NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 Connecticut's Public Media Source for News and Ideas NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94 WNPR Fri, 16 Jun 2017 04:17:52 +0000 http://wnpr.org Listen live on Friday at 9:00 am. Summer *officially* kicks off next week -- and if recent temperatures are any indication of what's to come, then it's going to be a hot one. This hour, we find out what opportunities -- and challenges -- lie ahead for Connecticut’s garden lovers. We check in with gardening expert Charlie Nardozzi, and we want to hear from you. http://wnpr.org/post/summer-gardening-charlie-nardozzi 75714 as http://wnpr.org Fri, 16 Jun 2017 13:00:00 +0000 Summer Gardening With Charlie Nardozzi Kat Lonsdorf Far below the surface of the ocean, off the coast of eastern Australia is an area simply known as "the abyss." The largest and deepest habitat on the planet, the abyssal zone stretches well beyond Australia's waters and spans half the world's oceans — but it remains largely unexplored. Marine biologist Tim O'Hara recently set out change that, on a month-long expedition with about two dozen scientists from seven countries. The voyage dredged up hundreds of previously unknown species along the way. All Things Considered 's Ari Shapiro spoke with O'Hara via satellite phone on his final day aboard the research vessel Investigator. "It is really a voyage of discovery," O'Hara says. "It's kind of amazing in the 21st century that you can still do that, but yes you can!" The team has been sending equipment down to depths of 4,000 meters, or about 13,000 feet, to scrape along the bottom of the sea floor and collect creatures who call the abyss home. It's a tough ecosystem to live in, O'Hara http://wnpr.org/post/explorers-probing-deep-sea-abyss-australias-coast-find-living-wonders 75715 as http://wnpr.org Fri, 16 Jun 2017 03:04:00 +0000 Explorers Probing Deep Sea Abyss Off Australia's Coast Find Living Wonders Hansi Lo Wang Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Now more about what we've learned about the man who fired on a congressional baseball practice yesterday. Before James Hodgkinson traveled to Virginia, he lived in the town of Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang is in Belleville and joins us now. Hi, Hansi. HANSI LO WANG, BYLINE: Hey, Ari. SHAPIRO: I understand the wife of the shooter spoke to reporters for the first time since the attack. What did she say? WANG: Well, she was very upset speaking to reporters who have been camped outside of her home. Let's listen to a clip of what she said. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) SUZANNE HODGKINSON: I had no idea this was going to happen, and I don't know what to say about it. I can't wrap my head around it. WANG: She got a lot of questions from reporters. And we learned that her husband told her that he wanted to go to Washington D.C. to work with people to change the tax brackets. And she said she had no idea what http://wnpr.org/post/wife-gop-baseball-practice-shooter-speaks-out 75713 as http://wnpr.org Fri, 16 Jun 2017 00:44:00 +0000 Wife Of GOP Baseball Practice Shooter Speaks Out Merrit Kennedy An advertising blimp fell from the sky on Thursday and crashed near the scene of golf's U.S. Open in Wisconsin, injuring the pilot. The Washington County Sheriff's Office described the pilot's injuries as "serious." It said in a statement that the pilot was the only person on board. "The initial investigation reveals the blimp may have experienced mechanical problems prior to the crash," the sheriff's office added. Justin Maynard, a representative of the blimp company AirSign, told The Two-Way that the pilot had been transported to the hospital. He suffered burns but is expected to be "OK," Maynard added. The company does not know what caused the crash, which occurred as the blimp was advertising for a client near the U.S. Open, Maynard said. Two fire departments were at the golf course when the blimp went down at about 11:15 a.m. local time, the sheriff's office said. They were able to quickly reach the scene, about 1 mile from the tournament. Video posted by someone attending the http://wnpr.org/post/blimp-goes-down-us-open-pilot-injured 75709 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 22:56:00 +0000 Blimp Goes Down At U.S. Open; Pilot Injured Arnie Seipel Updated at 6:37 p.m. ET Less than a month after President Trump hired an outside lawyer to deal with inquiries related to the Russia investigations, Vice President Mike Pence has followed suit. Pence's office confirms he has hired Richard Cullen, who served as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia during the term of George H.W. Bush and later worked on George W. Bush's legal team during the 2000 Florida recount. An aide tells NPR the