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WRKF's News Team

Ashley Westerman
Ashley Westerman
Host and Reporter
Elizabeth Eads
Elizabeth Eads
Host and Operations Director
Kelly Connelly
Kelly Connelly
Government & Politics Reporter
Amy Jeffries
Amy Jeffries
News Director

NPR News

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Shots - Health News
2:31 am
Thu February 7, 2013

Silica Rule Changes Delayed While Workers Face Health Risks

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Credit Ty Wright / Bloomberg via Getty Images
A worker makes a cut in the side of a sandstone block at the Cleveland Quarries facility in Vermilion, Ohio, earlier this month. The legal limit on the amount of silica that workers can inhale was set decades ago.
Credit Ty Wright / Bloomberg via Getty Images
An employee uses a wet saw to cut a slab of sandstone at a Lang Stone Co. facility in Columbus, Ohio, in January. Using water while cutting helps keep dust out of the air.
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Originally published on Thu February 7, 2013 2:07 pm

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Puerto Rico: A Disenchanted Island
2:27 am
Thu February 7, 2013

'Don't Give Up On Us': Puerto Ricans Wrestle With High Crime

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Credit Coburn Dukehart / NPR
Luis Romero looks out over the ocean to a view that includes the Coast Guard station where his son, Julian, was in the auxiliary. Romero started the anti-violence organization Basta Ya after Julian was murdered.
Credit Coburn Dukehart / NPR
Daysi Pena has sold cosmetics and accessories in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for 12 years. She is now thinking of moving to New York to escape the escalating violence on the island. There was a shooting one block from her stall a day before this photo was taken.
Credit Coburn Dukehart / NPR
Hector Pesquera, the police superintendent for the island, says tackling crime has been challenging.
Credit Courtesy of Luis Romero
Julian Romero (center) is seen with his parents, Marie Rodriquez and Luis Romero, on his 20th birthday, April 18, 2011. He was stabbed to death later that night while celebrating with his girlfriend in the Condado neighborhood of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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Originally published on Thu February 7, 2013 7:31 pm

Puerto Rico's population is declining. Faced with a deteriorating economy, increased poverty and a swelling crime rate, many Puerto Ricans are fleeing the island for the U.S. mainland. In a four-part series, Morning Edition explores this phenomenon, and how Puerto Rico's troubles are affecting its people and other Americans in unexpected ways.

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National Security
9:40 pm
Wed February 6, 2013

Obama's Pick For CIA Chief To Face Senate Scrutiny

Credit Carolyn Kaster / AP
John Brennan, the deputy national security adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, speaks at the White House in January. Brennan is President Obama's choice for CIA director.
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Originally published on Thu February 7, 2013 2:07 pm

John Brennan, President Obama's choice to lead the CIA, can look forward to a grilling Thursday on Capitol Hill. As Obama's chief counterterrorism adviser, he has been associated with some controversial policies, including the use of armed drones. Brennan's nomination comes before the Senate Intelligence Committee, and members from both parties have their questions ready.

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Around the Nation
5:01 pm
Wed February 6, 2013

Questions Sprout Up Over Razed California Wildlife Reserve

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Credit Courtesy of Mathew Tekulsky
The Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve after the land was stripped by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Several advocates, including elected leaders, are protesting the move.
Credit Courtesy of Mathew Tekulsky
The reserve before it was stripped by the Corps. The agency says there was illicit activity going on in the area.
Credit Courtesy of Mathew Tekulsky
Experts say the reserve was home to more than 200 bird species, including the great blue heron.
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By Gloria Hillard

Originally published on Wed February 6, 2013 6:23 pm

Just a stone's throw from two of Los Angeles' busiest freeways lies the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve, a unique spot in an urban jungle.

The northern portion of the reserve is adorned with 30-foot-tall cottonwood trees, spots of coyote bush and other plants. Native plants cover 50 percent of the nature spot, says Kris Ohlenkamp with the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society.

"On the other side it was significantly more than that," he says.

