. News is next. I'm Debbie rest with the b.b.c. News Helen the German chancellor Angela Merkel has said she wants to win back the voters who left her party for the far right the anti immigration a.f.d. Party has emerged as the 3rd biggest group in parliament after Sunday's election this is Michael said many people felt they were not being taken seriously Damian McGuinness is in Berlin annular MacHall may have won the most votes and will remain chancellor but she now has to cobble together a coalition between 4 different parties including the Greens and the business friendly liberals all of which have completely opposing views on key issues such as refugees or Euro Zone reform Meanwhile the anti migrant a.f.d. a Party that Mrs MacHall will not work with is struggling to stay united one of its leaders Helka pity has announced that she will not belong to the party's parliamentary group the United Nations says the human rights situation in the Crimean Peninsula has significantly deteriorated following Russia's annexation of the territory in 2014 obese is documented include arbitrary arrests and detentions and forced disappearances as well as severe ill treatment and torture Vienna phrases the un office in Ukraine which produced a report highlighting the abuses that had come to light we've also seen more broadly the impact of the requirement for individuals living in Crimea to adopt Russian Federation citizenship if individual that doesn't have Russian Federation citizenship then they are unable to access basic services such as health care they would have problems with employment problems property rights and also with regard to political issues as well the people of Iraq's Kurdistan region have been voting in a controversial referendum on independence the poll has been vigorously opposed by the central government in Baghdad which says it's illegal but the Kurds. Stone regional governments representative to the United States by and some Iraq men says Iraq failed to deliver on its promises we thought that we had signed up to a new Iraq that would be federal not central We want to democracy and we wanted a secular government is that what we have today is almost the c.e.o. Crecy a sectarian government that's far far from upholding the Constitution neighboring Turkey and Iran have condemned the exercise fearing it might start separatist feeling in their own Kurdish minorities Iran has come to sailings with the region an investigation in Syria by the campaign group Human Rights Watch has found that 2 u.s. Led coalition airstrikes killed more than 80 civilians including 30 children but its attacks were in March 1 hit a school being used by displaced people in the northern town of Mansoul era Well news from the b.b.c. The United Nations has warned that hundreds of thousands of ranging refugees in Bangladesh risk a dramatic deterioration in 2nd stances unless aid is rapidly stepped up speaking in Dhaka the head of the un refugee agency Phillipa Grandy told Jenison despite every efforts the massive influx of people seeking safety had outpaced capacities to respond. The Court of Appeal in Hong Kong has ruled that a British lesbian who moved to the Territory with her partner should be granted the right to work the B.B.C.'s Juliana Liu reports for use Hong Kong a global financial center has denied the same sex spouses of working expansionary it's these us that are normally granted to heterosexual couples the reason the city does not recognize gay marriage cutie a gay British woman had challenge that policy on grounds of discrimination a panel of 3 judges has agreed with her activists of call the decision a hard fought victory for gay rights in Asia the Italian Football Federation has banned and rare and yet the president of champions you Ventus 4 year for his role in the sale of tickets to fan groups he was accused of helping to sell tickets to so-called Ultras who are suspected of having links to organized crime and who resold them at a huge profit he was also fined 20000 euros the French government is advertising for a couple to live in the small and isolated island of command ness of the coast of Brittany that take over from the current 2 inhabitants who are leaving after 10 years they've revived the fortunes of the abandoned and windy island which at the time only had a deserted farmhouse now their farming sheep growing potatoes and have set up a bed and breakfast using only wind and sun as sources of energy just like their predecessors the new inhabitants will not be paid to live on chemists That's the latest b.b.c. News. Programming on k l w is supported in part by Litquake 2017 presenting over $600.00 authors including Jane Smiley I yell at Walden Mark Hertsgaard Jamail yogis Waldo e. Martin and celebrations of Pablo Neruda and the 50th anniversary of Garcia Marquez is monumental novel 100 Years of Solitude Litquake runs October 6th through the 14th information at Litquake dot au argy the g.o.p. Health care bill and the latest from Puerto Rico after the hurricanes coming up next on Morning Edition from n.p.r. News support for n.p.r. Comes from Fidelity Investments taking a personalized approach to help clients grow preserve and manage their wealth learn more at fidelity dot com slash wealth fidelity brokerage services l l c relatively clear skies right now it's going to be quite sunny highs in the seventy's lower eighty's here in the city mid eighty's around the bay light winds becoming west and to the north up to 20 miles per hour in the afternoon this is 91.7 k a l w San Francisco k l w dot au argy your local public radio Good morning I'm Kevin Vance the time is 807 . This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene and I'm Mary Louise Kelly good morning we are tracking reports that the latest Republican health care bill is changing the bill is aimed at repealing the Affordable Care Act according to a draft that is circulating the newest version of this news version of this legislation would shift more money to states like Alaska and Maine which are home to Republican holdouts senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins now this weekend Collins was voicing doubts on C.N.N.'s State of the Union it's very difficult for me to and fits in a scenario where I would end Deb voting for this bill I have a number of serious reservations about it Ok let's do the math here 2 Republican senators have already said they will vote no Rand Paul of Kentucky and John McCain of Arizona this means the bill cannot lose any more Republican support if it's going to pass by the Friday deadline on separate So let's remind people the full name of this bill is Gramm Cassady