decision to hire an outside lawyer has been under consideration for weeks, and Pence decided to go forward with it earlier this week. The vice president's communications director, Jarrod Agen, said in a statement, "I can confirm that the Vice President has retained Richard Cullen of McGuire Woods to assist him in responding to inquiries by the special counsel. "The Vice President is focused entirely on his duties and promoting the President's agenda and looks forward to a swift conclusion of this matter," he added. Pence has not come under any http://wnpr.org/post/vice-president-pence-hires-outside-lawyer-deal-russia-inquiries 75708 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 22:38:00 +0000 Vice President Pence Hires Outside Lawyer To Deal With Russia Inquiries Allison Aubrey About 20 percent of baby food samples tested over a decade-long period had detectable levels of lead, according to a new report from Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit group. The group evaluated data collected by the Food and Drug Administration from 2003 to 2013. This included 2,164 baby food samples. They found 89 percent of grape juice samples, 86 percent of sweet potatoes samples and 47 percent of teething biscuits samples contained detectable levels of lead. "The levels we found were relatively low, but when you add them up — with all the foods children eat ... it's significant," says study author Tom Neltner of the Environmental Defense Fund. None of the baby food samples seemed to exceed the Food and Drug Administration's allowable levels of lead . However, the FDA is in the process of reviewing its standards, and there's concern that current standards do not reflect the latest science about the potential health risks, especially for young children. "I think the onus is http://wnpr.org/post/lead-detected-baby-food-samples-pediatricians-say-theres-no-safe-level 75707 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 22:30:00 +0000 Lead Detected In Baby Food Samples. Pediatricians Say There's No Safe Level Aarti Shahani Uber is a mess — the "bad boy" ethos shattered, a nervous breakdown in its place. This week, the CEO announced he is taking a sudden leave of absence. A former U.S. attorney general released a brutal audit of the startup's culture. It's a terrifying moment for many investors who want that $70 billion unicorn to make them rich or richer — not implode. But there is one Uber investor who stands out for how she decided to speak up. It was not very Silicon Valley-like of her, but Freada Kapor Klein wanted to turn the crisis into a teachable moment. And while this week's events could lead her to say "I told you so," she has a different takeaway. Let's rewind a few months. Kapor Klein decided to write an open letter to Uber — which she published with her husband — after a young woman shared an explosive account of sexual harassment at Uber headquarters. Kapor Klein is a venture capitalist, or a VC. That means she makes money by betting on technology startups. Uber is one of those startups. http://wnpr.org/post/investor-who-took-uber-and-silicon-valley 75710 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 22:07:00 +0000 The Investor Who Took On Uber, And Silicon Valley editor Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Now we're going to take a closer look at obstruction of justice and what it means if a sitting U.S. president is accused. Ryan Goodman is a professor of law at New York University and he joins us on the line from our New York bureau. Hi there. RYAN GOODMAN: Hi, thanks for having me. SHAPIRO: So as we've heard, the special counsel's reportedly looking into whether the president obstructed justice. First, remind us just what that phrase, obstruction of justice, means. GOODMAN: So obstruction of justice, it's a federal criminal offense. And it basically means trying to somehow corruptly influence or subvert an ongoing investigation or something like a grand jury proceeding. SHAPIRO: Now, typically, if a special counsel finds evidence that someone committed a crime they present that evidence to a grand jury, which hands up an indictment. Then there's a trial. What happens if the person accused of the crime is a sitting president? http://wnpr.org/post/russia-probe-raises-legal-questions-about-obstruction-justice 75711 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 21:19:00 +0000 Russia Probe Raises Legal Questions About Obstruction Of Justice editor Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: The parents and doctors of Otto Warmbier spoke out publicly today for the first time since he returned from North Korea in a coma. Warmbier was jailed more than a year ago for reportedly stealing a propaganda poster. Ann Thompson of WVXU reports. ANN THOMPSON, BYLINE: After a battery of tests, doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center say Otto Warmbier is in a state of unresponsive wakefulness, meaning he shows no signs of understanding his surroundings, and he has not spoken. He has suffered extensive loss of tissue in all regions of the brain, but they don't believe it's due to head trauma. Instead, Dr. Jordan Bonomo believes it could've been triggered from a lack of oxygen. