Constitutional standards It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News. With just weeks before the Iowa. Quits I'm David Greene and I'm Rachel Martin this Democratic presidential primary was the most diverse ever now we could be looking at an all white debate stage. Also some people with disabilities can get their student loans but n.p.r. Has learned most of those eligible for help don't get it and some countries are burning wood pellets as renewable energy which has environmentalist concerned it is Wednesday December 4th comedian Fred Armisen turns 53 years old today. The news is next. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington on Corba Coleman the House Judiciary Committee will open its 1st hearing in the impeachment inquiry today with law professors they'll discuss what makes up an impeachable offense now that the House Intelligence Committee has released its investigation the Judiciary Committee will decide whether to draft articles of impeachment against President Trump the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee is facing renewed scrutiny following the release of House Democrats impeachment report N.P.R.'s Giles Snyder reports Democrats obtained phone records linking California Congressman Devin newness and President Trump's personal lawyer they call records from a t. And t. And Verizon are new details laid out in the impeachment report compiled by the House Intelligence Committee they're raising questions about whether California congressman Devon newness a key ally of President Trump should have recused himself the record showed it as was in contact with the president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Giuliani is now indicted Ukranian associate Parness during Giuliani's efforts in Ukraine and as was asked about Parness on Fox News Tuesday night it's possible but I haven't gone through all my phone records I don't really recall that name you know and I remember the name now because he's been indicted Democrats fault known as for not disclosing his contacts but House minority leader Kevin McCarthy says the calls don't raise concerns with him trial Snyder n.p.r. News Washington NATO leaders are wrapping up this week's meeting in London British Prime Minister Boris Johnson applauded the military alliance is long history 70 years on. We all rock solid in our commitment to NATO and to the joint shield of solidarity the knot of protests printed 19 countries and nearly a 1000000000 people despite talk of solidarity there's been friction among the leaders President Trump renewed his demand this week that NATO countries pay more for their defense French President Emanuel McCrone was criticized for saying the alliance had brain death. The Trump administration is proposing a rule change that would cut 4 and a half $1000000000.00 from the program that funds food stamps from member station Brett Childress reports the change would start taking into account home heating and cooling costs in Pennsylvania alone the change would slash monthly benefits also known as food stamps for about 775000 families stay human services secretary Theresa Miller says in colder parts of the country people have to choose between buying food and staying warm I think this is the time states have to stand up and say this is wrong stop it tacky these critical safety net programs that allow people to live better lives at the u.s. Department of Agriculture which runs the program a spokesman says the administration's proposed rule will better reflect true utility costs adding the new system would cover costs for 80 percent of snap households for n.p.r. News I'm brush oldest This is n.p.r. Russia is accusing a former u.s. Marine currently awaiting trial on charges of espionage Russia alleges that he is faking health problems and lying about poor treatment while he is in custody from Moscow Charles means has these details the Commons concerned Paul Whelan the former Marine arrested on spying charges last December after allegedly accepting classified materials on a computer thumb drive in a Moscow hotel wheelin says he was set up in that he's since been mistreated and denied medical care while in detention yet Russia's foreign ministry accuse Whelan of merely pretending as part of his training as a us intelligence officer the u.s. Embassy in Moscow issued a tweet calling those accusations Pulp Fiction Charles Maynes reporting from Moscow . NASA plans to send some muscle bound mice into space today it's part of an effort to prevent muscle wasting in people N.P.R.'s Jon Hamilton reports from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida the mice will spend a month on the International Space Station usually animals and astronauts in space lose muscle but these mice have been genetically modified to lack a substance that ordinarily limits muscle growth so Dr Emily Germain Lee of Connecticut Children's Medical Center says scientists are hoping the animals will stay bulked up even without gravity if we could do that it would really dramatically help the astronauts but it would also help a lot of people here on Earth fleece says muscle wasting is a big problem for elderly people and those with diseases like muscular dystrophy Jon Hamilton n.p.r. News and I'm core of a Coleman n.p.r. News in Washington support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Stations other contributors include I drive maker of remote p.c. Providing real time remote access to computers anywhere and featuring remote p.c. Vision an augmented reality support tool learn more at remote p.c. Dot com local support for N.P.R.'s Morning Edition is provided by b o tires and service Spencer from Cortez Ericsson has taken Farmington in wind from Durango are all pleased to support quality programming on Casey t. Public Radio bigger tires and service a team you can trust. Good morning once again today is the 4th of December and Wednesday morning Time now for our 1st look at the weather forecast mostly cloudy skies chance of rain a mixed precipitation over the lower elevations and some scattered snow showers over the mountains this afternoon's high temperatures will range across the forty's for most of the listening area the high country will top out in the upper thirty's a winter weather advisory for the San Juan Mountains is scheduled from 5 pm today through 5 pm on Thursday looks like the chance for precipitation will increase tonight with over 10 perhaps getting up to 3 inches of snow accumulation and its lows will range from the mid twenty's to the mid thirty's looks like the weather system will move out throughout the day on Thursday with a decreasing chance of precipitation and clearing skies will be just a degree or 2 cooler than today's Friday should be partly cloudy with the start of a slight warming trend Saturday looks to be mostly sunny with