Facebook will be awarding financial support to over 30 local small businesses impacted by COVID-19. Policy Manager Diana Doukas was interviewed during this edition of WNCW's Friday Feature Interview of the Week to talk about this exciting news. Facebook, with a center located in Rutherford County, NC has partnered with groups across North Carolina to lend support in this crucial time of need. This discussion first aired on 88.7 FM on April 10th. Posted by Host and Producer of The Friday Feature- Paul Foster, WNCW Senior Producer, News Director, and Morning Edition Regional Host

Faculty, staff and some students with the College of Engineering and Technology at Western Carolina University are using 3D printers at the college's Rapid Center to develop visors for face shields for use by healthcare workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Patrick Gardner, Director of the WCU Rapid Center, was i nterviewed in this Friday Feature piece. The interview first aired on April 17, 2020. Posted by Host and Producer of The Friday Feature- Paul Foster, WNCW Senior Producer, News Director, and Morning Edition Regional Host

It's always a treat when a lady with true southern charm makes an appearance on the Friday Feature Interview of the Week. WNCW welcomed back Our State Magazine Editor-in-chief Elizabeth Hudson to talk about the upcoming May issue titled 'The Hiking Issue.' Page by page, Hudson takes us on a tour, mostly across Western North Carolina, to look at topics featured in this issue, from great trails, to views, to good eats. Hudson also talks about how the popular magazine has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This segment first aired April 24, 2020. Posted by Host and Producer of WNCW's Friday Feature- Paul Foster, Senior Producer, News Director, and Morning Edition Regional Host

In this Friday Feature Interview of the Week we put the spotlight on PAL: Partners for Active Living, a group working with its partners in an attempt to remind citizens about the importance of their health, and to let people know about the many ways they can take advantage of outdoor adventures in Spartanburg, South Carolina. PAL Executive Director Laura Ringo shared the latest on the non-profit group, and also talked about COVID-19 and its effect on PAL. The interview originally aired May 1, 2020. Posted by Host and Producer of The Friday Feature- Paul Foster, WNCW Senior Producer, News Director, and Morning Edition Regional Host

Hailed as “The new master of the slide guitar” by the Montreux Jazz Festival and “The real thang” by the legendary Bootsy Collins, Lincolnshire, England folk/blues musician Jack Broadbent has spent the the past few years wowing international audiences with his unique blend of virtuosic acoustic and slide guitar and songs. You've likely heard us play songs from his new album Moonshine Blue lately. He plays Isis in West Asheville Saturday night.

"The cosmic American love child of Howlin Wolf and Link Wray…" He's been making music and performing around the world for over two decades now, and it feels like almost that long since we had him on for a live session. The long absence ends this Friday when he visits us on his way to Ambrose West in West Asheville.

Firecracker has played everywhere from street corners, secret speakeasies, jazz festivals, & swing-and-swill dance halls, to Bonnaroo and the Kennedy Center. They've returned to the 20's -- as in the 1920's, give or take a few decades -- on their fine new collection of songs from the Teens through today, centered around their great Dixieland and New Orleans jazz heroes. Album release show Saturday the 14th at The Mothlight.

Kieve and Camille, a veterinarian and cancer researcher, discuss Kahlo’s Broken Column. The pair blaze through topics like chronic pain, colonialism, race, Catholic symbolism, and Lacanian Psychology, and Feminism. Once again this is a packed episode! I hope you’re excited! Links to art: Music: Fed up with Hunger by Saintsenenca : Patron Saint Regina Spektor Flying Away from Fun Home Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori

The Arizona Commemorative Air Force will have a flyover starting at 8:20 a.m. to celebrate the 75th anniversary of victory in Europe.

Arizona Republic reporters are fanning out across the Valley to document how shoppers and shop owners are responding to the lifting of restrictions.

On Tuesday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order No. 138 that implements phase one of easing restrictions. The order takes effect Friday, May 8th at 5pm. The governor said the modification to the statewide stay at home order will allow some businesses to reopen. “Retail stores will now be allowed to increase to 50% capacity as long as they can implement social distancing and frequent cleaning,” said Cooper. “The order allows people to leave home to visit any business that is open and it encourages parks and trails to reopen.” However, businesses like salons, barbers, theaters, gyms, and bars will remain closed for phase one. The governor said church services can resume as long as they are held outdoors and social distancing measures are practiced. “COVID-19 is still a serious threat to our state, and Phase 1 is designed to be a limited easing of restrictions that can boost parts of our economy while keeping important safety rules in place,” said Cooper.

