Elizabeth Warren’s Ambiguity On Health Care Comes With Some Side Effects
Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks at the Presidential Candidate Forum on LGBTQ Issues last month in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
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Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images for GLAAD
Sen. Elizabeth Warren has built a reputation as the presidential candidate with a plan for almost anything. Plans are her brand, so much so that her campaign shop sells T-shirts proclaiming “Warren has a plan for that.”
But the Massachusetts Democrat has not rolled out a health care plan of her own. Instead, she has insisted “I’m with Bernie on Medicare for All.” (Recently, after weeks of being hounded by both journalists and her opponents, Warren announced that in the next few weeks she’ll release a plan that outlines the costs for “Medicare for All” and how she intends to pay for it.)
Earlier in this campaign cycle, Warren referred to Medicare for All as a “framework” and seemed open to alternatives, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper that there could be a role for private insurance.
But Warren has also publicly tethered herself to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All plan, and on the debate stage this summer she raised her hand in support of eliminating private insurance.
In her academic work, Warren has long pointed to health insurance instability and high medical costs as a major cause of bankruptcy. In 2008, she co-authored a book chapter that referred to universal single-payer health care as “the most obvious solution.” But when that statement surfaced, and she was asked about single-payer during her 2012 Senate challenge to Scott Brown, she focused on cementing the then-newly passed Affordable Care Act.
Some voters and old colleagues are convinced that Warren is not as resolute on health care as Sanders, perhaps because of that historic willingness to aspire to a progressive goal, but be open to other options if the goal isn’t politically acceptable.
That flexibility might be a perception, but the frequency with which people bring it up is noteworthy.
“I think we need to improve Obamacare, have a public option, that’s the better way to go,” Donna Mombourquette said as she grabbed popcorn in between candidate speeches at the New Hampshire Democratic Party state convention last month.
Mombourquette, a New Hampshire state representative, said she considers Sanders too “far to the left,” particularly on health care. But Warren, who supports the same idea, is one of her top two choices.
“I guess with Elizabeth Warren, for some reason, I think that she’s probably gonna be more open to moderating her positions to bring in more voters,” said Mombourquette, who recently endorsed South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, but insists she still really likes Warren.
“That inconsistency is hurting”
While some of Warren’s fans might interpret her lack of health care details with their own positive spin, her opponents have not.
“Your signature, senator, is to have a plan for everything. Except this,” Buttigieg told Warren in the last Democratic debate as he pressed her over her refusal to concede that Medicare for All would require raising taxes on the middle class.
Public opinion polling has consistently shown that a public option, which would create a broad government-run insurance program like Medicare or Medicaid as an alternative to private insurance, is more popular than a mandatory Medicare for All system that would entirely eliminate the current employer-based insurance system.
Warren supports the less-popular health care option, and while that may be an uphill challenge politically, Chris Jennings, who served as a senior health care adviser to both Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, suggests the bigger challenge for Warren is that her lack of details on health care could undermine her brand.
“This is the one area where her lack of directness stands in contrast with all her other policy visions and message approaches” said Jennings. “To me, that inconsistency is hurting more than even the policy itself.”
Earlier this month, after weeks of sidestepping questions about health care, Warren said that she intends to release a plan soon that explains how she intends to pay for Medicare for All.
Warren speaks during a town hall event last month in Iowa City, Iowa.
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Joshua Lott/Getty Images
Whenever Warren has been asked about a potential tax increase to fund Medicare for All, she tries to reframe the question as a matter of costs, not taxes.
“This much I promise to you: I will not sign a bill into law that does not reduce the cost of health care for middle class families. That’s what matters to them, and that’s what matters to me,” she recently told voters at a town hall in Des Moines.
But as some in the ultra-left progressive flank of the party have begun to suggest that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is the only true believer in Medicare for All, Warren has also made a point to reaffirm her support for the idea itself.
“Medicare for All is the cheapest possible way to provide health care coverage for everyone,” she told voters in that same Des Moines speech. “I want you to hear it from me.”
“She will think clearly about alternatives”
Still, there is a sense among some people who like Warren that her support for Medicare for All is somewhat out of character.