temperatures mainly the upper forty's to low fifty's the extended forecast is calling for the possibility of another weather system moving into the region by late Saturday and Sunday and then moving out on Monday back to N.P.R.'s Morning Edition. This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene in Culver City California and I'm Rachel Martin in Washington d.c. What is the constitutional standard for impeaching a president and what in and is what President from did with Ukraine the kind of offense that meets that standard that is the central question of today's impeachment inquiry hearing this time the House Judiciary Committee is in the lead in the witnesses our constitutional scholars this next phase was triggered after the House Intelligence Committee really released its report yesterday the report claims there is a quote abundant amount of evidence that shows Trump abuse the power of his office for his own personal benefit Here's what committee chair Adam Schiff said yesterday in an interview with Steve Inskeep I don't think there's any question that the uncontested facts show this president solicited a bribe that question now moves to the House Judiciary Committee which will ultimately decide whether to bring articles of impeachment against the president Alan Baron served as special impeachment counsel to that committee he has been part of the impeachment of 4 federal judges thank you so much for making time for us this morning good morning I want to start by reading a little bit of the constitution if I could this is. The section that deals with impeachment we're talking about Article 2 Section 4 it reads the president vice president and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors does the Constitution define those terms. Well treason and bribery are defined in the criminal law and in historical materials high crimes and misdemeanors is unique the 1st time we encounter it is in English law in the 14th century and back in those days it was a criminal case and where you could lose your head as well as your job. The framers imported that phrase into our Constitution 400 years after it had appeared in England but obviously they changed dramatically now you can't lose your head but you can lose your job and of course the additional feature is you can be barred from holding future federal office so but the meaning of high crimes and misdemeanors is unique it doesn't have any applicability in the civil law or in the criminal law it's uniquely related to impeachment which means it's up for interpretation which is what these legal scholars are going to be debating I imagine today that's true Clearly if a public of a federal public official commits a crime bribery or murder or whatever you know whatever it is that can be the basis for removal the interesting and more complex issue is when what has occurred is very wrongful and Wiggs unacceptable but it doesn't meet the definition of any particular crime it's now pretty well settled that you don't have to commit a crime technically in order to warrant impeachment being used in fact 2 of the early impeachments did not involve criminal activity one was a judge frankly who was insane he would show up on the bench ranting raving and they had to get rid of him and they found him guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors but his crime and I'm putting that in quotes right was that he had he had lost his mind and crime should be in quotes because we should just emphasize what we're seeing now in the House of Representatives the impeachment inquiry this is not a criminal proceeding this is a political proceeding. That's very much that's true and I think it's important to recognize that even though it has some of the attributes of a legal proceeding ultimately it is political I mean consider the charges are brought by the House of Representatives last time I looked they were all politicians and the Senate decides the case again all public political figures you have been involved in the Peterman of 4 federal judges as we noted dealing with the issue of bribery I mean you said that this is a crime that is explicitly defined in the code can you walk through the challenges of proving that well essentially you want to show that some official act that was within the jurisdiction of the individual was committed or done because of some to use the phrase quid pro quo and. In order if you show that and it was done with evil intent the wrongful intent that's the essence of bribery but that's the hard part right how do you know someone's intent. We have to do that every day in a criminal courts of this country you infer it from the fact. Republicans though argue that President Trump was just pursuing general claims allegations of corruption that hid his intention was not to launch an investigation into Joe Biden Joe Biden just happened to be wrapped up in an investigation. Well you have to look at all the facts and draw a reasonable inferences from everything that's put before you the Democrats see it as pretty clearly reflecting an interest in having Ukraine investigate Joe Biden and his son the Republicans can argue to the contrary and it will be up to the fact finders ultimately to decide who's right who's wrong what's interesting also is what is the burden of proof how much proof do you need in order to make this out in the civil case it's. Preponderance of the evidence $5149.00 in a criminal case it's beyond a reasonable doubt. The Senate has looked into that issue and they decided every senator has to decide for himself or herself which proved burden of proof they want to apply so there's no hard and fast standard what is the point of what we're seeing right now in the House Judiciary Committee are they really going to find anything different than what they found in the House Intelligence Committee. Well that's an interesting question because certainly today you're going to get legal analysis. For legal scholars are going to debate what the meanings are of you know high crimes and misdemeanors and what history has shown the real issue and I'm not I'm not clear on this yet is whether they are going to open up any new avenues or go back to the mall or report and bring up some additional charges or claims that are not have not been before Adam Schiff Committee do you think that's dangerous. No you expand the scope just part of the process it just is but it could potentially drag this on even further Alan Baron former special impeachment counsel to the House Judiciary Committee we appreciate you giving your context and perspective on this thank you so much Sure thank you world leaders are gathering at a un climate summit in Madrid this week to talk about how to reduce greenhouse emissions in the search for alternatives to fossil fuel some countries have now turned to one of the oldest