Post Reports

Today, we dissect three recent public health responses to learn about the world’s ability to prevent outbreaks – covid and beyond – in 2024. Viruses are having a moment. Outbreaks around the world are on the rise, thanks to such factors as climate change, war and instability, and increased animal-to-human contact. Covid-19 is still here. Even though fewer people are winding up in the hospital comp...

After the Biden administration launched airstrikes against Houthi fighters in Yemen, the group attacked a U.S. cargo carrier. U.S. officials say that their operations are limited and that they do not want to be drawn into a wider conflict – but is that possible? Read more: In the wake of Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, Houthi rebels based in Yemen have been carrying out attacks on U.S. and Br...

Despite Donald Trump leading in the polls, victory in the GOP presidential primaries isn’t certain. Ahead of the Iowa caucuses, Trump hopes to extinguish his opponents. But history has shown that not every winner in Iowa goes on to become the nominee.  Read more: Donald Trump has consistently led his opponents in polling for the Republican nomination, often by a wide margin. But victory isn’t...

Voters across Taiwan head to the polls Saturday in an election that could reverberate around the world. As pressure tactics increase from Beijing, the island of 23 million faces existential questions about how to preserve its identity and fend off war. With Beijing military planes at times looming, Taiwan’s ruling party’s candidate, Lai Ching-te, contends democracy itself is on the ballot this wee...

A terrifying accident on an Alaskan Airlines flight has put renewed scrutiny on Boeing, the airline industry titan, which has seen a series of accidents and mechanical failures in recent years Read more: On Friday, a side panel on an Alaska Airlines flight popped out of place as the plane was ascending, sending air whistling through the cabin and terrifying passengers. The plane landed safely — bu...

If he wins reelection, former president Donald Trump will probably seek revenge on his political enemies. Less than a week before the Iowa caucuses, Trump remains the front-runner, but it’s unclear how that message of retribution will play with the general electorate.  Read more: On the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, former president Donald Trump stood at a...

After a years-long push, the Food and Drug Administration just allowed Florida to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada. This decision follows decades of frustration over U.S. drug prices and could open the doors for other states to do the same. Read more: While a number of logistical and legal hurdles remain, Florida has been cleared to import prescription drugs from Canada. The path for...

Harvard’s first Black president, Claudine Gay, resigned this week amid pressure over plagiarism allegations and her comments about antisemitism on campus. For conservative activists, though, her downfall was a victory over diversity initiatives. Read more: The conservative victory laps began moments after Harvard University President Claudine Gay announced her resignation. Gay has faced growing pr...

A Hamas leader killed in Beirut. U.S. strikes in Baghdad. This week, tensions in the Middle East have been rising – and with them, the specter of a widening Israel-Gaza war. Our correspondent in Beirut joins us to explain what happened this week. Read more: On Tuesday, senior Hamas leader Saleh Arouri was killed in a suspected Israeli drone strike in a Beirut suburb called Dahieh. Hezbollah, an Ir...

A record number of migrants have arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border, as war and poverty push people from their homes worldwide. The Post’s Nick Miroff reported from the border and saw how the Biden administration is grappling with migration as we enter a pivotal election year. Read more: In recent weeks, a historic number of people have arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s a rise happening...

It’s a new year and the economic forecast for 2024 is looking strong – but that doesn’t quite align with how many Americans feel. What does that mean for the president heading into an election year?  Read more: After years of historic inflation, price hikes are finally getting back under control and wages are catching up. Unemployment is low. The looming recession that was threatened has...

Today we join Lillian Cunningham on a “Field Trip” to one of the most remote and least-visited national parks as she confronts the question facing its future: whether a portion of this untouched wilderness will soon include a path for industry. Read more: Established in 1980, Gates of the Arctic marked a radically different way of thinking about what a national park should be. Compared to previous...

“Try This” from The Washington Post is a series of audio courses designed to jump-start the parts of life where we can all use a few pointers — with pithy, snackable solutions you can easily use. The first course is about how to get better sleep. Read more: In the first class of our course on how to sleep better, learn why worrying about not falling asleep can make things worse. There are steps yo...

