npr--2020-08-21--PHOTOS: Belarus' Massive And Unprecedented Protests

Nearly two weeks after an Aug. 9 election kept Belarus ' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in power amid accusations of vote-rigging , massive protests against Lukashenko continue and neither side is backing down .
`` New fair , free and transparent elections must be held , '' Svetlana Tikhanovskaya , Lukashenko 's main challenger , told reporters in Lithuania on Friday .
She fled there under pressure from Belarusian authorities last week .
`` People of Belarus have woken up and they do not want to live in fear and lies anymore . ''
On Monday , while visiting a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of `` Leave ! ''
Lukashenko vowed to `` never cave into pressure , '' saying , `` There will be no new election until you kill me . ''
Thousands of factory workers , normally a key source of support for Lukashenko 's 26-year regime , have gone on strike .
The government , meanwhile , is squeezing the opposition : Authorities have detained a striking workers ' leader and lodged criminal charges against opposition organizers .
Riot police , some of whom briefly put down their shields earlier this week , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ torture .
More protests are expected this weekend .
Whatever their ultimate impact may be , it 's clear they mark an unprecedented challenge to Lukashenko 's rule .
Here are some highlights .

PHOTOS: Belarus' Massive And Unprecedented Protests
Enlarge this image toggle caption Getty Images; Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images; Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Getty Images; Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images; Dmitri Lovetsky/AP
Nearly two weeks after an Aug. 9 election kept Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in power amid accusations of vote-rigging, massive protests against Lukashenko continue and neither side is backing down.
"New fair, free and transparent elections must be held," Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, Lukashenko's main challenger, told reporters in Lithuania on Friday. She fled there under pressure from Belarusian authorities last week. "People of Belarus have woken up and they do not want to live in fear and lies anymore."
On Monday, while visiting a factory where employees jeered him amid shouts of "Leave!" Lukashenko vowed to "never cave into pressure," saying, "There will be no new election until you kill me."
Thousands of factory workers, normally a key source of support for Lukashenko's 26-year regime, have gone on strike. The government, meanwhile, is squeezing the opposition: Authorities have detained a striking workers' leader and lodged criminal charges against opposition organizers. Riot police, some of whom briefly put down their shields earlier this week, continue to crack down amid allegations of torture.
More protests are expected this weekend. Whatever their ultimate impact may be, it's clear they mark an unprecedented challenge to Lukashenko's rule. Here are some highlights.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sergei Grits/AP Sergei Grits/AP
Enlarge this image toggle caption Nikolay Petrov/BELTA/AFP via Getty Images Nikolay Petrov/BELTA/AFP via Getty Images
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sergei Gapon; Siarhei Leskiec; Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images; Sergei Gapon; Siarhei Leskiec; Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images;
Enlarge this image toggle caption Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images
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npr--2020-08-21--2 Hurricanes Could Form In Gulf Of Mexico Next Week — An Apparent First

2 Hurricanes Could Form In Gulf Of Mexico Next Week — An Apparent First Two tropical systems are heading toward the Gulf of Mexico , and both of them could become hurricanes before they near the U.S. mainland early next week , according to the National Hurricane Center .
One storm is currently forecast to hit near the Texas-Louisiana border ; the other could reach the Florida Panhandle .
Both systems are predicted to strengthen into hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico , possibly by Monday or Tuesday .
`` If that were to occur , it would be first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mexico has had 2 hurricanes at the same time , '' meteorologist Philip Klotzbach says via Twitter .
`` There are only a few times in recorded history where two tropical cyclones have shared the Gulf of Mexico , '' according to the Weather Prediction Center .
`` Flash ( wayyy ) back to 1933 to find a similar example , '' it added , referring to a time when a hurricane and a tropical storm coincided in the Gulf .
The two developing systems are currently hundreds of miles apart , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other in the Gulf and even partially overlap .
Their landfalls will likely be divided by hours , not days .
But it 's not yet certain whether both will hit the shore as hurricanes , or whether their paths might diverge .
Tropical Storm Laura , which strengthened into a named storm Friday morning , is in the Atlantic Ocean near the Lesser Antilles .
Tropical Depression 14 is in the western Caribbean Sea , off the coast of Honduras .
Tropical Depression 14 , which will become Tropical Storm Marcos if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely arrive first .
It 's predicted to become a hurricane in the Gulf , but the National Hurricane Center says it could weaken a bit before hitting the Texas coast near Houston , possibly by Tuesday morning .
The system has already triggered a hurricane watch for Cancun and other parts of Mexico 's southeastern coast .
Tropical Storm Laura is causing alerts in Puerto Rico , the Virgin Islands and Hispaniola , where it will drop heavy rain on its way toward Cuba and the Gulf .
`` This rainfall could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hurricane center says .
Laura is expected to be a hurricane when it reaches the U.S. coast near the Alabama-Florida border , the center says .
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is already setting records with named storms forming at a pace never seen before .
The latest estimates from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration call for nearly twice the normal number of named storms in 2020 .
Climate change has been linked to the more frequent occurrence of major hurricanes globally as well as the rising number of hurricanes in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winds , many of the most dangerous storms in recent years have brought tremendous amounts of rain – creating new threats to people and infrastructure far inland from the coast .

2 Hurricanes Could Form In Gulf Of Mexico Next Week — An Apparent First
Enlarge this image toggle caption National Weather Service National Weather Service
Updated on Aug. 23 at 4:30 a.m. ET
Two tropical systems — Marco and Laura — are heading toward the Gulf of Mexico, and both are expected to become hurricanes before they near the U.S. mainland early next week, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The current forecast sees both storms hitting the near Louisiana, with Marco arriving on Monday and Laura on Wednesday.
"If that were to occur, it would be first time on record that the Gulf of Mexico has had 2 hurricanes at the same time," meteorologist Philip Klotzbach says via Twitter. According to Kotzbach, Louisiana has recorded multiple hurricane landfalls in one calendar year only four times since 1851, with the shortest recorded time in between landfalls recorded at around 17 days in 1860.
"There are only a few times in recorded history where two tropical cyclones have shared the Gulf of Mexico," according to the Weather Prediction Center. "Flash (wayyy) back to 1933 to find a similar example," it added, referring to a time when a hurricane and a tropical storm coincided in the Gulf.
The two developing systems are currently hundreds of miles apart, but their paths are expected to parallel each other in the Gulf and even partially overlap. Their landfalls will likely be divided by hours, not days. But it's not yet certain whether both will hit the shore as hurricanes, or whether their paths might diverge.
Tropical Storm Laura, which strengthened into a named storm Friday morning, is near the eastern portion of the Dominican Republic. Marco is expected to be at or near hurricane strength when it approaches the central Gulf Coast as a hurricane on Monday.
Tropical Storm Laura is causing alerts in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Hispaniola, where it will drop heavy rain on its way toward Cuba and the Gulf.
"This rainfall could cause flash and urban flooding," the hurricane center says.
Laura is forecast to strengthen as it moves over the Gulf of Mexico, bringing a storm surge to portions of the U.S. Gulf Coast by the middle of next week.
Marco is a more immediate threat, and may become a hurricane within the next 24 hours. A hurricane watch is in effect from Intracoastal City, La., to the Mississippi/Alabama border. The area includes New Orleans.
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is already setting records with named storms forming at a pace never seen before. The latest estimates from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration call for nearly twice the normal number of named storms in 2020.
Climate change has been linked to the more frequent occurrence of major hurricanes globally as well as the rising number of hurricanes in the Atlantic. In addition to strong winds, many of the most dangerous storms in recent years have brought tremendous amounts of rain – creating new threats to people and infrastructure far inland from the coast.


npr--2020-08-21--Lori Loughlin And Mossimo Giannulli Receive Prison Sentences For Admissions Scheme

Two of the most prominent figures in the college admissions scheme that the Justice Department uncovered last year are headed to prison .
Lori Loughlin , the actress best known as Aunt Becky on Full House , will serve two months in prison .
Her husband , fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli , was sentenced on Friday to five months .
`` I am truly and profoundly and deeply sorry , '' Loughlin said , choking up as she apologized to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton , Reuters reported .
They pleaded guilty in May to fraud charges related to their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the University of Southern California as rowing recruits despite not practicing the sport .
The U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts announced the sentences on Twitter .
Both sentences followed the terms of plea agreements between federal prosecutors and attorneys for the defendants .
Giannulli must also serve two years of supervised release following his sentence , complete 250 hours of community service and pay a fine of $ 250,000 .
Loughlin must serve two years of supervised release , pay a $ 150,000 fine and complete 100 hours of community service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that my actions have caused my daughters , my wife and others , '' Giannulli said in a short statement during the hearing , according to The Associated Press .
`` I take full responsibility for my conduct .
I am ready to accept the consequences and move forward with the lessons I 've learned from this experience , '' he added .
At the sentencing , Gorton chastised Giannulli for taking part in the admissions scheme .
`` You were not stealing bread to feed your family , '' Gorton said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have no excuse for your crime and that makes it all the more blameworthy . ''
The wire service reported that Giannulli was ordered to surrender on Nov. 19 .
The couple entered plea agreements with the U.S. attorney 's office in May .
For her part , Loughlin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud .
Her husband pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud .
They were the 23rd and 24th parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to federal officials .
Loughlin became the face of the admissions scandal , in part because of her celebrity , and also because unlike other parents accused in the elaborate scheme , she and Giannulli long maintained their innocence .
In April 2019 , the couple pleaded not guilty in federal court after being accused of paying a bribe worth $ 500,000 in exchange for securing their daughters ' admission into USC .
The bribes were paid to William `` Rick '' Singer , the mastermind of the wide-ranging enterprise , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parents hoping to shirk the traditional admissions process to get their children accepted to prestigious schools .
Singer is awaiting sentencing .
He has pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy , money laundering conspiracy , conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice — and now faces a prison sentence of more than 50 years .
However , Justice Department officials said he is cooperating with the government 's investigation , and they have recommended a prison sentence at the lower end of the sentencing guideline range .
In all , 55 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the admissions scheme , which federal officials first announced in March 2019 in Boston .
The Justice Department framed the venture as a multimillion-dollar scheme to cheat college admissions standards .
In addition to creating sham athletic profiles , the scheme included `` bribing SAT and ACT exam administrators to allow a test taker ... to secretly take college entrance exams in place of students or to correct the students ' answers after they had taken the exam . ''
The scam has also swept up a number of collegiate coaches .
Former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in May 2019 to a racketeering conspiracy charge related to the scandal , including $ 130,000 in illegal payouts .
Like Loughlin and Giannulli , she had previously said she did not take part in the scheme .
As NPR reported , Janke helped create a number of bogus sports profiles , including ones for Loughlin and Giannulli 's daughters , Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose .
Another well-known actress , Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives fame , was also convicted in the scheme .
She was handed a 14-day prison sentence in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exchange for having one of her children 's SAT scores boosted .