“I was a little surprised recently that she came out in favor of a Medicare for All plan,” said Tom McGarity, who taught law school with Warren at the University of Texas in the early 1980s and is a fan of her candidacy. “My guess is as the campaign continues, she’ll refine that to some extent.”
“It’s a very expensive proposition, and it’s not well defined. One thing about Liz is, at least politically, usually before she comes out with something … she defines it better,” he added.
The Warren campaign has not responded to questions about whether she could eventually compromise on the issue.
It is not uncommon to meet die-hard Warren supporters who are lukewarm about Medicare for All.
Recent polling from NPR member station WBUR finds that Warren is the most popular candidate in her home state of Massachusetts, but her idea of Medicare for All is not. “Medicare for All Who Want It” is a more popular option.
“I’m not sure that Medicare for All is the correct answer. I think a hybrid is perhaps a better answer,” said Kimberly Winick, a former law school research assistant for Elizabeth Warren and a strong supporter of Warren’s candidacy.
“The real question isn’t whether you support every plank of the platform, but whether you think the person standing at the top is somebody whom you can trust,” she added.
Warren, seen speaking at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., last week, often ends her stump speech with a promise to “dream big” and “fight hard.”
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Elise Amendola/AP
And Winick trusts Warren. She worked closed with the senator in the 1980s on bankruptcy research and feels she has an understanding of her personality and work ethic.
“I also know down the road if it becomes implausible, impractical, impossible to do those things, she’ll consider alternatives,” she said. “And she will think clearly about alternatives, she won’t pretend facts don’t exist.”
Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid espoused a similar thinking recently in a podcast interview with David Axelrod, a former strategist for President Obama. Reid, in an attempt to defend Warren from criticism that she’s “too far left,” gave the impression that Warren is not as committed to Medicare for All as she has suggested.
He said he advised Warren that strengthening Obamacare is the best plan for now, and a public option is “as good as Medicare for all, anyways.”
“That’s not what she’s saying though,” Axelrod responded.
“You give her some time,” Reid said. “I think she’s not in love with that, you’ll wait and see how that all turns out.”
“So you think she’s more pragmatic?” Axelrod asked.
“Oh, I know she’s pragmatic, just wait,” Reid insisted.
But pragmatism is not what Warren has been selling on the campaign trail. She often ends her stump speech with a promise to “dream big” and “fight hard.”
It’s not clear how much wiggle room — if any — Warren has on the substance of Medicare for All. But health care consultant Chris Jennings thinks she has a little bit more negotiating space than some of her rivals.
“Her fan base, her voters, will give her more credit for trying to go as far as she possibly can on this issue, and then when, and if, she has to trim it back a bit, she’ll have more room for compromise than many other candidates will,” said Jennings. “And I say that because she’s viewed as a fighter, she won’t compromise just to compromise, she’ll compromise to get something done.”
Houston Astros Take 3-2 World Series Lead Over Washington Nationals
Carlos Correa, #1 of the Houston Astros, celebrates with teammates after the Astros defeated the Washington Nationals in Game 5 of the World Series at Nationals Park on Sunday in Washington, D.C.
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Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Houston Astros have taken a 3-2 lead in the World Series after defeating Washington 7-1 in Game 5 in the nation’s capital, pushing the underdog Nationals to the edge of elimination.
A pair of two-run homers from Yordan Alvarez in the second inning and Carlos Correa in the fourth gave the Astros the lead. Houston ace pitcher Gerrit Cole dominated Washington’s line-up for seven innings, with the only blemish a shallow homer that Juan Soto muscled to left with one out in Cole’s final frame.
Cole retired Washington’s Victor Robles with a highly questionable call on a 3 and 2 count to finish his night. The Astros continued to pummel Washington in the top of the eighth with a double from George Springer and a two-out base hit from Yuli Gurriel. Houston added its third two-run homer of the night in the ninth when Springer connected with a massive shot to left off Daniel Hudson to nail the victory.
Billed as a legendary match-up between Cole and Washington’s Max Scherzer, the Nationals stunned reporters, Nats fans, the Astros and everyone else in America who has been following the series by announcing a few hours before game-time that Scherzer would be scratched from the contest with spasms in the area behind his right shoulder.
