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Literary legends set for top Ayewrite Glasgow book festival

BOOKER Prize-winner Bernardine Evaristo, Joanna Trollope and Maggie O’Farrell are among the authors expected to appear at a literary festival in Glasgow.




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Music Venue Trust says lockdown impact could be 'catastrophic' to Glasgow music venues

Small music venues across the city could be among some of the hardest hit businesses due to the coronavirus crisis, a charity has said.




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Congressional Hearing On Slavery Reparations Set For Wednesday

For the first time in a decade Congress will hold a hearing Wednesday on the subject of reparations for the descendants of slaves in the United States, a topic that has gained traction in the run-up to the 2020 elections. The hearing is set for June 19, also known as "Juneteenth," the day when in 1865 former enslaved people in Texas first learned that they had been emancipated two years earlier. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties is holding the hearing on H.R. 40 , which calls for a commission to "study and develop reparation proposals for African-Americans," including a formal apology by the U.S. government "for the perpetration of gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity on African slaves and their descendants." The hearing is scheduled to feature testimony from author Ta-Nehisi Coates, whose article "The Case for Reparations," published by The Atlantic magazine in 2014, is widely credited with re-igniting the




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6 Questions Congress May Ask Robert Mueller During His Testimony

Former special counsel Robert Mueller is testifying before Congress on Wednesday, and lawmakers have so many questions they may not have enough time to ask them all. The House judiciary and intelligence committees have scheduled hearings for 8:30 a.m. and noon. Majority Democrats and minority Republicans are expected to try their utmost to get the most good they can from Mueller — in very different ways. Members of Congress already postponed Mueller's hearings once to wrangle more time. Complicating the matter will be Mueller himself, who has said he intends to confine his testimony to what he has already set forth in his report. In addition, the Justice Department sent Mueller a letter on Monday night saying it expects Mueller to not stray beyond what is publicly known about his work, citing executive privilege. That won't constrain members of Congress from trying. Here are some of the questions they might ask, broken up by the majority and the minority members on these committees.




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Police Identify Suspected Dayton, Ohio, Shooter; 9 Dead, 27 Injured

Police have identified 24-year-old white male Connor Betts from Bellbrook, Ohio, as the shooter who claimed nine lives and injured 27 others in Dayton, Ohio, early on Sunday morning. Among the nine dead was the shooter's sister, Megan Betts, 22, said Lt. Col. Matt Carper at a news conference Sunday. In addition to Betts' sister, Carper offered a complete list of the people who were among those killed in the brief but brutal shooting: Lois L. Oglesby, 27; Saeed Saleh, 38; Derrick R. Fudge, 57; Logan M. Turner, 30; Nicholas P. Cumer, 25; Thomas J. McNichols, 25; Beatrice N. Warren-Curtis, 36; Monica E. Brickhouse, 39. Carper denied suggestions that the victims were targeted. "Due to the very short timeline of violence, it's hard to imagine that there was much discrimination in the shooting," he said. "It happened in a very short amount of time." Carper offered no other details about the shooter; however, a LinkedIn profile belonging to someone of the same name and who is listed as living




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Alone Together with Stay At Home

We may be stuck at home ALONE, but TOGETHER through our common love of jazz music, we can will get through this. For many of us music sustains our spirit and enhances our lives. My hope is that this podcast will help to keep you "In The Groove", hip you to new music, and give you comfort with our great jazz standards.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album 
McCoy Tyner ~ Alone Together ~ Illuminations
Jimmy Greene ~ Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most ~ Introducing Jimmy Greene
Ahmad Jamal ~ Stolen Moments ~ The Awakening
Bill Evans Trio ~ Milestones ~ Waltz for Debby
Billy Childs feat. Lisa Fischer ~ Map to the Treasure ~ Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro (2014)
Kenny Barron & Dave Holland Trio (feat. Johnathan Blake) ~ I Remeber When ~ Without Deception
Hudson (feat. Dejohnette, Grenadier, Medeski, Scofield) ~ Tony Then Jack ~ Hudson




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Stay Safe

Hope y'all are staying safe, sheltered at home and observing all of CDC guidance during these times. An eclectic set this week starting with a vocal set, then a set of rock covers and some jazz classics.