The banana is a staple of the American diet and has been for generations. But how did this exotic tropical fruit become so commonplace? Today on “Post Reports,” Martine Powers shares an episode of one of her favorite podcasts, “Throughline.” Find “Throughline” here , or wherever you’re listening to this podcast.  Subscribe to The Washington Post here .

The Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based affirmative action in college admissions sent counselors scrambling and students worrying about their chances. For two seniors, it made them totally rethink their applications – in very different ways.  Read more: When high school senior Demar Goodman found out that the Supreme Court had struck down race-based affirmative action, he immediately c...

Some people said Isabel Wilkerson’s book “Caste” was unadaptable. The subject matter was too heavy and too academic. But Ava DuVernay had a vision – and she pursued an unusual funding model to get her new film “Origin” made.  Read more: When filmmaker Ava DuVernay couldn’t get traditional financing to film “Origin,” the Ford Foundation, Melinda Gates and other philanthropists stepped in. Nati...

Canadian Israeli activist Vivian Silver dedicated her life to peace. When she was killed in the Oct. 7 attacks, her sons faced an impossible question: Is peace still worth fighting for?  Read more: Vivian Silver grew up in Winnipeg, Canada, and moved to Israel in 1974 to start a new kibbutz and devote her life to peace. She arranged a solidarity bike ride on both sides of the Gaza border fenc...

Patients with memory problems walk away from assisted-living facilities just about every day in America; many die. The Post examines a pattern of neglect in America’s booming assisted-living industry.  Read more: Since 2018, more than 2,000 people have wandered away from assisted-living and memory-care facilities unattended or unsupervised. These are facilities that charge families thousands...

In a momentous ruling that may shape U.S. political history, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that former president Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and is therefore disqualified from the presidency . Read more: The decision by Colorado’s highest court, the first of its kind involving Trump, would keep him off the 2024 primary ballot in the state over his role in the Jan. 6 , 2021, insurre...

U.S. support of Israel’s war in Gaza has been unwavering – but as the civilian death toll climbs, international calls for a ceasefire are growing. Today, the mounting concern over Israel’s tactics and how the Biden administration is responding. Read more: Nearly 20,000 Palestinians have been killed and millions displaced since Israel declared war on Hamas in Gaza. Conditions for people in Gaza are...

As social media disinformation grows, academics are studying its harms. But big-tech funding at universities is creating a fraught power dynamic that recently erupted at Harvard, where a researcher claimed Meta forced her ouster amid critical research. Read more: Silicon Valley tech giants, including Google and Facebook parent Meta, are increasingly influential at universities across the United St...

After about 10 weeks of coaching this summer, six women turned their experiences of motherhood, loss and empowerment into their biggest display yet: a play called “Turning Pain Into Purpose: Say My Son’s Name.” They had hoped if a broader audience could hear their stories , something in the community might change — no more mothers crying over dying sons. – This story is part of a collection of new...

After half-a-century in a tank, a beloved orca named Tokitae was about to be freed. Then her life ended, and a moment of reckoning began. Read more: Most of the nearly 50 southern resident orcas taken from the Pacific Northwest during the 1960s and ’70s died within the first years after their capture. One endured. Tokitae spent more than 50 years performing in the Miami Seaquarium’s “whale bowl” –...

Scientists came to Greenland on an unprecedented mission to drill for rocks that would reveal the fate of the country’s fast-melting ice sheet. A sudden crack in the ice threatened their experiment.  Read more: The Greenland Ice Sheet contributes more to sea level rise than any other ice mass. If it disappeared, it would raise global sea levels by 24 feet , devastating coastlines home to abou...

Kate Cox caught the attention of the nation last week when she asked a Texas judge for permission to end her pregnancy. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk to Caroline Kitchener about the new legal battles over abortion access.   Read more: Kate Cox caught the attention of the nation last week when she asked a Texas judge for permission to end her pregnancy. Three days later, a pregnant wom...