Lori Loughlin And Mossimo Giannulli Receive Prison Sentences For Admissions Scheme
Enlarge this image toggle caption Steven Senne/AP Steven Senne/AP
Updated at 3:26 p.m. ET
Two of the most prominent figures in the college admissions scheme that the Justice Department uncovered last year are headed to prison.
Lori Loughlin, the actress best known as Aunt Becky on Full House, will serve two months in prison. Her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, was sentenced on Friday to five months.
"I am truly and profoundly and deeply sorry," Loughlin said, choking up as she apologized to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton, Reuters reported.
They pleaded guilty in May to fraud charges related to their efforts to have their daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as rowing recruits despite not practicing the sport.
The U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts announced the sentences on Twitter. Both sentences followed the terms of plea agreements between federal prosecutors and attorneys for the defendants.
Giannulli must also serve two years of supervised release following his sentence, complete 250 hours of community service and pay a fine of $250,000. Loughlin must serve two years of supervised release, pay a $150,000 fine and complete 100 hours of community service.
"I deeply regret the harm that my actions have caused my daughters, my wife and others," Giannulli said in a short statement during the hearing, according to The Associated Press.
"I take full responsibility for my conduct. I am ready to accept the consequences and move forward with the lessons I've learned from this experience," he added.
At the sentencing, Gorton chastised Giannulli for taking part in the admissions scheme.
"You were not stealing bread to feed your family," Gorton said, according to the AP. "You have no excuse for your crime and that makes it all the more blameworthy."
The wire service reported that Giannulli was ordered to surrender on Nov. 19.
The couple entered plea agreements with the U.S. attorney's office in May. For her part, Loughlin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.
Her husband pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and honest services wire and mail fraud.
They were the 23rd and 24th parents to plead guilty in the case, according to federal officials.
Loughlin became the face of the admissions scandal, in part because of her celebrity, and also because unlike other parents accused in the elaborate scheme, she and Giannulli long maintained their innocence.
In April 2019, the couple pleaded not guilty in federal court after being accused of paying a bribe worth $500,000 in exchange for securing their daughters' admission into USC.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Steven Senne/AP Steven Senne/AP
The bribes were paid to William "Rick" Singer, the mastermind of the wide-ranging enterprise, which included creating bogus sports profiles for well-off parents hoping to shirk the traditional admissions process to get their children accepted to prestigious schools.
Singer is awaiting sentencing. He has pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice — and now faces a prison sentence of more than 50 years. However, Justice Department officials said he is cooperating with the government's investigation, and they have recommended a prison sentence at the lower end of the sentencing guideline range.
In all, 55 people have been charged in connection with the admissions scheme, which federal officials first announced in March 2019 in Boston.
The Justice Department framed the venture as a multimillion-dollar scheme to cheat college admissions standards.
In addition to creating sham athletic profiles, the scheme included "bribing SAT and ACT exam administrators to allow a test taker ... to secretly take college entrance exams in place of students or to correct the students' answers after they had taken the exam."
The scam has also swept up a number of collegiate coaches.
Former USC soccer coach Laura Janke pleaded guilty in May 2019 to a racketeering conspiracy charge related to the scandal, including $130,000 in illegal payouts. Like Loughlin and Giannulli, she had previously said she did not take part in the scheme.
As NPR reported, Janke helped create a number of bogus sports profiles, including ones for Loughlin and Giannulli's daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose.
Another well-known actress, Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives fame, was also convicted in the scheme. She was handed a 14-day prison sentence in September for paying thousands of dollars in exchange for having one of her children's SAT scores boosted.


