Liane Hansen has been the host of NPR's award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday for 20 years. She brings to her position an extensive background in broadcast journalism, including work as a radio producer, reporter, and on-air host at both the local and national level. The program has covered such breaking news stories as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Columbia shuttle tragedy. In 2004, Liane was granted an exclusive interview with former weapons inspector David Kay prior to his report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The show also won the James Beard award for best radio program on food for a report on SPAM.
The House Committee on Culture and Arts advanced two resolutions urging the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts to host an annual gathering of Pacific Islanders.
Lawmakers are trying to reform a health insurance practice known as prior authorization, which was originally aimed at curbing unnecessary treatments. As HPRʻs Ashley Mizuo reports, critics say the practice is now making it difficult for many people to get medical services.