Playlist
Artist ~ Track ~ Album
Atla DeChamplain ~ Pause ~ Pause
Jazzmeia Horn ~ Lift Every Voice and Sing / Moanin’ (Medley) ~ A Social Call
Snarky Puppy ~ Sing to the Moon (feat. Laura Mvula & Michelle Willis) ~ Family Dinner, Vol. 2
Pat Metheny ~ Sixty-Six ~ From This Place
Gerald Cleaver ~ Detroit (Keep It In Mind) ~ Detroit
The Bad Plus ~ Everybody Wants To Rule The World ~ Prog
The Bad Plus ~ Smells Like Teen Spirit ~ These Are The Vistas
The Bad Plus ~ Long Distance Runaround ~ For All I Care (feat. Wendy Lewis)
Chick Corea ~ Straight Up and Down ~ Inner Space
Return To Forever ~ Light As a Feather ~ Light As A Feather




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Haitian Doctor Says This Is The Worst Epidemic He's Faced

The Pan American Health Organization this week warned of an impending humanitarian crisis in Haiti due to the coronavirus pandemic. Haiti has reported relatively few cases of COVID-19 but it shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, which is experiencing one of the worst outbreaks in the hemisphere. With the Dominican Republic under lockdown, thousands of laid off migrant workers have headed home to Haiti and presumably some of them are carrying the virus with them. "There is real danger of a large-scale outbreak followed by a humanitarian crisis in Haiti," said Carissa Etienne, the head of PAHO, in a briefing this week with reporters. She said Haiti's health-care system is ill-equipped to deal with an outbreak of a highly-infectious, potentially-fatal respiratory disease. And the measures used elsewhere to stem the spread of COVID-19 are impractical or impossible in Haiti. "It is extremely difficult to institute proper social distancing in Haiti," she said —




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Anti-Vaccination Activists Join Stay-At-Home Order Protesters

Protests over stay-at-home orders because of COVID-19 have become more common around the country. In California, a surprising group is behind some of them: those who oppose mandatory vaccinations. On Thursday, a mash-up of people mingled on the sidewalk in front of California's state Capitol in Sacramento. There were Trump supporters wearing MAGA hats and waving American flags. There were Christians, singing along to religious rock songs and raising their hands in prayer. The event's MC. urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to tune into their event. "Everybody up at the Capitol, tell Gavin Newsom [to tune in to] 107.9 FM, if he wants to hear what we have to say," the MC told the crowd over loudspeakers. "It could be kind of good for him!" There were also mothers with their children at the rally. Many people were not wearing face masks or observing social distancing protocols. They'd all come out to protest California's stay-at-home order, put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. This week's




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Public Health Experts Say Many States Are Opening Too Soon To Do So Safely

As of Friday in Texas, you can go to a tanning salon. In Indiana, houses of worship are being allowed to open with no cap on attendance. Places like Pennsylvania are taking a more cautious approach, only starting to ease restrictions in some counties based on the number of COVID-19 cases. By Monday, at least 31 states will have partially reopened after seven weeks of restrictions. The moves come as President Trump pushes for the country to get back to work despite public health experts warning that it's too soon. "The early lesson that was learned, really, we learned from the island of Hokkaido in Japan, where they did a really good job of controlling the initial phase of the outbreak," said Bob Bednarczyk, assistant professor of global health and epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta. Because of that success, many of the restrictions on the island were lifted. But cases and deaths surged in a second wave of infections. Twenty-six days later




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Heavy Rotation: 8 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing




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Sample Size: Kaytranada, A Giant Dog & Leonard Cohen

This is Sample Size, our weekly new music feature with KOSU's Ryan LaCroix and LOOKatOKC music critic Matt Carney. Today, Matt plays new music from Kaytranada , A Giant Dog , and Leonard Cohen . Follow Matt & Ryan on Twitter at @mdotcarney and @KOSUryan .




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Sample Size: Los Campesinos!, Jay Som & Benjamin Booker

This is Sample Size, our weekly new music feature with KOSU's Ryan LaCroix and LOOKatOKC music critic Matt Carney. Today, Matt brings us new tunes by Los Campesinos! , Jay Som , and Benjamin Booker featuring Mavis Staples! Follow Matt & Ryan on Twitter at @mdotcarney & @KOSUryan .