Heller Johnson and Johnson in question is Senator Ron Johnson he is a Republican from Wisconsin he is one of the chief sponsors and he's on the line now good morning Senator good morning Mary Louise and David how you doing we are well thanks and thanks for being with us so this revised draft of your bill that's coming out today we mentioned it includes more money for states that are home to senators whose votes you need why make that change. Well 1st of all that the formula to make the distribution of federal healthcare dollars more equitable cross States has been in her process and there's been changes all along it's it's complex problem problem you know you have Medicaid which is you know there are all kinds of waivers out there there's nothing unique about the state being unique and so we have 50 unique states and so this is again this is just been in her process and there's been an awful lot of changes just in the last week or so not only just for those states for a number of states so again it's there's nothing unusual about this we're trying to make this is fair as possible but let me let you speak as let me know you respond to the question some people will have which is if you are giving more money to states whose votes you're going to need how do you respond to people who may see that as an effort to to buy votes for your bill but again I what I what I've been involved in is a process where foreigners have been changing to for example extend the time period it's going to take to bring greater equity the just the shift out of health care dollars and so if x. Number States in Alaska Maine be. Part of that process in terms of the adjustment process every state can be part of that adjustment process as well so but you know I had our money to every state in this in this new version. There that those states that currently get a disproportionate share a larger share of federal health care dollars particularly And you know Bamma care funding will see a reduction in what they're increased probably would be some some states might actually gives a slight decrease but you know Currently it's really been quite unfair I know that you know California New York and Massachusetts so they represent about 20 percent of population as they get close to 36 percent of federal over bomb care funding and just simply an equitable so we're trying to work with us I think is one of the major features of grant to ask you how Johnson is try try to bring greater equity in terms of federal funding you never it's never going to be perfect the funds right now are being distributed basically under under Castle Graham. On based on population of people trying 5130 percent of the poverty line again directed toward those individuals actually need the funding so we're sitting here talking on Monday morning let me put the same question that I put elsewhere on the show this morning to Senator Ron Wyden your Democratic colleague if you had to put a percentage on this where would you put the chances of this bill passing this week but I'm still consciously optimistic but if we don't get it done this week sir Senator Graham and I have both told the leadership in the Senate that we want to vote for a budget resolution that that won't give us the same possibility of the passing of a health care reform within that same process of but budget reconciliation but you know what I would say is that would be the last resort I've been pretty critical of this process I think we all should have started reaching out the other side talking about the problems the real problems we face the healthcare system the real problems created by Obamacare acknowledging the benefit 20000000 or more Americans got health care now we want to pull the rug out from underneath those working in good faith but if Democrats in the end don't work in good faith and really just a problem which I would say is skyrocketing premiums that have doubled leaving in many cases people with preexisting conditions on a 4 unable to afford health insurance to quit thinking to work so there's no absolute guarantee of people being covered guaranteed with a preexisting additions under Obamacare just real quick and I am hearing you correctly now that married just jump in here I just want to make sure I'm hearing you correctly you would like for this to pass this week but you are still you are already looking forward to maybe tying this to a budget vote if it doesn't for for next year if we don't pass this year we will get We're give ourselves that option for next year as well we we can't stop this effort Obamacare markets are collapsing greenness of already doubled nationally so this is this is a real problem I'm personally hoping that if we can pass it this week we set up this process of federalism where we turn the funding over states so they can be innovative. And I think this boy I mean there's going to be more more up to dispersed work in a bipartisan fashion as governors certainly watch to see what we can for greater flexibility that's Wisconsin's Ron Johnson who's a sponsor of the Republican health care repeal effort which is working its way through the Senate Senator Johnson thank you every day we also have here in the studio with us another voice n.p.r. Susan Davis who covers Congress so you were listening there hearing Ron Johnson defend his bill what struck you when he talked about the fact that he and Senator Graham have suggested that they would vote against the next budget resolution if they don't get health care passed that is hugely significant and that is hugely significant because the next budget resolution is what Republicans want to use to pass tax legislation and if Republicans are willing to hold that hostage to keep the repeal and replace fight alive that could down to Republican priorities this year which is health care and taxes and the fact that they're willing to make that play is the next major fight to look for in Congress not that we needed more. Chris N.P.R.'s David thank you you're welcome Ok We want to check back now with the people of Puerto Rico who are experiencing massive and persistent power outages as they try and recover from Hurricane Maria N.P.R.'s Kamila dumb and Ascii is in San Juan and joins us on the line in what is the city of San Juan look like you know roofs are making gold there's still debris everywhere and branches are bare it was really striking the picture an aerial view of Puerto Rico it's a tropical island Yeah dream right from the skies we are approaching San Juan the coastline was around the branches it was totally to new that strays are still down some of them are completely blocking the roads there