Enter hybrid starter/reliever Joe Ross, who was 4-4 in the regular season with a 5.48 ERA. Ross had pitched two scoreless innings on Friday night. The 26-year-old, just a couple of years removed from Tommy John surgery, found himself Sunday pitching in the glare of the biggest spotlight possible – a pivotal Game 5 of the World Series.
Ross made it through the first inning unscathed but in the second, 22-year-old rookie Alvarez followed a Gurriel infield hit with a two-run homer to put the Nats in an immediate deficit. The Nats tried to answer back in the bottom of the frame starting out with singles from Soto and Howie Kendrick to put men on first and third, but Robles hit into a double-play to end the threat after a Ryan Zimmerman strike-out.
In the fourth, Alvarez singled and shortstop Correa doubled the Astros’ lead with a two-run homer to left off Ross. Sporting a 40-0 career record with a four-run lead or more, Cole looked to be in complete command of the evening. Ross was finished after five.
Washington Nationals catcher Yan Gomes, left, and first baseman Ryan Zimmerman watch during the ninth inning of Game 5 of the World Series.
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Patrick Semansky/AP
Through six innings, Cole allowed only one base-runner; a walk to Anthony Rendon. Then Soto connected with a solo homer to left to give the Nats a breath of life and finally something for the home fans to cheer about.
Zimmerman walked on a borderline pitch but Robles took a third strike on a questionable call to kill what might have been a promising rally. The Astros tacked on one more in the eighth and two more in the ninth with Springer’s moonshot.
Reality bites
A boisterous, anxious, World Series-starved city that thought it might finally put its diamond demons to rest, has had its dreams put on hold. The Nationals had given themselves the chance to win it all at home after unexpectedly taking the first two games of the Series in Houston but the hill ahead looks steep.
The Astros are proving why they may be one of the most complete teams in the history of the sport, shutting down the Nationals’ bats, sweeping all three games at Nationals Park and now standing at the brink of their second title in three years.
The underdog Nationals have repeatedly defied the odds along their improbable path to the championship Series. Beginning Tuesday, they get to prove if they are a team of destiny or if, in the end, it was all a magical mirage.
Houston Astros center fielder Jake Marisnick can’t get a glove on a home run by Washington Nationals’ Juan Soto during the seventh inning of Game 5 of the World Series.
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Jeff Roberson/AP
It is odd that no team in this Series has managed to win a single game at home. But as the Series returns to Houston on Tuesday, the larger sample size of the regular season shows the Astros were a major-league best 60-21 at Minute Maid Park. Then again, the Dodgers, who were upset by Washington, were 59-22 at home and lost the deciding game of the NL Division Series in Los Angeles.
The Astros led the majors with 107 regular-season wins for a reason. Tested and victorious over the Tampa Bay Rays in a deciding game five of the NLDS and then taking the New York Yankees in six games, Houston has shown an ability to rebound in the playoffs when it’s been needed the most.
They have often been led by their offensive spark plug, second baseman José Altuve, who walked off the Yankees in the American League Championship Series with a dramatic, pennant-clinching, ninth-inning solo homer off Aroldis Chapman.
Houston’s offense came to life in Washington. Alex Bregman, the 41-homer clean-up hitter for the Astros, returned to form with a Game 4 grand-slam after a previously horrid playoff run. The Game 5 homers by Alvarez and Correa underscored the offensive resurgence. The Astros’ starters and bullpen have been clutch. They seem to have neutralized or at least contained Washington’s biggest offensive weapons, Soto and Rendon.
On to Houston
With Scherzer’s status uncertain, no one is quite sure what happens next. It looked like 18-game winner Stephen Strasburg would start for Washington Tuesday night. Nats skipper Davey Martinez, however, says the team is keeping Scherzer on the roster in the hopes he can start Games 6 or 7. The Nats will go up against Justin Verlander Tuesday, who for all his career achievements is the first pitcher to register five World Series losses.
Through their playoff drive, the Nationals have been led by a combination of young talent embodied by 21-year-old outfielder Soto, stars like third baseman Rendon; wily veterans like Zimmerman, who first took the field in 2005 after the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington; and an impressive collection of starting pitchers.