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Arbor Day And The Best Ways To Plant Trees

On this episode of Talk of Iowa , Charity Nebbe invites Richard Jauron and Aaron Steil to talk about the best methods for planting trees this arbor day. Jauron and Steil also answer listener questions about the plants and trees in their lives. Guests: Aaron Steil , assistant director, Reiman Gardens Richard Jauron , extension horticulture specialist, Iowa State University




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Guess this Bay Area sound! July 22, 2017

This is Audiograph — the Bay Area’s sonic signature. Each week, we’ll play you a sound recorded somewhere in the Bay Area. Your job? Listen to the sound in the player above, figure out where it was recorded and what it is, then call to let us know. If you think you can identify this Audiograph sound of the week, call 415-264-7106. Also, tell us where to record next. We’ll give away a KALW t-shirt every week to one lucky caller. We will announce the winner of this week's sound on Thursday during the 5 p.m. broadcast of Crosscurrents . This auditory guessing game is part of our project, Audiograph, a crowd-sourced collaborative radio project mapping the sonic signature of each of the Bay Area’s nine counties. By using the sounds of voices, nature, industry, and music, Audiograph tells the story of where you live, and the people who live there with you.




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Guess this Bay Area sound! August 19, 2017

This is Audiograph — the Bay Area’s sonic signature. Each week, we’ll play you a sound recorded somewhere in the Bay Area. Your job? Listen to the sound in the player above, figure out where it was recorded and what it is, then call to let us know. If you think you can identify this Audiograph sound of the week, call 415-264-7106. Also, tell us where to record next. We’ll give away a KALW t-shirt every week to one lucky caller. We will announce the winner of this week's sound on Thursday during the 5 p.m. broadcast of Crosscurrents . This auditory guessing game is part of our project, Audiograph, a crowd-sourced collaborative radio project mapping the sonic signature of each of the Bay Area’s nine counties. By using the sounds of voices, nature, industry, and music, Audiograph tells the story of where you live, and the people who live there with you.




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Guess this Bay Area sound! February 23, 2018

This is Audiograph — the Bay Area’s sonic signature. We’ll play you a sound recorded somewhere in the Bay Area. Your job? Listen to the sound in the player above, figure out where it was recorded and what it is, then call to let us know. If you think you can identify this Audiograph sound of the week, call 415-264-7106. Also, tell us where to record next. We’ll give away a KALW t-shirt every week to one lucky caller. We will announce the winner of this week's sound on Thursday during the 5 p.m. broadcast of Crosscurrents . This auditory guessing game is part of our project, Audiograph, a crowd-sourced collaborative radio project mapping the sonic signature of each of the Bay Area’s nine counties. By using the sounds of voices, nature, industry, and music, Audiograph tells the story of where you live, and the people who live there with you.




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Haitian Doctor Says This Is The Worst Epidemic He's Faced

The Pan American Health Organization this week warned of an impending humanitarian crisis in Haiti due to the coronavirus pandemic. Haiti has reported relatively few cases of COVID-19 but it shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, which is experiencing one of the worst outbreaks in the hemisphere. With the Dominican Republic under lockdown, thousands of laid off migrant workers have headed home to Haiti and presumably some of them are carrying the virus with them. "There is real danger of a large-scale outbreak followed by a humanitarian crisis in Haiti," said Carissa Etienne, the head of PAHO, in a briefing this week with reporters. She said Haiti's health-care system is ill-equipped to deal with an outbreak of a highly-infectious, potentially-fatal respiratory disease. And the measures used elsewhere to stem the spread of COVID-19 are impractical or impossible in Haiti. "It is extremely difficult to institute proper social distancing in Haiti," she said —




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Google Says Most Of Its Employees Will Likely Work Remotely Through End of Year

Google says most of its employees will likely be allowed to work remotely through the end of year. In a companywide meeting Thursday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said employees who needed to work in the office would be allowed to return in June or July with enhanced safety measures in place. The rest would likely continue working from home, a Google spokesperson told NPR. Google had originally told employees work-from-home protocols would be in place at least through June 1. Facebook also said it would allow most of its employees to work remotely through the end of 2020, according to media reports. The company had previously announced it was canceling large events through June 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Both companies began telling employees to stay home in March . Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.




