Bloomberg's $1.8 Billion Gift; Calif. Wildfire Death Toll Update; Turning Turkey Poop Into Fuel

Plus, prisoners fight California’s wildfires for $2 a day. [NPR] by Korva Coleman and Jill Hudson First Up Happy World Toilet Day, folks. For those of you who need a bit of potty humor, see below. Here’s what we’re following today. In Northern California, authorities continue to sift through the ashes of the deadly Camp Fire. Each day they find the remains of a few people. The list of those who are missing is now at 993 and keeps growing, while families hold out hope their loved ones are still alive. At least [80 people have died](. The big Latino turnout in the midterms raises the stakes for the 2020 presidential election. Some Republican candidates did a good job of reaching out to Latino communities, especially in Florida, which has a large Cuban-American population that tends to vote Republican. But in most places, exit polls show that [Latinos voted overwhelmingly for Democrats](. [Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is donating $1.8 billion to his alma mater to help students with financial aid.]( Monica Schipper/Getty Images Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has donated $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins University to assist students with financial aid. The donation is [the largest individual gift ever made to a single university]( and is designed to allow the school to be need-blind and loan-free. The North Korea denuclearization plan has gone nowhere since the Trump-Kim summit. Five months after the Singapore summit, [North Korea’s nuclear program chugs on](. “I think right now, we are absolutely stuck,” says North Korea expert Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst. Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn has been ousted. Ghosn, who also chairs Renault and Mitsubishi, is [widely admired for saving Nissan from bankruptcy]( nearly 20 years ago. Now he has been accused of underreporting income and was reportedly arrested in Japan. The missing Argentine submarine finally has been found in a deep ocean ravine. The submarine had 44 crew members when it [lost contact with Argentina's military]( almost a year ago. Its disappearance has prompted protests by family members of those on board. --------------------------------------------------------------- The Daily Good Pardon me, turkey, is this stool taken? Scientists say they can turn poultry poop into fuel. [he back-end product of a turkey is perfect for electricity production, according to scientists at Ben-Gurion University in Israel. When converted to combustible biomass fuel, it could also reduce greenhouse gases and provide a renewable energy source.]( Radius Images/Getty Images When heated under proper conditions, [turkey droppings transform into a form of coal]( which can fuel power plants and serve as a renewable resource. Just think: Someday you might roast your holiday turkey using its own excrement! --------------------------------------------------------------- Today's Listen Serving time and fighting California’s wildfires for $2 a day. [Inmate firefighters battle a California wildfire in July. Qualified inmates can volunteer to be trained in firefighting; in exchange, they are paid $2 a day and an extra $1 per hour when fighting fires. The inmate firefighters also receive sentence reductions.]( Noah Berger/AFP/Getty Images More than 9,000 firefighters from across the country are battling California’s deadliest and most destructive fire on record. About 1,500 of these firefighters are actually inmates from the state’s prisons. Since the 1940s, California has relied on prison labor to fight its forest fires. They are paid less than minimum wage, and some critics have decried the state program as slave labor. [▶ LISTEN]( --------------------------------------------------------------- The Picture Show A love letter to a changing Nashville. [A young street performer shows that if you're old enough to play a fiddle, you're old enough to busk. For those who prefer their music mostly indoors, they can get a piano repaired on Second Avenue.]( Heidi Ross In Nashville: Scenes from the New American South, novelist Ann Patchett and photographer Heidi Ross — both longtime Nashvillians — instead set out to [explore the city's multiple identities]( and chronicle Music City's ongoing metamorphosis. --------------------------------------------------------------- Before You Go [Experts agree that the image on the left urges toilet users to flush toilet paper in the bowl rather than toss it in a trash can. As for the image on the right, it appears to offer a double warning: Don't stand on the seat, don't relieve yourself in the upper tank.]( Jennifer Wood/Courtesy of Doug Lansky - Oh, the places you'll go! Apparently, using the toilet isn’t always intuitive. [These toilet signs will help](. - The sale of a children’s book about William the Conqueror after [sitting on a bookstore shelf for 27 years]( has the Twitterverse doing a happy dance. - The “exceptionally rare” [two-headed snake]( found in Virginia in September has died. - Six years after a famous museum heist, [a missing Picasso]( may have turned up in Romania. --------------------------------------------------------------- ✏️ What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [dailynewsletter@npr.org](mailto:dailynewsletter@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) 📬 Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. 📧 Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to our Daily News emails. | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | NPR 1111 N. 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