energy sources around wood some are importing it from the United States calling it clean and renewable but some environmentalists say this makes no sense N.P.R.'s Dan Charles has a story. On a soggy field in eastern North Carolina Jason 2 and his crew of loggers are cutting trees and sorting the logs into piles depending on their size and what kind of wood they are poplar sweet you know I'm there's a Aylmer there some piles would go into plywood some will become puffy absorbent fiber in baby diapers and then there's the least valuable pile the small limbs and tops of hardwood trees it's basically a trash we would have normally hauled it back out in the woods and just left it but now there's a new market for that would pellet Mills they've expanded across the Southeast over the past decade they'll take this would crush it compressed into little pellets ready for burning as fuel the landowners get them by we're getting some production . It's just an all around good deal most of these pallets millions of tons each year will get shipped to Europe where they're burned in power plants because some European governments are offering financial subsidies to burn these pellets instead of say coal it's supposed to help fight climate change here's Seth Guenter executive director of the industry group that represents wood pellet companies the carbon benefits are tremendous burning wood also called biomass does release lots of carbon dioxide the greenhouse gas but the idea behind the subsidies is you can let forests grow back and as they do they'll recapture the carbon dioxide from the air and store it in their branches and roots again so it's considered renewable just like wind or solar the European Union literally just passed something known as the renewable energy directive too and biomass sustainable biomass was unequivocally included as part of what can meet your Noble Energy goals but environmental groups are challenging that decision in court they say the idea that large scale wood burning is carbon neutral is based on bad math and to explain exactly why Adam Collette from the environmental group Dogwood Alliance takes me to another patch of land in North Carolina near the town of Williamston I know it doesn't look like much but we're going take a walk it's covered with bushes and little trees maybe 10 feet tall in the south we call it a briar patch. But yet on paper this is a forest 4 years ago really was a forest with big trees then it was logged some of it went to make wood pellets so let's count up the carbon emissions accurately collect says when the big trees were cut they stopped capturing carbon dioxide from the air that benefit was lost at least temporarily and some of the carbon they'd previously stored was released into the air when the wood pellets were burned and as tree roots decomposed but you won't see any of that in the official calculations of greenhouse emissions he says none of it's ever been counted in any of our like the missions counting in the us or in Europe that's because the forest eventually will grow back and recapture that lost carbon but it could take a century for that to happen. Now Seth Ginter from the u.s. Industrial pellet Association says his industry should not be blamed for those carbon emissions because wood pellets are not the reason forests are cleared these are lands that are being harvested for temper for housing for paper and for other things what we're taking is is the byproduct of that in fact though independent forestry experts say that's not completely true their data shows that the wood pellet industry is competing for some of the same wood that might go for making paper or diapers and is pushing up prices for that wood Adam Collette from Dogwood Alliance thinks it's persuading some small landowners to harvest their trees you have more knocks on those doors more telephone calls saying hey I'll give you x. Number of dollars for your trees what Collette wants is for officials to knock on those doors with a different message encouraging landowners to maintain forests expand them our forests are young they're degraded and what that means is that the potential to suck carbon out of the atmosphere of force in the us south is enormous those farmers are some of the best climate solutions we have the Says if they keep growing Dan Charles n.p.r. News. This is n.p.r. News. Next what happens to the clothes furniture and electronics you drop off at the thrift store more specifically what happens to the stuff they can't sell we'll talk with Adam Minter author of 2nd hand 3 generations of his family were in the business he's reported on. You can join Terry Gross right here on gay she t today and every weekday at 6 that follows 2 hours of N.P.R.'s All Things Considered and support for Morning Edition is provided by Adam's plastic surgery offering cosmetic surgery and injectables as well as and and reconstructive surgery they can be found online at Adams plastic surgery dot com and reached by phone at 505-327-1754. This is Joe Davis. As many of our listeners know k s u t is now the proud owner of the festival. We're excited to announce that tickets. For both festivals on Friday December the 6th. Exciting times there for k. Shooty so please do tune in Friday morning find out more about that and as Jill said You can also find out more at case your teeth. Back to Morning Edition now with support provided by baked breakfast treats made in the house each morning and homemade soups and sandwiches served on freshly baked bread for lunch located on Wolverine drive and Bayfield baked is open from 630 to 3 Tuesday through Saturday menu details or on their Facebook page baked bakery treats classic eats and custom meats. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Life Lock 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 lifelike dot com slash n.p.r. From Jones Day and integrated partnership collaboratively providing legal services for more than a century 43 offices 5 continents serving clients as one firm worldwide learn more it Jones Day dot com 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 a I. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene and I'm Rachel Martin with an exclusive now an n.p.r. Investigation into what's happening to hundreds of thousands of Americans with student loans and a significant permanent disability according to u.s. Federal law these borrowers are entitled to have their student loans erased but as N.P.R.'s Corey Turner and Claire Lombardo report that is often not happening Denise was driving through New York City when her car was rear ended by a large truck the impact ravaged her back and legs I've basically been in pain chronic pain every day Denise asked that we not use her full name to protect her privacy in I went from working and doing extra overtime all the time I was called the overtime clean now I will live on the doctor's visits Denise used her loans to help pay for a degree in psychology but after the accident she had to stop working and defaulted but then on one of her many doctor's visits there overheard someone in the waiting room town and someone about the discharged you can have your student loan wavered John Brooks of Georgetown University Law Center says this person Denise overheard was right anybody who is totally and permanently disabled can have their student loan fully discharged the problem says Brooks is that the u.s. Department of Education doesn't do enough to make sure borrowers like Denise know this benefit exists according to data provided to n.p.r. By a department official 365000 borrowers likely qualify to have their student loans discharged because of a permanent disability that's more than enough people to fill a city the size of Pittsburgh and of those nearly a quarter of a 1000000 are already in default n.p.r. Has also found that the vast majority of eligible borrowers won't get the help they're entitled to just like Denise Drew Lehman was badly injured in a car accident and hundreds stop work. Full time it was at a point where I couldn't you know do anything I was having trouble just getting up walking Drew Lehman is 48 and married with 2 kids he had no idea he qualified for a discharge of his student loans until one day he was on the phone with somebody at the company that manages those loans I got the impression that he really wasn't supposed to tell me about it but felt sorry for me and told me about the options specifically that Lehman might qualify to have his debts erased people don't even know about us they don't find out about it nobody told you about it the department tried to fix this problem a few years ago it started identifying eligible borrowers and then mailed them letters telling them they qualified but it requires borrowers to apply for help it isn't automatic and according to data provided by an Education Department official since this outreach began just over a 3rd of eligible borrowers have even applied and there's a lot of reasons why people don't respond to these notices Persis you works at the National Consumer Law Center and she says 1st of all the Department of Education has lots of outdated borrower information including wrong addresses so you just have an initial question about whether or not borrowers are actually receiving these notices but even for borrowers who do receive them you says a lot of folks have disabilities that frankly prevent them from going through the process what's more tens of thousands of people who do apply to have their loans just charged and get approved still don't make it through that's because after borrowers get approved they still have to send in some pretty confusing paperwork verifying their income for 3 straight years investigators at the Government Accountability Office looked into this problem a few years back and they took issue with how these forms were bitten Here's the team lead Alison bot and we found that they did not clearly inform borrowers that failure to return that form and stay. Their income even if they had no income would result in their loans being reinstated the department has slowly been updating this language but it's easy to understand why many people still would not think that they'd need to verify their income if they're not earning any income the problem is not turning in that form means getting failed out of the program tens of thousands of people who are initially approved for that discharge have their loans reinstated in fact n.p.r. Has learned that 44000 borrowers who had been initially approved to have their loans erased got kicked out of the program largely because they didn't meet this extra paperwork requirement they're all back in debt not only that earlier this year the department told Congress and discharge the loans of 40 percent of eligible borrowers but new data obtained by n.p.r. From a department official show the real number is much lower over the past 3 years only 28 percent of eligible borrowers with disabilities have either had their loans or raised or are on track for that to happen I just don't understand why the Department of Education continues to fail to make good on this opportunity to make a lasting difference in the lives of Americans who already suffered enough that Senator Chris Coons a Delaware Democrat is one of a bipartisan group of lawmakers who wrote to education secretary Betsy De Vos urging her to make this loan discharge for borrowers with disabilities automatic The Department of Education simply needs to match up Social Security numbers and file names and send a notice of discharge rather than making folks jump through another hoop and another layer of bureaucratic red tape several experts we spoke with said the income verification requirement is one hoop that needs to go they said it doesn't prevent fraud like it was intended to it just makes things harder for borrowers like truly meant I'm now the criminal I'm now the one that has to be treated like. I'm trying to defraud the system one I've done everything I was supposed to it's been years since the car accident that left Drew Lehman unable to work and now she and Denise and thousands of other borrowers like them are trying to make it through 3 years of income verification it is the last step in a long process that Lehman says has left him tired and frustrated the anxiety depression the burden that face my family all because of something that wasn't like fault for now women says he'll be watching the mail making sure he doesn't miss an important phone that could once again leave him saddled with debt for n.p.r. News I'm Claire long Bardot and I'm Corey Turner. We want to know that n.p.r. Has reached out to the Education Department for their response an official says quote We continue to look for ways to make the process easier to navigate for disabled student loan borrowers while maintaining the integrity of the taxpayers' dollars associated with the district. This is n.p.r. News. Federal law says borrowers with significant to spill these can have their student loans is braced by the new n.p.r. Investigation finds the vast majority are not getting the help it is or I just don't understand why the Department of Education getting used to fail to make good on that opportunity to make a lasting difference in the lives of American troops already student debt and disability in this afternoon on All Things Considered from n.p.r. News. You're the feature story and much much more as case he brings you 2 hours of N.P.R.'s All Things Considered that gets underway this afternoon at 4 o'clock right now we're coming up on 630 and b.b.c. Topline support is provided by purgatory resort there now open daily offering a season full event