Today, a conversation with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on how loneliness is posing a profound public health threat in the United States. 

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Vivek Murthy, surgeon general of the United States, says loneliness is a serious threat to the mental and physical health of the nation. Studies show half of U.S. adults experience loneliness, and the consequences can be devastating; from a greater risk of depression and anxiety, to heart disease, stroke and dementia. 

In an advisory issued in May, Murthy called for Americans to spend more time with each other, especially in an increasingly divided and digital society. Today, we talk to Murthy about what loneliness looks like in America, how technology is a double-edged sword, and how we can strengthen our social connections with each other.

The United States won’t default on its debt payments, that’s the good news. The bad news? A lot of Democrats and Republicans are unhappy with the agreement that President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy crafted.

Yet, both men say the deal represents a win for their respective parties. So, who actually got what they wanted out of this deal? Rachel Siegel joins us to explain. 

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Here’s what’s in the debt ceiling bill

The new SNAP work requirements in the debt bill, explained 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won reelection, beating a challenge from a united opposition movement and cementing his tenure at the country’s helm into a third decade.

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Erdogan’s victory affirmed his political survival and his support among loyal supporters, many of them conservative Muslims. Turkey’s overseas allies, including the United States, must now navigate their relationship with Erdogan and his relations with international actors, including Russia. 

Istanbul bureau chief Kareem Fahim explains what Erdogan’s win means for people in Turkey and globally.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis created an election police unit to crack down on voter fraud. But actual convictions by this unit are rare — and the toll on Florida’s voters is climbing higher.

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In its first nine months, the Office of Election Crimes and Security referred hundreds of alleged illegal voting cases to local law enforcement for possible charges — but few resulted in any arrests. 

Lori Rozsa covers Florida for The Washington Post. She explains why DeSantis wants more money for a department that isn’t bringing in convictions.

“The Little Mermaid” has debuted with Halle Bailey playing the titular character, Ariel. Culture reporter Helena Andrews-Dyer shares why this movie matters to Black girls, especially, and what Disney is doing with its successful intellectual property.

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The Washington Post’s culture reporter Helena Andrews-Dyer happens to be a mom of two Black children. That’s part of the reason she was so excited to see “The Little Mermaid,” which debuted recently.

But in today’s episode of “Post Reports,” there’s more to unpack about the live-action remake than just how it’s creating a moment for Black representation. Andrews-Dyer and host Elahe Izadi discuss why Disney is, once again, reusing a successful intellectual property.

The duo also comes to terms with some of the less-than-progressive statements that the animated version of “The Little Mermaid” has made in the past, and how Disney is trying to right its wrongs.

You can also read Post film critic Ann Hornaday’s three-star review of the movie here.

The author of a new biography about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. unravels the story of how one fabricated quote perpetuated a story that King and fellow civil rights leader Malcolm X were antagonists. 

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When author Jonathan Eig was doing research for his new biography about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., he was digging through archives and libraries, trying to find information about the historic civil rights leader. One day, he was reading the full, unedited transcript of an interview between journalist Alex Haley and King. Eig was familiar with the published version of that interview, which appeared in a 1965 issue of Playboy. But as Eig read the unedited transcript, he was shocked. Haley had taken King’s words out of context and completely fabricated a quote that criticized fellow civil rights leader Malcolm X.

Today, Eig breaks down how this quote fueled the public perception that the two leaders were adversaries and explains the truth behind King and Malcolm X’s relationship. 

As the 2024 campaign season approaches, an early favorite to clinch the Republican nomination for president, Ron DeSantis, is starting to lose his shine, just as he is about to officially enter the race.

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The 44-year-old governor of Florida became a national name by defending former president Donald Trump. But now they are in a power struggle. 

DeSantis plans to announce that he is running for president during a Twitter Spaces discussion with Elon Musk Wednesday evening. But the past few months have been challenging for the soon-to-be candidate. Trump has gone on the offensive, attacking DeSantis’s record, and donors are getting nervous. His support of a six-week abortion ban and a feud with Disney are also raising questions about his electability. 

Reporter Hannah Knowles discusses what we know about Gov. Ron DeSantis, his policies and his political strategy as he enters the race to become president.

Across the life span, the risk of death is higher for men and boys than women and girls. The longevity gap is the greatest it’s been in years. It’s a health crisis that’s largely silent because men are largely silent about their health. 

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The crisis in men’s health goes beyond men not going to the doctor enough. Men are dying, on average, nearly six years sooner than women — and the numbers for men of color are even worse. 

Tara Parker-Pope is the editor of The Post’s “Well+Being” section. She joins guest host Chris Velazco to talk about why men are dying sooner than women, and what we can do about it.

Ever since the 2020 election, Arizona election official Bill Gates has struggled with PTSD. He’s one of many election workers who are still coping with the barrage of death threats and harassment they endured in the wake of former president Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. 

As the country braces for another presidential election cycle, in which Trump is the Republican front-runner, Gates is coming forward with his story about the psychological toll disinformation about the last election has taken on him and other elections officials. 

Reporter Yvonne Wingett-Sanchez joins us to explain. 

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• Arizona official targeted by election deniers now struggles with PTSD

Today, a story about the uncharted legal territory of a new abortion law, and the consequences for families and doctors who end up in the middle.

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Nobody expected Baby Milo to live a long time. The unusual complications in his mother’s pregnancy tested the interpretation of Florida’s new abortion law. 

Earlier this year, Washington Post reporter Frances Stead Sellers shared the story of Deborah Dorbert, a woman who was carrying a pregnancy to term after being denied an abortion, despite the fetus having a rare fatal condition. Florida’s abortion ban includes an exception for fatal fetal abnormalities, but her doctors told her they could not act as long as the baby’s heart was beating.

While that story went viral around the world, Debbie continued to do the best she could to prepare for delivering a child that wouldn’t survive even a few hours.

Debbie and her husband Lee named their baby Milo. He lived for 99 minutes. 

A Title 42 border policy has expired. The public health measure allowed the U.S. to turn away many migrants and asylum seekers at the border because of the pandemic. But what does the end of the policy mean for migrants now?

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For many migrants hoping to enter the United States, a Title 42 border policy was a big boundary. It was a Donald Trump-era pandemic policy that made it easier for the administration to turn away migrants at the border. The policy expired May 11.

On today’s “Post Reports,” immigration reporters Arelis Hernández and Nick Miroff talk about people at the border waiting to cross and the promises President Biden made that have soured.

Today on “Post Reports,” what could happen if the United States government fails to raise the debt limit by the deadline.

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Yesterday, President Biden met with congressional leadership to talk about the “X date”; that’s the date after which the Treasury projects the U.S. government would no longer be able to pay its bills. The “X date” is June 1, and if a deal isn’t struck by then, the United States would default on its debt.

If the United States were to default, that could mean a variety of catastrophic economic consequences: millions of federal workers furloughed; Social Security and Medicare payments suspended; a stock market collapse; an economic recession.

White House economics reporter Jeff Stein explains these “doomsday” scenarios and breaks down what could happen to the U.S. economy, and even the global economy, if a deal isn’t reached.

The Discord leaks keep sending shockwaves globally. This week, the slow drip of intelligence has the world’s attention on Ukraine and the Wagner Group. Also, we’ll learn more about Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old allegedly behind the leaks.

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While fighting for Russia in occupied Ukraine, the Wagner Group has taken heavy losses in the devastated city of Bakhmut. According to U.S. intelligence leaked on Discord, the mercenary army’s head, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, appeared to offer Ukrainian intelligence a deal: Withdraw from Bakhmut and we’ll tell you the position of Russian forces. 

National security reporter Shane Harris explains how the leaks have affected the Ukraine war, and he brings us his latest reporting on Jack Teixeira, the accused leaker, and his disturbing behavior, both on and offline.

A little more than a year ago, Elon Musk made a hostile takeover bid to buy Twitter. Today on “Post Reports,” we look back at a chaotic year for the platform and ask what we can learn from Musk’s handling of the company as he appoints a new CEO.

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Twitter has been dramatically transformed under Musk, and few — even among some in the billionaire’s corner — say the changes have been for the better. In recent weeks, government agencies, news organizations and powerful social media influencers have questioned the usefulness of the platform, with some major players publicly abandoning their accounts or telling users that they can’t rely on it for urgent information.

Advertisers have fled in droves over Musk’s policy changes and erratic behavior on the site, causing advertising revenue to recently drop by as much as 75 percent, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive internal information. Rounds of layoffs have left Twitter operating with a skeleton staff of 1,500 — an 80 percent reduction — and the platform is so riddled with bugs and glitches that the site goes down for hours at a time. Meanwhile, the company’s valuation has cratered, Musk has said, to less than half the $44 billion he paid when he bought the company roughly six months ago.

Along with culture changes, Musk has reinvented the platform in ways that have confused users, who once knew Twitter as a widely admired news aggregator.

As Musk appoints a new CEO and steps down, we look back at how he’s managed the company, the changes he’s made to the platform and how his reputation has shifted because of all this. 

Family bloggers share their lives, and their kids’ lives, online. But what happens when those kids grow up? New legislation is aiming to make sure children are protected and compensated if their parents make money off sharing their childhoods.

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Mommy bloggers have been around for more than two decades.. They share everything online, from struggles with postpartum depression to the highs and lows of having  toddlers. These blogs have been helpful for parents, but when content is focused on their kids, it can feel like a violation for them.

Now, there’s legislation being put forth that might make it possible for children of family vloggers to get paid for their labor. Online culture columnist Taylor Lorenz talks with producer Jordan-Marie Smith about exactly how this might happen, and what to know about sharing any image of a kid on social media.

The potential conflicts of interest keep stacking up for the Supreme Court. Today we break down the recent reports about issues such as luxury vacations gifted to Clarence Thomas and the occupation of John Roberts’s wife. 

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First, it was revealed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been accepting luxury gifts from a Republican mega-donor. Then, Justice Neal Gorsuch sold his home to a lawyer whose cases appear in front of the Supreme Court. And now, Justice John Roberts is under scrutiny because his wife makes money as a legal recruiter, pairing lawyers up with law firms. In each of these cases, critics say the justices failed to appropriately disclose these financial gains. 

Journalist Robert Barnes walks us through the details of these conflict-of-interest cases, what the current disclosure requirements entail, and the options legal experts have posed for how to make a more ethical Supreme Court.

A civil jury in New York has found that former president Donald Trump sexually assaulted and defamed the writer E. Jean Carroll. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about the evidence, the possible political consequences and why this trial happened.

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Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before siding with Carroll, awarding her a combined $5 million in damages. She testified during the trial that Trump violently assaulted her in the mid-1990s and inflicted further trauma by ridiculing her when she spoke out, calling her a liar and saying that she wasn’t “his type.”

That claim became central in the trial because Trump mistook an old photo of Carroll for a photo of his ex-wife in his deposition. Combined with the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women, his deposition became key evidence for Carroll’s legal team. 

At least 17 women have accused Trump of varying degrees of sexual misconduct. Trump has denied every sexual harassment claim against him, but many of his accusers saw themselves in Carroll.

Since the verdict, concerns about Trump’s electability have resurfaced within the Republican Party.

The covid public health emergency is ending this week after more than three years. Today on “Post Reports,” health reporter Dan Diamond breaks down what this means for our day-to-day lives and our future pandemic preparedness.

Federal vaccine mandates and travel requirements will soon be gone as what’s left of the nation’s pandemic emergency response ends this month. The White House’s covid response team is disbanding, too – all with little to no fanfare.

“It feels like slouching across the finish line of a race,” health reporter Dan Diamond tells “Post Reports.” 

“The overall tenor here is not ‘mission accomplished.’ President Biden's not standing on an aircraft carrier with a banner behind him.” 

All in all, it’s a confusing moment of hopes and concerns. For millions of people, this period also marks an end to Medicaid coverage they depended on during the pandemic. Covid isn’t the threat it once was back in 2020 – confirmed deaths and cases have dropped in recent months. But the virus also doesn’t appear to be going away, and some disease experts are warning of the possibility of future waves of omicron-like illnesses.  

“Covid is something I still think about every day,” Diamond says. “But it doesn't govern my life the way that it did earlier in the pandemic.”

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As pandemic experts leave the White House, some worry: what’s next?

What the end of the covid public health emergency means for you

Why are we forgetting the pandemic already?

WHO declares covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency

Covid is still a leading cause of death as the virus recedes 

While the coronavirus emergency declaration officially ends this week, neuroscientist-turned-science-journalist Richard Sima has been pondering this question: Why are so many of us starting to forget much of the pandemic? 

The coronavirus pandemic is a historic event that has impacted everyone across the world. And yet, “given the quirks of human memory,” many of us may not remember much about this time, Sima tells “Post Reports.” 

Today, we dig into the science of why many of our brains may be losing our pandemic memories, and how we can still honor and learn from our experiences. 

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Science of forgetting: Why we’re already losing our pandemic memories

What the end of the covid public health emergency means for you. 

Is King Charles III a billionaire? Officially, it’s unknown how rich the king is, but what is known is that in addition to receiving a stipend from United Kingdom taxpayers, Charles has created a  lucrative business empire. 

As the country prepares to celebrate the king’s coronation on Saturday, which is expected to cost the U.K. government tens of millions of dollars, some British residents have expressed  dissatisfaction with the royal family’s wealth and questioned whether the monarchy should remain in 2023. 

