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6 Questions Ahead Of The 1st Trump-Biden Presidential Debate

President Trump and Democrat Joe Biden square off in the first of three general-election presidential debates Tuesday night. The debate is high stakes and carries risks for both candidates. Here are six questions ahead of the debate, to be moderated by Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace beginning at 9 p.m. ET and held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. 1. Can Trump avoid the sitting-president first-debate slump? Presidents up for reelection often struggle in their first debates....

Legal Fight Over Trump's Financial Records Grinds On Even As Tax Details Spill Out

GOP Takes Pennsylvania Court's Ballot Deadline To Supreme Court

Health Minute: Diabetes

By Cheraine Stanford • 3 hours ago

You’re listening to WPSU’s Health Minute, a collaboration with Penn State’s College of Nursing.

According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 34 million Americans, or about 10% of the population, has diabetes. 88 million Americans have pre-diabetes. Uncontrolled diabetes is a serious life-long condition and can cause many complications, including kidney damage, eye issues like glaucoma or blindness, and heart complications.

GOP Takes Pennsylvania Court's Ballot Deadline To Supreme Court

By Marc Levy & Associated Press • 18 hours ago

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to put a hold on a court ruling in the battleground state that extends the deadline in November's election to receive and count mailed-in ballots. In Monday's filing, Republicans argue that the three-day extension violates federal law that sets Election Day as the first Tuesday in November and that such a decision constitutionally belongs to lawmakers, not the court.

Democracy Works: Fighting For Democracy in Hong Kong

By Jenna Spinelle • Sep 28, 2020

In some ways, the fight for democracy in Hong Kong is unique to the region and its relationship with China. However, the protests also feel familiar to anyone who's been watching the Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. or what's happening in countries like Hungary and Brazil.

This week, we examine what's driving Hong Kongers into the streets, the generational divides that are emerging over issues like universal suffrage and income inequality, and what Hong Kong's relationship with China might look like moving forward.

WPSU Blues Archive - September 26, 2020

By Adam McMillan • Sep 26, 2020

An archive recording of the WPSU Blues show as aired on September 26, 2020 and hosted Adam McMillan, sitting in for Max Spiegel.

In the first hour, hear tracks from Justin Townes Earle, Malcolm Holcombe, Jeffery Foucault, Todd Albright, Lazy Lester, Betty Harris, William Clarke, Gloria Gaynor with Mike Farris, Leadbelly, Peter Case, Aretha Franklin, Jake La Botz, Betty Davis, and more.

In the second hour, hear The Chatham Singers, Charles Bradley, Useless, Bobby Bland, Shirley Ellis, Rhiannon Giddens, Gurf Morlix, Van Morrison, Michael Kiwanuka, and more.

Free COVID-19 Testing In State College Began Friday With Long Waits

By Min Xian • Sep 25, 2020

A COVID-19 nasal swab test is administered to a person in a car — Min Xian / WPSU

Free COVID-19 testing at the Nittany Mall in State College began Friday, drawing a long line of residents, as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s effort to contain the rising case numbers in Centre County.

Naomi Niyah, a graduate student at Penn State, went to the site on Friday morning. She said she hasn’t been contacted by the university for its surveillance testing program.

“I don’t like the current situation for testing so might as well do it myself here,” Niyah said.

Penn State Sees Another Jump In COVID-19 Cases Among University Park Students

By Anne Danahy • Sep 25, 2020

A mobile COVID-19 test site on Penn State University Park campus. — Min Xian / WPSU

The number of Penn State students at University Park who have tested positive for COVID-19 has increased by 458 — a 28% jump — since the numbers were updated Tuesday, according to the latest data from the university.

Take Note: Dr. Kelly Holder On Mental Health And Self-Care Amid The Pandemic

By Andy Grant • Sep 25, 2020

Kelly Holder, Director of the Office of Professional Mental Health at the Penn State College of Medicine and Hershey Medical Center

Kelly Holder is the Director of the Office of Professional Mental Health at the Penn State College of Medicine and Hershey Medical Center. She talked about mental health challenges and what people can do to to keep their minds active and positive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

TRANSCRIPT:

Republicans Lose A Round In Pa. Mail Voting Dispute

By Associated Press • Sep 25, 2020

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has dealt a blow to Republicans in the legal fight over the deadline for mailed ballots in the presidential battleground state. The court rejected without comment Thursday a request by Republicans to put on hold its decision to extend the deadline for receiving and counting mail-in ballots. Republicans are now likely to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block the ruling. The divided Pennsylvania high court last week granted the Democratic Party's request to order an extension of Pennsylvania's Election Day deadline to count mailed ballots.

St. Marys Businesses Count On Local Support To Weather The COVID-19 Economy

By Lindsey Toomer & Brannon DeWolf • Sep 24, 2020

A bird's-eye view of the city of St. Marys, Pennsylvania — Courtesy of stmaryspa.gov

COVID-19 is putting many small town businesses in Pennsylvania in a financial squeeze due to coronavirus closures and people quarantining. This summer, WPSU partnered with students in Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications to look at how towns in central Pennsylvania, like St. Marys, are doing in the run-up to the presidential election.