including snowcat dinners Demo Days ski and board contests and more a full lineup for their winter activities is available at purgatory resort dot com under the events and activities tab Good morning from the b.b.c. In London I'm Lynn with b.b.c. Top line here and a few stories we're following this hour leaders of NATO countries meeting here in the u.k. Will today formally discuss the rise of China for the 1st time NATO secretary general yen Stoltenberg China's laws 2nd largest defense spending in the world the next to the United States. Recently displayed new mold on capabilities including nuclear weapons Meanwhile China has attacked legislation passed by the u.s. House aimed at countering the detention of around a 1000000 Muslim weekers in the western region of Xinjiang me away you will may find China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman why Chuen Yang said China would not remain indifferent if the u.s. Takes action to harm China's interests and in Iran more than 7000 people where arrested during last month's anti-government protests now the president is urging Iran's judiciary to release any peaceful protesters who are still being. Elde Jihad goal from the B.B.C.'s Persian Service says the crackdown by the authorities was harsh I could say they have crushed the protests because the images and videos we are receiving since the removal of the Internet blockade it shows they have been brutally crushed the protestors and also has been bloodier than we anticipated in the beginning in London I'm in line at the b.b.c. N.P.R.'s Morning Edition continues now on k. Shooty airline travelers in the northeastern u.s. Are dealing with more flight delays this morning because of this week's snowstorm delays are reported at Boston's Logan Airport and at airports in New York City more than 2 feet of snow fell in parts of upstate New York western Massachusetts as well as the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire researchers at the University of California San Diego say tiny pieces of plastic are millions of times more abundant in the Pacific Ocean than previously thought showing a chad Loni with member station k.p. B.s.s. More biologist Jennifer Brandon of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography picks up the fishing net she says this type of mesh is what most scientists have been using to measure micro plastic pollution in the ocean but she realized it might not be the right tool this mash looks really small it but in between these holes any plane didn't smaller than this and any plastic smaller than this can escape Brandon says scientists used to estimate about 10 micro plastic particles per cubic meter of water so she decided to do a recount choose to bucket with no holes what we were finding is what we are counting the teeniest tiniest micro plastics they were now 8000000 articles Brandon says there's already some evidence that says these mini maker plastics show up in our seafood for n.p.r. News I'm Selena Chellaney in San Diego Tesla's c.e.o. Elon Musk is expected to resume testifying today in Los Angeles in a lawsuit accusing him of defamation on Twitter I'm Dave Mattingly in Washington. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Amazon Studios with Honey Boy written by and starring Shiela buff the autobiographical Honeyboy traces shy as early childhood as a young actor and his stormy relationship with his father now playing in theaters from 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. And from listeners like you who donate to this n.p.r. Station. This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene in Culver City California and I'm Rachel Martin in Washington d.c. Senator Kamel Harris is out of the presidential race her she is in the video announcing her decision Tuesday to drop out of the Democratic primary our campaign uniquely spoke to the experiences of black women and people of color and their importance to the success and the future of this party our campaign demanded no one should be taken for granted by any political party we will keep up that fight because no one should be made to fight alone Harris told her supporters she was withdrawing because her campaign just didn't have the money it needed to push forward the remaining field of top contenders is now mostly male and entirely white so what does Senator Harris's departure mean for a party banking on the votes of diverse voting blocs in 2020 Amy Allison is the founder of she the people it's a coalition trying to increase voter turnout and political participation among women of color in particular Amy thank you so much for being with us thanks for having me so there was so much excitement right among Democrats about Kamel Harris in the beginning what happened well I was there in Oakland and you know when I when I was right there by that stage and looked around the 20000 very excited group of multiracial people cheering her on in Oakland California was like This is the sauce and this is the energy that we need and really it helped a lot of it's a hope that her campaign would keep that early momentum I think there were 3 things One is that you know it's 3 times as hard to be a woman of color running I mean there's a system that is harsh and hold her to a higher standard based on race and gender but I don't simply think it was both cider and a Bloomberg ultimately entrance integration the pressure that ensued that pushed her out here you know in December many people thought it was a little early leaving the field less diverse to. Stier and Mike Bloomberg both candidates with a really big war chest quite frankly I want to ask though about about how she was positioned in this field of candidates though because she she had a damaging back and forth on health care. As it relates to private insurance and whether she would or wouldn't get rid of it and then she also got heat from progressives for her history as a as a prosecutor was she just not liberal enough for liberals or moderate enough for moderates. Well how it is that I think it's a fair criticism of her campaign that she was trying to find her footing behind her lane in a very crowded field I mean there's going to be a lot of people who Monday morning quarterback who talk about the mistakes of the campaign I think what's important is to recognize as a 3rd black woman to run for president in a good nation's history as a person of race 40000000 dollars and did better than say Joe Biden did when he ran for president 1st couple of times I mean her presence in a race helped blaze a trail for the next generation women of color she did run a competitive campaign and she forced us all to really rethink about you know what it means to be electable and I think those are contributions whether or not her politics and her policies landed. At this moment I think that's the bigger