloud video conferencing online meetings and a video conference room solution and one platform featuring digital video and audio with screen sharing account registration and more at Zoom dot us and from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene and I'm Rachel Martin thousands of people gathered under the bright lights of a high school football field last night in South Texas they came to pray and they came to mourn the 26 lives that were lost Sunday when a gunman opened fire on a church service in the town of Sutherland Springs vice president Mike Pence was there with faith leaders and other lawmakers N.P.R.'s Nathan Rott was there too it was a cold night in South Texas people from all over Wilson County huddled close in the bleachers of floor still high school's football field and they stood closer still listening I do not honor him but then we see a little bit in the weeds as late March to as some of their neighbors their friends and their fellow Texans took their seats in a somber section below. It was to this crowd the Texas governor Greg Abbott and vice president Mike Pence spoke we gathered tonight in the wake of an unspeakable act both had visited the bullet riddled 1st Baptist Church earlier in the day in a nearby hospital where some of the 20 who were injured are still recovering from their wounds at the church pens admitted that bureaucratic failures helped the gunman procure his weapons but he said that the administration was working with Congress to make sure that it never happens again at the vigil Pense spoke more about healing about faith and like many in the crowd he was defiant whatever animated the evil that descended on the church last Sunday if the attackers desire was to silence their testimony of faith he failed to write. Hence his message was that faith overpowers evil and that message resonated with many including Courtney chilling It's nice to see you know someone in the higher authorities coming to show their support but in general I came here to show support to my family and friends that have been affected by these tragic shootings chillax as she knew some of the victims. 2 kids in my daughter's school are 2 of the children that have passed and it just hits home and really hits home but people here are strong chill excess and the vigil shows they're not alone Nathan Rott n.p.r. News Sutherland Springs Texas and later today on All Things Considered how religious leaders are thinking through security and the challenge of making churches both welcoming and safe. And our story about starting over in a new place there are a lot of new students and teachers in Orlando's public schools this year that is because after Hurricane Maria many Puerto Ricans came to that city which is home to a 3rd of Florida's Puerto Rican population N.P.R.'s Claudio Sanchez visited some teachers who are settling into new roles in Orlando and finding that it's not so easy nearly 2000 new students haven't rolled in schools here and they need teachers so the Orlando public schools have hired classroom teachers and paraprofessionals as well as bus drivers from Puerto Rico because so much of the island is still in the dark recent arrivals still cannot retrieve copies of their teaching credentials proof of employment or transcripts from where they are in their teaching degree that might mean they start out as a substitute teacher until we can find those credentials or gather what the state would require for their license that Superintendent Dr Barbara Jenkins that will be very creative in hiring them as teacher assistants are Septa 2 teachers in the interim in fact we've we have quite a few that are in the process now have got coming to work for us. Veteran teacher from Comeaux Puerto Rico arrived in Orlando with her 4 children still ambivalent about her career I am a strong freshman but it's been really hard because I had no need to be formally on you know. This by teaching for 10 years she's starting over again as a paraprofessional the full time job though means that she can now move out of her brother's house. Where she's been living for more than a month and she can start putting our life back together again. She says her home her students and her colleagues are never far from her mind I miss my keep me. They've been my coworkers for over 10 years you know it's family to. My craftsman. It's probably there know where I left it you know with their weeping packed their bags the way computers were. And. I'm not coming back yet I was waiting for relatives back home and come away to send her the documents she'll need to be hired as a licensed classroom teacher like many teachers who left Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria Yano applied for a job at the airport the day she arrived here yet but to get out it's like oh my that's a look at that he has said he next to empty take it counters the school district has set up dozens of tables and to end what was once a day of they can turn on their cars. A woman with a clipboard reads the names of people waiting to be interviewed we're looking for teachers we're looking for male injuries we're looking for bus drivers Brigid Williams is the school district's chief of staff she's overseeing the operation here and she says the message for the most recent arrivals is the same as it was a month ago when Jada arrived I talked with a number of those coming in that help in the ph d. In chemistry I think that what he h.d. And the physics and they realize they're going to have to go through this process and that's hard the support of money and it could get harder if school officials here say they're bracing themselves for a 2nd and 3rd wave of teachers from Puerto Rico looking for jobs Sanchez n.p.r. News. We're trying something new with our sports coverage asking you what