Consider This from NPR

This week, politics in the UK looked a little — crazy. Outraged members of Parliament yelled their demands for Prime Minister Liz Truss to resign, a head of iceberg lettuce managed to outlast her, and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson -who was just ousted a few months ago over the " partygate " scandal- is back in play as a possible replacement for Truss. It feels like political theater, but the...

The House committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot has subpoenaed former President Donald Trump for testimony under oath and records. We speak with Nick Akerman, a former federal prosecutor who was involved in the Watergate case, about what's at stake for both Congress and the former president. Plus, NPR's Carrie Johnson reports that Trump's former advisor Steve Bannon has now been sente...

Election day is less than three weeks away, and Democrats are trying desperately to hold on to their slim majority in Congress by focusing on abortion rights. But Republicans are betting that the economy and inflation are the most pressing issues for voters. So how is the focus on abortion working out for the Democrats? We discuss that with NPR Political Correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben and NPR S...

This week, China's Communist Party Congress is expected to approve a historic third term in office for the country's leader, Xi Jinping. Xi has already been in power for a decade, a period marked by growing authoritarianism in China. Many experts believe he could emerge a more emboldened leader in his new term. Ailsa Chang speaks with Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, a...

It's been more than a month since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after being detained by Iran's morality police – allegedly for breaking the rule requiring women to wear a hijab. Her death sparked protests that continue to this day. Women and girls have been at the forefront of the demonstrations, often removing and burning their hijabs in defiance of the authorities. We hear from some of the protes...

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was designed to soften the financial impact of the pandemic for small businesses. It issued about $800 billion in potentially forgivable government loans to keep workers employed during COVID shutdowns. Now, the overwhelming majority of those loans have been forgiven with very little scrutiny. That means many loans have been forgiven to businesses that flouris...

In a party not known for ethnic diversity, 22 Black candidates are running for Republican House seats this year. And for the first time, we could see two Black Republican senators serving simultaneously. The historically diverse lineup also includes Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans on Republican tickets for the midterms. While some Republican see a shift toward Ronald Regan's vision of the pa...

Public health officials are warning of a possible surge in COVID cases this winter. How bad it could get depends on how many people take the right precautions, according to Dr. Ashish Jha . We talk to the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator about bracing for the next potential wave. Even if a COVID surge doesn't happen, there are plenty of respiratory ailments making a comeback, especially i...

President Biden met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this summer — a man he had previously accused of ordering the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But at the meeting, he met the Crown Prince with a fist bump. It all came as gas prices were rising globally, under pressure from Russia's war in Ukraine. One of Biden's goals was to convince Saudi Arabia's leaders to increase...

There are more than 16 million people in the U.S. that are caring for someone with Alzheimer's and related dementias. More than two-thirds of them are women. Caregiving can be emotionally and physically draining, as well as isolating. There are not a lot of resources available for caregivers and many are not paid. For six years, Jacquleyn Revere took care of her mom who had dementia and posted abo...

In the span of one morning this week, Russian airstrikes hit cities across Ukraine—some hundreds of miles from the frontline. Throughout the war, even when Russian troops haven't been able to reach Ukrainian cities, their missiles and rockets and artillery have. More than 6,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its campaign in February, according to the United Nations . N...

Last week, the Supreme Court heard opening arguments in Merrill v. Mulligan, a case that could gut the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for the third time this decade. At the center of the debate is Alabama's new congressional maps. Black voters make up the majority of only one out of seven districts. More than a quarter of the state's population is Black. A three-judge federal panel ruled that Alabama s...

Over the past few years, we've heard shocking allegations from women athletes about experiencing sexual harassment and abuse. And earlier this week a report was released outlining a pervasive culture of abuse among coaches in the National Women's Soccer League. Elite women soccer players were subjected to a range of abuse - from belittling comments to sexual advances. Sally Yates, former Acting At...

Cheating allegations have rocked many worlds over the last few weeks. Chess, fishing, poker, and even Irish dancing. These 'sports' cheating scandals have attracted a lot of attention lately. Maurice Schweitzer is a professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He studies emotions, trust and ethical decision making and says that our reaction to cheating might tell...

As a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico is perpetually stuck in limbo. The people there are subject to federal laws, but don't have a vote for president or Congress. This is a major problem when it comes to responding to disasters like Hurricane Fiona, which hit the island last month. Many Puerto Ricans are deeply frustrated by what they claim has been a slow and inefficient response from a federal gover...

After a prescribed burn became the largest wildfire in New Mexico history earlier this year, the U.S. Forest Service put a ninety day ban on controlled burns. But while these kinds of burns do carry risk, very few escape, and they are a crucial tool in reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Forest ecologists are worried the ban added to the wildfire risk in areas that desperately need mainte...

The past twelve months have been the deadliest on record for the migrants crossing the Southern U.S. Border from Mexico. More than 800 have died in the last fiscal year. This past year also saw a shift in migration. More and more are coming from Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. Past entry points have given way to more remote locations on the border, like Eagle Pass and Del Rio, Texas. These were sle...

Higher mortgage rates are putting a damper on the U.S. housing market. Home prices are down and sales of existing homes have now fallen for seven months in a row. The ripples in the housing market are being felt as the Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates to fight inflation. And those higher borrowing costs mean that monthly mortgage payments have shot up. We hear from would-be buyers w...

The Electoral Count Reform Act is a bipartisan response to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol where rioters and the former president attempted to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence into subverting the election count. But some critics think it doesn't go far enough and argue that real reform would mean making significant changes to the Electoral College and to the winner take all allot...

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the formal annexation of four territories in Ukraine on Friday, after the conclusion of what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called "sham" referendums and "a complete farce." NPR's Kat Lonsdorf talked with Ukrainians near the frontline about how the turmoil is affecting them. Dara Massicot , a Russian military analyst with the RAND corporation, say...

Hurricane Ian carved a path of destruction through central Florida, with extreme winds, heavy rains and a torrent of waters flooding in from the Gulf of Mexico. Roads and bridges were washed away, coastal cities were swamped and electrical systems were wrecked - leaving millions of homes and businesses without power. While the full scope of the disaster is not yet known, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis...

The widespread protests in Iran were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She died after being detained by Iran's morality police for allegedly violating the country's strict dress code. The fuel that's keeping them going is a broader, deeper resentment at life under the regime. Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace explains what risk the p...

Every year, more than 300,000 U.S. families have infants who require advanced medical care in neonatal intensive care units. Specialized treatments and round-the-clock care rack up enormous bills for parents as they try to navigate their baby's care. And in the worst case scenarios, some families are left with millions of dollars in medical bills long after their child has passed. We talk to Kaise...

Ruby Bridges was just six years old in 1960 when she became the first Black child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. She was escorted by four federal marshals and greeted by a mob of angry white protesters. Today, Bridges is a civil rights activist and author, and she is sharing her experience with a new generation of kids in her latest children's book, I...

This week the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force announced recommendations that doctors screen all patients under 65 for anxiety. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we've heard about sharp increases in the number of people suffering from mental health problems. With a health care system already overburdened and seemingly unable to deal with the rise in mental health issues, America is facing wh...