A network of correspondents providing impartial news reports and analysis in 33 languages from locations around the world Up-to-the-minute news and analysis from around the world and in Chicago Hosted by WBEZ's Mary Dixon and NPR's Steve Inskeep Newshour is the award-winning flagship program of the BBC World Service the world’s largest news gathering operation 1A convenes a conversation about the most important issues of our time smart reflection on world news as it’s happening innovators and artists from around the globe with news from Chicago from WBEZ’s Lisa Labuz Reset digs into how the news has moved since you left the house discussing and unpacking the biggest stories and issues in Chicago and beyond right in the heart of the day Fresh Air is a weekday “talk show” that hardly fits the mold Fresh Air Weekend collects the week’s best cultural segments and crafts them together for great weekend listening The show is produced by WHYY and hosted by Terry Gross and features from Chicago and around the world Hosted by WBEZ’s Melba Lara and NPR’s Ailsa Chang A daily take on business and economics news for the rest of us hosted by Michael Barbaro and powered by The New York Times’ journalism 7pm Hour -- A focus on what’s changed here in the U.S since President Trump was inaugurated -- looking at everything from the culture to the shape of the federal government From tariffs to the downsizing of the Department of Education how has Trump made good on his campaign promises From shifting alliances to trade agreements to changes at the U.S we’ll ask how President Trump has altered international relations since January 20 Covering everything about science and technology — from the outer reaches of space to the tiniest microbes in our bodies — Science Friday is your source for entertaining and educational stories and activities From their humble beginnings on Chicago’s radio airwaves to their evolution through television and today’s streaming platforms "Stories Without End" unpacks how soap operas have shaped popular culture and told intergenerational stories that continue to resonate a new theme and a variety of stories on that theme Sound Opinions is hosted by Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot In-depth interviews with brilliant creators A mix of live performances and interviews from WXPN Philadelphia’s daily program featuring important established and emerging artists Weekly film podcast and radio show from Chicago featuring in-depth reviews The first 50 years of modern advertising was based on hard-sell The next 50 years was persuasion through creativity and media tonnage But as advertising squeezed into the 21 century it was forced to shed its elbowing ways and become a delicate dialogue The goal is no longer to triumph by weight CBC's Under the Influence is hosted by Terry O'Reilly A wrap up of the week's news and a mix of analysis and features on a wide range of topics Have a laugh and test your news knowledge while figuring out what's real and what we've made up It's Been a Minute features people in the culture who deserve your attention Plus weekly wraps of the news with journalists in the know Exploring the biggest questions of our time with the help of the world's greatest thinkers A radio journal of news and culture produced from a Latino perspective and offbeat features from Chicago and around the world with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior shape our choices and direct our relationships Your guide to examining how the media sausage is made Important ideas and practical advice: Code Switch features fearless and much-needed conversations about race—and Life Kit offers practical advice on things in life no one prepared you for Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX Reveal is public radio’s first one-hour radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting A weekly program presented by the New Yorker magazine’s editor killer beats and the edgiest new talent in storytelling come together for a weekly show that straps audiences into an audio rollercoaster Radiolab is known for its deep-dive journalism and innovative sound design Created in 2002 by former host Jad Abumrad the program began as an exploration of scientific inquiry Over the years it has evolved to become a platform for long-form journalism and storytelling Radiolab is hosted by Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser army captain Jennifer Sims lifts her uniform during an interview with The Associated Press in Beratzhausen near Regensburg President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender troops serving in the military came one step closer to realization on Tuesday when the Supreme Court put a hold on some lower courts’ injunctions on the ban It is likely that the one injunction that was not part of the Supreme Court case will shortly be put on hold as well allowing the Trump administration to enforce its ban President Trump has argued that the cost of medical care for transgender service members is too high though research suggests the monetary cost is actually relatively small Trump’s ban represents a reversal of a 2016 Obama administration decision that formally permitted transgender citizens to serve in the military In a piece for Current Affairs co-authored with Eli Massey Nair argued that since the United States military is “a violent hierarchical institution,” transgender Americans should not be seeking the right of inclusion therein “symbolic inclusion” of transgender troops would distract from other as well as from the military’s systemic flaws Nair is also a co-founder of Against Equality and a member of Gender JUST Trump’s ban represents a reversal of a 2016 Obama administration decision that formally permitted transgender citizens to serve in the military. To discuss we’re joined by Yasmin Nair, a Chicago-based academic, activist and freelance writer. In a piece for Current Affairs co-authored with Eli Massey as well as