npr--2020-08-21--PHOTOS: Why The Philippines Has So Many Teen Moms

PHOTOS : Why The Philippines Has So Many Teen Moms Editor 's note : Hannah Reyes Morales has been photographing teen moms since 2017 .
Aurora Almendral began reporting this story in October 2019 .
At 12 years old , Joan Garcia liked leaping into the sea and racing the boys to the nearest pylon .
She liked playing tag .
When she started having sex at 13 , she thought it was just another game .
Joan was skipping across the pavement , playing a game with friends , when an older neighbor noticed her rounding belly .
Her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year old .
Joan crouched on the floor , folding up her lanky teenage limbs and fed Angela fingers-full of steamed rice , crimped strands of instant noodles and fermented anchovies from the family 's small communal bowl .
Joan , now 16 years old , said that since she became a mother , she 's embarrassed to play kids ' games , then paused for a moment .
`` Sometimes I still play tag in the water with my brothers , '' she admitted .
Each year , 1.2 million Filipina girls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a child .
That 's a rate of 24 babies per hour .
And the rate of teenage pregnancy is rising .
According to the most recent data , collected every 10 years , in 2002 , 6.3 percent of teenagers were pregnant ; by 2013 it had gone up to 13.6 percent .
Last August , the Philippines ' economic development agency declared the number of teenage pregnancies a `` national social emergency . ''
The pandemic has made the situation worse .
With Manila under a strict lockdown — including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public transportation and harshly enforced rules on not going out — access to birth control has been severely curtailed , particularly for teenagers , said Hope Basiao-Abella , adolescent reproductive health project coordinator for Likhaan , a nongovernmental organization that works on women 's health and access to contraception .
The University of the Philippines Population Institute is predicting a baby boom in 2021 — an estimated 751,000 additional unplanned pregnancies because of the conditions created by the pandemic .
The main reasons for the high rate of teenage pregnancies are inadequate sex @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that having sex can result in pregnancy or fully consider the responsibility of having children ) and a lack of access to birth control .
Contraceptive access has long been a complicated , divisive issue in the Philippines .
Despite a constitutional separation of church and state , Catholic morals dominate Philippine law .
For more than a decade , reproductive health activists and legislators fought a bitter battle with the Catholic Church and conservative politicians to pass a law that would allow the government to distribute contraceptives to those who could not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in public schools .
The Philippine Catholic church has long opposed birth control in the country where about 80 % of people are Catholics .
In the past , the Catholic Bishops Council of the Philippines preached — in public statements , on the pulpit and through allied lawmakers — against a bill to widen access to birth control on moral grounds , calling it `` anti-life '' and `` a major attack on authentic human values and on Filipino cultural values . ''
The Philippines passed a reproductive health bill into law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court challenges and delays in implementation continue to this day .
Among the concessions to conservatives was a provision requiring parental consent for minors to buy contraceptives or receive them for free .
`` It was one step back [ for ] adolescent health , '' said Dr. Juan Perez III , executive director for the Philippine Commission on Population and Development .
The law improved access to birth control for women , but it became harder for teenagers to get birth control .
To address the resulting uptick in adolescent pregnancies , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contraception , supporting sex education and making it illegal to expel girls from school should they become pregnant .
None have become law so far .
Perez said a teenage pregnancy has a significant impact on perpetuating poverty .
`` They can not recover from being a child mother , '' he said .
That was the finding of a 2016 study by the United Nations Population Fund .
By age 20 , a teenage girl in the Philippines who gets pregnant and drops out of school earns 87 percent of the average @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lower income continues further into adulthood .
Joan lives with 16 relatives on a small raft of bamboo poles and scavenged wood , tied to a broken cement pylon , bobbing behind a row of steel shipping vessels docked in Manila 's fish port — a patchwork of spaces no larger than two king-size mattresses .
Two of her sisters ' babies and a kitten nap on a pile of rumpled sheets against a particle board barrier to keep them from falling into the murky , gray water .
Like Joan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were young and left school before they graduated .
No woman close to her has ever had a good job .
Her mother occasionally finds a day of work cleaning mussels on the concrete floor of the fish port .
Her father brings in some money doing odd jobs at the port .
The family is often hungry and thirsty , and survives by begging sailors for food and water .
Joan ca n't imagine a different kind of life .
Yet the current government wants to see changes .
`` We made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a problem , '' said Perez .
The government now believes that the country 's birthrate of 2.92 births per woman — among the highest in Asia — is holding back economic development .
So after decades of policies that limited access to contraception informed by a Catholic ethos to procreate , government agencies are now acting with a new urgency to bring the birthrate down .
If households have fewer children , Perez said , it will improve the family members ' chances of getting out of the mire of poverty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Philippines — aimed at stemming population growth — are yet to have that impact .
And the people who suffer are the urban poor .
Sen. Risa Hontiveros knows the limits of the laws , the complexity of the issue and the danger of losing hope .
The work of improving access to birth control , Hontiveros said , `` were passed on to us by those who came before us , they struggled , and they fought .
They won some , and they lost probably more , but they passed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ started out with . ''
`` So the least we can do — the least I can do — is to keep fighting . ''
Joy Villanueva dropped out of high school when she got pregnant at 14 , in seventh grade .
Her boyfriend , four years older , wooed her with afternoons out , buying her fried quail eggs on a stick and paying for rounds on the karaoke machine at a local hangout .
He was tall and handsome , and she liked that he did chores around the house @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Soon she was living with him .
`` He really wanted a baby , '' Joy said , `` so no one else would court me . ''
For her boyfriend , getting Joy pregnant was a mark of ownership .
Joy resisted , but he persuaded her to have sex .
By the time she gave birth , he was in jail for theft , and she was raising the baby with help from his mother .
The day we met , the three of them were living together in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tarp supported by planks of wood — they had set it up after their slum had burned down a week before .
At 15 , Joy dreamed of finishing high school , going to college and becoming a police officer .
That was what her late father wanted for her when she was a little girl .
She said that any day now , she 'll move in with her mother , who will take care of the baby while she goes to class .
If Joy is able to complete her schooling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a big house made of concrete with air conditioning and glass windows .
She wants to have a nanny to take care of her kids so she can wake up every morning , check her uniform in the mirror and go to work .
For 20 minutes , she told me about her plans for the future .
But when I said a word of encouragement , Joy went silent , looked away and shook her head .
Hindi na , she said .
I ca n't anymore .
It was a game @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her arms .
At age 15 , no more than 4 1/2-feet-tall , she is just old enough to know what can no longer be real for her .
Joy confessed that her mother has disowned her .
So she ca n't go to live with her .
Her husband 's mother earns just enough to feed her and the baby .
There 's no money for notebooks or uniforms or college .
They 're trying to gather enough materials to build a shack so they do n't have to continue living under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ classified among the poor , a vast category that encompasses 20 percent of Filipinos .
Among teenage mothers of all income brackets , the poorest girls are the least likely to be able to finish their high school education after having their first child .
`` It 's only difficult , '' Joy said about motherhood .
`` There 's no happiness . ''
Maybe next month , she said , she 'll get birth control implants .
Likhaan 's clinic is a mile and a half down the road from where Joy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ health and fills the gap in services the government does not provide , like formal sex education , ready access to free contraception like IUDs and birth control implants .
Diane Vere , a community coordinator , leads workshops for teenagers from the surrounding slums .
The topic is sex .
Inevitably , when Vere turns to the page in the photo workbook that shows an array of penis sizes and shapes , the teenagers break into peals of laughter .
They cover their eyes and hide behind one another .
Vere fields @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than others ?
Why is that one crooked ?
She shows them an uncircumcised penis and tries to dispel the myth that a boy in this condition is dirty or incapable of impregnating women .
Before the reproductive health law , there was no formal sex education in the Philippines , and to this day , the rollout remains patchy , fraught and very limited .
Teenagers cobble together information based on what their parents ventured to tell them , sermons from priests and whispers from one another , often gleaned from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Was it true , the girls at the clinic class asked , that if you wash your face with a girl 's first menstruation , it prevents pimples ?
If a girl jumps from the third step of a ladder , would her period only last three days ?
Does masturbating make boys taller ?
Can you get pregnant if you have sex only once ?
While the teenagers were fascinated with the practicalities and hygiene of sex and puberty , they struggled to discuss the process of conception .
Bring up the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Vere said , and the teenagers would shut down or quickly change the subject .
Teachers often did not fare better .
Some teachers had to be excused from a recent training because they could n't control their laughter when frank discussions about sexual organs came up .
Every acceptable word in Tagalog to describe sex or private parts is a euphemism : peanut , flower , junior , eggplant .
Teachers complain that every proper noun in this category is too vulgar to say out loud .
With this combination of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ teaching sex , it is not surprising that 59 percent of Philippine educators said they had difficulty naming body parts , according to a 2018 survey by the United Nations Population Fund .
`` We ca n't even discuss it , '' said Hope Basiao-Abella of Likhaan .
In previous years , sex educators in schools preached abstinence , and anything beyond abstinence was limited to what the teachers knew .
Often it did n't extend beyond basic science and was heavily inflected with religious and personal beliefs .
Basiao-Abella said one teacher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because they killed sperm .
She said a pastor told congregants that condoms spread AIDS , a mistaken belief reiterated by a sitting senator as recently as 2017 .
`` For their information , the HIV virus is smaller than the pores of condoms which can only prevent pregnancy .
Scientifically proven , '' Sen. Vicente Sotto III erroneously stated during a public argument with another politician .
To address gaps in knowledge and uneven information , the Philippine education department is developing a comprehensive sexual education curriculum , which it had begun @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system before schools were closed by the pandemic lockdown .
Much like 2012 's reproductive health law , the process of developing the curriculum has been embattled .
`` There was a big fight about whether [ the curriculum ] could use the word 'condom ' , '' Basiao-Abella said .
`` We have to change centuries of religion and culture . ''
Sen. Risa Hontiveros believes progress is coming , even if it 's in fits and starts .
Hontiveros , who sponsored one of the bills to prevent adolescent pregnancy and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ battle for the law , said the Catholic hierarchy continues to oppose legislation counter to its teaching but with `` less of the stridency and less of the hostility than previously demonstrated . ''
The midwife who breaks the abortion law In one of Manila 's poor neighborhoods , a midwife prays to her saint , Ina ng Awa , the mother of pity or compassion .
The carved wood statue hanging on the wall of her home is oily and chipped from age .
A string of dried-out jasmine flowers hang from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other , the saint cradles a baby .
The midwife believes Ina ng Awa is the patron saint for the women who come to her asking for abortions .
In the Philippines , abortions are illegal in all cases .
Perhaps more powerfully , abortion is considered a sin .
The midwife understands all this yet will offer abortions .
She asked that her name not be used for fear of arrest or reprisal .
The women who come to her are too poor to raise another child or unwed and ashamed or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They still think like children . ''
The midwife , who has delivered more babies than she can count , believes abortions are wrong , but she pities the women .
For an abortion , she charges her clients on a sliding scale , usually 100 pesos , or about $ 2 .
If the woman has a bit more money , the midwife might charge $ 10 , but more often , women in her neighborhood are poor so she 'll accept a cigarette or a 10-cent cup of instant coffee as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ massaging a woman 's womb : a scooping motion to lift the uterus , then she grinds down with her fingers to crush the fetus , pressing into a woman 's belly until her hands start to cramp .
She gathers bitter melon leaves from her garden , which she steeps into an acrid tea and tells the woman to drink .
She says these methods usually will end a pregnancy .
If the woman was a few months pregnant , they bury the blood from the aborted fetus in the dirt .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ along , they put the fetus in a box and bury it like a child .
And before the midwife goes to bed , she asks Ina ng Awa for forgiveness .
One 16-year-old girl , who asked not to be named because of the stigma of abortion , took a handful of pills her mother bought from one of the illicit nighttime markets under the bridges and in the backlots of Manila .
Her mother was told it was Cytotec , the abortion pill .
When the girl started bleeding in clots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital .
She spent a week in the recovery ward , where she mostly slept and imagined herself `` flying in the sky , '' unable to think about what she had done .
But three months later , she was grateful .
Her boyfriend was her first love , until he started beating her .
He locked her in his house to keep her from running away and yanked her back in when she tried to escape .
Her mother had to rescue her .
`` He 's a demon , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the baby , she would never be rid of him .
Walking through her crowded slum , she passes small children playing on mounds of torn plastic stained with leachate , the black sludge that seeps from the neighborhood 's cottage industry of sorting through the city 's trash .
She points out to one girl and says she 's one of many people who have had an abortion .
But it 's the pregnant girls , thin and tilting back against the weight of their growing bellies , that brings her voice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be painful , she said .
She herself does n't want a family : `` I just want to work hard . ''
Ralyn Ramirez , 19 , had her daughter when she was 16 years old .
She and her boyfriend , John Michael Torre , 19 , looked at other girls holding babies and longed for their own .
`` I was jealous , and I thought I was ready , '' Ralyn said .
`` But it turns out I was n't . ''
She says she blames herself for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a baby so young .
`` Sometimes I cry just thinking about it , '' Ralyn said .
When other girls ask her if it 's wonderful to have a baby , she tells them `` no . ''
`` But they do n't listen .
Next time I see them , they 're already pregnant , '' Ralyn said .
Sitting at small sundries shop in Manila North Cemetery , where she lives ( as thousands of people do ) in one of the mausoleums , Ralyn chats with Margie , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In front of the shop , another young girl sits on a bench , her dress stretched over her belly .
Ralyn points out a teenager walking down the path and says she was a child mother , too .
Margie says she knows an even younger girl who gave birth when she was just 12 years old .
`` Child mothers are everywhere here , '' Ralyn said .
And in the end , she did n't listen to her own advice .
We spoke in November .
Her son was born @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what you think of this story .
Email goatsandsoda @ npr.org with your feedback , with the subject line `` Teen Moms . ''
Aurora Almendral is an American journalist based in Southeast Asia with an interest in politics , climate change , migration and economics .
Her work has been recognized with multiple awards , including from the Overseas Press Club of America and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award .
Hannah Reyes Morales is a Filipino photographer based in Manila .
She has been photographing teen moms since 2017 .