questions you have. I don't mind a little. Wondering has anyone in government what was the 1st. Story. One thing that has struck us is how often. Is are treated with opioids and how that can lead to addiction we want to hear what is on your mind have you had an experience like this in your own family or you have questions about the role of opioids in sports more broadly let us know you can reach us on The Morning Edition Facebook page you can also find us on Twitter we are at Morning Edition or online at npr dot org slash. Coming 2nd. This is n.p.r. News you're listening to Morning Edition on f.m. $91.00 just has Anchorage is hitting single digits at night a local nonprofit announced it will not be able to shelter some of the city's homeless this winter Alaska Public Media Emily Russell will have to tell us of that story and more coming up on Morning Edition one to 2 inches of snow in the forecast today with a high of 25 to about 32 degrees mostly cloudy tonight with some isolated snow showers. B.b.c. News with David Alston Saudi Arabia has told its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately image growing tensions since the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and alst his resignation in a video statement from the kingdom in Lebanon various political factions have called for the return of Mr Hariri who many believe was pressured into stepping down Saudi Arabia's attorney general has said the 280 people have been called in for questioning as part of a huge anti corruption investigation launched on Saturday a powerful princes and businessman are among those detained at least $100000000000.00 is alleged to have been embezzled over several decades the International Criminal Court has authorized prosecutors to investigate alleged crimes against humanity in Burundi hundreds of people are believed to have been killed in violence which followed a decision by President peer. To seek a 3rd term of office 2 years ago Burundi withdrew from the i.c.c. Last month but the court says it can still investigate German prosecutors say they now think a nurse who was convicted of murdering 2 of his patients may have killed about 100 kneels at her girl is suspected of injecting patients with potentially lethal drugs so he could look like a hero when he resuscitated them Russian media reporting that at least 2 people have been killed in an explosion to brought down part of a 9 story apartment block it's thought to have been caused by a gas leak Pope Francis has ordered a ban on the sale of cigarettes inside the Vatican starting next year the trade is estimated to bring in over $10000000.00 a year to the Vatican but a spokesman said no profit could be legitimate if it was costing lives an appeals court in Mauritania has reduced a death sentence given to a blogger to a 2 year jail term Shaikh Mohammed Omar hate here who's convicted of blasphemy in 2014 he'll be released immediately as he's already been in jail for more than 2 years b.b.c. News. Support for Alaska Public Media comes from the bare toothed grill featuring fresh Alaskan seafood burgers and Latin inspired dishes and more than 80 types of tequila open daily for brunch lunch and dinner more at bear to grill dot net. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Farmers Insurance committed to making the world a smarter place through shared knowledge and experience tales of home car and other insurance coverage can be found at farmers dot com from Cigna a global health service company dedicated to helping people improve their health well being and sense of security more information is available at Cigna dot com and from the Jacob in Valeriya Lang Law Foundation supporting the health and well being of under-served populations at Langley dot org. This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene and I'm Rachel Martin one year ago today Hillary Clinton conceded the presidential election to Donald Trump this is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for and I'm sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country the outcome shocked Democrats ever since the party's been trying to pick up the pieces and we've been looking at how Trump's election has reshaped politics over the last year N.P.R.'s Scott d'être is here to talk about the Democrats Hi Scott good morning so seems like for much of this past year Democrats have been stuck mentally stuck in 2016 specifically the 26000 primary right and that's right now it all came back to the surface last week with that news that the d.n.c. Had that financial agreement in place with the Clinton campaign before the primary these wounds are really deep and they just don't seem to heal just listen to how Nina Turner talks about them Turner is the head of Bernie Sanders political organization our revolution I do believe that the Democratic Party is going to have to have a reconsideration you know truth the reason filiation and like they did you know in South Africa after apartheid truth the reconsolidation and Scott Bay have not been willing to do that wow apartheid and it's has a right there if you're comparing the situation to that that's striking in terms of how deep the anger is for portions of the Democratic Party so the party's been trying to heal the divide in the meantime they still have to reach out to voters right how's that effort going well I think on that front Democrats feel like things have been going very well there's been this rehashing but also a lot of organizing in political engagement so I spent some time in Pennsylvania talking to Democrats we're going to spend a few minutes with the people I met there I went there because for all of the explanations for Trump's win and we've heard so many of them this week he's. For one main reason he flipped Wisconsin Michigan and Pennsylvania