#npr news

[sentientfloatingeyeball]

Possibly the greatest NPR exchange ever recorded

[gamer2002]

Journalists demonstrate that they are unbiased by suspending the editor who has said that they are biased

[archaalen]

Opinion: Obese women trying to get pregnant should have access to IVF : Shots - Health News https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/14/1224546666/opinion-women-with-obesity-are-often-restricted-from-ivf-thats-discriminatory

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

Just so you know: I listen to the news with an ear toward what would interest my mutuals on Tumblr

This story has several intersections: the need for prison abolition, disablism (and ableism), systematic racism & "tough on Crime" legislation, the fact that our nation is growing older, and people tend to become disabled as they age (Every able-bodied person is only temporarily so).

[an-onyx-void]

Famine in northern Gaza is 'imminent,' warn experts on global hunger https://www.npr.org/2024/03/19/1239394316/gaza-famine-israel-humanitarian-aid

[ahedderick]

Wind, Coal, West-by-god-Virginia

Interesting to see an article about a place so close to where I live:

I think that, on a national level, we should do a better job of supporting people whose livelihoods are being eliminated. Yes, we need to support wind and solar and get rid of coal. We must and will do that. However, people and whole towns are suffering pretty badly in the transition.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A year and a half before he was arrested in the Colorado Springs gay nightclub shooting that left five people dead, Anderson Lee Aldrich allegedly threatened his mother with a homemade bomb, forcing neighbors in surrounding homes to evacuate while the bomb squad and crisis negotiators talked him into surrendering.

Yet despite that scare, there's no public record that prosecutors moved forward with felony kidnapping and menacing charges against Aldrich, or that police or relatives tried to trigger Colorado's "red flag" law that would have allowed authorities to seize the weapons and ammo the man's mother says he had with him.

Gun control advocates say Aldrich's June 2021 threat is an example of a red flag law ignored, with potentially deadly consequences. While it's not clear the law could have prevented Saturday night's attack — such gun seizures can be in effect for as little as 14 days and be extended by a judge in six-month increments — they say it could have at least slowed Aldrich and raised his profile with law enforcement.

"We need heroes beforehand — parents, co-workers, friends who are seeing someone go down this path," said Colorado state Rep. Tom Sullivan, whose son was killed in the Aurora theater shooting and sponsored the state's red flag law passed in 2019. "This should have alerted them, put him on their radar."

But the law that allows guns to be removed from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others has seldom been used in the state, particularly in El Paso County, home to Colorado Springs, where the 22-year-old Aldrich allegedly went into Club Q with a long gun at just before midnight and opened fire before he was subdued by patrons.

An Associated Press analysis found Colorado has one of the lowest rates of red flag usage despite widespread gun ownership and several high-profile mass shootings.

Courts issued 151 gun surrender orders from when the law took effect in April 2019 through 2021, three surrender orders for every 100,000 adults in the state. That's a third of the ratio of orders issued for the 19 states and District of Columbia with surrender laws on their books.

El Paso County appears especially hostile to the law. It joined nearly 2,000 counties nationwide in declaring themselves "Second Amendment Sanctuaries" that protect the constitutional right to bear arms, passing a 2019 resolution that says the red flag law "infringes upon the inalienable rights of law-abiding citizens" by ordering police to "forcibly enter premises and seize a citizen's property with no evidence of a crime."

County Sheriff Bill Elder has said his office would wait for family members to ask a court for surrender orders and not petition for them on its own accord, unless there were "exigent circumstances" and "probable cause" of a crime.

El Paso County, with a population of 730,000, had 13 temporary firearm removals through the end of last year, four of which turned into longer ones of at least six months.

The county sheriff's office declined to answer what happened after Aldrich's arrest last year, including whether anyone asked to have his weapons removed. The press release issued by the sheriff's office at the time said no explosives were found but did not mention anything about whether any weapons were recovered.