Scherzer, Strasburg, Pat Corbin and Aníbal Sánchez have all shown occasional dominance but have completed their outings with mostly gutsy, nerve-wracking, clutch performances.
Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin’s occasional relief work has also helped mask a bullpen that, with the exception of Sean Doolittle and Hudson, is a frighteningly shaky enterprise given to total implosions of the kind that occurred Saturday night when Bregman hit his grand-slam off 42-year-old Fernando Rodney.
Washington’s remarkable season
But anyone writing off the Nationals does so at their peril. Washington has been downright magical through the regular season and the playoffs.
On May 23, sporting an atrocious record of 19-31, second worst in the National League at the time, the Nats had a statistical probability of 3.4% of reaching the playoffs. They were shackled with some of the worst relief pitching in the history of the sport.
They then proceeded on a five-month streak of torrid play during which they matched the formidable pace of teams like the 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers and their 2017 World Series foe, the elite Houston Astros. Counting the playoffs and the end of the regular season, the Nationals entered their home portion of the series compiling a remarkable record of 18-2, the best winning stretch in their 15-year history.
Then came the Houston three-game sweep on Washington’s turf.
But back in the single-game elimination Wild Card contest against Milwaukee, trailing 3-1 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, there was a 98.6% chance Washington would fall – until the young Soto stroked a stunning, bases-loaded single to right field that was misplayed by Milwaukee rookie outfielder Trent Grisham, saving the Nats’ season in the nick of time.
With no outs and trailing 3-1 in the eighth inning of deciding game 5 in Los Angeles, there was a 93.3% chance they would lose – until Rendon and Soto hit back-to-back homers off the venerable Clayton Kershaw, pitching in relief. Veteran hitter Kendrick would hit a grand-slam in the 10th inning to carry the Nationals to the National League Championship Series.
Apparently wary of the necessity for any more late-inning heroics, the Nats overwhelmed the 11-time World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in a four-game sweep to earn Washington a berth in the World Series for the first time since 1933.
A Series to remember
Installed by Las Vegas book-makers as the biggest World Series underdog in 12 years, the Nationals shocked everyone by defeating two of the best hurlers in the game, Cole and Verlander – in Houston – to claim a 2-0 Series lead before returning home for a possible three games at Nationals Park.
All of those games became necessary when the Astros silenced the Nationals 4-1 in Game 3 on Friday night behind the off-speed pitching of Zack Grienke; shut-down relief appearances by Josh James and Will Harris; the prolific bat of Altuve; and an exclamation point of a sixth-inning home run off Anibel Sanchez just inside the left field foul pole by catcher Robinson Chirinos who also homered in Game 4 against Corbin.
That game on Saturday that turned into an 8-1 debacle for Washington and guaranteed the Series would return to Houston, was supposed to be the Nationals’ number-three starter, Corbin, against a mix-and-match collection of Astros relievers to start the game.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, third from left, arrive for Game 5 of the World Series. Also pictured are Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., second from left, and Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C, right.
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Andrew Harnik/AP
Except, apparently, no one told Houston reliever José Urquidy he was supposed to have only a short stint on the mound. Reaching the major leagues for the first time in July, the rookie dominated the Washington line-up through an impressive five full innings of shut-out, walk-free ball, offering a more masterful and polished performance than any of the high-priced, marquis starting pitchers thus far on either team.
Game 5, which was supposed to have featured a repeat of the Series opening match-up between starters Cole and Scherzer, found the Nats at a severe disadvantage with Scherzer’s injury. They gamely tried to overcome, but Cole was too much for them and now it’s an elimination game ahead for Washington.
If they pull off their second championship in three years, the Astros have an opportunity to cement their legacy as one of the great teams in the history of the sport. With two more post-season upsets, the Nationals can claim the status of a miracle team for the ages. No pressure.
The President and first lady showed up for part of the game, sitting with Major League Baseball executives and a wounded warriors contingent. Trump was reportedly given the opportunity to throw out the first pitch but declined. Nationals owner Mark Lerner says the president chose to attend just a portion of the game to reduce security disruptions, for which Lerner said he was grateful.