PHOTOS: Why The Philippines Has So Many Teen Moms
Enlarge this image toggle caption Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR
Editor's note: Hannah Reyes Morales has been photographing teen moms since 2017. Aurora Almendral began reporting this story in October 2019.
At 12 years old, Joan Garcia liked leaping into the sea and racing the boys to the nearest pylon. She liked playing tag. When she started having sex at 13, she thought it was just another game. Joan was skipping across the pavement, playing a game with friends, when an older neighbor noticed her rounding belly.
Her daughter, Angela, is now a year old. Joan crouched on the floor, folding up her lanky teenage limbs and fed Angela fingers-full of steamed rice, crimped strands of instant noodles and fermented anchovies from the family's small communal bowl.
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Joan, now 16 years old, said that since she became a mother, she's embarrassed to play kids' games, then paused for a moment. "Sometimes I still play tag in the water with my brothers," she admitted.
Over a 10-year period, 1.2 million Filipina girls between the ages of 10 and 19 have had a child. That's a rate of 24 babies per hour.
And the rate of teenage pregnancy is rising. According to the most recent data, collected every 10 years, in 2002, 6.3 percent of teenagers were pregnant; by 2013 it had gone up to 13.6 percent.
Last August, the Philippines' economic development agency declared the number of teenage pregnancies a "national social emergency."
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The pandemic has made the situation worse. With Manila under a strict lockdown — including limited access to medical facilities, no public transportation and harshly enforced rules on not going out — access to birth control has been severely curtailed, particularly for teenagers, said Hope Basiao-Abella, adolescent reproductive health project coordinator for Likhaan, a nongovernmental organization that works on women's health and access to contraception.
The University of the Philippines Population Institute is predicting a baby boom in 2021 — an estimated 751,000 additional unplanned pregnancies because of the conditions created by the pandemic.
Access to birth control
The main reasons for the high rate of teenage pregnancies are inadequate sex education (some girls do not know that having sex can result in pregnancy or fully consider the responsibility of having children) and a lack of access to birth control.
Contraceptive access has long been a complicated, divisive issue in the Philippines. Despite a constitutional separation of church and state, Catholic morals dominate Philippine law. For more than a decade, reproductive health activists and legislators fought a bitter battle with the Catholic Church and conservative politicians to pass a law that would allow the government to distribute contraceptives to those who could not afford them and require comprehensive sex education in public schools.
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The Philippine Catholic church has long opposed birth control in the country where about 80% of people are Catholics. In the past, the Catholic Bishops Council of the Philippines preached — in public statements, on the pulpit and through allied lawmakers — against a bill to widen access to birth control on moral grounds, calling it "anti-life" and "a major attack on authentic human values and on Filipino cultural values."
The Philippines passed a reproductive health bill into law in 2012. But years of Supreme Court challenges and delays in implementation continue to this day. Among the concessions to conservatives was a provision requiring parental consent for minors to buy contraceptives or receive them for free.
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"It was one step back [for] adolescent health," said Dr. Juan Perez III, executive director for the Philippine Commission on Population and Development. The law improved access to birth control for women, but it became harder for teenagers to get birth control.
To address the resulting uptick in adolescent pregnancies, lawmakers have introduced bills improving access to contraception, supporting sex education and making it illegal to expel girls from school should they become pregnant. None have become law so far.
Perez said a teenage pregnancy has a significant impact on perpetuating poverty. "They cannot recover from being a child mother," he said.
That was the finding of a 2016 study by the United Nations Population Fund. By age 20, a teenage girl in the Philippines who gets pregnant and drops out of school earns 87 percent of the average 20-year-old woman's pay. Perez said the lower income continues further into adulthood.
Life on a raft
Joan lives with 16 relatives on a small raft of bamboo poles and scavenged wood, tied to a broken cement pylon, bobbing behind a row of steel shipping vessels docked in Manila's fish port — a patchwork of spaces no larger than two king-size mattresses. Two of her sisters' babies and a kitten nap on a pile of rumpled sheets against a particle board barrier to keep them from falling into the murky, gray water.
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Like Joan, her older sisters had babies when they were young and left school before they graduated. No woman close to her has ever had a good job. Her mother occasionally finds a day of work cleaning mussels on the concrete floor of the fish port. Her father brings in some money doing odd jobs at the port. The family is often hungry and thirsty, and survives by begging sailors for food and water.
Joan can't imagine a different kind of life.
Yet the current government wants to see changes. "We made a decision in this country that population is a problem," said Perez. The government now believes that the country's birthrate of 2.92 births per woman — among the highest in Asia — is holding back economic development. So after decades of policies that limited access to contraception informed by a Catholic ethos to procreate, government agencies are now acting with a new urgency to bring the birthrate down.
If households have fewer children, Perez said, it will improve the family members' chances of getting out of the mire of poverty.
Yet the reproductive health laws in the Philippines — aimed at stemming population growth — are yet to have that impact. And the people who suffer are the urban poor. Sen. Risa Hontiveros knows the limits of the laws, the complexity of the issue and the danger of losing hope.
The work of improving access to birth control, Hontiveros said, "were passed on to us by those who came before us, they struggled, and they fought. They won some, and they lost probably more, but they passed on to us better situations that they started out with."
"So the least we can do — the least I can do — is to keep fighting."
Joy: 'He really wanted a baby'
Joy Villanueva dropped out of high school when she got pregnant at 14, in seventh grade. Her boyfriend, four years older, wooed her with afternoons out, buying her fried quail eggs on a stick and paying for rounds on the karaoke machine at a local hangout.
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He was tall and handsome, and she liked that he did chores around the house and washed the dishes for his mother. Soon she was living with him. "He really wanted a baby," Joy said, "so no one else would court me."
For her boyfriend, getting Joy pregnant was a mark of ownership. Joy resisted, but he persuaded her to have sex. By the time she gave birth, he was in jail for theft, and she was raising the baby with help from his mother. The day we met, the three of them were living together in a makeshift home of little more than a tarp supported by planks of wood — they had set it up after their slum had burned down a week before.
At 15, Joy dreamed of finishing high school, going to college and becoming a police officer. That was what her late father wanted for her when she was a little girl. She said that any day now, she'll move in with her mother, who will take care of the baby while she goes to class.
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If Joy is able to complete her schooling, she said she wants to own a big house made of concrete with air conditioning and glass windows. She wants to have a nanny to take care of her kids so she can wake up every morning, check her uniform in the mirror and go to work.
For 20 minutes, she told me about her plans for the future. But when I said a word of encouragement, Joy went silent, looked away and shook her head. Hindi na, she said. I can't anymore. It was a game of pretend. She shifted Ashley in her arms. At age 15, no more than 4 1/2-feet-tall, she is just old enough to know what can no longer be real for her.
Joy confessed that her mother has disowned her. So she can't go to live with her. Her husband's mother earns just enough to feed her and the baby. There's no money for notebooks or uniforms or college. They're trying to gather enough materials to build a shack so they don't have to continue living under a tarp.
Girls like Joy are classified among the poor, a vast category that encompasses 20 percent of Filipinos. Among teenage mothers of all income brackets, the poorest girls are the least likely to be able to finish their high school education after having their first child.
"It's only difficult," Joy said about motherhood. "There's no happiness." Maybe next month, she said, she'll get birth control implants.
Sisters In Motherhood Hide caption Sisters Rose Ann, age 15, (right) and Ros Jane, age 17, hold their babies in the neighborhood where they live in Manila. Previous Next Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR
Hide caption The girls are very close and rely on each other for support, raising their children as if they're siblings. Ros Jane is protective of her younger sister and worries she is not mature enough to take on the responsibilities of parenthood. Previous Next Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR
Hide caption Sisters and teen moms Rose Ann (center) and Ros Jane (left) are seen in the canteen where their mother works as a cook in Manila. Ros Jane had just asked her mother for money to buy medicine for her son. Previous Next Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR