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) JORDAN BONOMO: We do see respiratory arrest from overdose - from medication overdose - intentional and otherwise. It would be inappropriate for me to speculate about the intent or whether this was a http://wnpr.org/post/otto-warmbiers-parents-challenge-north-koreas-explanation-sons-injury 75706 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 21:19:00 +0000 Otto Warmbier's Parents Challenge North Korea's Explanation For Son's Injury editor Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: ABC may never air the next season of its "Bachelor in Paradise," a fizzy spinoff of the network's reality romance show, "The Bachelor." Warner Bros. has suspended production following allegations that the show may have filmed one cast member sexually assaulting another. And the show's producers have been tight-lipped about what happened on the set in a Mexican resort. Now, it's not the first time that a reality show has filmed cast members in dangerous or questionable situations. Here to talk more about all this is writer and TV critic Andy Denhart. Welcome to the program. ANDY DENHART: Thanks, Audie. CORNISH: So far, what is known about what the actual allegations are here about what went on? DENHART: So production on Bachelor in Paradise was suspended. And all the contestants were sent home. And that was because there was some kind of incident between two of the contestants where one or both of them may have been too drunk http://wnpr.org/post/bachelor-paradise-suspends-filming-after-sexual-assault-allegations 75705 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 21:19:00 +0000 'Bachelor In Paradise' Suspends Filming After Sexual Assault Allegations editor In the 21st century, destination music festivals seem like a dime a dozen. But just 50 years ago, there was only one: the Monterey International Pop Festival, which featured more than 30 artists and bands playing over the course of three days in the summer of 1967. Monterey Pop set the template for all the huge rock festivals that would follow — Woodstock, Coachella, Bonnaroo and all the rest — and its influence would spread even further via a documentary, Monterey Pop , that was helmed by D.A. Pennebaker and would set a gold standard for concert films. The festival's star-studded lineup reads like a who's who of rock royalty, but four names rise to the top of any conversation about the festival. There was Janis Joplin . ("When she sang, all of her sang," Pennebaker remembers.) The Who left the audience in awe after Pete Townshend concluded "My Generation" by smashing his guitar. As for Otis Redding , "the power and the feeling in his voice was something that a lot of us had never seen http://wnpr.org/post/look-back-monterey-pop-50-years-later 75704 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 21:19:00 +0000 A Look Back At Monterey Pop, 50 Years Later Laurel Wamsley Australian journalist Adam Harvey was struck with a bullet to the neck Thursday while covering the fighting in the southern Philippine city of Marawi. The Jakarta-based correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation had been interviewing children whose families have been displaced since ISIS-aligned militants laid siege to the city on May 23. "We'd just taken all the safety gear off, because we were in what we thought was a very safe place in Marawi, in the civic center where the refugees are brought into, where the medical center is, where the press conferences are held," he told the network . "But I guess it's not safe." Harvey said he was opening the back door of a car to get food and water when he felt a pain in the side of his neck. "I thought I'd been hit by a bit of shrapnel, and I started bleeding," he recounted on the air. "It felt actually like I'd been ... hit in the side of the neck with a cricket ball." The blood flow was enough to suggest he should go to the http://wnpr.org/post/amid-ongoing-violence-marawi-journalist-takes-bullet 75697 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 20:24:00 +0000 Amid Ongoing Violence In Marawi, A Journalist Takes A Bullet Joel Rose The real estate company run by the family of Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and adviser, has dropped its quest for a major tax break for a skyscraper project in New Jersey. The Kushner Companies had been seeking a 30-year tax abatement