London correspondent Karla Adam joins us today to explain. 

Read more: 

• How rich is King Charles? Coronation prompts scrutiny of royal wealth.
• The many details of Coronation Day show the king Charles wants to be
• King Charles III built a town from scratch. It embodies his worldview.

Television and movie writers kicked off a strike this week after negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood producers went sideways. Today we dig into why writers such as Josh Gondelman are hitting the picket lines.

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Late-night shows are on hiatus. Movie scripts might not have anyone to write them. And it’s all because at least 11,000 Writers Guild of America union members started striking this week. Writers are fighting for better pay in the streaming age and protections from the use of artificial intelligence. 

Reporter Anne Branigin explains the stakes of this massive strike, the first in 15 years. The last time it happened in 2007, Hollywood felt the impact for months, with an estimated $2 billion in losses for the industry. In 2023, the technology might be different, but the demand is similar: financial stability.

A lot of us question how much we can minimize our carbon footprint in our day-to-day lives. Should we go vegan? Recycle more? Or just never fly again? 

That’s where The Post’s climate coach, Michael Coren, comes to the rescue.

In today’s episode, he answers your questions about how to make smart decisions every day that will help the planet.

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Why free street parking could be costing you hundreds more in rent.

These 4 free apps can help you identify every flower, plant and tree around you.

How an engagement bike changed one couple’s life.

You’re probably recycling wrong. This quiz will help you sort it out.

See how a quick-fix climate solution could also trigger war.

Congress and President Biden have five weeks to strike a deal on raising the debt ceiling, according to a new projection from the Treasury Department. Otherwise, the country will need to brace for an economic catastrophe. The problem? Neither side is willing to compromise. 

President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have agreed to meet next week, but both have also insisted they are unwilling to negotiate, stoking fears that the government may miss this critical deadline. 

Tony Romm joins “Post Reports” to explain. 

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• Biden seeks debt ceiling talks, as U.S. faces possible June 1 default
• Here’s what’s in the House GOP bill to raise debt limit, cut spending
• With debt bill adopted, far-right House Republicans ready for fiscal war

Join “Post Reports” on a journey through the Kutupalong mega camp in Bangladesh. It’s home to about a million Rohingya refugees who fled persecution in Myanmar only to face growing militant threats from within the camp. 

The Kutupalong encampment has become increasingly difficult for visitors to access. Armed guards man the entrance. Documentation to enter is hard to come by. But earlier this year, Rebecca Tan, The Post’s Southeast Asia bureau chief, spent two weeks inside. She discovered deteriorating conditions, frightened refugees with nowhere else to go and a desperation fueling the growth of violent Rohingya groups inside the camps. 

In today’s episode, Rebecca takes us into the lives of a Rohingya community that much of the world keeps forgetting. And she uncovers the story of one man, Mohammad Ismail, who, despite the dangers of coming forward, has been fighting for his family and for his people’s survival. 

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The Rohingya fled genocide. Now, violence stalks them as refugees.

Aid dwindles for Rohingya refugees as money goes to Ukraine and other crises.

Rohingya refugees are braving perilous seas to escape camp desperation.

Fire rips through Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh, displacing 12,000.

On today’s bonus episode of “Post Reports,” a conversation between our senior host Martine Powers and the author Curtis Sittenfeld about her new book, “Romantic Comedy.” 

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This month, Martine spoke with Curtis Sittenfeld in front of a live audience at D.C.’s Sixth & I synagogue, in partnership with Politics & Prose. 

Learn more about “Romantic Comedy” here.

“Who Is Hillary Without Bill?” In her previous book, novelist Curtis Sittenfeld imagines another life for Hillary Rodham.

Today on “Post Reports,” how artificial intelligence can re-create voices that may have otherwise been lost to disease.

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When Mark Dyer was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) last year, he started on a difficult checklist. He got his will in order; he got set up to receive Social Security and disability benefits. But of all the things Mark had to do to get ready for life with ALS, there was one thing he found himself putting off: voice- and phrase-banking. 

These technologies allow people with ALS, who may eventually lose the ability to speak, to communicate using a recorded, synthetic version of their own voice. And artificial intelligence is allowing ALS patients to sound more like themselves. 

Today on “Post Reports,” we talk to reporter Amanda Morris about the technology that preserves voices that would otherwise be lost to disease. We explore what improvements to this technology mean for the mental health of the patients using synthetic voices.

“We often talk about artificial intelligence in a negative way,” Morris says. “But what I thought was interesting about this story is that we look at some of the positive impacts that artificial intelligence is having on people who have different conditions and disabilities. And, sometimes I think it’s nice to tell a good story.” 

After an ongoing medical absence, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is being called on by her colleagues to resign. Today, why Feinstein is in the hot seat and what this moment could mean for the trailblazer’s legacy.

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In early March, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was hospitalized with a case of the shingles. Since then, she’s been absent from her job, and her Democratic colleagues have been calling on her to resign. As the tie-breaking vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Feinstein’s absence has stalled President Biden’s judicial nominations from moving forward. 

Cue the outrage. 

In a tweet last week, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) publicly called out Feinstein’s refusal to resign as irresponsible at a time when Republican-appointed judges are calling the shots on significant legislation across the country.

Congress reporter Liz Goodwin walks us through the Democratic infighting over Feinstein’s absence. We trace the discontent with Feinstein to its partisan origins, discuss wider concerns about her age and mental acuity, and grapple with what this moment could mean for Feinstein’s legacy as a trailblazing female lawmaker.

The Wagner Group is a name that seems to be coming up a lot lately, whether it’s in connection with the war in Ukraine or the fighting in Sudan. Today on “Post Reports,” reporter Greg Miller unpacks the origins of this mercenary network and its growth fueling instability around the world.

The Wagner Group operated in the shadows for years, its network of mercenary forces aiding the Russian government in military operations in places such as Ukraine. 

In the time since, the Wagner Group has expanded and morphed well-beyond Russia’s borders, fueling instability and helping autocrats maintain or challenge power through disinformation campaigns and building up their military.

But according to newly leaked U.S. intelligence documents, the Wagner Group is becoming even more “nefarious,” Greg Miller, an international investigative reporter, tells “Post Reports.”

“It's actually trying to destabilize parts of Africa so that then it can again back Russia’s preferred and favored candidates,” as it seeks to further gain wealth and resources of its own, Miller explains. 

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Wagner Group surges in Africa as U.S. influence fades, leak reveals.

Russian mercenaries are closely linked with Sudan’s warring generals. 

What is the Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary outfit in Ukraine? 

Here we go again: President Biden has just announced his 2024 reelection bid. But has his time in the White House actually convinced voters to give him another four years? Or are even his supporters turning “blah” for Biden?   

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The video starts out dramatically. Images of the Capitol under attack on Jan. 6, 2021. Grainy footage of a protest on the grounds of the Supreme Court. A musical score to rival a Marvel superhero movie. 

And then President Biden’s voice, announcing his 2024 campaign: “Freedom. Personal freedom is fundamental to us as Americans. That’s been the work of my first term. To fight for our democracy,” he says, music soaring under the voice-over of the launch video. “This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection.” 

But as the campaign tries to ratchet up excitement for the president’s reelection bid, the roadblocks to another four years are also mounting. Rising inflation. Stagnant legislative attempts. And, maybe most importantly, an enthusiasm gap from voters — even the people who supported Biden in 2020.

White House reporter Tyler Pager joins “Post Reports” to give a snapshot of the country — and a president — in the run-up to 2024.  

The new live-action Barbie movie is highly anticipated … among adults. Today on “Post Reports,” we unpack the business decisions behind Mattel’s move.

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Can nostalgia make the Barbie movie a win for Mattel? A few weeks ago, Warner Bros. dropped a full-length trailer for the highly anticipated film from Greta Gerwig and her co-writer and partner Noah Baumbach. 

Since the trailer dropped, it has gone viral – among young adults – making business reporter Rachel Lerman wonder why a toy-maker is making a movie for grown-ups. 

Rachel talked to industry analysts and Barbie fans about Mattel’s strategy and what this movie can tell us about the cultural moment we’re in.

Missing people, buried car parts and human remains in Oklahoma: the silent but not so secret influence of white-supremacist prison gangs.

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Carol Knight thought she was going to build her dream home in Choctaw, Okla. But when she started renovations, she discovered all kinds of debris buried on her property. Everything from electronics to car parts and motorcycles. 

Carol had heard rumors that the previous residents weren’t the most upstanding citizens, so she called her friend Jathan Hunt, a private investigator, to check out the area. His dogs found some bones, which they handed over to authorities. But Jathan continued to search for answers about what may have happened at Carol’s property.

While Jathan was busy working the case, local, state and federal authorities have been looking into a slew of missing person cases in the area. Which led them to a compound with potential ties to a white-supremacist prison gang, the Universal Aryan Brotherhood. 

Post reporter Hannah Allam has been following the developments in Oklahoma and tells us what she’s learned about this secretive investigation. 

Disney has planned out the next decade of Marvel and Star Wars films, but are audiences still willing to keep up with all its content, or is fatigue setting in? 

When Disney bought Star Wars and Marvel for a total $8.05 billion, it made a big bet that audiences would consistently keep up with the interconnected storylines that span movies, television shows and video games. 

But while the franchises remain relatively successful, there are signs that audiences are starting to feel fatigue. Marvel’s most recent film, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” was panned, Star Wars fans criticized the most recent trilogy of films, and Disney CEO Bob Iger recently said it may be time for the company to reconsider its investments in the two franchises. 

David Betancourt, who reports on comic book culture for The Post, joins us to explain. 

We’ve been nominated for four Webby Awards, including best hosts. If you like the show, please consider voting for us! You can learn more about the Webby Awards and vote for our show here.

Read more:

• How will Marvel Studios bounce back from its wave of bad news?
• It’s time for Star Wars fans to get excited about movies again

A violent showdown between Sudan’s two most powerful leaders has brought a new level of instability to the region. Today on “Post Reports,” a look at how the country went from hopes of democracy just a few years ago to being on the cusp of civil war. 

The conflict between the country’s main military and paramilitary leaders – boiled over on Saturday, rocking the country’s capital and catching civilians, aid workers and international residents in the crossfire.  

“The scale of the violence and how quickly it broke out caught people by surprise,” Katharine Houreld, The Post’s East Africa bureau chief, tells “Post Reports.” “And that’s meant millions of people have been trapped not just in the capital, but in cities all over Sudan.” 

Sudan is the third-largest country in Africa, home to 46 million people. For decades, it has faced an uphill battle in its quest for peace and democracy. 

In 2019, the country’s longtime ruler, Omar al-Bashir, was ousted. An interim joint civilian-military government was formed, with the aim of transitioning to a democracy over time. But in the fall of 2021, the country’s military chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, took over the government in another coup, in an uncomfortable alliance with the paramilitary head, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. 

Now their infighting and escalating violence is raising worries that such volatility could spread throughout the horn of Africa. 

“There's a lot at stake in this conflict,” Houreld says. 

Read more:

Generals’ war chests have fueled fighting in Sudan. 

Sudan’s neighbors fear spillover as death toll from clashes nears 200.

Civilian toll rises in Sudan as military, rivals fight for control. 

Veterans of violence, Sudan’s weary doctors brave another crisis.

U.S. convoy, aid workers attacked. 

Today, we look at how vague language in antiabortion laws has disrupted the standard of care for a pregnancy complication called PPROM.

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Anya Cook wants a baby more than anything. She and her husband, Derick, live in Florida. They experienced a long line of miscarriages. Then last fall, they tried IVF, and they got further in their pregnancy than ever before. Cook found herself shopping for baby clothes and maternity swimsuits. But then her water broke at 16 weeks; this was the beginning of a harrowing medical experience for Cook. 

Last week, Florida passed a bill that will enact a stricter abortion ban in the state; abortions are only legal through the first six weeks of a pregnancy. The law does have exceptions for fetal anomalies, rape, incest or if the life of the mother is in danger. But while these exceptions seem clear-cut, in reality, the way they are written into the law is vague. Reporter Caroline Kitchener tells us the story of Anya Cook, a woman whose complicated pregnancy got stuck in the gray area of Florida’s abortion ban. 

When Ron DeSantis first ran for governor in Florida in 2018, a campaign ad boasted that he “dealt with terrorists in Guantánamo Bay.” Today on "Post Reports," our reporter digs in on everything we can learn about that time.

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Florida governor and potential 2024 candidate Ron DeSantis is in the news a lot. But little is known about his time serving as a Navy lawyer at Guantánamo Bay.

Today on “Post Reports,” political investigative reporter Michael Kranish tells us everything he could learn about a pivotal and violent year at the prison, and DeSantis’s role during it.

Ahead of opening arguments Monday, we unpack the Dominion defamation case against Fox News, and what the outcome could mean for the future of the media and democracy.

For the past week, the world has been transfixed by a massive leak of top-secret Pentagon documents. Today, we hear directly from one of the teenagers who was part of the Discord channel where it all started, and get inside the head of the alleged leaker.

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On Thursday, a young member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was arrested by the FBI in the investigation into leaks of hundreds of pages of classified military documents to a Discord group of friends and acquaintances. 

Today on “Post Reports,” we hear from one of the teenagers who was part of that online group and get insight into why someone with a security clearance and a position in the U.S. military might leak these documents.