Hide caption Ros Jane and her son in the room she shares with her sister and her child. While their situation is bleak, the sisters support each other, creating an ad-hoc safety net to face the challenges of teen motherhood. Previous Next Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR
Hide caption Rose Ann in her mother's home with her baby. She gave birth a few days after turning 15. Previous Next Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR
Hide caption Rose Ann, who has a young son, hangs out outside her home. Previous Next Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR
Hide caption Ros Jane walks with her child by the railway near her home in Manila. She became pregnant at age 16. Previous Next Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR 1 of 7 i View slideshow
Laughter in sex ed
Likhaan's clinic is a mile and a half down the road from where Joy lives. The organization advocates for reproductive health and fills the gap in services the government does not provide, like formal sex education, ready access to free contraception like IUDs and birth control implants.
Diane Vere, a community coordinator, leads workshops for teenagers from the surrounding slums. The topic is sex.
Inevitably, when Vere turns to the page in the photo workbook that shows an array of penis sizes and shapes, the teenagers break into peals of laughter. They cover their eyes and hide behind one another. Vere fields their questions: Why are some bigger than others? Why is that one crooked?
She shows them an uncircumcised penis and tries to dispel the myth that a boy in this condition is dirty or incapable of impregnating women.
Before the reproductive health law, there was no formal sex education in the Philippines, and to this day, the rollout remains patchy, fraught and very limited. Teenagers cobble together information based on what their parents ventured to tell them, sermons from priests and whispers from one another, often gleaned from the Internet or old wives' tales.
Was it true, the girls at the clinic class asked, that if you wash your face with a girl's first menstruation, it prevents pimples? If a girl jumps from the third step of a ladder, would her period only last three days? Does masturbating make boys taller? Can you get pregnant if you have sex only once?
While the teenagers were fascinated with the practicalities and hygiene of sex and puberty, they struggled to discuss the process of conception. Bring up the difficulties and cost of raising a child, Vere said, and the teenagers would shut down or quickly change the subject.
Teachers often did not fare better. Some teachers had to be excused from a recent training because they couldn't control their laughter when frank discussions about sexual organs came up. Every acceptable word in Tagalog to describe sex or private parts is a euphemism: peanut, flower, junior, eggplant. Teachers complain that every proper noun in this category is too vulgar to say out loud. With this combination of discomfort and lack of formal training on teaching sex, it is not surprising that 59 percent of Philippine educators said they had difficulty naming body parts, according to a 2018 survey by the United Nations Population Fund.
"We can't even discuss it," said Hope Basiao-Abella of Likhaan.
In previous years, sex educators in schools preached abstinence, and anything beyond abstinence was limited to what the teachers knew. Often it didn't extend beyond basic science and was heavily inflected with religious and personal beliefs. Basiao-Abella said one teacher told her students that condoms were murderers because they killed sperm.
She said a pastor told congregants that condoms spread AIDS, a mistaken belief reiterated by a sitting senator as recently as 2017. "For their information, the HIV virus is smaller than the pores of condoms which can only prevent pregnancy. Scientifically proven," Sen. Vicente Sotto III erroneously stated during a public argument with another politician.
To address gaps in knowledge and uneven information, the Philippine education department is developing a comprehensive sexual education curriculum, which it had begun to roll out in the public school system before schools were closed by the pandemic lockdown.
Much like 2012's reproductive health law, the process of developing the curriculum has been embattled.
"There was a big fight about whether [the curriculum] could use the word 'condom'," Basiao-Abella said. "We have to change centuries of religion and culture."
Sen. Risa Hontiveros believes progress is coming, even if it's in fits and starts. Hontiveros, who sponsored one of the bills to prevent adolescent pregnancy and was at the forefront of the decadelong battle for the law, said the Catholic hierarchy continues to oppose legislation counter to its teaching but with "less of the stridency and less of the hostility than previously demonstrated."
The midwife who breaks the abortion law
In one of Manila's poor neighborhoods, a midwife prays to her saint, Ina ng Awa, the mother of pity or compassion. The carved wood statue hanging on the wall of her home is oily and chipped from age. A string of dried-out jasmine flowers hang from one outstretched hand, and on the other, the saint cradles a baby. The midwife believes Ina ng Awa is the patron saint for the women who come to her asking for abortions.
In the Philippines, abortions are illegal in all cases. Perhaps more powerfully, abortion is considered a sin. The midwife understands all this yet will offer abortions. She asked that her name not be used for fear of arrest or reprisal.
The women who come to her are too poor to raise another child or unwed and ashamed or so young, she said. "They still think like children." The midwife, who has delivered more babies than she can count, believes abortions are wrong, but she pities the women.
For an abortion, she charges her clients on a sliding scale, usually 100 pesos, or about $2. If the woman has a bit more money, the midwife might charge $10, but more often, women in her neighborhood are poor so she'll accept a cigarette or a 10-cent cup of instant coffee as payment.
She demonstrates her technique for massaging a woman's womb: a scooping motion to lift the uterus, then she grinds down with her fingers to crush the fetus, pressing into a woman's belly until her hands start to cramp. She gathers bitter melon leaves from her garden, which she steeps into an acrid tea and tells the woman to drink. She says these methods usually will end a pregnancy.
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If the woman was a few months pregnant, they bury the blood from the aborted fetus in the dirt. If she was five or six months along, they put the fetus in a box and bury it like a child.
And before the midwife goes to bed, she asks Ina ng Awa for forgiveness.
One 16-year-old girl, who asked not to be named because of the stigma of abortion, took a handful of pills her mother bought from one of the illicit nighttime markets under the bridges and in the backlots of Manila. Her mother was told it was Cytotec, the abortion pill. When the girl started bleeding in clots, her mother rushed her to the hospital. She spent a week in the recovery ward, where she mostly slept and imagined herself "flying in the sky," unable to think about what she had done.
But three months later, she was grateful. Her boyfriend was her first love, until he started beating her. He locked her in his house to keep her from running away and yanked her back in when she tried to escape. Her mother had to rescue her. "He's a demon," the 16-year-old said. If she had the baby, she would never be rid of him.
Walking through her crowded slum, she passes small children playing on mounds of torn plastic stained with leachate, the black sludge that seeps from the neighborhood's cottage industry of sorting through the city's trash. She points out to one girl and says she's one of many people who have had an abortion. But it's the pregnant girls, thin and tilting back against the weight of their growing bellies, that brings her voice to a whisper. Their lives will be painful, she said.
She herself doesn't want a family: "I just want to work hard."
Blaming herself
Ralyn Ramirez, 19, had her daughter when she was 16 years old. She and her boyfriend, John Michael Torre, 19, looked at other girls holding babies and longed for their own. "I was jealous, and I thought I was ready," Ralyn said. "But it turns out I wasn't."
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She says she blames herself for not finishing high school and for having a baby so young. "Sometimes I cry just thinking about it," Ralyn said. When other girls ask her if it's wonderful to have a baby, she tells them "no."
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"But they don't listen. Next time I see them, they're already pregnant," Ralyn said.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR
Sitting at small sundries shop in Manila North Cemetery, where she lives (as thousands of people do) in one of the mausoleums, Ralyn chats with Margie, a 15-year-old who is seven months pregnant. In front of the shop, another young girl sits on a bench, her dress stretched over her belly. Ralyn points out a teenager walking down the path and says she was a child mother, too. Margie says she knows an even younger girl who gave birth when she was just 12 years old.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR Hannah Reyes Morales for NPR
"Child mothers are everywhere here," Ralyn said. And in the end, she didn't listen to her own advice. We spoke in November. Her son was born later that month.
Let us know what you think of this story. Email goatsandsoda@npr.org with your feedback, with the subject line "Teen Moms."
Aurora Almendral is an American journalist based in Southeast Asia with an interest in politics, climate change, migration and economics. Her work has been recognized with multiple awards, including from the Overseas Press Club of America and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award.
Hannah Reyes Morales is a Filipino photographer based in Manila. She has been photographing teen moms since 2017.
Hannah Reyes Morales


