Ashley Westerman
Ashley Westerman is a producer who occasionally directs the show. Since joining the staff in June 2015, she has produced a variety of stories including a coal mine closing near her hometown, the 2016 Republican National Convention, and the Rohingya refugee crisis in southern Bangladesh. She is also an occasional reporter for Morning Edition,and NPR.org, where she has contributed reports on both domestic and international news.
Ashley was a summer intern in 2011 with Morning Edition and pitched a story on her very first day. She went on to work as a reporter and host for member station 89.3 WRKF in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she earned awards covering everything from healthcare to jambalaya.
Ashley is an East-West Center 2018 Jefferson Fellow and a two-time reporting fellow with the International Center for Journalists. Through ICFJ, she has covered labor issues in her home country of the Philippines for NPR and health care in Appalachia for Voice of America.
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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ruling alliance handily won Sunday's general election, and at least 17 people were killed during voting. The main opposition party rejects the results.
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Their former homeland was a U.S. testing site for nuclear bombs, but they can't get Medicare or Medicaid in Oklahoma. A resident of Enid, Okla., who was born in the islands is trying to change that.
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"Somebody with a technical background might think in a little bit different than the way, for instance, that a lawyer would think," says Chrissy Houlahan, a new lawmaker with a STEM background.
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As the incidents of mass shootings in the U.S. occur, some people are starting to feel numbed by them. Psychologists says this is normal.
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Behrouz Boochani has lived in detention on Manus for five years. He tells NPR about the book he wrote using WhatsApp that tells the story of his failed attempt to flee Iran for asylum in Australia.
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The secretary of state will meet senior officials from the new Malaysian government, following the country's unexpected election result.
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This Sunday's elections have been declared a sham by rights groups and Cambodia's opposition leaders, who've called for a boycott. For longtime leader Hun Sen, they're about cementing his legacy.
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Najib Razak is accused of siphoning off funds linked to a state investment fund, as part of a broader, multibillion-dollar scandal known as 1MDB. Authorities seized millions in valuables from him.
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The U.N. and Myanmar government are touting the new pact as the first steps to returning some of the 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled brutal persecution. Aid groups remain skeptical.
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The colorful, crowded vehicles are a cheap and popular form of public transport. But they also pollute the air. Jeepney drivers have been pushing back against government plans to phase them out.