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Anti-Vaccination Activists Join Stay-At-Home Order Protesters

Protests over stay-at-home orders because of COVID-19 have become more common around the country. In California, a surprising group is behind some of them: those who oppose mandatory vaccinations. On Thursday, a mash-up of people mingled on the sidewalk in front of California's state Capitol in Sacramento. There were Trump supporters wearing MAGA hats and waving American flags. There were Christians, singing along to religious rock songs and raising their hands in prayer. The event's MC. urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to tune into their event. "Everybody up at the Capitol, tell Gavin Newsom [to tune in to] 107.9 FM, if he wants to hear what we have to say," the MC told the crowd over loudspeakers. "It could be kind of good for him!" There were also mothers with their children at the rally. Many people were not wearing face masks or observing social distancing protocols. They'd all come out to protest California's stay-at-home order, put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. This week's




ay

Public Health Experts Say Many States Are Opening Too Soon To Do So Safely

As of Friday in Texas, you can go to a tanning salon. In Indiana, houses of worship are being allowed to open with no cap on attendance. Places like Pennsylvania are taking a more cautious approach, only starting to ease restrictions in some counties based on the number of COVID-19 cases. By Monday, at least 31 states will have partially reopened after seven weeks of restrictions. The moves come as President Trump pushes for the country to get back to work despite public health experts warning that it's too soon. "The early lesson that was learned, really, we learned from the island of Hokkaido in Japan, where they did a really good job of controlling the initial phase of the outbreak," said Bob Bednarczyk, assistant professor of global health and epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta. Because of that success, many of the restrictions on the island were lifted. But cases and deaths surged in a second wave of infections. Twenty-six days later




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Trump Says He Has Power Over States, Governors Disagree

Governors on the East and West Coasts say they’ll work together to reopen businesses. But President Trump says he’s the one calling the shots.




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After Two Days On A Ventilator, Iowan Shares Story Of COVID-19 Survival

After two weeks of hospitalization, Larry Potter became the first Iowan diagnosed with COVID-19 to be released from Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids after spending time on a ventilator.




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Childcare Providers Fight To Stay Afloat In Pandemic

Many childcare centers across the state have been forced to shut their doors because of COVID-19. For those who are still open, declining enrollment numbers, staff layoffs and difficulties in acquiring and affording necessary supplies has left providers facing tough decisions about the future of their childcare businesses, just as some Iowans begin returning to work.




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Disney+, PPV Streaming Taking Off as People Stay at Home

We all know TV viewing is up these days, but data from Hub Entertainment and Wurl show just how much, and which services are seeing the biggest upticks.




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Global Streaming Up More Than 20% in March, Says Conviva

Viewing in the U.S. is up almost 27%, and daytime viewing is up most of all?a massive 39% rise since the first week of March.




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Virtual Video Summit Set for May 6

With no NAB to bring customers to them this year, a group of streaming industry vendors have come together to create a virtual event and bring the trade show to their customers and partners.




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Former acting AG says Flynn decision was 'just,' blames Comey for bad culture at FBI

Former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker defended the Justice Department's decision to dismiss its case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, arguing that a corrupt FBI culture led to Flynn's entrapment.



  • 51ca323f-46ad-525c-81bd-624c93c75c03
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  • fox-news/news-events/russia-investigation
  • fnc
  • fnc/media
  • article
  • Fox News
  • Sam Dorman

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Canada to give essential workers a pay raise

Canada is set to reward the sacrifices that essential workers have made during the pandemic.



  • 3b7ce24d-a011-5761-9de1-4b9add453fb6
  • fox-news/health/infectious-disease/coronavirus
  • fox-news/world/world-regions/canada
  • fox-news/person/justin-trudeau
  • fox-news/health
  • fnc
  • fnc/world
  • article
  • Fox News
  • Peter Aitken

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NCAA president says no fall sports unless campuses are open to all students: 'It’s really that simple'

The NCAA has made it clear that unless college campuses are open to the entire student body in the fall, there are no plans to risk the health of student-athletes for the sake of sports. 




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All work. No pay. Life at a rehab work camp.

Desperate to reduce crowding in jails and prisons, court systems all over the country are trying diversion – alternatives to putting offenders behind bars. On today’s Reveal, we peek behind the good intentions and uneven results.

To explore more reporting, visit revealnews.org or find us at fb.com/ThisIsReveal, on Twitter @reveal or Instagram @revealnews.




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In Harm’s Way

The federal government is quietly expanding its use of “tender age” shelters for migrant kids. We’ll tell you what we know. Then, we revisit a story from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, looking at how Jesuit priests got away with sexually abusing children.

Don’t miss out on the next big story. Get the Weekly Reveal newsletter today.