from the military’s systemic flaws. Nair is also a co-founder of Against Equality and a member of Gender JUST You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience As father and son headed out from their hotel to the Normandy beaches an older French lady stepped forward and asked in her broken English “Have you been to Normandy before?” The older man replied a long time ago.” Recognizing that he was a veteran “It was several days after D-Day when we landed The water came up to the floor boards.” The trip to Omaha Beach was the beginning of a trip Frank Morgan had promised his dad they were able to retrace the father’s route that began in June 1944 His parents were George and Allie Pierce Morgan Loy Ray [as he was known] was one of six siblings Two of his older brothers served in the Navy during WW II George was a farmer and Loy Ray worked on the farm growing up He attended Red Level School and was drafted after he graduated in 1942 Loy Ray completed basic training at Fort Ord and was assigned to the Headquarters Battery They originally trained to fight in the desert of North Africa but that would change The battalion sailed on the Isle de France from New York City on February 13 They moved by troop train to the south of England for staging before landing at Omaha beach on June 27 Loy Ray recalled that the train came to a screeching halt in the middle of the night totally blacked out as bombs fell all around them Loy Ray recalled an interesting conversation while aboard an amphibious landing ship “I mentioned to a Merchant Marine officer that I was from Red Level I told him that ‘he lives about a mile or two down the road from me.’” Loy Ray couldn’t recall anymore of the conversation they set up their artillery a mile or two inland Loy Ray worked as a radio operator and occasionally as a driver for a reconnaissance Jeep crew/forward observer that provided fire direction for the howitzers The battalion worked their way through France and entered Belgium on September 15 The forward observer crews were prime targets for German fighters who realized that the accuracy of American shelling was dependent upon their feedback to the gun crews they would observe a series of single rounds then radio back to the guns to triangulate the target Loy Ray recalled that as soon as their 1st Lieutenant called in the corrected fire information “We would get the heck out of there.” It seemed that the Germans could pick up their radio signals and immediately fire on their position they would run wires back to the howitzers to avoid the Germans picking up their radio signals Loy Ray recalled that he and an officer once had to bail out of a jeep while it was still moving when they were strafed by a German fighter his unit got some revenge when they shot down a German Messerschmitt fighter and captured the pilot the 997th had made its way into Belgium and was near Bastogne [this was during the German counter-attack know as the Battle of the Bulge] Loy Ray recalled that the weather was the coldest he’d ever seen “I was afraid of getting frost bite so I put on goulashes over my boots.” The 997th split into two groups as it made its way into Germany they marched through the edge of Czechoslovakia and were in Beratzhausen Loy Ray was part of a group that was sent to Bad Reichenhall [near Berchtesgaden] to set up camp for a post-war military government Loy Ray looked in on a large nursery area and a German nurse motioned for him to come in the hospital was part of the German Lebensborn program It was set up by Heinrich Himmler and the German SS to encourage what they considered They asked German women of Aryan descent to breed with members of the SS to increase their “racist line.” They also kidnapped some German babies they considered Aryan and placed them all together to be raised by the State The 997th was making preparations for a move to the Pacific theater when the war ended 1945 and arrived back in the States on December 20 Loy Ray was honorably discharged from Fort McPherson He had received the American Service Medal European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal with one Silver Star He also received Battle Stars for Normandy We know Loy Ray made it home by Christmas because his discharge was recorded at the Covington County Courthouse on December 21 Loy Ray went to work as a truck driver for Southeastern Box Company in Andalusia He married Martha Christine Martin on October Christine owned and operated Wesley Day Care Center in Andalusia for many years and Frank George Morgan who currently lives in Nashville Loy Ray was a life-long member and deacon of the River Falls Baptist Church in River Falls After a short illness related to complications from a broken hip His funeral was held at his church and he was buried at River Falls Cemetery less than five miles from where he was born worked hard and enjoyed life…He never stopped moving…He mowed the lawn until he was 92…He loved his church and community…He loved purple martins and he loved his family.” The author thanks Frank Morgan for his help in telling his dad’s story Sources: Wikipedia; recorded notes that Frank Morgan made when he returned to Normandy with his dad in 1997 The Memphis Grizzlies (38-22) square off against the Atlanta Hawks (27-33) as 8.5-point favorites on Monday The Brooklyn Nets (21-39) square off against the Atlanta Hawks (27-33) at 6 p.m The matchups include the Tampa Bay Lightning squaring off… Ranked teams are on the Monday college basketball schedule in two games including the Wake Forest Demon Deacons… Monday’s college basketball lineup in the SWAC features plenty of excitement including the matchup between the Southern Jaguars… View Results Army soldier took a deep breath before hitting the button that sent the email to more than 200 fellow troops traversing what is essentially a personal matter but is something I must address publicly," the email stated The April 13 email officially ended the secret that burned