As national security and intelligence reporter Shane Harris explained, usually when people leak information it’s because they want to expose wrongdoing by the government, or they think a crime is being committed. But his source said the alleged leaker is not a whistleblower.

“I've never encountered an instance when someone was releasing classified information because he wanted to impress a bunch of teenagers,” Harris said.

The photos of top-secret Pentagon documents first started appearing online on Discord, a chat platform popular with gamers. But where did they come from? And just how many military secrets do they contain? 

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Last week, reports surfaced that a trove of classified documents was leaked on a number of social media platforms. The documents cover worldwide intelligence briefings, assessments of Ukraine’s defense capabilities, and the highly classified methods the United States uses to collect information. 

But were these documents real? U.S. officials who spoke to The Washington Post said that some of the materials did not appear forged. Still, some documents appeared to be manipulated, including data from the Ukraine war that suggested Russian casualties were not as high as reported.

Today on the show, national security reporter Alex Horton walks through the origin of the leaked documents, how the Justice Department is investigating these revelations, and what consequences these could have for the war in Ukraine, and the rest of the world.

Late Friday, two conflicting rulings threw a key abortion medication’s FDA approval into question. Today on Post Reports, we break down the legal confusion and talk about what could happen next.  

At the center of this unprecedented legal clash is mifepristone, a drug that is part of a two-step abortion pill regimen used by millions of people. A federal judge in Texas blocked the FDA’s longtime approval of the drug. Less than an hour later, another federal judge, in Washington state, ordered that the drug remain available in a swath of states. 

The dueling cases are creating confusion and questions about the future of medication abortion in America. 

Today on “Post Reports,” legal affairs reporter Ann Marimow walks through the cases and what they mean. 

Read more: 

A Texas abortion pill ruling threatens the FDA.

Can I still get a medication abortion?

In a divided nation, dueling decisions on an abortion pill. 

Don’t miss a chance to experience “Post Reports” live! “Post Reports” senior host Martine Powers will be in conversation with author Curtis Sittenfeld at Sixth & I in Washington at 7 p.m. on April 13. Get tickets here.

An especially risky kind of virus hunting aims to identify new viruses in animals that have yet to jump to humans. Imagine trips to distant caves and wrangling bats to pull blood and DNA samples. The hope is to use that knowledge to be a step ahead and develop therapeutics and surveillance that could help prevent a future outbreak or, worse yet, a deadly pandemic from erupting.

But a year-long Post investigation by David Willman and Joby Warrick has found that such research may be putting the world at greater risk for the very thing it’s trying to contain, as a result of potential leaks and accidents in the wild and in the labs. The Post discovered that the world lacks oversight for such high-risk research, yet a main driver of its expansion in recent

years has been the United States. Experts within the administration have been raising red flags.

The covid-19 pandemic, Willman and Warrick continue, is forcing difficult and uncomfortable conversations around doing such research and how to responsibly prepare for and prevent the next big pathogen threat to humans.

“There are thoughtful, well-informed scientific experts who are saying, ‘look, it’s time for a reckoning. We have observable lessons from the pandemic. We need to apply those,’” Willman tells Post Reports.

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How controls on ‘gain of function’ experiments with supercharged pathogens have been undercut despite concerns about lab leaks.

NIH biosecurity advisers urge tighter oversight of pathogen research

Lab-leak fears are putting virologists under scrutiny

What we know about the origin of covid-19 and what remains a mystery. 

Don’t miss a chance to experience Post Reports live! Post Reports senior host Martine Powers will be in conversation with author Curtis Sittenfeld at Sixth & I in Washington, D.C., at 7 p.m. on April 13. Get tickets here.

What is it like to leave a country in crisis - only to return years later to a devastated homeland? Today, a Post photojournalist journeys back to Iraq after 24 years. 

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Salwan Georges, a photojournalist at The Post, left Iraq more than two decades ago. Georges and his family spent five years in Syria as refugees, eventually settling in Detroit, Mich. 

As The Post prepared to cover the 20th anniversary of the Iraq war, Georges traveled back to his homeland for the first time since leaving. Through his camera lens, he rediscovered the Baghdad he left behind, and the sites of familial joy and tragedy that had long been left to imagination. Today on the show, Georges talks about his homecoming and what it meant to return to Iraq as a photojournalist. You can view Georges’s photo essay, “The Iraq I Never Knew,” here. 

The Post Reports team has two pieces of exciting news to share. First, we’ve been nominated for four Webby Awards, including best hosts. If you like the show, please consider voting for us! You can learn more about the Webby Awards and vote for our show here.

Second, don’t miss a chance to experience Post Reports live. Post Reports senior host Martine Powers will be in conversation with author Curtis Sittenfeld at Sixth & I in Washington, D.C., at 7 p.m. on April 13th. Get tickets here.

Many American cities are being gentrified — and getting Whiter. Today on “Post Reports,” we go to Denver to see how the city has changed and what longtime residents are doing about it.

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As the United States is getting more diverse, the opposite has been happening in American cities over the past decade. In some cities, local governments have invested more money in public infrastructure such as parks and transportation to attract residents as developers have built new upscale apartment buildings. Based on an analysis of census data by The Post, Marissa Lang and her colleagues took a closer look at four U.S. cities to understand the different ways that gentrification is changing life for residents.

One of these cities was Denver, where Marissa spent time with politicians and residents who are fighting to prevent displacement and heard about what it’s been like to see their city change rapidly in shape and demographics.    

Don’t miss a chance to experience “Post Reports” live! “Post Reports” senior host Martine Powers will be in conversation with author Curtis Sittenfeld at Sixth & I in D.C. at 7 p.m. on April 13. Get tickets here.

Finland just joined NATO. Sweden is waiting in the wings. Will this beefed-up security alliance — a direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — be enough to keep President Vladimir Putin at bay? 

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On Monday, Finland officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) making it the 31st member of the alliance. Finland, which historically stayed neutral throughout the Cold War, felt inspired to join after witnessing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and they’re not the only country that has asked to join. Sweden has also requested to join NATO, but their application has faced resistance from Turkey.

Today on Post Reports, Brussels bureau chief Emily Rauhala explains the significance of Finland’s ascent into NATO, and what that could mean for European security and the relationship between Western countries and Russia at a critical moment in the war in Ukraine.

Plus, check out Post Reports in person: best-selling author Curtis Sittenfeld is in conversation with host Martine Powers in Washington, D.C. Join the discussion live at Sixth & I or take advantage of the virtual live stream.

Former president Donald Trump was arraigned Tuesday for hush money payments made to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. Here’s what that means politically for the GOP and Trump.

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Former president Donald Trump is still campaigning and collecting contributions even though he surrendered to authorities today in New York. 

Post reporter Michael Scherer examines what the indictment might mean for the Republican Party. He also explains how Trump is capitalizing on the media attention of this unprecedented moment.

Former Fugees rapper Pras is on trial for conspiracy, money laundering and acting as a foreign agent. The case, involving celebrities and political figures, is a small part of a bigger scandal: the $4.5 billion theft from the Malaysian government.

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Leonardo DiCaprio. Steve Bannon. Kim Kardashian. All of these people are somehow connected to a trial stemming from one of the biggest financial scams in history: the $4.5 billion theft from the 1MDB Malaysian government fund. Prakazrel “Pras” Michél, a Grammy-winning rapper formerly of the Fugees, is on trial for conspiracy, money laundering and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Michél has pleaded not guilty.

Federal prosecutors allege Michél received money from Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, who has been charged with numerous federal crimes related to pilfering the development fund and himself is a fugitive from justice. Michél’s trial will focus on two alleged schemes: whether the former rapper funneled money from Low to the Obama campaign using straw donors, and whether he helped Low in a plot to influence the Trump White House in deporting a Chinese dissident, Guo Wengui.

Many people connected to this scandal have already pleaded guilty. Michél, who faces many years in prison, will be on trial for weeks. His lawyers have said the former rapper was an amateur diplomat and political novice unfamiliar with campaign donation rules who was only trying to help his country by brokering a deal involving Guo’s extradition.

“At its core, what this case is about and what all the offshoot cases are about, is the Justice Department trying to hold people accountable for what they describe as this massive theft from the Malaysian people,” says criminal justice editor Matt Zapotosky, who has followed this case for years.

Plus, check out Post Reports in person: best-selling author Curtis Sittenfeld is in conversation with host Martine Powers in Washington, D.C. Join the discussion live at Sixth & I or take advantage of the virtual live stream.

Former president Donald Trump has been indicted. Today, how the case could test the limits of our political and legal systems.

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A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former president Donald Trump, making him the first person in U.S. history to serve as commander in chief and then be charged with a crime, and setting the stage for a 2024 presidential contest unlike any other.

The indictment was sealed, which means the specific charge or charges are not publicly known. But the grand jury had been hearing evidence about money paid to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Washington Post reporter Devlin Barrett says charging a former president with a crime will be the ultimate test of our legal and political systems. Today on the show, Barrett walks us through what we know about the indictment, and what could happen next as this landmark legal battle begins. 

As loneliness rates spike, more people are getting romantically and emotionally attached to artificial intelligence bots. Today, we report on what it’s like to fall in love with software (and what happens when it breaks your heart).

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T.J. Arriaga lost so many family members around the time when he downloaded Replika. The artificial intelligence company allows people to customize AI bots that they can chat with. In Arriaga’s case, he fell in love with his chat bot Phaedra. The 40-year-old musician is not alone. Innovations reporter Pranshu Verma talked with several people among the thousands who say they’ve developed emotional or romantic relationships with one of Replika’s AI bots, including engaging in erotic role play.

But, when the company updated its software to be more “sanitized,” users who were attached to their AI bots experienced heartbreak, among other conundrums.

On today’s Post Reports, why more and more people are falling in love with AI products. And, the ethics behind these relationships.

“America’s Pastime” is struggling to keep Americans interested. Today ahead of Opening Day, we talk about Major League Baseball’s introduction of a pitch clock to try to speed things up and appeal to younger audiences. 

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This season, baseball is trying something new to speed up the game: a pitch clock. The goal is to make baseball more exciting by requiring pitchers and batters to move more quickly (but will it actually bring in new fans?).

Reporter Chelsea Janes joins Post Reports just ahead of Opening Day to explain what the pitch clock is and how it will impact the game. 

Read about what happened when the pitch clock debuted at spring training this year.

At a school in Nashville on Monday, a shooter used two AR-style weapons and a handgun to kill three children and three adults. Today on “Post Reports,” we look at the history of the AR-15 and how it became America’s gun. 

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The AR-15 wasn’t supposed to be a bestseller. 

The rugged, powerful weapon was originally designed as a military rifle in the late 1950s. “An outstanding weapon with phenomenal lethality,” an internal Pentagon report raved. It soon became standard issue for U.S. troops in the Vietnam War, where the weapon earned a new name: the M16.

Few gunmakers saw a semiautomatic version of the rifle — with its shrouded barrel, pistol grip and jutting ammunition magazine — as a product for ordinary people. It didn’t seem suited for hunting. It seemed like overkill for home defense. Gun executives doubted many buyers would want to spend their money on one.

And yet, today, the AR-15 is the best-selling rifle in the United States, industry figures indicate. About 1 in 20 U.S. adults — or roughly 16 million people — own at least one AR-15, according to polling data from The Washington Post and Ipsos.

So, how did we get here? The Post’s Todd Frankel explains.

What damage can an AR-15 do to a human body? The Post examined autopsy and postmortem reports from nearly a hundred victims of previous mass shootings that involved AR-15-style rifles to show the impact of bullets from an AR-15 on the body.

High-capacity-magazine bans could save lives. Will they hold up in court? Legislative and legal battles flare over restrictions that experts say could reduce casualties in AR-15 attacks.

Nationwide strikes and protests erupted in Israel as outrage grew over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the country’s courts. Many saw the move as a threat to Israel’s democracy. And on Monday, Netanyahu announced he would put the plan on pause.

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For months, Israelis have rallied against the country’s right-wing government as it tries to force a drastic overhaul of the Supreme Court. But protests intensified when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, after Gallant criticized Netanyahu’s judiciary reform.

The country was at a standstill as Israeli universities, workers’ unions, hospitals, malls and Israel’s national air carrier, El Al, announced a general strike and the international airport terminated outgoing flights indefinitely.

And it seems the protests had an effect. On Monday, after a long day of protests, Netanyahu announced a delay to the judicial reform proposal. 

The Washington Post’s Steve Hendrix in Jerusalem walks us through what happened, what this means for Israel and what might come. 

Join Post Reports LIVE on April 13th! Martine Powers will host a live conversation in D.C. with best-selling author Curtis Sittenfeld at Sixth and I, in partnership with Politics & Prose. Sittenfeld is the author of books like “Eligible” and “American Wife.” Her latest novel is “Romantic Comedy,” about a late-night comedy writer’s search for love. Listeners can purchase tickets here, and if you can’t make it to D.C., you can always join via a livestream.

Today, what a landmark poll of U.S. transgender adults reveals about what life is like for trans people in America.

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In this atmosphere of intense polarization around transgender rights, The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation set out to hear what transgender Americans had to say on topics ranging from their experiences as children in school to navigating the workplace, the doctor’s office and family relationships as adults. The resulting Washington Post-KFF Trans Survey is the largest nongovernmental survey of U.S. trans adults to rely on random sampling methods.