I I I on the eve of the election Hillary Clinton rallied in front of 33000 people in Philadelphia the next day Democrats woke up all over Pennsylvania confident that the state would go blue like it had in every election since 1902 I put on a pant suit and my daughter put on white clothes to represent the suffragettes Christie who had lived in suburban Philadelphia she and her daughter couldn't wait to elect the 1st woman president we sat down to enjoy the election results together with my husband with balloons at the ready and champagne and the night as we know kind of went sideways at least for me for many Democrats things stayed sideways for months they viewed the incoming administration with fear and dread January 20th came and then January 21st the women's March in Washington and so many other cities who had helped organize a bus ride down I 95 and in that journey down with 53 women and 2 men had the opportunity to learn from each of them that we all had different reasons to be standing there and marching and all of them were issues that really mattered to all of us and it occurred to me that I had the background and the experience the background and the experience to run for Congress in fact Houlihan is one of the Democrats' best prospects in Pennsylvania for several Republicans are either retiring or viewed as vulnerable No she's an Air Force veteran and a long time business executive and she's one of the Democrats running in a district that went for Clinton but also voted Republican for Congress for Houlihan there's one big problem with that district she says it's shaped like a dragon and that dragon basically has a bunch of bites in it and anywhere that you see a bite taken out of the back or the stomach of the dragon I would argue that those are where Democrats are and the Democrats only have one real fix for this problem winning these types of districts in spite of their shapes. So they can draw the boundaries next time that's what Jamie para patio is trying to do in the Philadelphia suburbs so you know we're going to trying her I never show up unannounced and I don't show up without food care about our help found a group called Turn p.a. Blue it's a bunch of volunteers who are trying to shift resources from some of those Democratic legislative districts and into the neighboring Republican seats you know I'm 46 year old I have not met this many new people since I was a freshman in college and they are an amazing they're incredible parapet who has helped organize campus and drives educational seminars and candidates. Like many Democrats in Pennsylvania and elsewhere she's responded to last year's loss with newfound political engagement that energy that began around the women's March has continued but the fact is the party is still out of power at all levels of government we are numerically speaking at our lowest point either in 90 years or ever as a party since being founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison breaded Boyle is a Philadelphia congressman he says the solution is getting out of the cities and suburbs showing up to try and win back rural voters in my view it is completely insufficient to do what some Democratic strategists want us to do and just focus on getting 90 percent of the vote in a very small area and then ignoring the rest of the population but while showing up maybe half the battle the 2nd half figuring out what to talk about is pretty important to know and like many other Democrats in Congress boil things the party needs to focus on the economy and I have a tablecloth now not to brag about my fans in a fight on the table why Democrats still haven't figured out just how to focus their message but there are plenty of people like Jamie Farah Patton who will just keep organizing events after of that over the next year a lot of the big picture trends look like they could be pointing in the party's favor things like Trump's low approval ratings but the fact is after what happened last year maybe the. Just don't trust themselves to be confident I'm wondering who we're talking to are we talking to each other or who's listening. Ok we are back in the studio with N.P.R.'s Scott detritus Scott that was so interesting hearing people reflect on the past year and how it's mobilized them I mean clearly some people are mobilized they're animated by this political moment and the Democrats are getting some momentum there is pretty significant election wins this week for the party in Virginia and elsewhere what does that mean for the party moving forward I mean 1st of all it was just a big confidence boost Democrats are so disoriented right now that just winning elections went a long way you heard Democrats talk about showing up there they did that in Virginia competing in state house the delegate races all over the state and they made big gains Virginia Senator Tim Kaine who you'll remember was the losing vice presidential candidate a year ago identified what he thinks those candidates did right you know John education health care for all just keep it simple you know focus on these bread and butter issues that people care about so much and Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey made the argument that focusing on the economy could keep Democrats away from all that infighting because by and large they agree on economic issues N.P.R.'s got that Joe thanks so much Scott thank you. This is n.p.r. News. Thanks for choosing to support Alaska public media if you pick click give as a member you help ensure that all Alaskans have access to new ideas and information that informs and inspired Thank you. World War one. World War 2. Korea. Vietnam the Gulf. Iraq and Afghanistan will honor the men and women of America's armed forces are saluting the song for Veterans Day Saturday at 3 o'clock on