are still flooding shops are shuttered I mean every day life is at a halt people are standing in long lines for small amounts of gas and this is really good compared to the conditions in some other parts of the island where the hurricane hit mark a record this is just amazing they were days away I mean this is the kind of scene you expect like just hours after hurricane came through. Yeah and when you look at the power outages those are expected to continue for not just days but weeks even months people are bracing for this to last for a really long time and you know that affects water pumps food storage medicine every part of everyday life and listen to our generators are still running but a lot of people don't have generators I was talking to one guy who's in have as he said that so many people are now looking for generators after days after bad I think everybody Puerto Rico is going to have a generator. I think everybody's going to go through these and go no power again and you know he's laughing even light there but this is a really serious point that he's making that nobody wants to go through this ever again it's just so hard to cope without some sort of a power supply and again I just this is expect to last not days but for an extremely long period of time is that the kind of feel on the island that I mean it's it's so dire that you just look for moments to laugh or make light of a situation that's incredibly difficult and painful. Now a lot of people are you know expressing great resilience and enormous amounts of patience some humor and Camilla me just ask you with the power down I gather communication has just been a huge issue for people on that island I mean there must be a feeling of being totally cut off it's a tremendous issue and not just elsewhere in the world but elsewhere in Puerto Rico people also on the island you know can send whiny of people desperately trying to contact relatives in the u.s. To tell them that they're Ok and also trying to reach their own relatives here and in Puerto Rico and other areas to know if they're Ok And for a long time there was no service whatsoever on the island now there is some very limited very spotty service people are driving to an hour and a half to try to try to get a signal there's an expressway in the northern part of the island where people go to try to get service because they know it sometimes there we went there we talked to Naomi Solaire she drove there with her mom Damaris Mela they came from r.c. Boats nearly an hour to try to get a signal but they still couldn't get connected Celera told me who she was trying to reach me about. A I think in Florida. Grandmother in Florida her boyfriend in New York she just wants to tell them that she's Ok so now dad grandma and boyfriend if if you're listening she's Ok but this is happening all over people on the island trying to get word out but it's just incredibly difficult and meanwhile their family on the mainland is worried because they can't get any updates any word you know I'm sure they are well and Naomi's family I hope you heard that Camilla Domino is in San Juan never putting on the aftermath of the hurricane Thanks a lot thanks. And we will continue talking about hurricanes this afternoon on All Things Considered hundreds of thousands of vehicles were flooded by hurricanes Harvey and Irma and many Americans need wheels vastnesses set off a huge logistical scramble by the nation's rental car companies. This is n.p.r. News. Tune into cross-currents today at 5 Marine County residents are pushing for stricter regulations on r.v. Parking leaving the people who live in them scrambling to find new places to park I don't know how to describe how empty and scared and not knowing what direction you're going to go into addressing homelessness in Marin today at 5 on crosscurrents from k l w news. I'm Jane Clayson coming up on the next on point the special counsel Robert Muller bears down on Pomona for it as the Trump Russia investigation escalates we are on it that's coming up on the next on point from n.p.r. This morning at 11 right after your call a 10 year old 91.7 killed when you're away from the radio you can hear killed of your programming Wally on our website check it out on your smartphone your tablet or your desktop or a k l w dot a large. 1000 from n.p.r. News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying a spokesman for Republican Senator Rand Paul says the latest revisions are not enough to convince the Kentucky lawmaker to support the G.O.P.'s latest proposal to repeal and replace Obamacare Paul and Senator John McCain of Arizona had already said they would oppose the belt the g.o.p. Can lose only to Republicans and still prevail parts of coastal North Carolina are under a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Maria while it's expected to stay off shore N.P.R.'s air macam reports what's happening along the mid Atlantic coast forecasters are watching the path of the storm and warning that even as Maria is expected to weekend it could still bring storm surge and heavy winds and rain to the region visitors to Oak or Coke Island in North Carolina's Outer Banks were ordered to leave and officials are encouraging everyone in affected areas to do things like secure outdoor furniture and have a hurricane plan in place the foreign minister of Iran slamming the administration's new travel ban which affects citizens from Iran and 7 additional countries N.P.R.'s Peter Kenyon has more on the controversial new restrictions Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif posted a condemnation of the new travel ban on his Twitter account calling it even more offensive than previous versions and saying it reveals trumps fake empathy for Iranians besides Iran the band restricts travel from Chad Syria Yemen Libya North Korea Somalia and Venezuela the ban takes effect October 18th this is n.p.r. News. On the next fresh air writing speeches and jokes for President Obama David was only $24.00 when he started it felt totally surreal and completely terrifying he went on to become senior presidential speechwriter and lead writer of 4 stand up appearances at the White House Correspondents Dinner his new memoir is thanks obama change the White House years join us join us for fresh air this morning at 9 just 40 minutes from now if you're on 91.7. In 2015 an investigation by inside climate news and the l a Times found that for 4 decades Exxon knew about fossil fuels role in global warming but failed to reveal its findings Instead it worked at the forefront of climate denial Harvard researchers established that Exxon misled the public about the state