Alabama Tornado Recovery; Momentum For Paid Family Leave; NPR’s FEMA Investigation

Plus, a globe-trotting preview of SXSW. [NPR] by Korva Coleman and Christopher Dean Hopkins First Up [First responders walk through a neighborhood heavily damaged by a tornado the day before in Beauregard, Ala., on Monday.]( David Goldman/AP Here’s what we’re following today. Search teams in Lee County, Ala., are still looking for several people missing in the aftermath of a tornado. The storm, which tore through the area on Sunday, killed at least 23 people, [including seven members of a single family](. The 2018 election may finally end Sept. 10, 2019. [That’s the day election officials in North Carolina picked for a new general election]( (or primary runoff, if needed) in the state’s 9th Congressional District. Last year’s results were thrown out after the board decided they were tainted by a Republican operative’s alleged ballot fraud. A former Russian double agent and his daughter nearly died in England after being poisoned in 2018, an attack the British blame on Russia. President Vladimir Putin’s regime is demanding access to Sergei and Yulia Skripal, [but the U.K. government says the Skripals aren’t interested](. A group of teenagers at a party in California made a swastika out of plastic cups and took pictures of themselves with Nazi salutes. [Their actions have provoked outrage](. Measles outbreaks in Washington state and elsewhere are prompting some states to tighten vaccine requirements for schoolchildren. [But in Arizona, lawmakers are considering bills to make it easier for parents to get exemptions](. Senior citizens who are Trump critics are anxiously awaiting a report from special counsel Robert Mueller. Some elderly Americans who are ill say [they’ll hang on to their last breath to hear the results of his investigation](. --------------------------------------------------------------- The Daily Good Legislators in two dozen states take a close look at paid family leave. Glenn Chase/Courtesy of Wendy Chase New Hampshire state representative Wendy Chase is a “mom on a mission,” trying to bring residents paid family leave, after she spent decades caring for an ill daughter. [Measures guaranteeing workers paid time off after the birth of a child or to care for a sick relative]( are expected to make inroads in swing states, including Minnesota, Colorado and Maine. The chances for passage are better at state levels than in Congress. --------------------------------------------------------------- Digging Deeper An NPR investigation finds white Americans and those with more money get more federal disaster assistance. Claire Harbage/NPR As natural disasters become more common in the U.S., the federal government is spending billions of dollars to help communities rebuild and prevent future damage. NPR has learned that white Americans, and those with more wealth, receive more federal money after a disaster than do minorities and people with less wealth. Federal aid does not go to the people who most need it; it's allocated according to cost-benefit calculations that are supposed to lessen risk to taxpayers. [After disasters, poor people become even poorer, and federal disaster spending appears to make wealth inequality worse](. Houston housing activist Kathy Payton has worked to help her neighborhood recover from Hurricane Harvey. She notes poorer Americans have fixed incomes or don't have enough savings. Some families can't apply online for disaster assistance because they can't afford a computer, or they can't afford to take time from work to meet a FEMA representative, unlike people with more wealth. "There shouldn't be a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all template," Payton says. "You've got to make adjustments based on the vulnerabilities and the needs of the families. And that's not what we do." She also worries that in the next disaster, as funding is dispersed on a first-come, first-served basis, poor families without means or the ability to take time off from work will be left behind again. --------------------------------------------------------------- The Picture Show In memoriam: A Venezuelan photographer with his eyes on his country’s most vulnerable. [Emem, 2018]( Wil Riera Wil Reira documented the plight of elderly Venezuelans, [taking portraits of those struggling to survive in a Caracas senior home](. NPR editor Ben de la Cruz says the images “showed his compassion for the people of his homeland with artistry and sensitivity.” The young photographer died this week after brain surgeries to correct a congenital disorder. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today's Listen To: Austin, From: Everywhere Koko Nakajima/NPR As NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson heads to the South by Southwest music festival this month, he’s highlighting his favorite finds. They include an L.A. rock band, hard-driving hip-hop from a Nigerian-born rapper from south London, and dreamy songs from a musician who’s the daughter of German and South Korean opera singers. Stephen’s picks from nearly 90 hours of listening [are here in NPR Music’s Austin 100](. (Listening time: 3:53) [▶ LISTEN]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Before You Go [Luke Perry, pictured above in 1987, died Monday at the age of 52.]( ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images - [Actor Luke Perry, best known for playing Dylan McKay]( on Beverly Hills, 90210, dies of a stroke at 52. (Listen time, 12:17) - A Baltimore woman’s family claimed she was killed by a panhandler. [Now police have arrested her husband and charged him in her slaying](. - Four months after the drawing, a winner has come forward to claim [the largest lottery payout to a single winner in U.S. history]( a lump sum of nearly $900 million. - [Japanese architect Arata Isozaki has won this year’s Pritzker Prize](. He’s known for shifting his style to suit each project and for fostering the next generation of architects. - A study by Google found [that some of its male employees were being underpaid]( compared to women. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 [NPR]