“You have to understand something about St. Marys. This is not a typical place,” said Ann Gabler.

Pa. House Approves Restaurant Capacity Bill Wolf Says He'll Veto

By Associated Press • Sep 23, 2020

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A bill to loosen pandemic restrictions on bars and restaurants is on its way to the Pennsylvania governor, who has threatened to veto it. Lawmakers on Wednesday passed the measure, which would end a requirement that customers buy food when they purchase alcohol. It would allow people to be served drinks at bars. The bill would also permit taverns and restaurants to operate at 50% capacity, or more if they can meet state and federal social distancing standards or erect appropriate barriers.

NPR Stories

U.S. Emission Reductions Slowed After Trump Pulled Out Of Paris Accord

By Rebecca Hersher & Jackie Northam • 10 minutes ago

On November 4, the day after the general election, the United States will officially exit the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

The date is a coincidence. Still, the timing underscores a crucial victory for the Trump administration in its efforts to derail federal action on global warming, which the president dismisses as a hoax.

How A Beloved Gemstone Became A Symbol Of Environmental Tragedy In Myanmar

By Emily Fishbein • 10 minutes ago

The jade gemstones that generate billions of dollars a year in Myanmar — the world's biggest exporter of the stone — are beloved in China, where they can sell for more than gold. But they are a symbol of tragedy and suffering for the people who live and work in the country's mines in Hpakant, in Myanmar's northernmost Kachin State.

Most People Can't Afford Legal Help. 1 Reformer Wants To Change That

By Greg Rosalsky • 27 minutes ago

Editor's note: This is an excerpt of Planet Money's newsletter. You can sign up here.

Breonna Taylor Grand Jury Recording Will Be Released, Kentucky Attorney General Says

By Bill Chappell • 32 minutes ago

The recording of grand jury proceedings in the Breonna Taylor case will be released this week — an unusual step that comes after a juror disputed Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's public explanation for why no charges were filed that are directly related to Taylor's killing by Louisville police.

Jefferson Circuit Judge Ann Bailey Smith has "ordered attorneys to file a recording of the grand jury proceedings" by Wednesday, member station WFPL reports. It's not yet clear when the recording might be released to the public.

Amnesty International Halts Work In India, Citing 'Witch-Hunt' By Government

By Lauren Frayer • 32 minutes ago

Citing a "reprisal" by the Indian government against its human rights work, Amnesty International said Tuesday that it has been forced to lay off staff and halt operations in India.

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COVID-19 Deaths Top 1 Million Worldwide. How These 5 Nations Are Driving The Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has now killed at least 1 million people worldwide. That's according to a tally maintained by Johns Hopkins University . This sobering milestone was reached just nine months after the first reported fatality in China last January. And public health experts believe the actual toll – the recorded deaths plus the unrecorded deaths – is much higher . What's more, in the five worst-off countries, the trend line remains worrisome. Here's how they line up — and why Argentina...

Amy Coney Barrett: A Dream For The Right, Nightmare For The Left

President Trump's nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court seat made vacant by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen as a home run for conservatives. It is a chance to move the high court in a far more aggressively conservative direction for generations. In political terms, Barrett is the dream candidate for conservative Republicans and the nightmare candidate for Democrats. For Republicans, the 48-year-old is a young and personally unassailable nominee. A...

Nearly Two-Thirds Of U.S. Households Struck By COVID-19 Face Financial Trouble

COVID-19 has caused widespread damage to the economy — so wide that it can be easy to overlook how unevenly households are suffering. But new polling data out this month reveal households that either have had someone with COVID-19 or include someone who has a disability or special needs are much more likely to also be hurting financially. That was the case for a young mother named Elizabeth who was waiting for her kindergartener to get out of school in Smyrna, Tenn., when we spoke with her....

Pandemic Threatens Long-Term Job Security After Hospitality Industry Layoffs

Stephannia Swain, 52, has had the same job for almost her entire adult life, cooking at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. "We only have six cooks and we're all lifers," she said. With 30 years of experience, Swain was the most senior, but others in the kitchen had been part of the team for nearly two decades. Seniority meant she had control over her schedule, something that helped her balance time with family. Swain lives with her daughter in South Philly and helps to raise her three...

More Than 600,000 Child Cases Of COVID-19 Reported In U.S., But Severe Illness 'Rare'

In a survey of data published on the health department websites of 49 states, New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam, a total of 624,890 child cases of COVID-19 were reported from the start of the pandemic through September 24, or 10.5% of all cases in states reporting infections according to age. A smaller subset of states reported hospitalizations and mortality by age. The data from those states indicate "COVID-19-associated hospitalization and death is uncommon in...

How Many Coronavirus Cases Are Happening In Schools? This Tracker Keeps Count

Looking for a snapshot of coronavirus outbreaks in U.S. schools? The National Education Association has just launched a tracker of cases in public K-12 schools. The tracker is broken down by state and shows schools and counties with known cases and suspected cases and deaths, as well as whether those infected were students or staff. It also includes links to the local news reports so users know where the virus data comes from. The NEA tracker builds on the volunteer efforts of a Kansas...