npr--2020-08-21--Navalny To Be Evacuated To Berlin Hospital, As Russian Officials Give Their OK

Navalny To Be Evacuated To Berlin Hospital , As Russian Officials Give Their OK Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny , in a coma from an apparent poisoning , will be evacuated from Siberia and taken to a hospital in Berlin , his spokeswoman and his physician say .
Dr. Anastasy Vasilyeva tweeted that she is in disbelief that the situation finally seems to be resolved , after doctors at Omsk Emergency Hospital No .
1 reversed their initial refusal to release Navalny for the trip to Germany .
The doctors had insisted his condition was too unstable for travel .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergency medical plane will soon take him to Berlin 's Charité hospital , according to spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh , who was traveling with the politician Thursday when he suddenly fell ill. She added that his departure is likely at least seven hours away .
The breakthrough came after Navalny 's wife , Yulia , sent a letter to the Kremlin Friday , formally asking to move one of President Vladimir Putin 's biggest critics from the Siberian hospital .
At the time , the special evacuation plane was already waiting to take the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Germany .
`` The patient is in stable condition , '' Anatoly Kalinichenko , a deputy chief physician at the Omsk hospital , said late Friday , according to Interfax .
He added , `` Having the request from relatives to allow him to be transported somewhere , we have at this point decided that we do not object to his transfer to another hospital , as will be indicated by his relatives . ''
Yarmysh and others in Navalny 's camp have accused doctors in Omsk of having no interest in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an attempt on his life .
A clearly frustrated Yulia Navalny spoke to the media outside the hospital earlier Friday , calling the situation `` outrageous '' and saying that it is `` clear authorities are trying to hide something from us .
We demand they let us take him to doctors we trust , '' according to a translation by journalist Oliver Carroll of The Independent .
German doctors in Omsk were allowed to visit the hospital on Friday , but Yulia Navalny was not permitted to speak to them in person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out of the facility and driven away .
Police and security officials blocked journalists and Navalny 's allies from approaching the vehicle .
Yarmysh posted a video from inside the hospital showing what she said were officers turning Yulia Navalny away when she went in search of the doctors .
Some of those men were in plainclothes ; others wore fatigues .
After the German doctors left , Yarmysh said via Twitter that despite the Russian doctors ' statements , they had determined Navalny could be safely transferred to Berlin via the specially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ departed from Nuremberg to pick up Navalny was organized by the Cinema for Peace foundation , '' The Moscow Times reports .
`` The German NGO had previously airlifted Pussy Riot activist Pyotr Verzilov to Germany after he suffered a suspected poisoning in 2018 . ''
On Friday , Alexander Murakhovsky , the chief physician at the Omsk hospital , said the staff has diagnosed Navalny with a metabolic disorder , linked to a drop in blood sugar .
`` This is really contradictory information because officials have told Navalny 's colleagues that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had been found and that it 's so poisonous that people around him have to wear protective suits , '' NPR 's Lucian Kim reports .
The diagnosis presents a paradox , said Vasilyeva , Navalny 's doctor who flew to Omsk on Thursday .
If Navalny is suffering from a blood sugar imbalance rather than exposure to a potentially lethal toxin , she said , why not allow him to be moved to Berlin 's Charité hospital ?
Accusing Murakhovsky of `` mean-spirited doublespeak , '' Vasilyeva said via Twitter that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and she offered her own explanation for the delay in approving his transfer .
`` If he 's been diagnosed with nothing more than a metabolic disorder , why not let Alexei go to Berlin ?
This is because they 're waiting for three days so that his system clears the poison and it becomes impossible to detect in Europe the presence of a toxic substance in his body , '' Vasilyeva said , according to a translation by the Interfax news agency .
Both Vasilyeva and Yarmysh posted images from inside the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who say conditions there are no worse than at the Charité clinic .
Their photos show battered walls and hallways , and conditions that look to be less than pristine .
Navalny 's aides and family say he was poisoned when he drank tea at an airport in Tomsk before taking off for Moscow on Thursday morning .
He lapsed into unconsciousness soon afterward , forcing an emergency landing in Omsk — and prompting widespread speculation that yet another Putin foe had been poisoned .
Navalny , 44 , is a powerful force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large online following that has grown despite scant coverage of him in state-approved media channels .
He rose to fame by investigating corruption and mobilizing against Putin 's regime — and he attempted to run against Putin in the 2018 presidential election but was barred from doing so .
This is the second time Navalny has possibly been poisoned .
The first instance came last summer , when he was hospitalized days after being jailed for calling for street protests .
A number of Kremlin foes have been poisoned or killed during Putin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ high-profile cases include the use of a Novichok nerve agent to poison former KGB spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the U.K .
But Navalny 's possible poisoning also brings to mind the targeted killing of Kremlin critic and former spy Alexander Litvinenko , who died after drinking tea that was laced with polonium-210 in a London hotel .

Navalny Being Treated In Germany For Suspected Poisoning After Departing Russia
Enlarge this image toggle caption Dimitar Dilkoff /AFP via Getty Images Dimitar Dilkoff /AFP via Getty Images
Updated Saturday at 10:16 a.m. ET
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in a coma from an apparent poisoning, has been flown to Berlin where doctors are now attending to him.
"The plane with Alexei flew to Berlin," his spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said in a tweet late Friday. "Many thanks to everyone for their support. The struggle for Alexei's life and health is just beginning, and there is still a lot to go through, but now at least the first step has been taken."
The 44-year-old politician is fighting for his life, on a respirator but in stable condition. Doctors will be running a series of diagnostic tests to determine whether he was poisoned. Navalny's supporters suspect that tea he drank in a Siberian airport was tampered with, noting that poisoning is a common tactic the Russian government has turned to in the past when dealing with critics.
It took a full day of wrangling between Navalny's team and doctors in Siberia to finally secure Navalny's release. The doctors in Siberia had insisted his condition was too unstable for travel, but Navalny's supporters suspect they were under orders to not allow him to travel until the poison was out of his system.
It's not the first time Russia has been suspected of holding on to dissidents until poison was no longer detectable. Something similar happened in 2018 to Pyotr Verzilov, a Russian dissident and former spokesman of the band Pussy Riot.
Verzilov spoke about the similarities during a press conference Friday.
"The similarities here are striking, not only in the medical condition, but also in the behavior of Russian law enforcement officials and doctors," he said. "I was completely sealed off in the intensive care unit and no analysis, no documents, no medic, no official medical statements were made during the first day, which were obviously extremely crucial to understanding what specific substance I was poisoned with and how it happened."
Verzilov was ultimately released a few days later and flown to Berlin, where doctors concluded he was likely poisoned.
The Russian government allowed Navalny to be flown out of the country after Navalny's wife, Yulia, sent a letter to the Kremlin Friday, formally asking to move one of President Vladimir Putin's biggest critics from the Siberian hospital. At the time, a special evacuation plane was already waiting to take the politician to be cared for by specialists in Germany.
"The patient is in stable condition," Anatoly Kalinichenko, a deputy chief physician at the Omsk hospital in Siberia, said late Friday, according to Interfax. He added, "Having the request from relatives to allow him to be transported somewhere, we have at this point decided that we do not object to his transfer to another hospital, as will be indicated by his relatives."
Russian medical officials said they would provide any information needed for German doctors to care for Navalny. "Doctors of BCMP-1, who treated Alexei Navalny, are ready to provide any assistance both to the relatives and doctors of the foreign clinic and provide any information or offer assistance," Siberian health officials said, according to state-run Russian news agency TASS.
Earlier Friday, Yarmysh and others in Navalny's camp had accused doctors in Omsk of having no interest in treating him, but in covering up an attempt on his life.
A clearly frustrated Yulia Navalny spoke to the media outside the hospital earlier Friday, calling the situation "outrageous" and saying that it is "clear authorities are trying to hide something from us. We demand they let us take him to doctors we trust," according to a translation by journalist Oliver Carroll of The Independent.
German doctors in Omsk were allowed to visit the hospital on Friday, but Yulia Navalny was not permitted to speak to them in person — witnesses say the doctors were whisked out of the facility and driven away. Police and security officials blocked journalists and Navalny's allies from approaching the vehicle.
Yarmysh posted a video from inside the hospital showing what she said were officers turning Yulia Navalny away when she went in search of the doctors. Some of those men were in plainclothes; others wore fatigues.
After the German doctors left, Yarmysh said via Twitter that despite the Russian doctors' statements, they had determined Navalny could be safely transferred to Berlin via the specially equipped plane.
On Friday, Alexander Murakhovsky, the chief physician at the Omsk hospital, said the staff has diagnosed Navalny with a metabolic disorder, linked to a drop in blood sugar.
"This is really contradictory information because officials have told Navalny's colleagues that, in fact, a toxic substance had been found and that it's so poisonous that people around him have to wear protective suits," NPR's Lucian Kim reports.
The diagnosis presents a paradox, said Anastasy Vasilyeva, Navalny's doctor who flew to Omsk on Thursday. If Navalny is suffering from a blood sugar imbalance rather than exposure to a potentially lethal toxin, she said, why not allow him to be moved to Berlin's Charité hospital?
Accusing Murakhovsky of "mean-spirited doublespeak," Vasilyeva said via Twitter that the metabolic disorder was caused by poison — and she offered her own explanation for the delay in approving his transfer.
"If he's been diagnosed with nothing more than a metabolic disorder, why not let Alexei go to Berlin? This is because they're waiting for three days so that his system clears the poison and it becomes impossible to detect in Europe the presence of a toxic substance in his body," Vasilyeva said, according to a translation by the Interfax news agency.
Both Vasilyeva and Yarmysh posted images from inside the Omsk hospital, seeking to counter officials who say conditions there are no worse than at the Charité clinic. Their photos show battered walls and hallways, and conditions that look to be less than pristine.
Navalny's aides and family say he was poisoned when he drank tea at an airport in Tomsk before taking off for Moscow on Thursday morning. He lapsed into unconsciousness soon afterward, forcing an emergency landing in Omsk — and prompting widespread speculation that yet another Putin foe had been poisoned.
Navalny is a powerful force for Russia's opposition, with a large online following that has grown despite scant coverage of him in state-approved media channels. He rose to fame by investigating corruption and mobilizing against Putin's regime — and he attempted to run against Putin in the 2018 presidential election but was barred from doing so.
This is the second time Navalny has possibly been poisoned. The first instance came last summer, when he was hospitalized days after being jailed for calling for street protests.
A number of Kremlin foes have been poisoned or killed during Putin's 20 years in power. Recent high-profile cases include the use of a Novichok nerve agent to poison former KGB spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the U.K. But Navalny's possible poisoning also brings to mind the targeted killing of Kremlin critic and former spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died after drinking tea that was laced with polonium-210 in a London hotel.
Rob Schmitz contributed to this report.


npr--2020-08-22--'No Hope': A Deadly Tent Fire In Jordan Leaves Syrian Refugee Farm Workers In Despair