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1st Friday Focus On The Environment: New PFAS Film To Open In Ann Arbor

Sara Ganim is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with strong ties to Michigan. Her new independent film, “No Defense: The U.S. Government’s War on Water,” looks into the PFAs contamination emanating from the old Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda and how our government’s conflict of interest has lead to inaction. WEMU’s David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director Lisa Wozniak caught up with Sara in advance of the free screening of her film at the State Theatre in Ann Arbor on February 19 th .




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1st Friday Focus On The Environment: Protecting Access To Water In Detroit And Around The Nation

Water shutoffs has been a major issue in Detroit, and the next round is expected to come in April. Low-income residents are being dramatically impacted by the inability to meet the rising cost of water. Is access to water a right? Or, is it a privilege? In this month's "1st Friday Focus on the Environment," WEMU's David Fair and Lisa Wozniak of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters explore the answers to those questions. Monica Lewis-Patrick is co-founder, president, and CEO of "We the People of Detroit." She'll explain the organization's efforts to win water justice in the city and around the state and country.




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Issues Of The Environment: Earth Day Celebrates 50 Years! Part One - Origins In Ann Arbor

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. A group of environmentally aware and concerned students at the University of Michigan formed the group ENACT during a rather heady time on campus in 1969. Through activity and organization, it led to the first-ever Earth Day in 1970. In Part 1 of a special, Earth Day edition of "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair caught up with David Allan to look back at the five decades since that event. Allan was a founding member and co-chair of ENACT and an organizer for the first Earth Day.




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Issues Of The Environment: Earth Day Celebrates 50 Years! Part 2 - Looking Ahead During COVID-19

Today marks the 50th Earth Day in the United States, which traces its origins to Ann Arbor. Normally, there would have been a huge celebration, but the coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to that. For Part 2 of a special, Earth Day edition of "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair spoke with Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability. They discuss an online celebration of Earth Day and look ahead to what the future may hold.




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1st Friday Focus On The Environment: Coronavirus Crisis Highlights Systemic Racism And Inequity

About 14% of Michigan's population is African American. Roughly 40% of COVID-19 fatalties are in the African American community. It is an alarming statistic. Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist heads the state's Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities. He joined WEMU's David Fair and Michigan League of Conservation Voters executive director Lisa Wozniak to discuss what is being done to address the immediate crisis. He also highlights the longer term issues that will need to be addressed and what the role of the task force will be to that end.




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In the Wake of a Mass Shooting, Dayton’s Mayor, Nan Whaley, Takes the National Stage

Earlier this month, a gunman killed nine people and injured nearly thirty more in Dayton, Ohio. The shooting in Dayton, the 251st mass shooting in the United States this year, took place only hours before an even deadlier mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. As the city reeled, its mayor, Nan Whaley, was suddenly rocketed into prominence as both a spokesperson for Dayton and a figure in the national conversation about gun violence. Paige Williams, who met with Nan Whaley after the shooting, joins Eric Lach to discuss the role of local officials in times of national tragedy.




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Evan Osnos and Jiayang Fan on the Hong Kong Protests

The months of protests in Hong Kong may be the biggest political crisis facing Chinese leadership since the Tiananmen Square massacre a generation ago. What began as objections to a proposed extradition law has morphed into a broad-based protest movement. “There was just this rising panic that Hong Kong was becoming just like another mainland city, utterly under the thumb of the Party,” says Jiayang Fan, who recently returned from Hong Kong. In Beijing, Evan Osnos spoke to officials during their celebration of the Chinese Communist Party’s seventieth year in power. He found that the leadership is feeling more secure than it did in 1989, when tanks mowed down student protesters. “I think the more likely scenario,” Osnos tells David Remnick, “is that China will keep up the pressure and gradually use its sheer weight and persistence to try to grind down the resistance of protestors.” 




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Rana Ayyub on India’s Crackdown on Muslims

In August, India suspended the autonomy of the state of Kashmir, putting soldiers in its streets and banning foreign journalists from entering. Dexter Filkins, who was working on a story about Narendra Modi, would not be deterred from going. To evade the ban, he sought the help of an Indian journalist, Rana Ayyub. Ayyub had once gone undercover to reveal the ruling party’s ties to sectarian and extrajudicial violence against the Muslim minority. In a conversation recorded last week, Filkins and Ayyub tell the story of how they got into Kashmir and describe the repression and signs of torture that they observed there. Ayyub’s book “Gujarat Files,” about a massacre of Muslims in Gujarat, has made her a target of Hindu nationalists; one of the book’s translators was killed not long ago. She spoke frankly with Filkins about the emotional toll of living in fear of assassination.