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The Two-Way
4:52 pm
Wed February 6, 2013

Sen. Marco Rubio Will Deliver Republican Response To State Of The Union

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Sen. Marco Rubio speaks during the final day of the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa.
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By editor

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will deliver the Republican response to the president's State of the Union address this upcoming Tuesday.

NPR's Tamara Keith filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"Rubio is a rising star of the Republican party, who was elected as part of the Tea Party wave in 2010.

"He's the son of Cuban immigrants and is part of a bipartisan group of senators working on immigration reform legislation. He'll deliver the response in both English and Spanish.

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The Two-Way
4:39 pm
Wed February 6, 2013

Air Base In Saudi Arabia Is Latest Drone Secret To Be Revealed

Credit Kevin Dietsch / UPI /Landov
John Brennan, President Obama's nominee to be the next CIA director, worked closely with Saudi Arabia to set up a secret U.S. drone base there, The New York Times reported. Brennan's confirmation hearing is Thursday.
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By editor

Originally published on Thu February 7, 2013 5:50 am

The Obama administration says lethal airstrikes, delivered stealthily by drones, have been a major success in its counterterrorism efforts. But the administration has been much less successful in keeping secret the details of the often controversial drone program.

Last May, Foreign Policy published this story providing details on 12 U.S. drone bases spread across three continents, from the Seychelles to the Philippines.

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It's All Politics
4:16 pm
Wed February 6, 2013

Even In Blue Minnesota, Gun Control Seems A Tough Sell

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Credit Jim Mone / AP
Gun rights advocate Andy Cers of Minneapolis listens to testimony during a Minnesota House hearing on gun violence bills Tuesday in St. Paul.
Credit David Welna / NPR
Supporters of gun control laws await President Obama's appearance Monday outside the Minneapolis Police Department's Special Operations Center.
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Originally published on Wed February 6, 2013 7:36 pm

Minnesota has a Democratic governor, two Democratic senators, and Democrats control both houses of its Legislature. So it may have come as no surprise when President Obama went there earlier this week to rally support for his proposals to reduce gun violence.

But even in the politically blue state, there's considerable resistance to placing further restrictions on gun ownership.

During his visit to a Minneapolis police facility Monday, Obama urged Minnesotans to find common ground in curbing gun violence.

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Shots - Health News
4:07 pm
Wed February 6, 2013

Defying Expectations, GOP Governors Embrace Medicaid Expansion

Credit Carlos Osorio / AP
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, favors a federally subsidized expansion of Medicaid in his state.
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Top-ranked archrivals Michigan and Ohio State faced off Wednesday night on the basketball court for the second time in this season (Michigan won in overtime to split the series).

But both states' Republican governors have something more in common this week than an intense distaste for their neighboring state's athletic team.

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It's All Politics
4:02 pm
Wed February 6, 2013

NRA's 'Anti-Gun' List Includes Some Not-So-Obvious Names

Credit Jamie Squire / Getty Images
The Kansas City Royals professional baseball team is among more than 500 groups and individuals listed by the NRA as "anti-gun."
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By S.V. DÁTE

Originally published on Wed February 6, 2013 6:12 pm

What do the Kansas City Royals, C. Everett Koop, Jack Nicholson and the United Methodist Church all have in common?

Turns out the Major League Baseball team, the former surgeon general, the actor and the denomination's general board and church society are all enemies of firearms, and as such have made it onto the National Rifle Association's list of "National Organizations With Anti-Gun Policies."

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The Two-Way
3:44 pm
Wed February 6, 2013

Game On! Rare 1865 Baseball Card Tossed On The Auction Block

Credit Library of Congress
The Library of Congress' version of the rare Brooklyn Atlantics baseball card.
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Originally published on Mon February 11, 2013 10:46 am

Update at 8:06 p.m. ET. Card Sells For $80,000

The nearly 150-year-old Brooklyn Atlantics baseball card that was was discovered late last year in a photo album bought at a yard sale has sold for $80,000 — $92,000 if you count the auction house's buyer's premium.

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