Today on the show, health reporter Fenit Nirappil walks through the results of the poll and shares the stories of trans patients who face discrimination when trying to access health care. 

TikTok is on Capitol Hill today. Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of the popular social media app, testified in front of Congress about the company’s data security practices and its relationship with the Chinese government, as more lawmakers advocate for banning the app in the United States. 

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Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, testified in front of the House Energy Committee for five hours on Thursday. He was grilled by lawmakers on issues ranging from data privacy to national security. 

For years, lawmakers have threatened to ban the social media app in the United States, and legislation is inching forward that might make it a reality. But there are sharp generational and political divisions on the subject, with TikTok users more likely to oppose a ban. Recent polling shows that more Americans back a TikTok ban than oppose one. And TikTok says there are 150 million active monthly users in the United States. 

Business and tech policy reporter Cristiano Lima, who also writes the Technology 202 newsletter, joins us from the Hill to discuss the hearing and what this might mean for TikTok in the United States.

Today, what Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit could mean for the balance of global power.

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This week, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for the first time since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. Reporter Mary Ilyushina says, while the two leaders have met many times before, this meeting showed the two countries' commitment to creating a new world order, one where the U.S. is no longer the arbiter of everything that happens on the global stage.

A conservative Catholic group spent millions of dollars on app data that identified gay priests. A Washington Post investigation dives into how this secretive group got data from Grindr and other apps, and what this story can tell us about data privacy in the U.S.

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In the summer of 2021, a prominent priest, Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, was mysteriously outed for being a regular on Grindr, the gay dating and hookup app. The scandal sent shock waves through the Catholic church.

Religion reporter Michelle Boorstein spent the past year-and-a-half investigating this story and figuring out who was behind this effort, and how they got access to this data. She stumbled upon a secretive group of conservative Catholic philanthropists that poured millions of dollars into obtaining data that identified priests who were using dating and hookup apps.

As Michelle and tech reporter Heather Kelly explain, this story goes well beyond the Catholic church and raises red flags for all of us about the lack of data privacy laws and protection for people using mobile apps. 

Are we in the middle of a financial crisis? Today’s show breaks down the latest bank crises — from Credit Suisse to First Republic.

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Another week, another banking calamity. 

On Sunday, Swiss banking giant UBS came to the rescue of its rival, Credit Suisse. It was the first near-collapse of a European bank on the heels of three regional bank implosions in the United States.

Economics reporter Abha Bhattarai helps us decipher all the bank failures over the past couple of weeks. And as the Federal Reserve meets this week, Abha explains how its interest rate hikes have contributed to the instability of the financial sector.

As the U.S. continues to grow racially and ethnically diverse, that shift is reflected in how our names are changing. Still, culture wars persist. And that can mean Americans are forced to consider what makes us American, and what makes a name American.

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Two years ago this week, a 21-year-old gunman in Atlanta massacred eight people in three  spas. Six of those victims were women of Asian descent.  It prompted a wave of reporting about racist attacks and violence, and for Marian Chia-Ming Liu, it began a deeply introspective journey – one that prompted thousands of Washington Post readers to reach out with stories about their own experiences with their names.

Marian talks with Elahe Izadi about what she discovered on her name journey, and what other people from across the country have shared with her along the way. 

Join Post Reports LIVE on April 13th! Martine Powers will host a live conversation in D.C. with best-selling author Curtis Sittenfeld at Sixth and I, in partnership with Politics & Prose. Sittenfeld is the author of books like “Eligible” and “American Wife.” Her latest novel is “Romantic Comedy,” about a late-night comedy writer’s search for love. Listeners can purchase tickets here, and if you can’t make it to D.C., you can always join via a livestream.

Today on Post Reports, we take you to an abortion hearing in Amarillo, Tex., that the judge didn’t want you to know was coming. 

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In a four-hour hearing on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk heard arguments in a lawsuit that could restrict access nationwide to the abortion medication mifepristone. The lawsuit alleges that the medication is unsafe, despite being approved and highly regulated by the FDA for decades. However, many antiabortion activists are hopeful that Kacsmaryk will rule against the FDA, because of his strong religious beliefs and previous support of antiabortion organizations. 

National political reporter Caroline Kitchener was inside the courtroom for the hearing and explains what she heard and what the implications of the ruling could be.

The AI behind ChatGPT just got an upgrade. But it might not have all of the bells and whistles that some were expecting.

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GPT-4 might sound like gibberish, but it could change what you expect from your apps (not to mention what happens when you try out ChatGPT). If you need a recipe and are low on groceries, you could soon take a picture of your open fridge for the system to “look” at, identify your ingredients, and whip up a recipe for the night. 

That being said, there are limits to what this new AI language model can do. For instance, even though GPT-4 is better at logic than its predecessor, it can still give answers containing false information. 

Tech reporter Drew Harwell breaks down the other ethics issues GPT-4 has raised.

Teachers across the nation are changing how they teach in response to state laws, administrative decrees and parental pressure. Today on “Post Reports,” we explore three examples of things teachers are cutting from their lesson plans. 

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School districts and teachers are grappling with how to teach race, racism, U.S. history, sexual orientation and gender. 

These fights are happening in school board meetings, local town halls and on the campaign trail. A growing parental rights movement is fighting for greater control over what schools teach and the books available to students in school libraries and classrooms. At least 64 state laws have already reshaped what students can learn and do at school, and this fight is likely to be a main talking point ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Education reporter Hannah Natanson talked to teachers across the country to hear how and why their lesson plans were changing. Here’s what she found. 

Silicon Valley Bank is dead. The institution that was a major financier for venture capitalists, tech start-ups and other Silicon Valley outfits has collapsed. Enter: the federal government.

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When depositors who belonged to Silicon Valley Bank started quickly withdrawing their money recently, it caused a “bank run.” This led to the ruin of the tech-focused bank, the largest bank failure since the Great Recession. Now the federal government is stepping in to ensure customers are still able to access their money and company payrolls are distributed.

Silicon Valley Bank catered to start-ups, venture capitalist groups, and even companies like Pinterest and Airbnb. Reporter Jeff Stein talks about why the government is taking such drastic measures to make sure all deposits will be available this week.

It’s not just on movie sets like the infamous “Rust.” Beyond Hollywood’s glitz and glamor, and the spectacle of the upcoming 95th Academy Awards, there are hidden dangers on many of the sets for the tv shows and movies we love.

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Back in October 2021, two major events happened in Hollywood. First, 60,000 union members overwhelmingly voted to go on strike because of rough working conditions on television and movie sets. The strike was narrowly averted, but it left union members wanting more. Later that month, actor Alec Baldwin allegedly shot and killed a crew member on the set of his movie “Rust.” Many blamed poor set conditions, with crew members walking off-set the day of the shooting.

Washington Post filmmakers Lindsey Sitz and Ross Godwin made a documentary called “Quiet on Set” about the people behind the Hollywood cameras and sets. They say 18-hour days have led to dangerous accidents, and sexism and racism can run rampant behind the scenes. But speaking out can get you blacklisted.

Sitz and Godwin spoke with five union crew members about the things they’ve seen, heard, and experienced while on set. “Quiet on Set” paints a picture of exploitation, cost-cutting, and turning a blind eye, all in the name of Hollywood.

Today on Post Reports, as we near the three-year mark of the pandemic, health reporter Lena Sun digs into the science of grief and what she learned through her own loss. Her mother was one of more than 1 million Americans who died of covid.

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This week, we’re marking three years since the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 was a pandemic. Since March of 2020, more than a million people have died in the United States alone and we’ve lost more than 6 million people worldwide to covid. 

We’ve turned to health reporter Lena Sun often over the last few years for advice on masking and social distancing, to explain how the virus spreads and how vaccines work, and for accountability reporting on the way politics and policies have interfered with science. But while she was one of the lead reporters covering the pandemic, Lena was also coping with her own loss. She lost her mother to covid in April of 2020, a famed writer on the Chinese immigrant experience, and then her sister died last year of pancreatic cancer. 

Today on the show, Lena shares what she’s learned about the science of grief - and how we can all process so much tragedy from the last three years.

Today, what we know about the four Americans who were kidnapped in Mexico, and what this incident can tell us about medical tourism, the security situation at the U.S. southern border, and how U.S. policy has contributed to the problems.

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Last week, four American friends from South Carolina were kidnapped in the Mexican border city Matamoros. By the time Mexican security forces located them on the outskirts of the city Tuesday, two of the Americans were dead and another was injured. The two survivors have been returned to the border, and one suspect is in custody with an ongoing manhunt for others. 

Today, The Washington Post’s Kevin Sieff explains how this affects the security relationship between the United States and Mexico, and what role the U.S. has played in making Matamoros a place where violence and kidnappings happen, often with impunity.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, enables low-income families to put basic food on the table. This month, SNAP experienced dramatic cuts that have left many families and seniors struggling to figure out how to survive on less than $6 per meal. 

That can mean cheaper, less-healthy options like canned and processed foods, which are high in sugar and are major drivers of obesity, reporter Laura Reiley tells “Post Reports.” 

“It's a hunger that looks different than it used to in this country,” Reiley says. 

So why the change? Amid heightened financial and food insecurity during the pandemic, a federal assistance program upped monthly SNAP benefits. That program came to a screeching halt last week, despite a continued rise in food prices. Many families and seniors are seeing their monthly food assistance drop by more than $100. 

State-level shifts are also reducing the level of assistance. And yet, “the food that we routinely feed our families has gotten a lot more expensive,” Reiley continues. “The math that's been used to determine how much a meal costs has not kept up with inflation or how we eat.” 

Read more:

Millions could see cuts to food stamps as federal pandemic aid ends.

A mile-long line for free food offers a warning as covid benefits end.

Republicans take aim at food stamps in growing fight over federal debt.

Today on the show, the $500 million alleged Ponzi scheme that preyed on Mormons.

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Las Vegas investigative reporter Jeff German was killed outside his home in September; a Clark County official he had investigated is charged in his death. To continue German’s work, The Washington Post teamed up with his newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, to complete one of the stories he’d planned to pursue before he was killed. A folder on German’s desk contained court documents he’d started to gather about an alleged Ponzi scheme that preyed upon hundreds of people — many of them Mormon — over the course of five years. Post reporter Lizzie Johnson began investigating. Today on Post Reports, we look at how more than 900 people invested an estimated total of $500 million into an alleged Ponzi scheme, and why the men who allegedly ran this operation are still walking free. 

If you’re gearing up to clean out your closet this spring, you might be wondering: Where can I donate all these clothes? And: What actually happens to these clothes when I do donate? The Washington Post’s climate solutions team has some answers.

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From Goodwill to disaster-relief efforts to those big metal donation boxes on street corners, there are a lot of options for where to give those clothes you just don’t wear anymore. But whether those old t-shirts ever find new, good homes is a more complicated story. 

Allyson Chiu, a climate solutions reporter for The Post, breaks down where donated clothes end up and offers some advice about what to watch out for as you consolidate your closet. 

Why did the College Board, which oversees Advanced Placement classes, change certain parts of the AP African American studies course framework? Post Reports digs into the latest controversy about the new AP course, still in its pilot stages.

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After Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis came out against the new AP African American studies course, it sparked a controversy. The state said it wouldn’t allow students to take the class because it lacked educational value.

Then the College Board changed the course framework just in time for its debut on the first day of Black History Month. Many questioned whether conservative leaders prompted changes to the program. Where the word “systemic” was mentioned in the previous plan for the class, it was completely removed from the new one. The same with other topics, such as Black Lives Matter and reparations, which went from 15 mentions in April 2022 to one in February 2023. 

Education reporter Nick Anderson breaks down what happened to AP African American studies and why these changes occurred in the first place.

Violence has been mounting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for months, but the situation is already reaching a new level of escalation in 2023. 

“Everything is falling apart,” The Post’s Miriam Berger explains to guest host Libby Casey, referring to the fragile dynamics between Palestinians and Israelis in the region.  

At least 60 Palestinians and a dozen Israelis have been killed in recent weeks in the occupied territories, a level that is on track to be the bloodiest in two decades. That’s despite rare talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jordan last weekend. 

On Monday, a Palestinian man shot and killed two Israeli brothers in the West Bank town of Huwara. Later that day, dozens of Israeli settlers torched cars and homes in Palestinian communities, killing one man in revenge.  

“You have this growing insecurity amongst Palestinians and also the cycle of revenge attacks happening,” says Berger. 

The clashes come amidst massive protests in Israel itself, and a major shift to the right in the country’s new government. The empowerment of extremist leaders has further fueled more violent acts, as Palestinian house demolitions and raids are on the rise. 

Read More: 

Emboldened by Israel’s far right, Jewish settlers fan the flames of chaos



Israeli settlers rampage through Palestinian towns in revenge for shooting

At least 11 Palestinians killed, 100 wounded in Israeli raid in the West Bank

Jerusalem demolitions gain pace under Netanyahu, enraging Palestinians

Why Israel’s planned overhaul of the judiciary is tearing the country apart

Itamar Ben Gvir: How an extremist settler became a powerful Israeli minister

At least 7 killed in East Jerusalem synagogue shooting

After deadly Israeli raid in Jenin, fears of escalation in West Bank

In the wake of the 2020 election, Fox News aired false claims about election fraud promoted by Trump allies. A lawsuit, however, reveals that top executives and hosts privately doubted the legitimacy of those claims. Reporter Jeremy Barr joins us to explain. 