Spokesperson Lt. Deborah Mynatt referred further questions about the case to the district attorney's office.

An online court records search did not turn up any formal charges filed against Aldrich in last year's case. And in an update on a story on the bomb threat, The Gazette newspaper of Colorado Springs reported that prosecutors did not pursue any charges in the case and that records were sealed.

The Gazette also reported Sunday that it got a call from Aldrich in August asking that it remove a story about the incident.

"There is absolutely nothing there, the case was dropped, and I'm asking you either remove or update the story," Aldrich said in a voice message to an editor. "The entire case was dismissed."

A spokesperson for the district attorney's office, Howard Black, declined to comment on whether any charges were pursued. He said the shooting investigation will also include a study of the bomb threat.

"There will be no additional information released at this time," Black said. "These are still investigative questions."

AP's study of 19 states and the District of Columbia with red flag laws on their books found they have been used about 15,000 times since 2020, less than 10 times for every 100,000 adults in each state. Experts called that woefully low and hardly enough to make a dent in gun killings.

Just this year, authorities in Highland Park, Illinois, were criticized for not trying to take guns away from the 21-year-old accused of a Fourth of July parade shooting that left seven dead. Police had been alerted about him in 2019 after he threatened to "kill everyone" in his home.

Duke University sociologist Jeffrey Swanson, an expert in red flag laws, said the Colorado Springs case could be yet another missed warning sign.

"This seems like a no brainer, if the mom knew he had guns," he said. "If you removed firearms from the situation, you could have had a different ending to the story."

[labelleizzy]

Seed banks may be a secret weapon against climate change : NPR

[clutterbrain]

On the radio today, I heard Israeli foreign policy advisor to Netanyahu, Ophir Falk, talk about Gaza. You can read the transcript here.

He calls Hamas "barbarous savages," and their demands for a ceasefire "delusional."

These demands, by the way:

He says that Israel is willing to do anything to get their hostages back, but that isn't true. They aren't willing to stop slaughtering Palestinians. They aren't willing to withdraw their forces. They want to take Gaza. They want to annex the entire Gaza strip. It's obvious what they're doing, and it's infuriating to hear NPR platforming Israeli propaganda without any commentary or allowing Palestinians the same airtime to push back against false claims.

[cyarsk52-20]

Happy national radio day! Which type of radio are you listening to the most, am or fm ?

[archaalen]

'Love Lies Bleeding' is the queer erotic thriller Kristen Stewart fans have wanted : Pop Culture Happy Hour https://www.npr.org/2024/03/15/1197962965/love-lies-bleeding-is-the-queer-erotic-thriller-kristen-stewart-fans-have-wanted?ft=nprml&f=1045

Possibly of interest to Tumblr

[itisiives]

Infertile people, gay and trans couples yearn for progress on lab-made eggs and sperm

Uterine transplantation in transgender women

Testicular transplantation for transgender men

[alaskassweetdump]

NPR wrote this cool feature on Genesis and his new album, STRUGGLER!

I knew he had to be a cool dude in order to be an opener for Paramore, and this highlights exactly how cool he is. The article also talks about his inspiration behind STRUGGLER, which is a concept album about the tragedy of a cockroach’s life. Something I wouldn’t have picked up on my own, honestly.

The article has also attached the album and has an audio version as well.

Genesis Owusu has amazing energy live. I found him to be the absolute best and perfectly matched opening act for Paramore this June.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A jury in Manhattan has found former President Donald Trump's company guilty of a long-running criminal tax fraud scheme that lasted into his presidency.

Though Trump and his company have repeatedly faced criminal investigations, this case marks the first time his company has been charged, tried, and convicted on criminal charges.

Trump built his political brand, in large part, on his claim that he was an aggressive and successful businessman.

In all, the jury found two entities controlled by Trump guilty on 17 counts of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records. The maximum penalty is $1.6 million.