issue Karen Finney a noted Democratic strategist said yesterday on n.p.r. And I'm going to paraphrase here but basically we all want to be inspired we want to win I think in this instance she says a lot of calculations that voters have made in terms of why certain candidates are gaining support there's almost this feeling of voters don't want to take too big of a chance what do you make of that Oh I think that's still part of the myth of electability you know people said the same thing about Barack Obama until 2007 I think what's more important for us to realize is that calmly Harris and myself as black women are part of a group of voters there are absolutely necessary for the Democrats to win when any candidate who wants to get to the primary and the White House so the candidate and the campaigns in the party have to engage in appeal to black women black voters and voters of color Kamel Harris it was doing her best to win over that group of voters and I think ultimately that's what's going to determine and you know the. The election All right Amy Allison founder of see the people we appreciate your time thank you thank you later today on All Things Considered a look at what Senator Harris's departure means for the Democratic Party which is now facing the prospect of an all white debate state to listen to that story ask your smart speaker to play n.p.r. Or your member station by name our next story takes us inside Iran prisons a u.s. Resident is one of several foreign nationals who were imprisoned there and are now telling their stories in Washington here's N.P.R.'s Michele Kelemen before he was released this past June news our Zaka spent 4 years behind bars in Iran describing the jail as a mini United Nations because they were detainees from all over the world this is definitely an industry doing good fulfill to use they have been very successful and in fact a winning this game because of doing it again and again and again and soon or come to believe to what Trevor Zaka a Lebanese national and u.s. Resident says every country tries to deal with these cases separately he was released as a gesture of goodwill to Lebanon others have been released in prisoner swaps but he argues it would be better for countries to work together to confront the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps it's a state they're listening disappear with phone from the minutes it takes you. Did was you as a hostage Zaka we're speaking in a Washington d.c. Law office along with family members of other foreign nationals currently being held in Iran among them American Babak Masi who's advocating for the release of his brother and his father now Masi says it's been difficult to communicate recently because of protests in Iran it's been difficult for anyone to have any communications with into that being disconnected telephones have always been challenging I have not been able to have as many contacts with my father there's more overcrowding obviously is already very overcrowded and there are more and more people being brought in Richard Radcliff is also hearing about overcrowded prisons from his wife and as a Nino a British Iranian charity worker jailed 3 and a half years ago for all of the women who witnessed in the sounds deeply worried as to where Iran is going to end and what that means and looking to the outside world to care and to watch and to report Radcliffe argues that the international community should hold Iran to account for the way it's cracking down on protesters and should not lose sight of the cases against dual nationals like his wife this should be a real clear cost to hostage taking it should be an anathema in the modern world Radcliffe is calling for targeted sanctions and other ways to raise the cost on Iran Sara Levinson Moriarity the daughter of a former f.b.i. Agent Bob Levinson says her family will be in a d.c. Court this week to sue Iran big portion of our lawsuit is punitive damages because we want to discourage them from doing this practice to anyone else it's reflect what they've done to my father in a recent filing to the United Nations Iran acknowledged that it has an open court case involving Levinson who disappeared in 2007 Moriarty says that means Iran knows more about her father than officials claim Michele Kelemen n.p.r. News the State Department. This is n.p.r. News. I'm not that young I'm Jeremy Hobson We'll have the latest on the impeachment hearings in the House Judiciary Committee and we'll dig into the 2 reports on impeachment one day verb by the Democrats one in defense of the president that some Republicans call that and the latest from Wall Street as investors worry about trade tensions That's next time on here and. Stay tuned to k.c. For today's hearing now make its in a way at noon following the Wednesday morning music blend and that will kick off at 9 o'clock time now for a look at the weather forecast with support provided by the sky you can see new resort and Ignacio with activities for the whole family including a 24 lane bowling alley mini golf gaming arcade lazy river indoor pool an r.v. Park and more located just 25 miles southeast of Durango details are at Sky You casino dot com. Looks like mostly cloudy skies today with a Chance of rain and mixed precipitation over the lower elevations and some scattered snow showers possible over the mountains this afternoon high temperatures will range across the forty's for most of the case you delisting area well the high country will top out in the upper thirty's it wonder whether advisory for the same one mountains is scheduled from 5 pm today to 5 pm Thursday the chance for precipitation should increase overnight was so urgent perhaps getting up to 3 inches of snow accumulation those tonight will range from the mid twenty's to the mid thirty's looks like this weather system will move out throughout the day on Thursday with a decreasing chance of precipitation and clearing skies to Marseilles will be just a degree or 2 cooler than today's and Friday partly cloudy skies along the start of a slight warming trend Saturday should be mostly sunny with temperatures mainly in the upper forty's to low fifty's and the extended forecast is calling for the possibility of another weather system moving into the region by late Saturday and Sunday their back to Morning Edition. Morning I'm Rachel Martin some sports fans just can't get enough of their favorite team in Argentina Hugo Federico Suarez loves the Barca juniors so much so that he fell behind on his child support a judge banned him from going to any more games until the Reuters reports the evidence against war has included all of his many bogus shirts and souvenirs the boy in the case said apparently some people don't know that children come 1st other things come after It's Morning Edition support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from