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• In recently revealed texts and emails, Fox News hosts privately disparaged election theories being aired on their shows. 
• Rupert Murdoch, chair of Fox News’s parent company, acknowledged in a lawsuit that he wishes the network had done more to push back on false election claims. 

Today on Post Reports, we look at how the boundaries between work and life are potentially changing, from the feasibility of a four-day workweek to protections for workers when they're off the clock.

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The five-day workweek is the standard in the United States, and in many other countries across the world. But advocacy groups, and employees themselves, have been dreaming about the possibility of a four-day workweek. Recently, dozens of companies in the United Kingdom finished a four-day workweek pilot program; in the U.S., there is also state and federal legislation proposing employees work one day less for the same pay. Corporate culture reporter Taylor Telford explains how the pandemic has shifted our ideas about work, and how feasible a four-day workweek could really be. 

Plus, we explore “the right to disconnect,” a movement that advocates for employees to be allowed to disengage from work after working hours. The Post’s Niha Masih explains how certain countries are protecting people from work encroaching on their personal time. 

It’s been one year since Russia invaded Ukraine. The Post’s Ukraine Bureau Chief reflects on the war, its impacts and what the future might look like for these countries. 

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Europe’s biggest land war since World War II just entered its second year, with no clear end in sight. 

The losses are unimaginable – estimates suggest there have been hundreds of thousands of casualties, as well as mass evacuations and family separations. According to the United Nations, the war has forced one third of Ukrainians out of their homes and nearly 8 million Ukrainian refugees have sought shelter in other European countries. And the fighting continues. 

Isabelle Khurshudyan, the Post’s Ukraine Bureau Chief, guides us through the first days of the invasion and describes what we’re seeing now. 

Today, we look at how former Donald Trump voters are feeling about his 2024 presidential run, and whether Trump’s grip on the Republican base is slipping. 

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Over the past several months, a team of reporters at The Washington Post traveled to five swing states to ask former Trump voters about their feelings toward the former president ahead of the 2024 election. After more than 150 interviews, they found tension within the Republican base, and a growing range of Trump supporters who aren’t sure they want him as the party’s next nominee.

Washington Post reporter Isaac Arnsdorf breaks down why Trump might be losing voters, how they feel about the other “Florida guy” who might run for president, and what this could all mean for the future of the Republican Party.

For months, economists warned that the U.S. economy may enter a recession. Instead, the economy appears to be growing. Rachel Siegel joins us to explain why economists were worried, and what led this economy to defy predictions.

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• A good jobs report complicates the Fed’s fight against inflation
• Inflation has gone down for seven months, but still remains at an overall high

“Post Reports” looks at why students were asked to leave Yale University while they were having mental health crises.

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Nicolette Mántica was having a tough time at Yale. At the end of her freshman year, she started struggling with her mental health. She eventually was taken to a hospital for help. While there, college officials gave her no other choice but to withdraw, she said, and she went back to her home in rural Georgia.

Reporter William Wan talked to Nicolette and other students about their similar experiences with the prestigious university after they sought help for suicidal ideation or other mental health crises. 

Wan also looked into how Yale’s policies changed recently and what students – both current and former – think of the changes.

Today on Post Reports, culture writer Helena Andrews-Dyer breaks down our current Beyoncé moment: After breaking the record for Grammy wins and ahead of her upcoming world tour, we talk about why Beyoncé is more relevant than ever.

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Beyoncé is having a moment. She just broke the record for winning more Grammys than any other artist, and her fans are clamoring for tickets to her Renaissance concert tour. But institutions like the Grammys are still not giving her the highest award: Album of the Year. Culture writer Helena Andrews-Dyer explains why Beyoncé (and this moment) matter, even if you're not a fan.

Nearly two weeks ago near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed, forcing residents in East Palestine to evacuate. But as cleanup continues, many residents still have questions about whether it’s safe to keep living there. 

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A Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3. Fifty cars derailed, 20 of which contained hazardous materials. The dangerous chemicals released as a result of the accident have forced many to evacuate the area. 

There are still many unknowns about the environmental impacts of the derailment. But water officials are tracking contamination in the Ohio River and local waterways. Some residents have reported side effects from breathing the chemicals, such as headaches and nausea. 

The Washington Post’s Scott Dance traveled to East Palestine to attend a town hall and talk to residents about how they are coping. 

Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley announced that she’s running for president. Today on “Post Reports,” we hear from her supporters about why they’re choosing her over former president Donald Trump, and what her entrance means for the 2024 race. 

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Nikki Haley kicked off her campaign with a rally in Charleston, S.C., where she pitched a wider-tent approach to GOP politics. The former South Carolina governor and ex-U.N. ambassador is counting on Republican voters who are “tired of losing” the popular vote in elections. But can her twist on Republican identity politics bring back the voters that fled the party in the Trump era?

Audio producer Arjun Singh takes “Post Reports” to Charleston for the campaign launch.

Early last week, earthquakes hit southern Turkey and northwestern Syria. The death toll had surpassed 41,000 people by Tuesday. As rescuers continue the search for survivors in both countries, many people are sleeping in cars or tents.

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Last week, we talked with Post reporter Sarah Dadouch about the fatal earthquake that had just hit the Turkish and Syrian border. Now, we look at the aftermath in the wake of what’s being called Turkey’s biggest disaster. 

Middle East bureau chief Kareem Fahim describes a death toll of tens of thousands, why the death toll was so high in Turkey and how foreign aid isn’t making its way to the areas in Syria that need it most.

Big Tech was moving cautiously on AI. Then came ChatGPT. As tech reporter Nitasha Tiku explains, the surge of attention around ChatGPT is pressuring tech giants to move faster, potentially sweeping safety concerns aside.

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Google, Facebook and Microsoft helped build the scaffolding of AI. Smaller companies, like OpenAI, are taking it to the masses, forcing Big Tech to react.

Microsoft is trying to push its search engine Bing into the future with OpenAI technology. The company held an artificial-intelligence event at its headquarters and talked about new uses for ChatGPT as the AI arms race heats up.

AI can now create images out of thin air. See how it works.

HBO’s new show “The Last of Us,” which is based on a 2013 video game, has won acclaim from critics and gamers alike for its unusual twist on a zombie story. Gene Park joins us to explain why the show has resonated with viewers.

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Read Gene Park’s review of HBO’s “The Last of Us”

Read about the real science behind the zombie plague in “The Last of Us”

The antiabortion movement spent nearly 50 years organizing around one goal: overturning Roe v. Wade. With that success, what’s next? We go inside the movement’s biggest annual event to examine its diverging paths and possible futures.

The annual March for Life is the antiabortion movement’s biggest event of the year, bringing tens of thousands of protesters to the National Mall in D.C. But this year’s march was different. With Roe v. Wade now overturned and the constitutional right to an abortion no longer guaranteed, the movement has achieved its most important singular goal – the one around which it had coalesced for nearly 50 years. 

National political reporter Caroline Kitchener went inside this year’s march to see how the antiabortion movement is approaching this post-Roe moment, and how its possible paths forward may be diverging. With a sense of jubilation on one hand and an air of disappointment on the other, she found a movement wrestling with how to stay united and win a bigger battle: the hearts and minds of a country that largely favors abortion. 

Antiabortion politicians are mounting efforts to further restrict abortion locally and nationally. Their efforts could restrict access to abortion even in so-called “haven states.” And an imminent federal district court ruling in Texas could have a “catastrophic” effect on access to abortion pills nationwide. 

Caroline’s ongoing audio reporting with “Post Reports” was honored this week with a prestigious duPont-Columbia Award! You can listen to more of our coverage of this important issue here: 

Preparing for a post-Roe America

In Oklahoma, a closing window to access abortion

Drafting the end of Roe v. Wade

The untold story of the Texas abortion ban

The day Roe v. Wade fell

She wanted an abortion. Now, she has twins.

Today on Post Reports, we talk to national security reporter Shane Harris about exclusive reporting from The Washington Post on the vast aerial surveillance program behind the Chinese spy balloon.

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The U.S. intelligence community has linked the Chinese spy balloon shot down on Saturday to a vast surveillance program, and U.S. officials have begun to brief allies and partners who have been similarly targeted.

Why balloons? The technology is old but effective, according to Shane’s sources. 

“The real advantage that the balloon has is that it actually moves very slowly,” Shane said. “That balloon could hover over a target at an altitude of about 60,000 to 80,000 feet, where it might be very hard to see. And it can stay there potentially for hours.”

The United States hasn’t been great at detecting the balloons before now. In some cases, the balloons had been characterized as UFOs. 

Shane breaks down what this renewed concern about Chinese surveillance means for U.S.-China relations going forward — and why so many countries spy on each other.

Why the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria was so deadly and how rescue efforts are going.

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Early Monday morning, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked southern Turkey and northwestern Syria. The shock was felt as far as Egypt, leveling buildings and killing more than 7,000 people as of Tuesday afternoon. So far, rescue efforts have been complicated by frigid temperatures, and the earthquake has compounded other crises in war-torn Syria. Beirut-based correspondent Sarah Dadouch has been speaking to survivors and describes the devastation and what the aftermath will look like.

President Biden will outline his goals for the next year at Tuesday’s State of the Union address. Today on Post Reports, we look at how the White House has deployed Vice President Harris over the past two years. 

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On Tuesday, President Biden will deliver the State of the Union address.  While the 2024 election is more than a year away, this moment has prompted questions from Democrats about future leaders of the Democratic party.

Vice President Harris has long been considered to be Biden’s successor. But is she up to winning the top job? Today on the show, White House reporter Cleve R. Wootson Jr. breaks down what Harris has accomplished in her time as vice president, the criticism she faces, and how Democrats are thinking about her future in the party. 

At every age and stage of life, we’re faced with making tough financial decisions. Am I ready to buy a house? Should I start saving for retirement? And what the heck is FICA? 

For nearly 30 years, Michelle has answered these questions for Washington Post readers. Now, she has compiled her most frequently asked questions in a new project, Michelle Singletary’s money milestones for every age. But, do her own children take her advice?

On this bonus episode of “Post Reports,” personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary talks to her daughters about their finances. Olivia and Jillian are both in their 20s. They sat down with their mom to discuss how they think about their finances as young adults and the children of a finance wiz. 

With the Oscars on the horizon, The Washington Post’s chief film critic and a culture writer share their hot takes on the movies they loved and who may win the golden statues.

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This year’s Oscars are already notable: Angela Bassett became Marvel’s first performer to be nominated, and a controversy surrounding an unlikely best actress nomination kicked up concerns about social media campaigning. 

That doesn’t mean that all of the movies were memorable, but they were surprising, according to The Post’s chief film critic Ann Hornaday and culture writer Sonia Rao. 

Hornaday and Rao share their top films, the themes that bring the best picture nominees together, and who they think will win at the 95th Academy Awards on March 12.

There are no spoilers. We promise.

The new Republican House majority is off to a shaky start. We’ll unpack the drama over committee assignments, the debt ceiling fight and a House speaker who has a very precarious hold on power.  

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The 118th Congress started with a long and contentious vote for House speaker. After 15 rounds of voting, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) won that fight, but he’s still struggling to seize control of an unruly party with a slim House majority. 

McCarthy is now negotiating committee assignments with input from a small but vocal far-right contingent. And he’s reeling from controversy surrounding a freshman member of the House, George Santos (R-N.Y.).

On top of all that, Democrats and Republicans are in a fight over the debt limit, with no easy path forward.

Reporter Leigh Ann Caldwell joins us to walk us through this chaotic Congress.

After years of protest, the FDA is easing the blood donation ban for gay and bisexual men. Today on the show, what this means for LGBT rights and the nation’s blood supply.

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Gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships will no longer be forced to abstain from sex to donate blood under federal guidelines announced last week. The proposed relaxation of restrictions follows years of pressure from blood banks, the American Medical Association and LGBT rights organizations to abandon rules some experts say are outdated, homophobic and ineffective at keeping the nation’s blood supply safe.

Health reporter Fenit Nirappil breaks down what these new rules mean for men who have sex with men, and how this change comes after years of stigmatization of the gay community.

For many Americans, it’s almost time to pay the rent, and prices are soaring. The Biden administration has stepped in to help renters, but will it have an impact? Rachel Siegel joins us to explain.

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• Read about the Biden administration’s plan to help tenants

After Tyre Nichols —a young Black man — was beaten to death by police in Memphis, the fact that the five officers charged are Black has prompted activists to grapple with the complex pervasiveness of institutional racism in policing.

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Tyre Nichols was a 29-year-old Black man who died after sustaining injuries from a police beating in early January. Five officers were fired and charged with second-degree murder. A sixth officer, who is White, has been suspended, the police department said Monday. Video footage of the attack was released Friday. Protests have been subdued— in part, Robert Klemko says, because the five officers charged are also Black men.

“The fact that these officers were Black took the wind out of a lot of folks' sails and created, specifically in communities of color, this feeling of sorrow as opposed to anger,” Klemko says.

Today, how another death of a Black man at the hands of police officers illustrates institutional racism in policing — regardless of the race of the officer.

Despite recent headlines about layoffs, the story of many industries is still too many jobs and not enough workers. Today on “Post Reports,” we do a deep dive into the restaurant industry and ask – where did all the workers go?