He also emphatically stated Mr. Trump was welcome at the ballpark. Trump received 4.1% of the D.C. vote in the 2016 presidential election.
After the president signaled his intention to attend Game 5 earlier in the week and indicated he would not throw out the first pitch, the Nationals announced Friday that D.C. restaurateur and humanitarian José Andrés would do the honors.
Andrés is a frequent critic of the president’s immigration policies and settled a legal dispute with the Trump Organization after he backed out of a contract to open a restaurant at the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Ave., following controversial Trump comments on immigration that Andrés said he found to be offensive. Andrés was given the James Beard Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year award in 2018, largely for his efforts serving millions of meals to Puerto Rican hurricane victims.
Do Robots Or Trade Cost Jobs?
NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben talks about whether automation and robots, or bad trade policies pose a bigger threat to jobs in America.
Astros Tie World Series 2-2 After Game 4 Win Over Nationals
Nearly 1 Million Customers To Lose Power In Planned PG&E Power Outages
The Kincade Fire burns through the Jimtown community of Sonoma County, Calif., on Thursday.
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Noah Berger/AP
Pacific Gas and Electric has expanded its power blackout zone to 940,000 customers across Northern and Central California as extreme weather forecasts threaten to increase the risk of wildfires.
The projected wind gusts of up to 70 mph, combined with dry vegetation, create prime conditions for wildfire.
“Winds of this magnitude pose a higher risk of damage and sparks on the electric system and rapid wildfire spread,” PG&E said in a statement. “The fire risk is even higher because vegetation on the ground has been dried out by recent wind events.”
The planned power outages will affect roughly 90,000 more customers than previous estimates by the utility. Over the course of two to three days, the shutoffs could leave more than 2.5 million people in the dark.
“Charge any devices you might need, have water and nonperishable foods at your disposal, and if you have special medical needs, please be sure to have access to support and resources,” PG&E’s President Andy Vesey said Friday.
Dry, hot and windy conditions were expected to hit the region between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Pacific time Saturday and last through Monday afternoon.
“This wind event is forecast to be the most serious weather situation that Northern and Central California has experienced in recent memory,” said Michael Lewis, PG&E’s senior vice president of electric operations.
When compared to the conditions that fueled the deadly October 2017 wildfires that ripped through Northern California, these winds not only have the potential to be stronger but also the potential to last longer, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson.
“The peak winds during the wildfires in the North Bay in 2017 only lasted four to 6 hours,” Anderson said. “These wind speeds — we’re looking at a range of 24 to 30 hours.”
The planned shutoff is the largest intended to prevent wildfires since PG&E started conducting “public safety power shutoffs” in a handful of counties last year.
The power shutoffs will roll out in six phases, but the utility said times may change depending on weather conditions. The first round of shutoffs were expected as early as 2 p.m. on Saturday, but were delayed, according to PG&E during a press conference Saturday night. The utility said it shut off power in areas of the Northern Sierra Foothills, the Northern Sacramento Valley and the North Bay Area at 5 p.m.
Power shutoffs for the rest of the planned Bay Area regions began around 8 p.m. on Saturday, which were previously scheduled for 5 p.m.
The utility planned to cut power in 36 counties across parts of Humboldt, the Sierra Nevada foothills, Western Sacramento Valley, and every county in the Bay Area except for San Francisco. A sixth phase is scheduled for Kern County on Sunday morning.
You can find the schedule of planned power shutoff times here, and a map marking the latest outages here.
PG&E says it hopes to begin the process of restoring power on Monday.
Two large wildfires drove California Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare states of emergency in Sonoma and Los Angeles counties, which will help communities get state aide.
The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County has burned nearly 25,500 acres since it started Wednesday night, and in northwest Los Angeles, the Tick Fire has burned 4,600 acres.
The state’s largest utility is opting to shut down power lines as a precaution against conditions similar to those that fueled some of California’s most catastrophic fires. NPR previously reported that although the power utility had informed regulators that part of a transmission tower broke not far from the Kincade Fire shortly before it began, it’s not yet clear whether PG&E’s power lines are to blame for sparking the fire.
State fire investigators found PG&E’s electrical lines responsible for last year’s Camp Fire in Northern California, the state’s deadliest wildfire, that killed 85 people.