for One Journal Square, a proposed $821 million luxury residential development in Jersey City, N.J. Last week, the project's developer informed Mayor Steve Fulop that it will no longer seek that tax abatement, a spokeswoman for Jersey City confirmed Thursday. Fulop had already withdrawn his support for the tax break, after news reports appeared last month recounting how Jared Kushner's sister had mentioned his name and position at the White House while pitching the project to Chinese investors. Jared Kushner stepped away from his role as CEO of the family business when his father-in-law, took office. After the stories appeared about the investment pitch in China, the Kushner Companies apologized for the name dropping. This is the latest http://wnpr.org/post/kushner-firm-gives-getting-tax-break-jersey-city-development 75698 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 20:22:00 +0000 Kushner Firm Gives Up On Getting Tax Break For Jersey City Development Miles Parks Although the weather in Washington looks headed toward a near-flawless summer night, an obvious and immovable shadow is being cast over Thursday night's Congressional Baseball Game — a tradition that began more than a century ago . Rep. Steve Scalise, the third-highest-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, is still in critical condition after undergoing the latest in a series of surgeries Thursday morning as a result of a gunshot wound to his hip. He was one of four wounded by a gunman Wednesday in an attack on a Republican team practice in Virginia. A hospital statement said Scalise was doing better over the previous 24 hours but would be in the hospital for some time. The FBI says the shooter, 66-year-old James Hodgkinson , was killed by police. Since the shooting, members of Congress have spoken about a need for unity, at a time when polarization seems to be at an all-time high. This year's baseball game, played at Nationals Park in Southeast Washington, looks to be a http://wnpr.org/post/we-will-not-give-fear-congress-still-ready-play-ball 75699 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 20:21:00 +0000 'We Will Not Give In To Fear': Congress Is Still Ready To Play Ball Maureen Corrigan The title of Maile Meloy's new novel is misleading: Do Not Become Alarmed sounds like a suspense story. Granted, I did read it in two nights; but, while I'm a unapologetic fan of thrillers, Meloy's novel is something else, something trickier to characterize. I'd call it a very smart work of literary fiction that exposes how very thin the layer of good luck is that keeps most of us from falling into the abyss. Meloy begins her book with an epigraph from Teddy Roosevelt that warns: "Americans learn only from catastrophe, and not from experience." The two American families at the center of this story think they're setting off for a cruise down the California coast to Central America, but, instead, they're in for a catastrophic learning experience. Nora and Raymond are couple number one: she's white, he's black and a recognizable Hollywood actor. They have a little girl and an 11-year-old boy who seems to have a mild case of Asperger's Syndrome. Nora's cousin Liv and her husband Benjamin, http://wnpr.org/post/2-families-cruise-toward-catastrophe-do-not-become-alarmed 75703 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 19:57:00 +0000 2 Families Cruise Toward Catastrophe In 'Do Not Become Alarmed' Merrit Kennedy Video of Turkish security personnel appearing to punch, kick and club demonstrators in Washington, D.C., went viral and sparked outrage last month. Now, the Metropolitan Police Department has announced that 18 people are facing charges in connection to the brawl outside the Turkish ambassador's residence during a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Nine protesters were injured in what D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser described during a news conference Thursday as a "vicious attack." Police arrested two people on the day of the incident and two others Wednesday. This is how those four people were identified in an MPD statement: Jalal Kheirabaoi of Virginia, charged with misdemeanor assault on a police officer Ayten Necmi of New York, charged with felony aggravated assault Sinan Narin of Virginia, charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor assault or threatened assault in a menacing manner Eyup Yildirim of New Jersey, charged with felony assault with significant bodily http://wnpr.org/post/18-face-charges-over-melee-near-turkish-ambassadors-residence-dc 75700 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 19:55:00 +0000 18 Face Charges Over Melee Near Turkish Ambassador's Residence In D.C. editor What would happen if your brain was split in two? In this week's Invisibilia podcast and