“You’ll be gone by spring,” said the same voice that drove me to retire. I was afraid this might be true, that I’d be dead by the time the weather warmed. Recent estate planning put death on my mind. I’ve heard enough about the frailty of old age, that it’d be all right by me to leave here with my faculties intact. You’ll be gone by spring. I couldn’t tell Bruce. Then came the snotty nose, my appetite gone, and sleep rising. While my pneumonia wasn’t COVID-19, I needed breathing treatments four times a day. Good doctors cared. I tell you there is healing beyond the science, in their touch, their listening. Then a dear friend said he might not survive this pandemic. An author wrote she was sick with COVID-19. You’ll be gone by spring. Was it Jesus’ voice or the voice, clanging like a train banging from one track to another, the cars jostling against their couplings, the voice of my life, maybe all our lives, rolling onto a siding while the pandemic roared by? Here on Good Friday we

The legendary James Cotton is playing a free show at the TLA on South Street in Philadelphia on Friday, September 6. It’s the finale concert of the year long Mississippi Blues Project and will be hosted by Jonny Meister, host […]

On today's show, we have the latest updates from Governor Asa Hutchinson following his daily coronavirus response briefing. Plus, we speak to renters and landlords in the region as they worry about having to make their rent and mortgage payments during skyrocketing unemployment. And, we speak with Arkansas artist Kat Wilson about her interactive art project called Quarantine Habitat.

On today's show, we provide the latest updates from the governor's daily coronavirus briefing. Plus, we hear from Michael Tilley with Talk Business and Politics about the impact of the pandemic on Arkansas River traffic and what that could mean for the economy. And, we speak with the Washington County sheriff about why he's ending his office's participation in the federal 287(g) program.

On today's show, we hear from advocates who have filed a complaint on behalf of prisoners at Cummins State Prison, which has become a coronavirus epicenter. Plus, we find out how the local Muslim community is adjusting its observance of Ramadan to abide by social distancing guidelines. And, we have our final intallment of our conversations with local seniors about what's in been like to finish their high school careers during a pandemic.

On today's show, we have the latest from the governor's daily coronavirus response briefing. Plus, we speak with Michael Tilley of Talk Business and Politics about the latest jobless numbers in Arkansas and how River Valley restaurants are reacting to the upcoming restriction rollbacks. And, we learn more about how the coronavirus outbreak is impacting the state's Marshallese population, which is at higher risk for complications from COVID-19.

On today's show, we have the latest updates from the governor's coronavirus response briefing. Plus, we hear from religious leaders at local churches, mosques and temples about their plans to reopen and how their congregations have fared during the pandemic. And, we find out about a virtual support group created to help people who've had COVID-19.

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 .

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.

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.

The Labor Department is expected to deliver a historically bad employment report Friday, showing millions of jobs lost last month as the jobless rate soared to around 16% — the highest level since the Great Depression. Unemployment inched up to 4.4% in March as the coronavirus began to take hold in the United States. It approached 25% during the Great Depression and remained elevated until World War II. As painful as the report for April will be, it won't tell the full story of the economic wreckage left by the coronavirus and the government's drastic efforts to control it. The report is based on surveys conducted in the middle of April, and claims for jobless benefits suggest that millions of additional jobs have been lost since then. What's more, the headline unemployment figure includes only people who are actively looking for work and those on temporary furlough, ignoring millions more who have been involuntarily idled by the pandemic. Even with those limitations, the April

It’s Friday again, and that means a round-up of all that’s going on in the world of DJing, as reported by other websites and outlets. Enjoy this list of stuff we’ve been enjoying this week… The 100 Greatest UK Number Ones, 100-61 – Part 1 of this countdown, from the Guardian. Great for ideas to … Continued The post Friday Five: Jazzy Jeff’s Peter Piper...

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Some King County parks and public lands will reopen on Friday as the first phase of Gov. Jay Inslee's plan to reopen Washington's economy continues. Here's what's open and what's not as we head into a sunny spring weekend.

Stocks closed with broad gains Friday, brushing off a record-breaking report of job losses, as investors reckoned that the very worst of the economic pain caused by the coronavirus pandemic may be passing. Employers cut 20.5 million jobs last month, a record high but less than what the market expected. Technology and financial stocks were […]

Some King County parks and public lands will reopen on Friday as the first phase of Gov. Jay Inslee's plan to reopen Washington's economy continues. Here's what's open and what's not as we head into a sunny spring weekend.

The China stock market on Thursday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had advanced almost 70 points or 2.5 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index now rests just above the 2,870-point plateau although it figures to rebound on Friday.

Japan will on Friday see March data for average household spending, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. Spending is predicted to sink 6.7 percent on year after easing 0.3 percent in February.

NSW residents and businesses will finally have some relief, with harsh coronavirus restrictions easing from Friday to “fire up the economy”.

Today on q: singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, visual artist Liza Lou, drag queen Brooke Lynn Hytes, singer-songwriter Basia Bulat, visual artist John Hartman.

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1947 was supposed to be the birth of modern India – the year the sun finally set on the British empire in South Asia and India gained independence.

Six to midnight Friday night at the Bridgetown Blues. Go see bands if you get the chance.

MORNING BRIEFING: People in NSW are warned they should still practice social-distancing as coronavirus restrictions are eased from today, while two men are shot in Merrylands in what is believed to be a targeted attack.

High school students from across Australia took part in a program called Fresh Faced Friday to promote positive body image amongst teenagers.

For this new segment, we've been asking Australian artists to read something for us: a passage, a poem or some lines that has inspired them during the time of coronavirus.

By Joanna Trollope