The fires also prompted billions of dollars in lawsuits and wildfire liabilities that drove the utility to file bankruptcy.
Gov. Newsom announced on Friday that the state would allocate $75 million to support communities with funding for emergency services, power generators and other public health and safety needs during the power outages.
On Saturday, Newsom reiterated criticism of PG&E that he made in a press conference a day earlier – he blamed the utility for prioritizing profit over public safety and condemned the company’s refusal to modernize its grid.
“The impact of [PG&E’s planned power outages] is unacceptable,” he said in a video posted to Twitter. “We’ve got to hold them accountable.”
Reporter Jeremy Siegel and digital producer Audrey Garces are with NPR member station, KQED.
Astros Beat Nationals 4-1 In Game 3 Of 2019 World Series
Some Baseball Players Are Entering ‘Income Pooling’ Agreements To Fix Imbalance
A career in baseball is a gamble. A few guys make a ton of money, and most make very little. Some baseball players are taking advantage of that imbalance and entering into “income pooling” agreements.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
Game 3 of the World Series is tonight, featuring baseball players earning millions of dollars. Among those watching the game, all those minor league players earning way less money. There’s a company that’s pushing a big economic idea to try and balance out that inequality. Kenny Malone of our Planet Money podcast and NPR’s sports correspondent Tom Goldman tells us about it.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Got it, got it, got it.
TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: I met Logan Ice at spring training earlier this year.
KENNY MALONE, BYLINE: Ice is a minor leaguer who says the salary for a player like him is around $8,000 a year.
LOGAN ICE: But that doesn’t account for living. That doesn’t account for food – granted they feed you a couple of meals a day.
GOLDMAN: There are really only two options for baseball players – make the majors and make it huge or get stuck in the minors earning bupkis.
MALONE: But a company called Pando says it has a third option. Charlie Olson is the CEO and says this would work for any level of baseball player.
CHARLIE OLSON: There’s nothing that’s too low. So…
MALONE: What about right now, Kenny Malone in the studio?
OLSON: That’s too low (laughter). That’s too low.
MALONE: You’ve never even seen me throw a curve ball.
OLSON: As long as you are on contract by a professional baseball organization, you are available to be a client of Pando’s.
GOLDMAN: Pando wants minor leaguers to join what it calls income pools.
MALONE: And here’s how this works. A handful of players join a pool and make this deal. Whoever makes it big is going to kick some of their earnings back to the rest of their pool members. Also, Pando is going to get a little cut because that is their business model.
GOLDMAN: Nobody has to pay a cent until they’ve made it to the majors and they’ve made $1.6 million. Then that guy has to kick 10% of his salary back to his pool mates.
OLSON: Baseball can be zero-sum when your best friend gets called up and you didn’t. Now all of a sudden, when your best friend gets called up, a little bit of you did.
GOLDMAN: One of the first players Pando recruited was Logan Ice.
ICE: I was like, what’s the worst thing for me as a player that could happen, financially?
MALONE: And he thought, well, it only costs me money if I make it huge, and then I do have to kick money back to my pool.
ICE: That’s the worst thing that could happen to me, is I’m filthy rich…
MALONE: (Laughter).
ICE: …And I’m giving people money, and I’m helping them so much more than that money’s hurting me. If that was the worst thing that could happen to me, I’m game.
MALONE: Pando’s business model does raise some questions. For example, do irrationally confident athletes really think they need this kind of an insurance policy?
GOLDMAN: Will having that policy make them less motivated to succeed?
MALONE: The question Major League Baseball is asking is about competition. Will a pitcher go easier on a batter if they’re in the same pool, for example?
GOLDMAN: Pando’s CEO Charlie Olson isn’t worried.
OLSON: I’m sure we can all kind of agree that there are many ways in which a player might be motivated to see a player on another team succeed. And yet, at the end of the day, competition reigns.
GOLDMAN: Charlie Olson says there are now about 140 players in income pools, and as of this season, three of those players have made the major leagues.
MALONE: And Pando is now expanding. They’ve launched income pools for professional football players and are about to launch pools for business people – people graduating with MBAs and big ideas that may be worth a fortune or bupkis.