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The Many Iterations of Michael Bloomberg, C.E.O., Mayor, and Presidential Hopeful

Eleanor Randolph finished her biography of Michael Bloomberg in June, 2019, just as the former mayor decided not to run for President. “He didn’t want to go on an apology tour,” Randolph tells David Remnick. Bloomberg knew that he would be called to answer for his vigorous pursuit of unconstitutional stop-and-frisk policing, accusations against him of sexual misconduct, and his history as a Republican. Ultimately, Bloomberg did enter the race, and he has spent more than four hundred million dollars on political ads to defeat another New York billionaire, the incumbent, Donald Trump. Randolph and Andrea Bernstein, a reporter for WNYC who covered Bloomberg’s three terms as mayor, join Remnick to discuss the candidate’s time in Gracie Mansion, his philosophy of governing, and his philanthropy. Trump’s political contributions have been unabashedly transactional, but Bloomberg’s generous philanthropy also has an expected return. “All the money that he gave to philanthropies and charities were a way of doing good in the world, sure, but they were also a way of making him more powerful as mayor,” Bernstein says. “Everything with Bloomberg, there’s a countervailing thing. Something benefits somebody: it also might benefit him, it also might benefit billionaires from Russia.”

Eleanor Randolph is the author of “The Many Lives of Michael Bloomberg.” Andrea Bernstein’s book is “American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power.”




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Political Rewind: Mayors On Virus Response So Far

Friday on Political Rewind , mayors from across the state discuss how they are handling the coronavirus pandemic. How are municipal leaders responding to Gov. Brian Kemp’s latest move and how do they think their constituency will respond?




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MeFi: Maybe there's astronauts, maybe there's aliens

My [six-year-old] kid wrote a song called, "I Wonder What's Inside your Butthole" Quite honestly, it slaps. Twitter | Threadreader (Be sure to check out the remixes)




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Issues Of The Environment: Earth Day Celebrates 50 Years! Part One - Origins In Ann Arbor

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. A group of environmentally aware and concerned students at the University of Michigan formed the group ENACT during a rather heady time on campus in 1969. Through activity and organization, it led to the first-ever Earth Day in 1970. In Part 1 of a special, Earth Day edition of "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair caught up with David Allan to look back at the five decades since that event. Allan was a founding member and co-chair of ENACT and an organizer for the first Earth Day.




ay

Issues Of The Environment: Earth Day Celebrates 50 Years! Part 2 - Looking Ahead During COVID-19

Today marks the 50th Earth Day in the United States, which traces its origins to Ann Arbor. Normally, there would have been a huge celebration, but the coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to that. For Part 2 of a special, Earth Day edition of "Issues of the Environment," WEMU's David Fair spoke with Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability. They discuss an online celebration of Earth Day and look ahead to what the future may hold.




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We have a few days to prepare - what to do?

Cut for COVID-19 content. My parents live together at a medium-sized assisted-living facility in a nearby city. The facility has recently reported to us that one resident and three staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. Yesterday, at a health check-in, my parents said they had each in the past few days had fleeting symptoms (one had a cough and the other had a sore throat.) Both feel fine now, but there are major concerns for their survival if they are positive due to age and health history. The health program that covers them had them both tested. We get the results in 2-5 days. If they test positive, they will be moved that same day to a nursing care facility in a different city that has been set up for COVID-19 quarantine, and will stay for 14 days minimum.

I am grateful that they have been tested, and trying to see the waiting period as a blessing. In the few days before they get their results, what, if anything should they/we do to prepare?

Logistically:
-I am hesitant to suggest they pack now, but would it be better to have them living out of suitcases for a few days than have to pack under pressure? (I could not get an answer as to how long they would be given to get ready.) I did suggest they make packing lists now.

-I am going to ask them to get all important contact/insurance/etc. information ready and send to me (I have some, not all.)

In terms of health:
-In theory they should receive all required medical treatment at the nursing facility, but I'm going to check in with them about getting refills of any prescriptions they might need in the next few weeks.