Alaska Public Media f.m. 91 point one support for Alaska Public Media comes from the lawn chiropractic helping Alaskans live pain free with diagnostic and chiropractic care on site x. Ray and same day appointments the long chiropractic dot com. From n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying a new report from the Congressional Budget Office says getting rid of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate would save taxpayers $338000000000.00 N.P.R.'s Allison Kojak has details the report says that premiums would rise 10 percent each year if lawmakers get rid of the requirement that everyone buy insurance and it would leave $13000000.00 more people uncovered that's because healthy people are likely to drop out of the market leaving sicker people to pay more the Vatican's giving up $11000000.00 a year in profit to keep its workers healthier today it announced it would no longer sell cigarettes in its duty free shop and supermarket Saudi Arabia's advising its citizens against traveling to Lebanon with security a real concern Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Dollery resigned over the weekend he announced it while he was in Saudi Arabia feeling speculation among the Lebanese people that the Saudi kingdom force a Lebanese leader to resign Here's N.P.R.'s with Sherlock's Saad Hariri said in his resignation speech that he was stepping down to protest outside interference in the boonies politics he pointed the finger at Iran who supports the powerful Lebanese group Hezbollah but Hariri delivered his speech from Saudi Arabia now many Lebanese believe that the Saudi royal family actually forced to really to step down Iran and Saudi Arabia rival powers in the region this decision puts Lebanon at the front line of this rivalry does down $128.00 this is n.p.r. News. I'm Emily Russell with this news brief the 10th annual mats to salmon science and conservation suppose I am kicked off yesterday and Palmer keynote speaker Dr Tara Martin is a conservation scientist at the University of British Columbia she says bridging the gap between science and action in Alaska is a challenge I see that as a huge problem and I think as scientists we haven't done ourselves any favors in working to translate our data into things that are useful for decision making Martin says conservation scientists are often just documenting the effects of development on salmon and then releasing the research instead she says they should also be identifying strategies to improve outcomes the translation needs to go from the scientific world and really planted in the people world which is about social economics Martin has researched declining salmon numbers and British Columbia's Fraser River and she sees opportunities to avoid similar salmon problems and maps to most other regions of the world don't have thriving salmon populations anymore so I think with some very proactive management and collaboration there's a real opportunity to do things differently more than 100 people attended Martin's keynote address Wednesday morning the salmon symposium continues today at the Palmer community center that is Alaska public media support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from American Jewish World Service working together for more than 30 years to build a more just and equitable world learn more it a.j. Ws Dato argy from the Pew Charitable Trusts presenting after the fact a new podcast from Pew that explores facts numbers and trends shaping the world more information is available at Pew Trust's dot org slash after the fact and from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at our w j f dot org. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Rachel Martin and I'm David Greene Senate Republicans are expected to unveil their version of a tax overhaul today like the House bill that's already moving along the Senate version is being touted as a way to keep more money in Americans pockets but for millions of middle income earners and high cost states the changes could eliminate big tax deductions for member station Charles Lane reports Westfield New Jersey is one of the highest tax places in the country to a tax cut that sounded great to Kasey Smith but the house g.o.p. Plan instead hit with a thud Well I was hoping that they would give us more sayings to deduct our tax returns honestly because that would make us fail to stay here Smith is a bookkeeper no husband is an auto mechanic because of the high cost of living in northern New Jersey they've often talked about moving but right now they're doing what they can to keep school taxes down by organizing this garage sale to raise money for the high school football team so they can get new helmets or new cleats or have breakfast this mitts pay nearly $12000.00 a year in property taxes because they live close to New York City there's a lot of density in need bridges and trains and police living near such an expensive big city also pushes incomes higher even for blue collar workers and puts them in a higher tax bracket being able to deduct local income and property taxes even things out but would do sing those deductions now as the House plan currently does means no tax savings in fact the Smiths worry that their tax bill could go up but I'm not going to tell my boss Oh my taxes went up 600 dollars this year you need to give me 600 dollars more and pay $600.00 is probably on the low side an analysis by the Tax Policy Center a research group suggests that while most Americans will see a tax cut almost 10 percent of middle class workers will see an immediate increase of more than a $1000.00 but the Smiths and others in high cost. Like New Jersey Connecticut Massachusetts surveyed Ginia could see higher increases littering Walter Moore's says maybe that's a good thing in the