GOLDMAN: Tom Goldman.
MALONE: Kenny Malone.
GOLDMAN: NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF SNARKY PUPPY’S “XAVI”)
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Rio Mira: Tiny Desk Concert
Credit: Shuran Huang/NPR
For just about fifteen minutes, the members of Rio Mira created a living and very melodic connection to Africa. Set behind a large marimba — and drums that are unique to their corner of the world — the members of the band performed music that is the legacy of enslaved people who were in both Ecuador and Colombia. Rio Mira takes its name from a river that separates Ecuador and Colombia and empties into the Pacific Ocean.
Rio Mira’s three songs in this performance are dominated by the marimba and accompanied by drums from both Europe and Africa. “La Pepa de Tangaré” references the culinary joys of life and, like the rest of their set, celebrates life along the river: soft breezes, loving friends, the embrace of Africa and, of course, lots of festejando (partying)!
If you’re a little rusty on your college Spanish classes, the extended narration in “Román Román” tells the tale of a village man who has healing powers and challenges death.
For me, the principal attractions to this group are the instruments and the musical skills that were handed down for generations along the river, and how they eventually ended up here on this video for you to enjoy. I dare you to not move your hips along with these infectious grooves!
SET LIST
- “La Pepa de Tangaré”
- “Román Román”
- “Mi Buenaventura”
MUSICIANS
Esteban Copete: marimba; Karla Kanora: vocals; Benjamín Vanegas: vocals; Carlos Hurtado: vocals; Sergio Ramírez: bombo macho; Carlos Loboa: cununos; Tito Ponguillo: bombo hembra
CREDITS
Producers: Felix Contreras, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin, James Willetts; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, Jeremiah Rhodes, Maia Stern, Beck Harlan; Associate Producer: Bobby Carter; Production Assistant: Paul Georgoulis; Executive Producer: Lauren Onkey; Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann; Photo: Shuran Huang/NPR
Houston Astros Fire Assistant General Manager After Uproar Over Comments To Reporters
The Houston Astros fired assistant general manager Brandon Taubman for inappropriate comments directed at a group of female reporters.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Tomorrow night, the Houston Astros take on the Washington Nationals in game three of the World Series. The Astros are down two games to none, but their problems do not end there. They’ve just fired their assistant general manager days after he delivered a profane defense of Astros pitcher Roberto Osuna to a group of female reporters. NPR’s David Folkenflik has been following this story. He joins us now.
Hey, David.
DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: So help us understand why this assistant GM, Brandon Taubman, is being fired today?
FOLKENFLIK: Well, Taubman not only offered a profane rant at these three female reporters, but he did so prompted by nothing. He was essentially yelling, I’m so glad to have gotten Osuna. We’re glad to have – expletive deleted – gotten Osuna. And he was directing it at them. What was not initially clear was he’s really directing it at one of the three reporters, and she’s a woman who had tweeted a lot about domestic violence. She had a domestic violence awareness bracelet on her wrist, and she had tweeted about domestic violence after a couple of Osuna’s appearances last year. That was a sore spot for the Astros, who picked up Osuna in exchange last year from the Toronto Blue Jays after he had been arrested by Canadian authorities for beating the mother of his child. And he was suspended 75 games, so that was a very sore spot. He was screaming about that player to a woman who had been trying to raise awareness about domestic violence.
CHANG: Yeah. But what I don’t understand is this outburst happened days ago. Why are the Astros taking this step now? I mean, didn’t they initially deny Apstein’s entire account of the whole incident?
FOLKENFLIK: That’s right. Not only did they deny it, they said that she and Sports Illustrated had fabricated the count. I spoke to eyewitnesses. Others have vouch for the fact it was accurate. They’re just wrong, and they have not apologized for that very serious charge against a working journalist. They’re doing it now because the pressure is intense. Major League Baseball has said it’s investigating. And basically, all of sports journalism has rallied behind these reporters. There’s been a lot of criticism also for the Astros for being insensitive to domestic violence not only in the outburst but now the decision to trade for Osuna after that accusation of domestic violence had come to light as well.
CHANG: That’s NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik.
Thanks very much, David.
FOLKENFLIK: You bet.
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