'No Hope ' : A Deadly Tent Fire In Jordan Leaves Syrian Refugee Farm Workers In Despair Editor 's note : This story includes details some readers may find disturbing .
Ftaim al-Saleh 's young nieces and nephews play in the dirt near her family 's new tent on the road to Amman 's international airport .
Her own youngest children are buried up the road — four of them laid out in graves on a small , rocky hilltop cemetery overlooking the highway .
The children died in a fire early one morning in June , while she and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they work as farm laborers .
Saleh , 35 , and her husband are among the thousands of Syrian refugees the International Labor Organization says make up about 70 % of Jordan 's farm workers — planting and picking vegetables and the strawberries that have recently become popular among middle-class Jordanians .
The strawberry fields where the Salehs worked on the day their children died are on the outskirts of Amman .
Thousands of shoppers come and go to the giant Ikea store overlooking the fields .
But unlike the Syrian refugees in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impoverished urban neighborhoods , refugee farm workers are mostly unseen .
The U.N .
Refugee Agency says it does n't have figures for how many Syrian refugees like the Salehs live in what aid organizations call `` informal tent settlements '' in Jordan .
There are roughly 800,000 registered Syrian refugees in Jordan .
The Saleh family came to Jordan with their three eldest children eight years ago .
They arrived from the Syrian countryside , where they owned their own land , growing potatoes , onions , cucumbers and wheat .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ near Hamma , they crossed into Jordan for safety along with uncles , aunts and cousins .
`` We were running for our lives , '' says Ftaim 's husband Mohammad al-Saleh , 43 , a lean man wearing a tan-colored robe .
`` We thought we would just stay here for a while because it was a safe place for the children and then go back . ''
There were no refugee camps when they arrived , and he says they were used to living in the countryside .
So they found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 1.40 an hour , less than Jordan 's minimum wage .
Three more children were born in Jordan .
All perished in the fire , along with an older brother .
Ftaim , dressed in a traditional embroidered blue robe with a black scarf covering her hair , cries softly as her husband talks about the children they lost .
`` Talal was 10 , '' Mohammad says , pointing out the boys in a photo on his phone .
`` Abdul Razaq was seven .
Then there was Faris , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He was seven or eight months . ''
The couple 's two eldest children , a 12-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy , were not in the tent when the fire broke out .
After the fire , the Salehs and about 35 of their relatives moved a few miles away .
Relatives and friends took up a collection to buy Ftaim and Mohammad a spacious new tent — one with filmy , white fabric with a black embroidered pattern inside and a new carpet on the floor .
Apart from a few mats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is completely empty .
In the refugee encampments , families typically run electricity lines from the farms where they work — just enough to power light bulbs and aging air coolers that rattle in the 120-degree summers .
On that morning in June , the Salehs had left for work in the strawberry fields , leaving their four youngest children sleeping when an electricity short started the fire .
`` They came and told me , 'Your children are dead — burned in a fire ' , '' says Mohammad .
`` When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the tent was burned to the ground .
The children were completely burned — each one lying in a different place .
Then the ambulance came and took them away . ''
The tent , made mostly of plastic , burned in minutes .
`` It happened in the blink of an eye , '' says Mohammad 's cousin Saleh Mohammad al-Saleh .
`` We were living next door and our own tent caught fire .
Thank God we woke up in time and escaped with our kids . ''
His own @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The families would like to move back as well , but do n't have the money even to begin rebuilding their destroyed homes .
With the small amount they make working in the fields going for food or to pay off debts from medical bills , they can never get ahead .
And Mohammed says these days , because of the coronavirus pandemic and Jordan 's economic downturn , there 's hardly any work .
`` The markets themselves are dead — no one is buying or selling , '' he says .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I see they eat some of the crop and throw the rest away .
If it does n't sell in the market , how are they going to employ workers ? ''
UNICEF provides latrines and occasional cash for the refugee families working on the farms .
When schools are open , it sends minibuses to the farms to take children to class and discourage them from working in the fields .
The agency says it will install circuit breakers in the tent communities to prevent more fires .
Madleen , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been trying to keep up with her lessons , which have been sent during the pandemic to her father 's mobile phone .
She says she is hoping in-person classes will start again in the fall .
Near their new home , children chase each other through the dirt , around plastic canisters that previously contained fertilizer and now hold water .
The blue cans are marked `` nitric acid , '' with a symbol warning of poison and explosives .
The tattered white edge of plastic sheeting rustles in the hot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grass nearby .
Parents say they 're afraid to leave babies on the tent floor because of scorpions and snakes .
Even before the tragedy that killed his children , Mohammad says it was n't a life .
`` There 's no future here , whether you have children or not , '' he says .
`` There 's no hope of anything .
You go to work you come back and think about what you 're going to eat , how you 're going to sleep .
When you 're outside your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's like . ''
He says the accident was God 's will .
`` What can we do ? ''
he says .
`` We are n't the first people or the last people to suffer this . ''

'No Hope': A Deadly Tent Fire In Jordan Leaves Syrian Refugee Farmworkers In Despair
toggle caption Jane Arraf/NPR
Editor's note: This story includes details some readers may find disturbing.
Ftaim al-Saleh's young nieces and nephews play in the dirt near her family's new tent on the road to Amman's international airport. Her own youngest children are buried up the road — four of them laid out in graves on a small, rocky hilltop cemetery overlooking the highway.
The children died in a fire early one morning in June, while she and her husband were in the fields where they work as farm laborers.
Saleh, 35, and her husband are among the thousands of Syrian refugees the International Labor Organization says make up about 70% of Jordan's farmworkers — planting and picking vegetables and the strawberries that have recently become popular among middle-class Jordanians.
The strawberry fields where the Salehs worked on the day their children died are on the outskirts of Amman. Thousands of shoppers come and go to the giant Ikea store overlooking the fields. But unlike the Syrian refugees in Jordan's sprawling camps or crowded into impoverished urban neighborhoods, refugee farmworkers are mostly unseen.
The U.N. Refugee Agency says it doesn't have figures for how many Syrian refugees like the Salehs live in what aid organizations call "informal tent settlements" in Jordan. There are roughly 800,000 registered Syrian refugees in Jordan.
The Saleh family came to Jordan with their three eldest children eight years ago. They arrived from the Syrian countryside, where they owned their own land, growing potatoes, onions, cucumbers and wheat. When airstrikes destroyed their home in a village near Hamma, they crossed into Jordan for safety along with uncles, aunts and cousins.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jane Arraf/NPR Jane Arraf/NPR
"We were running for our lives," says Ftaim's husband Mohammad al-Saleh, 43, a lean man wearing a tan-colored robe. "We thought we would just stay here for a while because it was a safe place for the children and then go back."
There were no refugee camps when they arrived, and he says they were used to living in the countryside. So they found work on the farms, making about $1.40 an hour, less than Jordan's minimum wage.
Three more children were born in Jordan. All perished in the fire, along with an older brother.
Ftaim, dressed in a traditional embroidered blue robe with a black scarf covering her hair, cries softly as her husband talks about the children they lost.
"Talal was 10," Mohammad says, pointing out the boys in a photo on his phone. "Abdul Razaq was seven. Then there was Faris, who was two, and then Amjad. He was seven or eight months."
The couple's two eldest children, a 12-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy, were not in the tent when the fire broke out.
After the fire, the Salehs and about 35 of their relatives moved a few miles away. Relatives and friends took up a collection to buy Ftaim and Mohammad a spacious new tent — one with filmy, white fabric with a black embroidered pattern inside and a new carpet on the floor. Apart from a few mats and pillows on the floor, it is completely empty.
In the refugee encampments, families typically run electricity lines from the farms where they work — just enough to power light bulbs and aging air coolers that rattle in the 120-degree summers. On that morning in June, the Salehs had left for work in the strawberry fields, leaving their four youngest children sleeping when an electricity short started the fire.
"They came and told me, 'Your children are dead — burned in a fire'," says Mohammad. "When I arrived, the fire was out and the tent was burned to the ground. The children were completely burned — each one lying in a different place. Then the ambulance came and took them away."
toggle caption Shereen Nanish for NPR
The tent, made mostly of plastic, burned in minutes.
"It happened in the blink of an eye," says Mohammad's cousin Saleh Mohammad al-Saleh. "We were living next door and our own tent caught fire. Thank God we woke up in time and escaped with our kids."
His own father recently moved back to Syria. The families would like to move back as well, but don't have the money even to begin rebuilding their destroyed homes. With the small amount they make working in the fields going for food or to pay off debts from medical bills, they can never get ahead.
And Mohammed says these days, because of the coronavirus pandemic and Jordan's economic downturn, there's hardly any work.
"The markets themselves are dead — no one is buying or selling," he says. "People started planting a month ago. I see they eat some of the crop and throw the rest away. If it doesn't sell in the market, how are they going to employ workers?"
UNICEF provides latrines and occasional cash for the refugee families working on the farms. When schools are open, it sends minibuses to the farms to take children to class and discourage them from working in the fields. The agency says it will install circuit breakers in the tent communities to prevent more fires.
toggle caption Jane Arraf/NPR
Madleen, the Salehs' 12-year-old daughter, says she has been trying to keep up with her lessons, which have been sent during the pandemic to her father's mobile phone. She says she is hoping in-person classes will start again in the fall.
Near their new home, children chase each other through the dirt, around plastic canisters that previously contained fertilizer and now hold water. The blue cans are marked "nitric acid," with a symbol warning of poison and explosives.
The tattered white edge of plastic sheeting rustles in the hot wind blowing through the fields of yellowing grass nearby. Parents say they're afraid to leave babies on the tent floor because of scorpions and snakes.
Even before the tragedy that killed his children, Mohammad says it wasn't a life.
"There's no future here, whether you have children or not," he says. "There's no hope of anything. You go to work you come back and think about what you're going to eat, how you're going to sleep. When you're outside your own country, that's what it's like."
He says the accident was God's will.
"What can we do?" he says. "We aren't the first people or the last people to suffer this."


npr--2020-08-22--Making The Best Of Virtual Learning: Some Advice From The Founder Of Khan Academy