the ring foundation in support of N.P.R.'s continued mission to create a more informed public one challenge than invigorated by a deeper understanding of events ideas and cultures from the Andrew w. Mellon foundation guided by the belief that the arts and humanities are essential to the well being of diverse and democratic societies learn more at Melun dot org And from the e.c.m. C. Foundation at e.c. Mc Foundation dot org. It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene and I'm Rachel Martin the Houston Astros won the World Series back in 2017 and have won over 100 games each of the past 3 years but now Major League Baseball is taking a hard look at the Astros success in particular recent claims of sign stealing commentator Mike Pesca weighs in baseball is a game of action and reaction but there is a major exception where for knowledge not instinct is important in fact it happens on every play the catcher must know what kind of pitch he has to receive if the catcher is set up for a slow loping curve but instead the pitcher delivers a 99 mile an hour fastball all hell and possibly a bone or 2 could break loose this is why catchers put down a finger or 2 to indicate a fastball or curveball literally one for a fastball and 2 for curve is the universal sign the exception to this storied study in semiotics is when there is an opposing player on 2nd base then the catcher will flash an array of digits in a sequence known only to the pitcher so as to secretly communicate the clandestine nature of the communication is important otherwise an opposing player on 2nd base could steal a sign and signal it back to the hitter now so far everything I've described might seem furtive and opaque if you're not familiar with the dark arts of baseball signs but as obvious as the nose on Yogi Berra's face if you are there's nothing underhanded about signs stealing signs or signaling stolen signs in fact it's what players would describe as part of the game but what the Astros are credibly alleged to have done is not part of the game nor should it be as reported by former players and confirmed by an analysis of game film the Astros' used powerful cameras to electronically monitor the catcher signals and then to alert batters by the decidedly non high tech tactic of loudly banging a trash can no banging the pitcher was coming with a fast. Ball bang bang bang that would be a breaking ball might want to lay off and statistics indicate the Astros' did benefit at least a bit so what to do that's a question being hotly discussed and the answers usually deal in punishing the team with fines or revocation of future draft picks but my answer to what to do is more about how to correct the problem my solution is to simply allow the pitcher and catcher to communicate via a microphone and headset the n.f.l. Does it the idea of computerized umpires calling balls and strikes has gained widespread credence indorsed even by prominent players this year 2 minor leagues will experiment with Track Man radar technology calling balls and strikes during the game to have a robot empire at the same time you have a catcher flashing his fingers would be like having in advance the guided missile system triggered vs Semma for baseball is a traditional game resistant to change but other than resistance to change there is no reason to oppose having the catcher or even a bench coach dictate the pitch selection which is a necessary bit of information for the very safety of the players this will also eliminate those mound visits where the catcher goes over the signals with a confused picture these in game finger waggle refresher sessions are a big time waster the bane of baseball is popular entertainment while this change won't rehabilitate the Astros' image it will eliminate a potential source of chicanery for others shave time off the game and embrace the realities of innovation best of all I made the proposal without ever proclaiming Houston we have a solution to. Them and get it right as does the sleep podcast This is It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm Rachel Martin and I'm David Greene. Local support for N.P.R.'s Morning Edition is provided by Dr Michael was General Psychiatry delivering compassionate psychiatric care to adults and now offering transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment for depression Dr Michael General Psychiatry information is that Durango psychiatrist dot com at 970-799-6911 good morning Time now for a look at the community calendar which is always available online at k.s.u. T. Dot org. The project Merry Christmas angel giving tree is located at the Durango mall and that is right next to their project Merry Christmas gift wrapping station that's set up next to j.c. Penney and you can get more information at Project Merry Christmas dot com Christmas tree permits for the same one national forest are available now in San Juan National Forest offices and selected retail outlets across southwest Colorado or information is at Fs dot u.s.d.a. Dot gov slash San Juan. The city of Durango invites the public to a ribbon cutting ceremony for the completed Santa Rita water reclamation facility project that's today at noon refreshments will also be served. A panel discussion the Electoral College or the national popular vote compact takes place today at 530 that's at the center of Southwest studies at Fort Lewis College and the Lyceum room number 120 Stay tuned the Marketplace Morning Report is coming up next with support provided by deeds market in Durango for over 35 years supporting local artists and craftsman offering a variety of Durango baskets filled with local products plus and made pottery jewelry and decor wrapping and shipping are also available through open 7 days a week on Highway 160 South. What about taking the bus for free Marketplace Morning Report a 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 little passports a holiday gift for curious kids with a subscription kids get a package each month designed to inspire their curiosity in the world little passports dot com slash radio I'm David Brancaccio 1st a major management change in the world of big tech the head of Google Sunder Pichai is getting a promotion and will take the c.e.o. Position at Google's parent company alphabet that means the famed founders of the whole enterprise Larry Page and Sergey Brin will step down later this month we were talking to our newsroom partners at the b.b.c. This morning they had the idea of reporting this out of Mr pitch country of birth Here's reporter to worry in Mumbai India for many in India cinder Pichai embodies the modern American dream barn and raised in the southern Indian state of he went on to study engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology one of the country's most respected universities