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A little over a year ago, “Post Reports” Executive Producer Maggie Penman reported on quitters – the millions of Americans who left their jobs during the pandemic. Now, more than a year later, she’s puzzled by the continued worker shortages and “help wanted” signs across so many industries. If workers aren’t staffing restaurants, shops or daycares – then where did they go?

The answer is complicated – it takes us from a restaurant in Massachusetts to a children’s museum in Maine – and tied to big economic trends that long predate the pandemic. 

Today on “Post Reports,” we go on a search for the missing worker and uncover years of declining immigration, an aging workforce, a continued lack of child care and the surprising decline of men in the labor force. 

Check out the music you heard at the top of the show from Mosaic Mirrors here.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern surprised many when she announced her decision not to run for reelection. Though she enjoyed global popularity as a feminist icon, her reputation at home was more mixed. Ishaan Tharoor explains why.

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• Ishaan Tharoor’s column on Ardern’s legacy
• Jacinda Ardern didn’t make mothering look easy. She made it look real.

Despite having some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, California has experienced three mass killings in the past 10 days. Today, we examine what any state could do to stop these tragedies in a country awash in guns.

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California has a reputation as a tough place to buy a gun. The state’s patchwork of gun laws has been judged the strongest in the nation by one gun-control advocacy group.

But recent mass killings in the state, including in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, illustrate how the state’s strict gun laws are are limited by a broader reality in which gun ownership is  widely considered a constitutionally protected right, firearms move freely between states with vastly different regulations and gun-control measures are dotted with exceptions.

There have already been 39 mass shootings in 2023 in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Mass shootings — in which four or more people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed — have already averaged more than one per day this year. Gun violence remains significantly less common in California than in most other states, which advocates credit to the laws on the books.

Today, the Post’s West Coast correspondent Reis Thebualt joins us to examine the impact of California’s gun laws and ask what any state could do to stop these tragedies in a country awash in guns. 

Floods, wildfires, droughts and other extreme weather events can lead to more domestic violence around the world. Today’s show looks at why this happens and how advocates and emergency responders can extend a helping hand.

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The Washington Post partnered with The Fuller Project, a nonprofit news organization, to unpack evidence that domestic violence cases often rise wherever extreme weather events take place. The Fuller Project’s editor in chief, Eva Rodriguez, joins the show today to discuss not only why this happens but how isolation and forced migration can affect domestic violence rates as well.

Today on “Post Reports,” personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary offers up some of her time-tested, conventional financial wisdom.

At every age and stage of life, we’re faced with making tough financial decisions. Am I ready to buy a house? Should I start saving for retirement? And what the heck is FICA? 

For nearly 30 years, Michelle has answered these questions for Washington Post readers. Now, she has compiled her most frequently asked questions in a new project, Michelle Singletary’s money milestones for every age. 

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It’s time to rethink our friendships. Research shows that strong friendships are essential to a healthy life.

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Have you ever neglected your friendships for romantic love? It may be time to rethink your priorities. 

A growing body of research shows that friends are essential to a healthy life. Cultivating strong friendships may be just as important for our well-being as healthy eating habits or a good night’s sleep. Platonic love may even be more important than romantic love. 

People with strong friendships tend to have better mental health, and there may be benefits to our physical health, as well. Large social networks lower our risk of premature death more than exercise or dieting alone, research found. 

Teddy Amenabar reports for the Well+Being section at The Washington Post and walks us through these findings and offers advice for how to maintain our friendships. 

Who is George Santos, and why does it seem as though everyone on Capitol Hill is talking about him? Today, we have the story of the embattled lawmaker and why some voters in his district want him removed from his seat.

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Freshman Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has an interesting biography, littered with untruths. He claimed he had worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. He said the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks claimed his mother’s life. And he mentioned that four of his employees died in the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre. These were just a few of the claims Santos made that were discovered to be fabrications.

Post reporter Camila DeChalus spent time with Santos’s constituents in New York’s 3rd Congressional District. Some voters said they wanted him gone from his seat in the House. DeChalus breaks down how that might — or might not — happen.

Today on “Post Reports,” we cover the latest news from the war in Ukraine –  and talk about why Putin is increasingly isolated, even among Russia’s elite. 

Over the weekend, a Russian missile struck a nine-floor apartment complex in central Ukraine. The timing, on a weekend afternoon, meant many people were at home at the time of the strike. Dozens of people were killed. The move seems to signal a new level of desperation from Russia – and reporter Catherine Belton says Russian President Vladimir Putin is increasingly isolated as the war grinds on, from the West but also his own allies among Russia’s elite. 

Putin on Tuesday used new government data to paint a surprisingly rosy picture of Russia’s economy. “The actual dynamics of the economy turned out to be better than many expert forecasts,” he said during a virtual meeting on the economy.

“It's not really clear what he's talking about because no one really knows what actually the ruble’s value is anymore. It’s being artificially set by the central bank,” Belton says.

Today on “Post Reports,” we dive into Catherine’s reporting on the gulf emerging between Putin and some of Russia’s elite – leaving the leader increasingly friendless and increasingly paranoid. 

As California works through the devastating consequences of catastrophic flooding, today on “Post Reports” we look back at another climate disaster and ask if survivors can find healing on the very land that holds the scars of climate change.

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From deadly flooding to destructive wildfires, Californians have been coping with the perils of climate change for years. More than four years after the Camp Fire destroyed the town of Paradise, one study on the fire’s aftermath said survivors experienced PTSD at rates on par with veterans of war.

Research increasingly shows that victims of climate change disasters are left with deep psychological wounds — from anxiety after hurricanes to surges in suicide during heat waves — that the nation’s disaster response agencies are ill-prepared to treat.

But in the burned and battered forests near Paradise, a small program run by California State University at Chico is using nature therapy walks to help fire survivors recover.

Today on “Post Reports,” climate reporter Sarah Kaplan explains how the program is testing a fraught premise: that the site of survivors’ worst memories can become a source of solace.

Today, Post advice columnist Carolyn Hax offers some guidance to the splintered British royal family.

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Lately, there’s been a lot of news about the British royal family. There’s a Netflix documentary series about Harry and Meghan, and this week Harry released his new memoir, “Spare.” Both are packed with surprisingly intimate details about the lives of the former royals, including Harry taking magic mushrooms at a celebrity party as well as intentional palace leaks to the tabloids. From the outside, it seems like the royals have a lot of work to do to rebuild their relationships.

That’s where Post columnist Carolyn Hax comes in. 

In today’s episode, Carolyn gives advice about a few key scenarios that are all about the royal family but could easily be relevant to many people’s lives.

What we know about the classified documents found in President Biden’s possession. How will a new special counsel investigation by the Justice Department work? And what are the similarities — and differences — with the investigation into former president Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents? 

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Amid new revelations of classified documents in his possession after the vice presidency, President Biden now faces a special counsel investigation. 

In November, a small batch of classified documents were found at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in downtown Washington, according to a CBS News report this week. The Post reported that the discovery involved about 10 classified documents.

In a statement Thursday, Biden’s legal team said more classified documents were found — this time, in the locked garage of his Wilmington, Del., residence.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert K. Hur, a former U.S. attorney, to handle the special counsel investigation. This comes as former president Donald Trump is also being investigated by a special counsel for retention of classified documents at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.

Today on the show, White House reporter Matt Viser breaks down what this could mean for the Biden presidency and how this could impact his potential run against Trump in 2024.

What was behind the sudden halt to thousands of domestic flights yesterday morning? Today on Post Reports, a conversation with transportation reporter Lori Aratani about a highly unusual aviation system failure and the deeper flaws it exposed.  

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More than 4,600 flights arriving in and out of the U.S. faced unusual delays yesterday morning, as aviation staff sought answers to an unexpected overnight outage of its airspace alert system. 

Preliminary reviews traced the problem to a damaged database file, but the sweeping stoppage that ensued was something the United States hadn’t experienced since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. 

This mass grounding of flights also came shortly after a messy holiday travel period: failures at Southwest Airlines prompted more than 16,000 flight cancellations. 

Combined, the logjams and stoppages point to a deeper problem with America’s very fragile aviation system, explains The Post’s Lori Aratani.

“This is just another sign of how we need to invest in infrastructure,” Aratani told Post Reports.

It came as a complete surprise. Last month, the Chinese government dropped most of its “zero covid” restrictions. Today on Post Reports, we find out what’s behind the shift and a massive covid outbreak that has since swept the country.

Since the start of the pandemic, China has kept in place rigid policies in hopes of eliminating the spread of covid-19. That all changed last month, amid outbreaks of the highly transmissible omicron variant and in the wake of unprecedented protests. In a sudden shift, the government announced no more lockdowns, no more mandatory testing and, as of this week, no more cross-border travel restrictions. 

“I don't think people saw that coming,” said Lily Kuo, The Washington Post’s China Bureau Chief.

But the situation is shrouded in mystery and concerns over a lack of information about the virus. While Chinese authorities report that cases are under control, behind the scenes footage, interviews with hospital and funeral staff, and satellite and forensic analysis from Kuo and her colleagues reveal a much different story. 

“We know that the health-care system is overwhelmed,” Kuo said. “We don’t know exactly how many deaths. And so it is hard to tell exactly how much of a crisis this is and how bad it will get.”

READ MORE: 

China, engulfed in covid chaos, braces for Lunar New Year case spike.

Everything you need to know about traveling to China. 

Restrictions on travelers from China mount as covid numbers there surge. 

Tracked, detained, vilified: How China throttled anti-covid protests.

President Biden promised a different approach to immigration than his predecessor, but he is still relying on some Trump-era tools. Today, a look at what Biden’s new strategy will mean for migrants and border communities. 

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President Biden announced new immigration policies that would expand legal entry into the United States for thousands of migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti, while continuing to rely upon a controversial Trump-era policy that would block access for others.  

These changes came ahead of this week’s North American Leaders’ Summit, where Biden and his Canadian and Mexican counterparts are discussing immigration and other top issues.

Arelis Hernandez, who covers the U.S. southern border and immigration, walks us through these new policies and how they would affect migrants and border communities.

Why thousands of supporters of the far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro trashed key government buildings in the country’s capital. And what’s next for the country’s new president and Brazil’s democracy.

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On Sunday, thousands of rioters destroyed key government buildings in Brasília, Brazil’s capital, to protest the election of the country’s new leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Most were supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who lost to Lula in a contentious, closely watched presidential race last year. Correspondent Anthony Faiola explains Brazil’s fraught relationship with democracy that led to this moment and how this event compares to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in the United States. 

Read our continuing live coverage of Brazil’s capital insurrection here.

On the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, we have a conversation about the political and legal consequences former president Donald Trump faces and how they are affecting his presidential campaign.

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Former president Donald Trump’s sphere of influence appears to be waning: Many of the candidates he supported publicly in the midterms lost races, and despite his recent announcement to run for the presidency again in 2024 his campaign has garnered little public support. National political reporter Isaac Arnsdorf discusses some of the significant setbacks Trump has faced and what consequences he could face, including the release of his tax returns and the recommendations for charges by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Where in the world is Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former president? Today’s Post Reports examines why Bolsonaro left the country ahead of the ceremonial handover of power, and what his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, could mean for a divided Brazil.

Brazilian elections were razor-thin: Lula won just 50.9 percent of the vote. But the country’s young democracy was put to its biggest test yet when incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro questioned the election process and never formally conceded. Many have likened his actions to those of former U.S. president Donald Trump.  

Gabriela Sá Pessoa has been covering the Brazilian election, from Bolsonaro rallies in São Paulo to Lula’s inauguration in Brasília. She breaks down what happened when Bolsonaro finally broke his silence in the days leading up to Lula’s inauguration this week and the mystery surrounding why the former president is staying in Florida. Meanwhile in Brazil, a once-jailed icon of the Latin American left returned to power with his own twist on an inauguration tradition, given Bolsonaro’s absence. But after the celebrations die down, how will Lula enact his ambitious agenda and lead a deeply divided country? 

Marriages, breakups and dates are still happening in Ukraine, even during the war against Russian forces.

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Reporter Jeff Stein recently reported on what love and intimacy look like during the war with Russian forces. What he found was that Tinder and sex shops still persist as cities in Ukraine continue to see airstrikes and hear sirens. Sometimes, when it doesn’t seem like either side is winning, love just might be.

Who will be the new speaker of the House? Republican leader Kevin McCarthy struggles to whip up the votes. 

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The House met for the first day of the 118th Congress on Tuesday to swear in members and elect a speaker for the new Republican majority. 

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) needs 218 votes to become the speaker of the House; he can afford to lose only four GOP votes. While an overwhelming number of Republicans want McCarthy to be speaker, several have remained firm in their opposition to his bid.

Political reporter Aaron Blake walks us through the drama leading up to and during the vote for speaker - and he details the long road ahead for McCarthy.

This week, we’re bringing you episodes of The 7 - a new podcast from The Washington Post. Your host Jeff Pierre takes you through the seven most important and interesting stories, so you can get caught up in just a few minutes. Make it a habit in the new year. 

Read today's briefing here.

This week, we’re bringing you episodes of The 7 - a new podcast from The Washington Post. Your host Jeff Pierre takes you through the seven most important and interesting stories, so you can get caught up in just a few minutes. Make it a habit in the new year. 