long run of those states would say we have too much government here in New Jersey who is with the New Jersey taxpayers association and has been pushing to lower property taxes in New Jersey some argue that losing these deductions just might finally push local tax rates down Also why should taxpayers in Wichita subsidize public pensions in New Jersey someone from say Oklahoma or Texas or Kansas who say well look you're probably taxes are much higher and you have a higher level of service so you're kind of getting what you pay for over there this is exactly what worries left leaning groups John White It runs the New Jersey policy perspective and fears that without these deductions voters were volte against local taxes depriving local governments of resources it would be one thing if if they were taking away this deduction and ramping up investments they were going to come to state and local governments but they're taking away this deduction and cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans and for large corporations under his analysis of the House Republican plan the country's top 5 percent would net more than 60 percent of the tax cuts over another research group the Tax Foundation says that cutting the corporate tax rate well eventually increase g.d.p. 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Home furnishings with a new vintage collection reminiscent of Parisian antiques with reclaimed wood and sturdy metals explore a store like no other Williams and can Alaska's high health care costs be cured join Alaska common ground on Wednesday November 15th from 7 to 9 pm at 49 states Brewing Company for the 1st in a series exploring our state's health care costs experts will explain facts and trends specific to health care cost in Alaska and you can ask your questions information at a common ground org or on Facebook this message sponsored by Alaska common ground. I joined the Army Nurse Corps for several reasons one was I'm from Minnesota and Midwesterners like to help. I'm suffering because I had truly younger brothers of draftable age join us from war true stories told Live this week stories from the Vietnam War that's on them off Radio Hour from t.r.x. Saturday afternoon at 2 on f.m. 91 point one. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene and I'm Rachel Martin we're now going to introduce you to a Japanese American author who writes in an African-American voice Joe comes by that voice naturally he grew up in Los Angeles in a black neighborhood that helped shape not only his speech but the settings for his bestselling crime novels that feature a young black protagonist Karen Grigsby Bates from our Code Switch team took a walk with the author. Joe e.j. And I are standing where he grew up in the sixty's with his parents and grandparents on busy Adams Boulevard south of downtown l.a. My grandparents lived here because it was close to Tokyo and other Japanese families had fled to the suburbs but they couldn't afford to move and my family to live with them because we were just scraping by so those 3 generations of us under what were the eighty's were the only Japanese family in the neighborhood because immigrant grandparents kept to themselves His parents were often at work which left Joe and his 2 brothers running around with the neighborhood kids most of their friends were black kids who were out here kids from the neighborhood everybody was pretty much the same I think poverty sort of sort of level the playing field the families wouldn't home was torn down years ago but there are a number of places that are still here like the shrine that was where my 1st girlfriend where she was ahead of me have taller than me and I've weighed me by 40 pounds and somebody said that when we held hands it looked like she was a ventriloquist with a Japanese puppet Joey De is 59 years old small with a shock of graying hair and bright birdlike eyes that don't miss a thing behind this class is our water is now that right on the corner used to be a Chinese school we passed the wretched corner store that he and his 2 brothers used to patronize after school it was run by a sour faced Chinese proprietor who became the basis for Tommy Lao a gangster who appears in the 2nd book I think we all. A chain of these he would show up in the wake of ground level in a suit and if he was unhappy with somebody here say anything you just look at them until they either implode or the 1st time the flames be debarred from themself a bit to create as hero I say a clean target for i.q. I.q. Is a high school dropout whose keen intelligence and restless spirit enable him to work as a homemade private eye in his Long Beach neighborhood it's a little noisy maybe let's walk down this way around the corner Ok eating kind of floated through high school not part of the usual tribes and not motivated to get more than Ok great motivation kicked in in college where he earned a bachelor's degree then a Masters in education he told me the plan was to teach but there was one little problem I discovered I really didn't like kids they were noisy and fussy you know they kept asking me questions he lasted for a semester then was a university lecturer didn't like that either after that a string of jobs everything from business consultant to Apartment Manager nothing felt right it is says he was always restless to confer something he couldn't define except this way I just didn't want to solve a problem that somebody else put in my lap he says he'd wanted to write for years and finally decided to try it he wrote screenplays on spec and was lucky enough to have an agent friend who critiqued his work he listened to the criticism learned and after a dozen failures Finally I wrote a good league and its all a Disney and I started to work writing screenplays was profitable