inside Capt But the feeling of relief swiftly turned to unease last week after President Donald Trump tweeted that transgender people were no longer welcome in the U.S "I read the tweets while I was at work and you know it was devastating because I still have work to do and here I am reading basically what sounds like the president of the United States — who is the commander in chief he is the ultimate boss of the military — telling me and anybody else that is transgender that we are fired," Sims said Pentagon officials say the policy will remain unchanged without official White House guidance "So in the initial moments after the tweet I saw myself forced into the state that I was in before I started transitioning — a state of depression exhaustion and inability to enjoy things," said Sims who spoke to The Associated Press on her own behalf and not on that of the Army The reversal of the Obama administration policy that allows transgender people to serve openly and receive military medical coverage for transitioning from one gender to another also could affect her physically Sims has been on hormone therapy by her military doctor since November "It would be very difficult to have to go through that," said Sims Army garrison in the German state of Bavaria The son and grandson of military veterans quietly came to terms with identifying as a woman a year after joining the Army R.O.T.C. but outwardly kept it a secret "because I wanted to continue serving," Sims said feeling drained over worries about being masculine enough said she saw "emptiness" in her eyes After the Defense Department announced in 2015 that it was considering allowing transgender troops to serve openly When the policy became official in June 2016 Sims said she felt the meaning of the word freedom personally after spending years fighting for it for her country "It was the best day of my life really," Sims said Sims made an appointment with the behavioral health office was given a diagnosis of gender dysphoria and started hormone therapy in November Brandon Shorter and another infantry officer "Infantry officers are best described as brutish Sims pulled me and another brute aside face to face That took a lot of courage and that's the first thing that went through my mind mixed in with surprise," Shorter said Sims then announced the "personal change" to more than 200 other troops The seasoned military officer wrote how a lifetime of discomfort had peaked three years ago Sims meticulously explained gender dysphoria and outlined the steps she would take to fully transition to a woman my gender will remain male until my medical transition is complete which means I will still comport to male standards and use male facilities," she wrote referring to the acronym for the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System "While it is my preference for people to refer to me with female pronouns I only respectfully request you refer to me by my proper name Sims assured her unit the change "if anything will only make me more productive and capable as I no longer have to live two personas." Five soldiers sent emails back with words of encouragement there were murmurs of "hey did you see the email?" The force had just undergone training explaining what was expected in regards to transgender soldiers Sims is the first transgender person Shorter's known The unit is basically full of "young men wanting to chew on nails and prove how tough they are and rightly so since they are infantry men," Shorter said There are only about eight women among the 500 soldiers in the battalion He had a lot of questions "being naturally curious and wanting to be a good friend because we didn't really have a personal relationship she's — see I still slip up sometimes — a single captain He said he struggles with his beliefs about what's appropriate An assistant operations officer for the battalion Shorter is concerned about how Sims — whom he considers to be the best signal officer he's seen in the Army — cannot deploy while undergoing medical procedures speaking on his own behalf and not that of the Army said he would be "incredibly disappointed" if Sims were kicked out Doctors recommend 12 months of hormone therapy before surgery The cost of her surgery can run close to $50,000 which Sims was expecting the military would help cover Army officials told her nothing will change without official guidance "I had waited so long just to be able to tell the world this is who I am," Sims said Germany.AP Photo/Matthias Schrader-APWASHINGTON -- The Justice Department has made clear its proposed ban on transgender military recruits is on hold But the future for transgender people in the armed forces remains murky The Justice Department isn't dropping its court fight to institute the ban on transgender enlistment but said Friday it would wait for a Pentagon study on the issue in coming weeks before deciding what to do next President Donald Trump said in July that the government would not allow transgender people to serve in the military So far he's been unable to achieve that prohibition a panel of the federal appeals court in the District of Columbia refused the Trump administration's request to let the ban start Jan Other federal judges have also refused to side with the administration The Pentagon said then that it would allow transgender enlistment to start with the new year and continue as legal struggles play out The Justice Department said late Friday the Pentagon "will be releasing an independent study of these issues in the coming weeks," so the administration will not litigate an appeal in the meantime That stance clarifies that enlistments can start Jan 1 and existing transgender service members are protected from being discharged at least for now "We are relieved that we don't have to hit pause on the constitutional rights of transgender people who are willing and able to serve our country," said Peter Renn one of the groups fighting the ban in court.