Making The Best Of Virtual Learning : Some Advice From The Founder Of Khan Academy Sal Khan , the founder and CEO of Khan Academy , built an education enterprise on virtual learning .
But as many communities across the country prepare to start the fall with online-only instruction , even he admits that distance learning is a less than perfect substitute for in-person schooling .
The former hedge fund analyst first hatched the idea for Khan Academy as a way to tutor his younger cousins in math .
Since its launch in 2008 , the site has been providing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it serves more than 100 million users worldwide .
`` I 'll be the first to say that for most students , distance learning ca n't replace a great in-person experience , '' wrote Khan in a New York Times op-ed earlier this month .
`` Pure distance-learning is suboptimal , but we have to do it out of necessity because of the pandemic . ''
The problem , Khan says , is that with virtual learning , students are missing out on the vital social and emotional benefits that come from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Khan presses the importance of placing one-on-one interaction at the center of virtual lessons .
`` Everything should be about pulling kids out of the screen , '' Khan says in an interview with NPR 's Weekend Edition Saturday .
To him , that means sending students into breakout rooms on Zoom to help foster collaboration , or calling on students who do n't have their hands raised .
`` For a lot of kids , this might actually be the main way they get connected to their friends because everything in their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Some teachers have opted to record YouTube-style tutorials to share with their students .
Khan wants educators to steer away from these rigid lesson plan formats .
A teacher leading a class of 30 students `` is n't the most engaging way to run a physical classroom , '' he says .
That can ring especially true in a virtual environment .
Instead of leading dozens of students for an hour , for example , he suggests teaching three groups of 10 students for 20 minutes each .
`` It 's that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's going to make all the difference this coming year , '' says Khan .
The idea is one that Khan has tried to integrate into his own platform .
`` Over the last decade or so , most of our resources have actually been around practice and feedback and tools for teachers and ways for kids to progress at their own time and pace and get as much as they need , '' Khan says .
One of the best things a teacher can do , he says , is to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look like smaller , more informal sessions through Google Meet or Zoom .
In a moment full of imperfect conditions , Khan warns teachers against striving toward perfection .
`` There 's plenty of opportunities to try new things , and if you fail , fail forward , '' he says .
`` Learn from it , tell your friends what worked and what did n't work , and then try a new iteration . ''
NPR 's Hiba Ahmad and Martha Ann Overland produced and edited this interview for broadcast .

Making The Best Of Virtual Learning: Some Advice From The Founder Of Khan Academy
Enlarge this image toggle caption Rachel Murray/Getty Images for The LA Promise Rachel Murray/Getty Images for The LA Promise
Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, built an education enterprise on virtual learning. But as many communities across the country prepare to start the fall with online-only instruction, even he admits that distance learning is a less than perfect substitute for in-person schooling.
The former hedge fund analyst first hatched the idea for Khan Academy as a way to tutor his younger cousins in math. Since its launch in 2008, the site has been providing free video tutorials and lectures. Today, it serves more than 100 million users worldwide.
"I'll be the first to say that for most students, distance learning can't replace a great in-person experience," wrote Khan in a New York Times op-ed earlier this month. "Pure distance-learning is suboptimal, but we have to do it out of necessity because of the pandemic."
The problem, Khan says, is that with virtual learning, students are missing out on the vital social and emotional benefits that come from in-person classes.
For that reason, Khan presses the importance of placing one-on-one interaction at the center of virtual lessons.
"Everything should be about pulling kids out of the screen," Khan says in an interview with NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday.
To him, that means sending students into breakout rooms on Zoom to help foster collaboration, or calling on students who don't have their hands raised.
"For a lot of kids, this might actually be the main way they get connected to their friends because everything in their life is distanced," he says.
Some teachers have opted to record YouTube-style tutorials to share with their students. Khan wants educators to steer away from these rigid lesson plan formats.
A teacher leading a class of 30 students "isn't the most engaging way to run a physical classroom," he says. That can ring especially true in a virtual environment.
Instead of leading dozens of students for an hour, for example, he suggests teaching three groups of 10 students for 20 minutes each. "It's that more human, more intimate interaction that's going to make all the difference this coming year," says Khan.
The idea is one that Khan has tried to integrate into his own platform.
"Over the last decade or so, most of our resources have actually been around practice and feedback and tools for teachers and ways for kids to progress at their own time and pace and get as much as they need," Khan says.
One of the best things a teacher can do, he says, is to make themselves available to students. That might look like smaller, more informal sessions through Google Meet or Zoom.
In a moment full of imperfect conditions, Khan warns teachers against striving toward perfection.
"There's plenty of opportunities to try new things, and if you fail, fail forward," he says. "Learn from it, tell your friends what worked and what didn't work, and then try a new iteration."
NPR's Hiba Ahmad and Martha Ann Overland produced and edited this interview for broadcast.


npr--2020-08-22--California Battalion Chief On The Challenge Of Fighting Wildfires During A Heat Wave

California Battalion Chief On The Challenge Of Fighting Wildfires During A Heat Wave California will be under a state of emergency this weekend , as more than 300 fires rage across the state .
At least five people have died , and as of Friday morning , nearly 600,000 acres were burning in the eight largest fire complexes in the state .
This all comes as the state is confronting a record-breaking heat wave .
In Death Valley , temperatures reached a scorching 130 degrees earlier this week .
Approximately 12,00 firefighters have been battling the blazes , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lemelin , the Sonoma County Fire District Battalion Chief .
`` It 's challenging , '' he told NPR 's Weekend Edition .
`` Usually you do n't know that you 're dehydrated until it 's too late , so you 've got to constantly be drinking fluids and it 's hard to do the mission that we 're called to do during these times that unfortunately we 've been faced with in Sonoma County — in particular over the past three years .
They say it 's the new norm , right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ LNU Lightning Complex Fire has burned through more than 219,000 acres .
As of Friday morning , the blaze was just 7 % contained , according to Cal Fire .
Four people have died in the LNU fire , four more have been injured and hundreds of structures have been destroyed or damaged .
`` It 's just the volume of fires and how many fires are going on at the same time throughout the state that just taxes the resources , '' Lemelin said .
The state has asked for the support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only 45 have shown up , Reuters reported .
While Lemelin says the extra help is needed , there are some fires that are just too hard to fight right now .
`` It 's not even that is what 's taxing us , it 's just the volume of fires and how many fires are going on at the same time throughout the state , and some of the fire behavior that we see , it would n't matter if we had five times more firefighters , '' he said .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that have caused many of the fires , something Lemelin said he has `` never seen before . ''
`` It 's not a tropical place , '' Lemelin said .
`` So when this lightning front came through , the dry lightning and the higher level of dry lightning , it just started a lot of small fires that once it heated up we just did n't have enough resources to take care of it all . ''
Governor Gavin Newsom said the lightning strikes and record temperatures are a consequence of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real , '' Newsom said on Thursday night , pointing not only to the hundreds of fires raging across the state , but also to the record-breaking temperatures in Death Valley .
`` If you are in denial about climate change , '' he said , `` come to California . ''
Denise Guerra , Sophia Boyd and Kitty Eisele produced and edited the audio version of this story .

California Battalion Chief On The Challenge Of Fighting Wildfires During A Heat Wave
Enlarge this image toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
California will be under a state of emergency this weekend, as more than 500 fires rage across the state.
At least five people have died, and as of Friday morning, nearly 600,000 acres were burning in the eight largest fire complexes in the state. This all comes as the state is confronting a record-breaking heat wave. In Death Valley, temperatures reached a scorching 130 degrees earlier this week.
Approximately 12,00 firefighters have been battling the blazes, according to Cal Fire. Among them is Jeff Lemelin, the Sonoma County Fire District Battalion Chief.
"It's challenging," he told NPR's Weekend Edition. "Usually you don't know that you're dehydrated until it's too late, so you've got to constantly be drinking fluids and it's hard to do the mission that we're called to do during these times that unfortunately we've been faced with in Sonoma County — in particular over the past three years. They say it's the new norm, right?"
In Sonoma County, the LNU Lightning Complex Fire has burned through more than 219,000 acres. As of Friday morning, the blaze was just 7% contained, according to Cal Fire. Four people have died in the LNU fire, four more have been injured and hundreds of structures have been destroyed or damaged.
"It's just the volume of fires and how many fires are going on at the same time throughout the state that just taxes the resources," Lemelin said.
The state has asked for the support of 375 out-of-state fire crews, but only 45 have shown up, Reuters reported. While Lemelin says the extra help is needed, there are some fires that are just too hard to fight right now.
"It's not even that is what's taxing us, it's just the volume of fires and how many fires are going on at the same time throughout the state, and some of the fire behavior that we see, it wouldn't matter if we had five times more firefighters," he said.
The state has experienced over 11,000 lightning strikes that have caused many of the fires, something Lemelin said he has "never seen before."
"It's not a tropical place," Lemelin said. "So when this lightning front came through, the dry lightning and the higher level of dry lightning, it just started a lot of small fires that once it heated up we just didn't have enough resources to take care of it all."
Governor Gavin Newsom said the lightning strikes and record temperatures are a consequence of climate change. "Climate change is real," Newsom said on Thursday night, pointing not only to the hundreds of fires raging across the state, but also to the record-breaking temperatures in Death Valley.
"If you are in denial about climate change," he said, "come to California."
Denise Guerra, Sophia Boyd and Kitty Eisele produced and edited the audio version of this story.