You can also read today's briefing here.

On The Post’s new podcast, "The 7," host Jeff Pierre takes you through the seven most important and interesting stories of the day. It's a way to get caught up in just a few minutes. It comes out every weekday at 7 a.m. Check it out today, then find and follow "The 7."

You can also read today's briefing here.

This week, we’re bringing you episodes of The 7 - a new podcast from The Washington Post. Your host Jeff Pierre takes you through the seven most important and interesting stories, so you can get caught up in just a few minutes. Make it a habit in the new year. 

You can also read the briefing here.

Who is the real Queen of Christmas? Not Mariah Carey, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Today on a bonus episode of Post Reports, we explain the legal battle for the Christmas throne.

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Read more about the legal battle over the “Queen of Christmas” title here.

Looking for a last-minute holiday gift? Right now, you can save over 70 percent on a new premium subscription to The Washington Post — and that new premium subscription comes with a bonus subscription to share. 

You can find this deal at washingtonpost.com/subscribe. 

Today on “Post Reports,” the way what we eat – and how we eat it – affects our mental health, not just our physical health. Plus, how to eat for your emotional well-being in the new year.

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Washington Post journalist Mary Beth Albright has been fascinated by the connection between food and mood for years. 

“What I began to realize is that food and emotions are inextricably entwined,” Mary Beth told Martine Powers. “We can either get to know the biology and the connection and how to use it, or we can deny the reality of it and just say, ‘Oh, I don't want to emotionally eat,’” when really the science shows that all eating is emotional eating.” 

Today on “Post Reports,” we talk to Mary Beth about her new book, “Eat & Flourish: How Food Supports Emotional Well-Being.” We cover why we get “hangry,” the joys and benefits of eating with other people, and how to harness the power of food to improve your mood and your well-being in 2023. 

After decades of attempts, scientists have finally created a nuclear fusion reaction in a lab. On today’s show, what this breakthrough means for the future of energy.

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Last week, the Energy Department announced that for the first time, scientists have been able to produce a fusion reaction that creates a net energy gain. This essentially means that in a lab-based setting, researchers were able to replicate the nuclear reaction by which energy is created within the sun. It’s a major milestone in a decades-long, multibillion-dollar quest to develop a technology that could provide unlimited cheap, clean power.

While nuclear fusion is still at least a decade – and maybe many decades – away from commercial use, officials from the scientific community and the government are looking at this moment as one of deep promise, in the hopes of developing carbon-free power. Innovation reporter Pranshu Verma unpacks how nuclear fusion works and what this could mean for the future of the planet.

Today on “Post Reports,” how the chaos of war can put even well-intentioned efforts to help Ukrainian refugees on unstable ground.

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It’s been 300 days since the start of the war in Ukraine. And since that war began, millions of Ukrainians have fled their homes to seek safety in Western Europe. 

Back in March, the leaders of European Union countries pledged to help Ukrainians by enacting their Temporary Protection Directive for the first time. This gave refugees access to housing, health care, education and the labor markets of the countries they arrived in. 

But temporary protection has been far from a golden ticket. 

Today on “Post Reports,” we hear from producer Rennie Svirnovskiy about how refugees have fared at a transit center on Ukraine’s border with Poland. And we hear from Rick Noack about why many Ukrainian refugees scattered across Europe are still waiting for the help they were promised.

Holidays and winter illnesses go hand in hand. Today on Post Reports, we unpack how to prevent the spread.

As families face a “tripledemic” of highly contagious respiratory viruses, we turn to national health reporter Lena Sun to understand the latest on how to stay healthy this holiday season. From effective flu and covid vaccines to DIY air filters, we find out what she has learned to keep viruses at bay, as well as what happened when she pressed a leading health official about the current masking guidance. 

Coronavirus cases are on the rise again in many parts of the country, and this year’s surge in flu is the worst in more than a decade. It’s overwhelming hospitals and leaving many families out sick for weeks. Yet it’s unlikely that mask mandates are coming back anytime soon. And while the uptake of covid booster shots is still very low nationwide, new studies have found that the updated versions can prevent serious illness and deaths, especially among older adults. 

Months after their Supreme Court victory, conservatives fear that new abortion bans aren’t being sufficiently enforced. Now, from mobilizing citizen investigators to blocking abortion pill websites, they’re pursuing unorthodox ideas to further crack down. 

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Nearly six months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, triggering abortion bans in more than a dozen states, many antiabortion advocates fear that the growing availability of illegal abortion pills has undercut their landmark victory. Complaining that strict new abortion bans aren’t being sufficiently enforced and worried about lackluster support from more moderate members of the Republican party, they are grasping for new ways to crack down on access. From mobilizing citizen investigators to blocking abortion pill websites, these advocates are pursuing some pretty unorthodox ideas.

On today’s episode of Post Reports, national political reporter Caroline Kitchener takes us inside the antiabortion movement’s war room for 2023, and explains why enforcement is its next big battleground. 

How a tip at a funeral became a year-long investigation into the sport of bodybuilding.

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When Post investigative reporter Desmond Butler’s father, George Butler, died last year, work was the last thing on Desmond’s mind. But a friend of his father came to him with a tip – startling allegations in the world of bodybuilding, a sport Desmond’s father helped make famous through his film “Pumping Iron.”

What followed was a year-long investigation of the sport of bodybuilding and its culture. In today’s episode of “Post Reports," we explore what Desmond and a team of reporters at The Post uncovered. We explore the origins of bodybuilding, the risks and exploitation athletes face, and the family at the head of the sport.

This is just one story from “Built & Broken,” a Washington Post investigation of the world of bodybuilding. To read more about the findings in this episode check out the rest of the series.

• Female bodybuilders describe widespread sexual exploitation
• Dying to compete: When risking lives is part of the show
• What bodybuilders do to their bodies — and brains
• Rigged: The undoing of America’s premier bodybuilding leagues

Ahead of Sunday’s final match, two Post journalists and die-hard soccer fans discuss all things World Cup. Columnist Ishaan Tharoor sits down with Jeff Pierre, host of “The 7,” to unpack the controversies, the triumphs and what’s at stake this weekend.

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This year’s World Cup has been mired in debates about its host country, Qatar. But it’s more complicated than that, according to Ishaan Tharoor: “I think being there helped me think a bit more deeply and hopefully with a bit more nuance.” For him, being there gave him a unique insight into how the country prepared for the tournament and how players and attendees are reacting to the results. For many watching, the most exciting victories were those of the Moroccan team, which became the first African team to make it to a World Cup semifinal.

As the tournament comes to a close on Sunday, two of the world’s most talented soccer stars will face off. Sunday’s final is expected to be veteran Argentine player Lionel Messi’s last shot at winning a World Cup. He’ll be playing Kylian Mbappé, the young French forward who has led his team to its second final in a row. 

What it’s like being at the World Cup. 

Morocco’s showdown with France carries complex political baggage.

After enduring insults and threats, Iranian team exits the World Cup.

How far can the U.S. men’s national team go? 

At the World Cup, Wales finds itself.

No beer, but plenty of scandal at Qatar’s World Cup. 

Today on “Post Reports,” we dive into research on happiness and talk about finding joy in mundane experiences to cultivate a more meaningful life.

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Here’s an antidote to an ever-stressful, busy and uncertain world: Try finding and savoring little bites of joy throughout your day. Our Brain Matters columnist, neuroscientist Richard Sima, calls them “joy” snacks.

By mindfully tuning in to the pleasant, nice and sometimes routine experiences of every day, we can transform an otherwise mundane moment into something more meaningful and even joyful.

Lunch with a co-worker. Walking the dog. Texting with a friend. Watching a favorite show. Eating a favorite meal. Calling your mom. Just hanging out.

New research shows that finding and savoring these nuggets of joy can be a way of consistently cultivating a good, meaningful life.

“It’s not these big things that we sort of create in our heads, but these smaller day-to-day experiences that bring us meaning,” said Joshua Hicks, a psychologist at Texas A&M University’s Existential Psychology Collaboratory.

To learn more about joy snacking, check out Richard’s column or this video about three ways to snack on joy.

Since 2019, the number of Americans killed by fentanyl has jumped 94 percent. Today on "Post Reports," we go inside Operation Sour Cream — and inside the pipeline bringing the deadly drug from Mexican labs to U.S. streets.

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In 2019, Drug Enforcement Administration agent Brady Wilson noticed big loads of synthetic drugs, like fentanyl, popping up around St. George, Utah. St. George is not exactly known as a hot spot for drugs; it’s a sleepy city of retirees, out-of-town hikers and Mormon churches. But Wilson had a gut feeling; he suspected a Mexican cartel had set up shop in town.

That would be the beginnings of Operation Sour Cream, a federal investigation into the origins of synthetic drugs in the St. George area.  

Synthetic drugs have arrived in small cities and rural areas across the United States abruptly, with immediate, devastating impact. In Utah, fentanyl overdose deaths have increased 300 percent over a three-year period, killing 170 people in 2021, according to the state health department. Mexican criminal groups have become experts in producing fentanyl and meth across the border. Now, Wilson knew, they were honing their role in retail distribution in the United States, where synthetics had reshaped the geography of drug demand.

Today on “Post Reports,” Mexico City bureau chief Kevin Sieff reports on Wilson’s investigation into how fentanyl ended up in St. George, Utah, and what this increased presence of synthetic drugs means for the opioid crisis in the United States. This story is part of Cartel RX, an investigative series from The Post looking at the deadly fentanyl pipeline from Mexican labs to U.S. streets.

This kind of work is only possible because of the support of listeners like you, who subscribe to The Washington Post. If you’re not a subscriber yet, now is a great time to start. You can also gift a Washington Post subscription to someone in your life who could use this kind of valuable reporting. Check out our latest subscription deal at postreports.com/offer.

Today, we hear from a mother and son in Iran about life amid ongoing protests and an escalating government crackdown. Despite communication challenges, journalist Sanam Mahoozi has been carefully corresponding with them for weeks about their lives in a changing Iran.

“I am devastated by the way the system is treating the youth,” a mother in Tehran told journalist Sanam Mahoozi during one exchange. “Every mother in Iran is miserable now.”

Protests erupted across Iran following the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s “morality police,” and they show few signs of abating. For one mother and son in Tehran, this has meant life interrupted, halted and increasingly in jeopardy, as safety concerns inch closer to home. But it has also increased their resolve.

The government has responded harshly to the uprising, with human rights organizations documenting more than 4,000 deaths. Officials have sentenced at least a dozen protesters to death. Over the weekend, one of those protesters, convicted of killing two officers, was publicly hanged from a construction crane.

Even with all the crackdowns and violence around him, the son told Mahoozi, “I have more hope than before.” 

READ MORE: 

‘We want them gone’: Across generations, Iranians struggle for change.

As unrest grips Iran’s schools, the government is going after children.

Iran is ramping up its secret kidnapping plots.

A decade after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the story of a 10-year-old girl who survived the shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Tex. — and how she has become a voice for the friends she lost that day.

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After a school shooting, we often hear numbers — how many children and teachers were killed or injured. But for the survivors and their families, the trauma can be overwhelming. 

“I think the scope of this crisis is so much larger than people are willing to acknowledge,” reporter John Woodrow Cox says. “It's not just the kids who died. It's not just kids who got shot. It's not just the kids like Caitlyne who listen to the whole thing happen and lost dear friends. It's third-graders, it's teachers and their kids. It's cousins. It's people in the community who thought, ‘Is my kid dead?’ That damage cannot be undone.”

With the permission of Caitlyne Gonzales and her parents, John spent the summer with the 10-year-old school shooting survivor, following her as she went to karate and guitar lessons, rallies for gun reform in Texas and Washington, school board meetings and back to school. He was also there with her family in the evenings, when Caitlyne’s trauma was the most apparent and she struggled to go to sleep without her mom. Caitlyne and her parents wanted people to see that while on the outside she might look like a composed activist, she’s still dealing with an enormous amount of trauma.

John has been reporting on children and gun violence for more than five years and is the author of an award-winning book on the subject, “Children Under Fire: An American Crisis.”

Today, the White House announced that WNBA star Brittney Griner has been released from Russian detention and is coming home – in exchange for a notorious arms dealer. We talk about why this deal happened now, and what it means for other American hostages.

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More than nine months after she was arrested in Russia, WNBA star Brittney Griner has been freed. Griner is one of the world’s best women’s basketball players. She’s been in Russian custody since February, when authorities detained her at the airport and accused her of carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is illegal in Russia. Like many women’s basketball players, Grinersupplements her income by playing overseas during the WNBA offseason (Griner’s arrest brought attention to pay inequality.)

Moscow released the athlete in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Known as the “merchant of death,” the infamous criminal is a top prize for Russian officials.

For Biden, this is a victory - but it’s a bittersweet one. Another American, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, was initially supposed to be a part of this swap, but Russia refused to let him go.

Republican Kevin McCarthy wants to be the next speaker of the House, but first he’ll need to secure 218 votes. Despite winning a majority in the midterm elections, Republicans have felt deflated by an election cycle many hoped would be a “red wave,” and some are now saying they won’t endorse McCarthy’s leadership bid. 

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Read Michael Kranish’s profile of Kevin McCarthy’s rise to power.