He then moved to the United States to study at Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania the for joining Google in 2004 in his 15 years a Google send their project rules up their ranks and became known for his engineering talents and his general likeability he's widely credited with developing Google Chrome as well as Android systems and generally growing the business in terms of hardware and cloud computing and while it's a proud moment for being a powerful c.e.o. Of one of the world's biggest technology companies is not all that it seems these days companies like Google are facing mounting scrutiny from regulators and politicians over data privity and political interference governments on 5 continents are due. And in better safeguards and then to what some say is anti competitive conduct and more taxes and advertising in Mumbai I'm surrounded at the ari for Marketplace the oil producers cartel OPEC meets in Vienna tomorrow joined by Russia on Friday this OPEC plus bunches agreed to squeeze supply to keep prices up in the past but as Marketplace's Scott Tong reports there are a lot of moving parts here too much oil with nowhere to go that's the problem facing the so-called OPEC plus group for almost 3 years it has agreed to pump less oil cut supply and bring prices up Alice and cut rate of the rapid and energy group believes attendees will extend the cuts they've already agreed to to balance out a global surge in crude supply there's a huge amount of supply coming on friend our way Brazil there's new production coming on from Guyana not to mention the u.s. But many analysts think just extending the cuts won't be enough to firm up prices since World demand is soft says Christopher page at risk at energy China used to be growing and a very very fast rate but because of a trade war all demand is not growing as fast then there's Europe where he says demand is shrinking because of slow and vehicle sales unless the OPEC plus group makes deeper cuts in things oil prices will plunge more than 30 percent next year and that translates to us gas prices falling from an average to 60 a gallon to under 2 I'm Scott Tong for Marketplace crude oil is up 1.6 percent in New York to 57 a barrel ahead of Friday's official jobs report a private sector count of payrolls out just now shows that hiring in America slowed A.T.P.'s report finds just 67000 jobs were created in November that is much lower than expected especially given all the formally striking g.m. Workers going to back to work last month after the Dow fell one percent yesterday $280.00 points the s. And p. Future is up 3 tenths resent the 10 year interest rate is up at 1.74 percent. Marketplace Morning Report is supported by Kronos providing h.r. Solutions for the modern workforce and the people who support motivate and in Gage them learn more about promo stage our payroll talent and time at Kronos dot com slash h.r. Swagger and by Cantera the enterprise data cloud company empowering organizations around the world to transform their businesses improve lives and advance human achievement through data more a contrary dot com. I used to meet middle class Californians who had never even once ridden a bus that said Last year Americans took nearly 10000000000 rides on public transportation in Missouri transit officials have proposed making all public buses free for Kansas City residents as Lisa Rodriguez reports the city councils is scheduled to vote on this tomorrow bus fares in Kansas City cost a $1.50 per trip and Michael Mumford says he rides at least once a day he estimates eliminating bus fares could save him up to a $1000.00 a year it had me out a lot if you can change him up Mumford works but he also takes the bus to classes at a local community college he says some of that extra change could go to school some school books Yeah bus books and plans Robbie makin in the head of the Kansas City area Transportation Authority came up with the idea he says a $1.50 fare would go much further to boost the economy outside the farebox it's going to go right back into the local economy buying a pair of tennis shoes via some bread buying whatever generating sales tax which we get a piece of and who are makin says going fer free across the entire system will cost about $12000000.00 He's asked the city to find $8000000.00 to get rolling Kansas City mayor Quentin Lucas is on board it really opens up more of Kansas City in particular in a place like this where we are spread out we're far flung I think frankly it is of vital importance for us that we do something like this but Kansas City Councilwoman Katherine Shields who chairs the city's. Finance Committee says $8000000.00 for free buses means $8000000.00 less for other services because I know there's not $35000000.00 or $8000000.00 sitting around part of what makes this complicated is that the bus system serves the entire metro area which is split across 7 counties in 2 states the only city proposing to go 0 fer is Kansas City Missouri So Josh powers who oversees transit services in suburban Kansas says someone may ride free in parts of the metro area but not in others and we've done a lot of work to make sure that our fares are the same across the region to make sure that our branding is the same across the region transit officials estimate about 20 percent of bus riders across the metro area already ride for free that includes veterans as well as students in Kansas City public schools in Kansas City I'm Lisa Rodriguez from Marketplace and there's word a drug company Gilliard Sciences has made good on a promise to donate medicines so the 200000 uninsured Americans can get HIV preventative drugs for free pharmacy chains are also helping out in a program coordinated by the federal government free prep pre-exposure prophylaxis will be available by prescription for people who don't have Medicaid veterans' benefits or other insurance and currently test HIV negative in New York I'm David Brancaccio And you're listening to the Marketplace Morning from a.p.m. American Public Media. Local support for case u.t. Public Radio is provided by River Gate pharmacy and compound Xander now offering pharmaceutical grade c.b.d. Oils that are t.h.c. Free for a variety of healthful uses and benefits really good pharmacy and compound at 575 Rivergate lane adjacent to enema surgical hospital online at Rivergate Pharmacy dot com This is case you Teague Nash you. He you t. Farmington us w. Floor of us to and springs we also heard in Cortez make s. And Silverton and. Orgy N.P.R.'s Morning Edition continues now and support is provided by Coldwell Banker Heritage House realtors working hard to help families find their perfect home this winter Coldwell Banker Heritage House realtors with offices in Durango make us and they're online at real estate Durango dot com The time is 7 o'clock.