did it for years then finally burned out what he really wanted to do was write books so he took a deep breath quit screenwriting and those lovely paychecks and got down to business what I recall is is sitting on my desk in my pajamas typing a lot. Talking to my dog and dripping taco to some keyboard. The result was i.q. Which introduced readers to Isaiah Quintard a. Smart driven and angry he's traumatized by the still unsolved hit and run death of his older brother Marcus his only family Joey day says while Isaiah tries to find the driver who killed Marcus he works for people in his neighborhood he takes the cases that the police can't or won't get involved with any charges people whatever they can afford which is usually something like a sweet potato pie or alive Bruce or who has now his personal alarm clock l a 100. In i.q. I say it is higher to find the would be killer of a rapper black the knife Black has no interest in joining Biggie and Tupac in the great beyond the caper goes from Black's suburban McMansion to the l.a. Marina where Isaiah for a kidnapper who snatched a Latina child for very perverse purposes in righteous we get to know I say is former classmate Dodson a cranky pragmatist with a genius for the barely legal side hustle the 2 are in Las Vegas tracking the disappearance of a cute gambling addicted d.j. She owes a lot of money to a Chinese gangster who sounds an awful lot like the guy who own that corner store where Joey day grew up thank you. Adam reading it s. a One books in Los Angeles tells his audience sometimes he writes what didn't happen to him growing up so when I was writing about. And Martin's and their relationship I was writing about the relationship I didn't have with Mike Brooks what was for him to a certain still still do the people that after one are mostly African-American and passionate about books when asked today how he got the books black voices so accurately he credits his old hood with giving all 3 eat a boys a good dose of flavor we were oh you know pretended to be blood. And. We never fooled anybody. In truth each day says his outsider status has served him well I was his murky fringe kid you know I mean I wasn't black and I wasn't what is going on way far from being a jerk and so I'm always on the it's you know watching listening but not really in the mix being out of the mix and being able to believably embrace cultures beyond his own has resulted in critical praise and a contract to turn i.q. Into a series for cable but Joey days learned his lesson about screenplays he said if somebody else do that he's concentrating on the future adventures of Isaiah queen. Karen Grigsby Bates n.p.r. News. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Rachel Martin and I'm David Greene. This is Morning Edition on f.m. 91 point one Alaska Public Media the time is coming up on 8 o'clock. The port for Alaska Public Media comes from Julie near a farm 779 offering Alaska ferment at the Thankful 1st base farmer's market at the mall at Sears 10 am to 6 pm more on Facebook farm 779. Started their music career by serenading passer bys on Los Angeles streets today the Grammy winners perform passionate high energy shows from coast to coast experienced this modern day creative hybrid of Latin culture rock and world news. Law Center Cecilia Friday November 10th of the discovery theatre tickets available at center takes and Anchorage concerts dot org this message Ponsford by the anchorage concert Association the time is 8 o'clock today is Thursday Nov 9th This is Morning Edition on f.m. $91.00 just as Anchorage is hitting single digits at night a local nonprofit announced it will not be able to shelter some of the city's homeless this winter and legislation that would open part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling was released yesterday Alaska Public Media's Emily Russell will have more on those stories coming up on Morning Edition on f.m. $91.00 to $2.00 inches of snow in the forecast today the high will be in the mid twenty's to the lower thirty's for Anchorage Palmer and. Isolated snow showers this evening with the overnight low of 15 to about 25 degrees partly cloudy on Friday mostly sunny on Saturday and mostly cloudy on Sunday. Sunrise this morning at 850 sunset this afternoon at 435 that's 7 hours 45 minutes of daylight today a difference of 5 minutes 20 seconds from yesterday some temperatures this morning around the listening area and quote Campbell Creek Science Center at 6 midtown Anchorage has 15 more news is next. Hello this is David Alston with the b.b.c. News Saudi Arabia has toted citizens to leave Lebanon immediately the Saudi Foreign Ministry also told its citizens not to travel to Lebanon from any country the call comes amid growing tensions to the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and I asked his resignation on Saturday in a video statement from Saudi Arabia so the reports the cool by the Saudi Foreign Ministry will fuel for the tension in Lebanon what concern over her. And his circumstances has been growing his own political faction the Future Movement has said his return from Saudi Arabia is necessary in order to maintain Lebanon system of government the foreign minister has tweeted that it's up to the Lebanese to decide who represents them a clear swipe at the Saudis many Lebanese believe that Mr Hariri was put under pressure by the Saudis to resign and they fear that Lebanon is once again becoming in broiled in a wider conflict this time between Saudi Arabia and its biggest rival Iran Saudi Arabia's attorney general has had a huge corruption probe is investigating at least $100000000000.00 that's alleged to have been embezzled over several decades shakes out on what Jerde said the 280 people have been called in for questioning the international.