Prosecutors had previously secured a guilty plea last summer from Trump's former longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, who became the star witness for the prosecution in the case.

But Weisselberg's co-defendants, two Trump business entities, remained under indictment.

On Halloween, prosecutors made their opening arguments in the trial of the Trump Corporation (which encompasses most of his business empire) and the Trump Payroll Corporation (which processes payments to staff), arguing that the case was about "greed and cheating."

ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY SAID IN SUMMATION THAT TRUMP SANCTIONED TAX FRAUD

Trump Corporation attorney Susan Necheles told jurors in her opening statement that the trial is not a referendum on Trump, and asked them to keep an open mind.

Both sides emphasized that Trump was not a defendant, yet the former president's name came up frequently.

Some of the most attention-grabbing evidence presented to the jury were documents with Trump's signature: a rental agreement for a luxury apartment used by Weisselberg, a private school tuition check written for a grandchild of Weisselberg's. Weisselberg admitted he did not declare these benefits as income, as required by law.

In his summation, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass pointed a rhetorical finger directly at Trump, saying Trump sanctioned tax fraud. The defense vigorously objected, and the objection was sustained by the judge.

During the course of the trial, outside the four walls of the courtroom, Trump declared he was running for president, and frequently lambasted Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on social media.

Weisselberg previously pleaded guilty to 15 felony tax charges. He admitted hiding the part of his salary that was paid through untaxed benefits like a luxury apartment, Mercedes-Benz leases for him and his wife, and private school tuition for his grandchildren.

The compensation was never reported to New York State or to the IRS.

As part of his plea deal, Weisselberg agreed to testify truthfully and to serve five months in jail.

During his testimony, which laid out the details of his criminal tax fraud, Weisselberg acknowledged that he still receives a $640,000 salary from the Trump Organization – though he has been placed on leave – and of hopes to receive an end-of year bonus.

At issue in this trial was whether Weisselberg and another top executive, Trump Organization Comptroller Jeffrey McConney acted "in behalf of" the corporate entities when they compensated Weisselberg and other top executives by paying for the apartments and luxury benefits that did not get reported to the tax authorities.

TRIAL UNFOLDED AT A MOMENT OF COMPLEX LEGAL PERIL FOR TRUMP AND HIS BUSINESS

In his instructions to jurors, before they reached a verdict, Judge Juan Merchan said that did not mean Trump's company benefited from the scheme, although there was evidence that it did.

Weisselberg acknowledged knowing taxes were owed on that compensation, but it was never reported.

Prosecutors argued that by compensating top executives in this fashion, the Trump Organization was able to save significant amounts of money.

This trial unfolded at a moment of complex legal peril for Trump and his business, with his attorneys playing defense in recent weeks in three different New York City courtrooms.

Last month, a judge required Trump's firm to submit to an outside monitor as part of an on-going $250 million civil case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

James' lawsuit claims Trump and his children fraudulently manipulated the value of its real estate holdings for more than a decade, deceiving lenders and and cheating tax authorities.

Trump and his attorneys have pushed back, arguing that prosecutors in New York have overstepped their authority and engaged in a a political witch hunt against the former President.

Trump also faces federal probes involving his role in efforts to block the peaceful transfer of power after he lost the 2020 presidential election and his decision to keep classified documents after leaving the White House.

Last month, the U.S. Justice Department appointed a special counsel to oversee those investigations. Trump has also described that process as politically motivated.

[jancrobatty]

A thought occurred from this picture of a bat on NPR today

[themilkcrate]

Ron DeSantis has always been "Mask Off"

This isn't a new thing. It's a pattern of behavior.

That pattern of behavior is what led us here. Gun violence is a human problem. Human problems have human solutions. The first mass shooting in America happened in 1966. Human solutions includes good policy. You can make as many policies based on mental health that you want, but racism isn't a mental illness.

Ron DeSantis has blood on his hands.

Photo/Pie Chart Credit: New York Times