-The staff at the assisted living facility states they are following all required practices: not allowing visitors, serving residents food in their rooms, not running group activities, yet I learned that a. their staff have only been required to wear masks since Saturday (this could have been an access issue - but if so why can they suddenly get them now) and b. we received the comforting reassurance that the positive-testing members had not had direct contact with my parents. However, while they say they have been "monitoring" the staff that did have had direct contact with those three staff, and testing sending home anyone who has had symptoms, they have apparently not tested or sent home staff who were in direct contact with them but had no symptoms. They and would not explain why not, except to again reiterate that they have been following appropriate guidelines. This seems wildly irresponsible to me, except perhaps they simply cannot obtain enough tests, and/or those ill staff had direct contact with so many people that to lose them all means the place couldn't function? I find either possibility horrifying for different reasons.

Regardless, since finding this out I have insisted my parents stay in their rooms except when absolutely necessary, stay six feet away from others, have the staff knock and wait until they have masks on before they let anyone come in, (they each have one mask leftover from earlier health crises,) wipe down doorknobs and handles religiously, wipe down covers on the food trays, etc.

-My dad is in remission from leukemia but is otherwise in reasonable health for his age (early 70s.) My mom, mid 60s, has asthma and general respiratory issues. She also has numerous other conditions that may/may not be impacted is she were to contract COVID-19. Is there anything else they can do to reinforce their health and protect themselves over the next few days (and hopefully for the next however months until we can all stop living in daily fear?)

Emotionally:
We are all going to fall apart if they test positive. One or both of them would probably not survive. I am not panicking yet (again, trying to stay grateful for these next few days) but we need to be prepared for the worst.

My mom is the most practical and responds to serious issues with emotional openness. My dad is a very kind and loving person, but he in denial about mortality and refuses to engage with any discussion of end-of-life planning. I do not want to set them up to bicker and argue for the next few days, which is a real possibility of I push things.

Tomorrow we will have a video seder with them, my brother, and our partners. For Reasons, my parents many thousands of unorganized photographs are in storage at my brother's place, or I would suggest they get some out and enjoy/share some with us. What else can we do to make the most of this short time, and without stressing/panicking overly much, get us ready to accept whatever is coming?




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Google Says Most Of Its Employees Will Likely Work Remotely Through End of Year

Google says most of its employees will likely be allowed to work remotely through the end of year. In a companywide meeting Thursday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said employees who needed to work in the office would be allowed to return in June or July with enhanced safety measures in place. The rest would likely continue working from home, a Google spokesperson told NPR. Google had originally told employees work-from-home protocols would be in place at least through June 1. Facebook also said it would allow most of its employees to work remotely through the end of 2020, according to media reports. The company had previously announced it was canceling large events through June 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Both companies began telling employees to stay home in March . Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.




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V-E Day: Europe Celebrates A Subdued 75th Anniversary During COVID-19 Pandemic

Updated at 5:02 p.m. ET It was supposed to be a day of parades, a vast party that would transcend borders and bring generations together, not unlike the spontaneous euphoria that swept through victorious European allies when Nazi Germany finally surrendered. But instead of a mega-event, leaders in London, Paris, Moscow and other capitals, observed the 75th anniversary of V-E Day at a diminished level Friday due to the COVID-19 pandemic. French President Emmanuel Macron led a small ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, looking out over an empty Champs-Élysées. A 93-year-old veteran of World War II observes a moment of silence at the Cenotaph war memorial in London, where British residents — like much of Europe — marked a subdued 75th anniversary of V-E Day. Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP via Getty Images Because of health risks the disease poses to older people, many veterans of the war were forced to avoid travel and keep their distance at public gatherings. "The veterans are of course getting




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Haitian Doctor Says This Is The Worst Epidemic He's Faced

The Pan American Health Organization this week warned of an impending humanitarian crisis in Haiti due to the coronavirus pandemic. Haiti has reported relatively few cases of COVID-19 but it shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, which is experiencing one of the worst outbreaks in the hemisphere. With the Dominican Republic under lockdown, thousands of laid off migrant workers have headed home to Haiti and presumably some of them are carrying the virus with them. "There is real danger of a large-scale outbreak followed by a humanitarian crisis in Haiti," said Carissa Etienne, the head of PAHO, in a briefing this week with reporters. She said Haiti's health-care system is ill-equipped to deal with an outbreak of a highly-infectious, potentially-fatal respiratory disease. And the measures used elsewhere to stem the spread of COVID-19 are impractical or impossible in Haiti. "It is extremely difficult to institute proper social distancing in Haiti," she said —




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What Happened Today: Health Care System Crumbles, Testing Questions

Marc Lipsitch, a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, answers questions about access to testing for COVID-19, false-negative results and the challenges of mass testing.