show, host Hanna Rosin meets a woman named Karen with "alien hand syndrome." After surgery to treat her epilepsy severed the connection between the two halves of her brain, Karen's left hand took on a mind of its own, acting against her will to undress or even to slap her. Amazing, to be sure. But what may be even more amazing is that most people who have split-brain surgery don't notice anything different at all. But there's more to the story than that. In the 1960s, a young neuroscientist named Michael Gazzaniga began a series of experiments with split-brain patients that would change our understanding of the human brain forever. Working in the lab of Roger Sperry, who later won a Nobel Prize for his work, Gazzaniga discovered that the two halves of the brain experience the world quite differently. When Gazzaniga and his colleagues flashed a picture in front of a patient's right eye, the split http://wnpr.org/post/roots-consciousness-were-two-minds 75701 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 19:47:00 +0000 The Roots Of Consciousness: We're Of Two Minds Terry Gross Former Vice President Joe Biden has figured something out: "I learned how to become one of the most popular politicians in America," he says. "Announce that you are not running for president, and be authentic." Biden shared that secret with Fresh Air on Tuesday in front of a live audience at WHYY studios where he received WHYY's Lifelong Learning Award for his distinguished career in public service and commitment to education. Biden became a senator when he was 30 years old, and this is the first time in 44 years that he hasn't been in office. "This is the first time in not just eight years, probably 15 years, I haven't gotten up and a CIA agent ... hasn't briefed me on what's going on in Ramadi or South Korea," he says. Biden remarked on how, during his time in the Senate, he witnessed the decline of collegiality and bipartisanship. "We continued to dumb down American politics, and decided that the way to win was to denigrate the institutions and individuals," he says. "That became http://wnpr.org/post/biden-talks-trump-faith-and-fate-front-live-fresh-air-audience 75702 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 19:19:00 +0000 Biden Talks Trump, Faith And Fate In Front Of A Live 'Fresh Air' Audience Malaka Gharib Esraa Yousria Saleh was walking down El Hussein, a busy street in downtown Cairo famous for its souvenirs and tchotchkes, when a man in his early 20s made eye contact with her. He followed her, circled her, then suddenly — she felt a hot breath in her ear: "I would like to put it all inside." Saleh, 28, a feminist and activist based in Egypt, was furious. Why did that man feel like he could look at her? Follow her? Say those lewd words to her? A May study from Promundo , an international research group, and U.N. Women sheds fresh light on men's motivations for harassing women on the streets in four areas in the Middle East: Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and the Palestinian territories. "We know quite a lot about women and girls but [relatively little] about men and boys" when it comes to harassment, says Shereen El Feki, co-author of the report and the author of Sex and the Citadel: Intimate Life in a Changing Arab World . The report found that of the 4,830 men surveyed, as many as 31 http://wnpr.org/post/why-do-men-harass-women-new-study-sheds-light-motivations 75693 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 19:02:00 +0000 Why Do Men Harass Women? New Study Sheds Light On Motivations Nell Greenfieldboyce A study published Thursday shows how a bird flu virus that's sickening and killing people in China could mutate to potentially become more contagious. Just three changes could be enough to do the trick, scientists report in the journal PLOS Pathogens . And the news comes just as federal officials are getting ready to lift a moratorium on controversial lab experiments that would deliberately create flu viruses with mutations like these. Public health officials have been worried about this bird flu virus, called H7N9, because it's known to have infected more than 1,500 people — and killed 40 percent of them. So far, unlike other strains that more commonly infect humans, this deadly virus does not spread easily between people. The fear is that if it mutates in a way that lets it spread more easily, the virus will sweep around the globe and take a heavy toll, because people's immune systems haven't ever been exposed to this type of flu before. Past pandemics caused by novel flu viruses http://wnpr.org/post/just-small-genetic-tweaks-chinese-bird-flu-virus-could-fuel-human-pandemic 75694 as http://wnpr.org Thu, 15 Jun 2017 18:44:00 +0000 A Few Genetic Tweaks To Chinese Bird Flu Virus Could Fuel A Human Pandemic