Consider This from NPR

Earlier this week, a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court suggested that after nearly 50 years, the court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Almost as soon as abortions became legal, opponents began organizing efforts to repeal the law. Eighteen states now have so-called "trigger laws" that will ban abortions the moment that Roe v. Wade is...

For a few months, it looked like COVID-19 was retreating in the United States. But cases are rising across the country again. Still, public health leaders are signaling that the U.S. is turning another corner in this pandemic, and that continued COVID surges might just be part of the new normal. NPR Science correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff reports on what the new Omicron variant could have in sto...

Twin babies Lenny and Moishe were born via surrogate in Ukraine, just as Russia invaded the country. Their parents live in Chicago and had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of their new sons. Rescuers exfiltrated the babies, dodging Russian artillery fire and driving through a snowstorm before finally arriving at a Polish hospital, where new father Alex "Sasha" Spektor met the boys for the first...

Bipartisan members who serve on state and county boards of canvassers in Michigan have an important job: certifying the results of elections, making them official. In 2020, Former President Trump and his allies urged them not to certify as part of his campaign to undermine and overturn the presidential election, even though Joe Biden won Michigan by more than 154,000 votes. Since then, local GOP l...

The right to an abortion in the United States appears closer than ever to being eliminated, after a draft of a majority opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked. Should it stand, the court's ruling wouldn't ban abortion nationwide, but would leave the decision up to individual states. Many Republican-led states are ready to enact their own bans, should Roe v. Wade be overturned, which co...

Cases of COVID-19 have been surging throughout China. The country has implemented a stringent "zero-COVID" strategy that includes mass testing, limited travel and large-scale lockdowns. In Shanghai, many residents haven't been able to leave their homes. It's an eerie reminder of the lockdowns in Wuhan during the first year of the pandemic. NPR's international correspondent Rob Schmitz spoke with t...

Communities of color are the most harshly affected by climate change in the United States. While the importance of environmental justice is becoming more mainstream, too often people in this movement who are Black, Indigenous and people of color are overlooked and left out of conversations about how to solve the crisis. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist, policy expert and writer, wants t...

Over the past two years, about 200 journalists across the country have been detained or arrested while on the job. Many were covering the social and racial justice protests that began after the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and NPR producer Marc Rivers look at the growing tension between police and the press through...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's mask mandate on planes, trains and buses ended earlier this month, and it came down, in part, to a judge's interpretation of the word "sanitation." U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle voided the mask requirement, citing a 1944 law that gives the CDC power to stop the spread of communicable diseases through measures like inspection, fumigatio...

One Palestinian man's struggle to get life-saving medical care while living in the Gaza Strip highlights many lesser-seen victims of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Since the militant group Hamas took over Gaza 15 years ago, Israel's travel restrictions have resulted in many barriers for Palestinians seeking critical health care. Palestinians can try to get medical treatment both in and outside...

Stephanie is one of nearly one million Americans who have died of COVID-19. Her family says Stephanie's death was avoidable, but in recent years, she had been drawn into conspiracy theories. She believed that the coronavirus was a hoax and refused to get vaccinated. When she got COVID-19 last winter, Stephanie refused treatments and eventually died just a few days after Christmas. While there is n...

Between the 1990s and late 2000s, people in Chechnya described Russia's wars there as a nightmare. Its former leader, Akhmad Kadyrov, resisted Russian forces. But today, the Muslim-majority Chechen Republic is ruled by Kadyrov's son, Ramzan. He's a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is accused of numerous human rights abuses and is also leading his own forces against Ukraine to ai...

You introduce yourself and then someone mispronounces your name. At that point you have to decide if you correct them or let it slide. For many people from immigrant communities, this has been a lifelong experience. And sometimes, it's about more than mispronunciation, it can signal exclusion and disrespect. Some people even change their names in order to fit in more easily and not be "othered." F...

For years, most states have reported a shortage of special education teachers. Now, according to federal data, nearly every state is struggling to hire qualified educators. And when schools can't find a licensed teacher, they hire people who are willing to do the job, but lack the training. From member station WFYI in Indianapolis, Lee Gaines reports on what that means for students, and Dylan Peer...

California's Reparations Task Force is preparing to release its first report on the impact of racism on African Americans in June. It's the next step for the Task Force, following a narrow vote late last month to exclude some Black residents from being eligible if and when a reparations plan becomes law. Under the current proposal, only those who can trace their lineage to enslaved or freed Black...

The pains of every war ripple out beyond the borders of the conflict zone. And as the war between Russia and Ukraine drags on, the disruptions in the global food supply chain are beginning to deepen the already dire hunger crisis around the world. Ukraine and Russia combined export 30% of the world's wheat, in addition to other food supplies. Now, because of the ongoing war, the price of food worl...

A federal judge struck down the CDC's mask mandate for public transportation on Monday, clearing the way for airlines and ride hailing companies to eliminate mask requirements for passengers. What might the change mean for travelers — especially those most vulnerable to infection or too young to be vaccinated? NPR science correspondents Selena Simmons-Duffin and Maria Godoy explain. NPR's Tamara K...

Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter. His vision of the future may not pan out for the platform, but that vision represents what historian Jill Lepore calls 'extreme capitalism.' Lepore, a Harvard professor and New Yorker writer, is host of the podcast The Evening Rocket , where she examines what she calls Musk's extravagant, "extreme" capitalism — where stock prices are driven by earnings, and also by...

More than 4.5 million Ukrainians have left their country since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. While many hope to return to Ukraine, they don't know when it will be safe to do so. As the war shows no sign of stopping, some refugees are beginning to integrate into life in their adoptive countries. One of those people is Anastasiia Konovalova. She used to be the head teacher at a primary schoo...

This weekend, followers of three major religions are observing some of their most sacred holidays. Many will do so together, in person, for the first time in years. Easter, Passover, and Ramadan all have their own symbolism and themes. And it's not a stretch to tie any of those themes to world events; from the COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine. We invited three faith leaders to tell us about...

A U.S. House investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is entering its final phase before lawmakers' findings become public later this spring. As that probe continues, prosecutions are running on a parallel track. Dozens of defendants are now awaiting trial and being held in together in a single unit at a Washington, D.C. jail. While corrections officials have said the accused insurrecti...

This past week, the world's attention has been focused on the death and destruction that's been discovered in Ukranian towns north of Kyiv after Russian forces withdrew. One of those towns — vistied by NPR — is Borodyanka. The carnage left behind by Russians is also a sign of what may be to come in the country's east, where a new offensive looms. NPR's Scott Detrow reported from Boyodyanka with pr...

Prices are up on everything from groceries, to rent, to gas, and consumer price inflation hit a new 40-year high in March: Up 8.5% over a year ago. This increase impacts everyone across the economic spectrum, but inflation poses a particular hardship for low-income families. And while the Biden administration has announced new steps to bring down gas prices and other visible signs of inflation, th...

After taking control of Afghanistan last summer, the Taliban made promises for more inclusive and less repressive leadership in Afghanistan. Many of those promises involved maintaining women's rights. But now, education for girls has become more limited, and other restrictions have been placed on women. NPR's Diaa Hadid reports on what the uneven implementation of those policies suggests about Tal...

More than 400,000 Ukrainian refugees have poured across the border into the small country of Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe. Wedged between Ukraine and Romania, Moldova is a little bigger than Maryland, but it has received the most refugees per capita of any country in this crisis. Now Moldova is providing assistance and support to those who are choosing to stay in the country. Ev...