The crypto world is in shock after FTX, a major cryptocurrency exchange, declared bankruptcy. We discuss what led to the company’s collapse and how its 30-year-old founder went from a philanthropic darling to disgraced CEO.

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What led to the ruin of FTX, one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges? It’s the question confounding Silicon Valley — and Washington.

After the collapse, founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried stepped down amid claims of mismanagement. Newly appointed CEO John J. Ray III — who oversaw Enron’s bankruptcy proceedings — said in FTX’s bankruptcy filing: “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here.” Meanwhile, federal regulators and politicians in Washington have soured on Bankman-Fried, whose millions in campaign donations previously earned him audiences with top lawmakers.

Post economic policy reporter Tory Newmyer unpacks FTX’s downfall and tracks the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, from his massive political donations and lobbying efforts in Washington to his apology campaign. 

For the fifth time in two years, Georgians will cast a ballot for or against Raphael G. Warnock, and despite Democratic control of the Senate, the stakes of this race for both parties are big. 

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Despite Democratic control of the senate, both parties still see a lot to gain or lose in Tuesday’s runoff election.

Every time producer Jordan-Marie Smith would visit her hometown, it seemed as if another person she knew from high school had died of a drug overdose. She went back home to investigate, along with reporter Lenny Bernstein.

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Post Reports producer Jordan-Marie Smith always thought of her hometown of Greenville, N.C., as a nice place to grow up. A small city about halfway between Raleigh and the Outer Banks, it was home to a university, beautiful walking trails and lots of local businesses. 

But then she started hearing about the drug overdoses. 

Every time Jordan-Marie returned home to visit, it seemed as if another one of her high school classmates had died. She started making calls early this year and quickly learned of at least 16 young people who had died of drug overdoses. The group was connected by childhood friendships, a middle school basketball team and a high school. 

In a personal story about how a community moves through – and tries to recover from – a string of tragic drug deaths, Jordan-Marie and health reporter Leonard Bernstein connect Greenville to the national drug epidemic.

You can read more about Greenville here and watch a video about the toll of drug deaths on a parent and a teacher here. 

The Iranian government is increasing its efforts to kill or kidnap activists, journalists and others living in the West — a change that alarms U.S. intelligence officials. Shane Harris explains the extent and escalation of Tehran’s efforts.

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Read Shane Harris’ reporting on Iran’s assassination and kidnapping program, and the steps Western officials have taken to try to counter it. 

They needed 10 Republicans. Today on Post Reports, we take you inside the efforts of a small bipartisan group of senators – and how it gathered enough GOP support to pass same-sex marriage protections in a divided Congress. 

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Back in July, after this year’s first attempts to codify protections for same-sex marriage in Congress, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) had a revelation.

“I remember the day that happened,” Baldwin told Liz Goodwin, congressional reporter for The Post. . She recalled going to a small group of colleagues after the measure passed the House with substantial Republican support.. “I went immediately to Rob Portman, Thom Tillis. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski. 47! 47 [House] Republicans supported this. We could do this.”

On Tuesday, Baldwin’s hopes were realized: In a bipartisan effort, the Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act. The bill codifies federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages, protecting couples’ rights if the Supreme Court were to ever reverse key decisions. Every present Senate Democrat and 12 Republicans voted for the bill, a landmark moment that shows how quickly public opinion has changed on the issue. The amended bill now heads to the House, where it’s expected to pass and land on President Biden’s desk. 

On today’s episode, Congress reporter Liz Goodwin details how a bipartisan group of senators slowly but surely gathered support for the Respect for Marriage Act - and what Tuesday’s vote means for the future of LGBTQ rights.

November wasn’t a great month for Donald Trump. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for a congressional committee to examine the former president’s tax returns, ending a legal battle that has consumed Congress and the courts for years.

Meanwhile, a special counsel appointed by the Justice Department has been tasked with investigating Trump’s role in efforts to undo the results of the 2020 election, as well as possible mishandling of classified documents recovered from his Mar-a-Lago home. There are also ongoing probes against him in New York and a pending criminal investigation in Georgia. 

Devlin Barrett, a reporter covering the FBI and Justice Department, runs through the status of key investigations involving the former president as well as when we could see results in any of these pending cases.  

For the first time in decades, massive protests broke out in cities across China. Today on “Post Reports” — what's behind the protests and what they mean for the future of China’s leadership. 

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Protests erupted throughout China this weekend over the country’s “zero covid” policy, which has led the government to implement strict lockdown and testing measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

The protests were triggered by a botched response to a deadly fire in Urumqi, a city in the northwest of China. Ten people died after emergency responders couldn’t get close enough to the apartment building, and protesters blame lockdown-related measures for interfering with rescue efforts.

But the protests have grown to wider criticisms of the Chinese government, including calls for President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party to step down. The treatment of Uyghurs by the state has also become a rallying cry for demonstrators. Lily Kuo, The Post’s China bureau chief, has been covering the protests. She breaks down why these protests are significant and what they could mean for the future of China’s leadership. 

The years of one-day deals and long lines the day after Thanksgiving are over. Black Friday is now more than a month long. We break down what’s changed and why. 

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Retail reporter Jaclyn Peiser discusses how last year’s supply chain issues and delayed inventory are a win for consumers, how people are shopping despite inflation, and she outlines her holiday shopping survival guide.  

And as a bonus – we give you a taste of Alexandra Petri’s column, ”The 9 best Thanksgiving songs I definitely didn’t just make up.” Trust us, you’ll want to listen. 

The Post is running a Black Friday all-access digital subscription deal. For just $0.99 for four weeks, that will cover you for your first 12 weeks. You’ll get our groundbreaking interactive stories, the most in-depth breaking news, our fantastic Well+Being and Climate coverage and so much more.

A guide for when and how to give your kid a smartphone. Heather Kelly polled the experts, and there’s a lot we can all learn from their advice – whether we have kids or not. Plus, we dive into the reported benefits of “brown noise.”

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A guide to giving your child their first phone. Children are getting smartphones younger than ever. Make sure you’re all prepared.

Even older adults struggle with screen time. Here's how to help them put down their phones and be more present.

Listening to “brown noise” has become a popular solution for people who have trouble focusing, and in particular for people who have ADHD. Disability reporter Amanda Morris explains what this soothing sound is and why it helps.

The Post is running a Black Friday all-access digital subscription deal. For just $0.99 for four weeks, that will cover you for your first 12 weeks. You’ll get our groundbreaking interactive stories, the most in-depth breaking news, our fantastic Well+Being and Climate coverage and so much more.

Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would step down from Democratic leadership. Today on the show, we discuss Pelosi’s legacy and the new era of Democrats in line to take her place.

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Nancy Pelosi has spent 35 years in Congress. Last week, she stepped down as speaker of the House, ending her historic tenure as the first woman to serve as speaker. “She has been an incredibly powerful figure that has ruled the House of Representatives in this sort of iron-fisted way that is the stuff of legends,” says Paul Kane, The Post’s senior congressional correspondent. On today’s episode, we talk to Kane about Pelosi’s rise to power, the highlights of her career, and what the future holds for the new era of Democrats looking to take over leadership positions. 

The Post is running a Black Friday all-access digital subscription deal. For just $0.99 for four weeks, that will cover you for your first 12 weeks. You’ll get our groundbreaking interactive stories, the most in-depth breaking news, our fantastic Well + Being and Climate coverage and so much more.

The 2022 World Cup starts this weekend in Qatar, and it is already marked by controversy. Today on “Post Reports,” the geopolitical stakes of this year’s World Cup, and a preview of the most exciting players and teams to watch in Doha. 

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World Cup organizers said Friday that they were abandoning plans to sell beer around match stadiums. 

Qatar, a conservative Muslim country, strictly limits the sale of alcohol and bans its consumption in public places. It had made exceptions to those rules for the World Cup, but suddenly reversed course on Friday.

Whether or not fans can have a beer at a game may not seem like a big deal - but some worry about what this signals about other laws and cultural norms that had been expected to be suspended for the World Cup, around protests, press freedoms and LGBTQ rights. 

“This is a World Cup that is defined by the controversy around it in many ways,” Ishaan Tharoor told our producer Arjun Singh. There were unexplained deaths of thousands of migrant workers during Qatar’s preparation for the tournament, and their families are still looking for answers. 

“The World Cup is never just about the World Cup,” Ishaan explained. 

To read more from Ishaan, sign up for his newsletter, Today’s WorldView.

Plus, we go to Chuck Culpepper, who is on the ground in Doha reporting on the tournament. He lays out what teams and players to watch in the coming weeks, and why the biggest strength of Team USA might be its biggest weakness.

Today on Post Reports, we hear from a journalist on the ground in Haiti about the country’s growing humanitarian crisis, and what can be done about it.

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Natural disasters and political turmoil have plagued Haiti for decades. But last year, the country reached a tipping point: President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated and the country was hit by another deadly earthquake. Capitalizing on the situation, gangs have overrun many parts of the country, frequently kidnapping and killing people and stopping the flow of critical goods. A lack of access to clean water has caused cholera to make a comeback, sickening thousands of people and killing over 100 so far. Journalist Widlore Mérancourt describes what people there are experiencing and whether international intervention in Haiti would be a plausible solution – given the country’s already fraught history with it.

Tuesday night, Former president Donald Trump announced his fourth bid for the White House in 2024. The announcement comes just a week after voters decidedly rejected the candidates he backed in the midterm elections. 

Trump has taken the brunt of the criticism from his fellow Republicans who aren’t sold on having him represent the party again, with potential rivals already planning to challenge Trump for the nomination.

National political reporter Isaac Arnsdorf recaps last night’s announcement and outlines the potential obstacles, both legal and political, on Trump’s 2024 road to the White House.  

Subscribe to The Post’s new morning news podcast, “The 7,” on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen. 

In a post-Roe America, tens of thousands of people without access to legal abortions are turning to a new covert network to get abortion pills. Today on Post Reports, we trace the network’s surprising supply chain and look at the precarious position of those participating in it.

When the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in June, abortion bans instantly took effect in large swaths of the United States, prompting people around the country to seek alternatives amid new legal and medical risks. Many are now turning to an emerging covert network of DIY distributors who are supplying free abortion pills from Mexico to people in the United States. 

On today’s episode, national political reporter Caroline Kitchener introduces us to these distributors, their source, and what happens when one woman, desperate to terminate her pregnancy, takes this route. 

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Caroline Kitchener reports on this expanding covert network providing pills for thousands of abortions in U.S.

See where abortion laws have changed in the U.S. and which states now ban the practice.

Abortion rights advocates scored major victories across the U.S. in midterm elections this month.

And subscribe to The Post’s new morning news podcast, “The 7,” on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen. 

A triumphant President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the liberated Ukrainian city of Kherson Monday morning, declaring “the beginning of the end of the war.” Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about whether that’s true and why this city is so significant.

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Kherson residents celebrate liberation and describe the trauma of occupation.

Witnesses recount detentions, torture, disappearances in occupied Kherson.

Fighting-age men in Russia are still hiding in fear of being sent to war.

Follow live updates on the war in Ukraine. And subscribe to The Post’s new morning news podcast, “The 7,” on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen.

There’s a big, contentious question at the heart of this year’s COP27, the U.N. climate change conference: Should richer countries foot the bill when it comes to climate disasters? 

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Thousands of government officials from all over the world have gathered in Egypt for the 27th annual U.N. climate change conference, which started this week. Amid a backdrop of protests — on climate change and the Egyptian government’s spotty human rights record — the focus is on the commitments each country made at last year's conference to curb their emissions. 

But there’s another debate brewing. Developing nations — the most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change — want financial support as they deal with the fallout. And they’re looking to wealthier nations, which have disproportionately emitted carbon into the atmosphere. Climate reporter Sarah Kaplan joins us to discuss how a potential “loss and damages” fund would work, and where we are on a changing global climate. 

Today on Post Reports, we dig into the election results in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans sailed to victory this week. What does their win mean for the party nationally, and for Florida’s long-standing “swing-state” status?

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On a night when Republicans across the country did worse than many had predicted, Gov. Ron DeSantis won in a landslide in Florida. Once a swing state that both parties fought to win in presidential elections, Florida has increasingly become a bastion of Republican politics because of changing demographics and strong campaigns by GOP candidates. National reporter Tim Craig joins us to explain Florida’s rightward shift, and how the state could leave its mark on the modern Republican Party.

Democrats outperformed expectations in Tuesday’s midterms, but Republicans still look likely to take back the House. We talk to reporters covering Congress and the White House about what to make of the results we have so far, and what to look for next. 

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Control of both chambers of Congress remained undecided Wednesday morning after Democrats showed surprising strength in key battleground races on Election Day. 

On “Post Reports,” we’re joined by White House reporter Tyler Pager and Liz Goodwin, who covers Congress for The Post. They talk about the key issues in this race — including democracy and abortion access, which voters supported even in heavily Republican states.

In the Senate, races remained uncalled in Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. Democrat John Fetterman won the Senate race in Pennsylvania, defeating Republican Mehmet Oz, who conceded on Wednesday. That was a pickup for Democrats. Republicans prevailed in Ohio and North Carolina, fending off efforts to flip those seats. Democrats retained seats representing New Hampshire, Colorado and Washington state.

It’s Election Day in America. Record-breaking voter turnout is expected, and the results could change the nation’s political landscape. Today, we look at Gen Z and how today’s election is about more than politics; it’s about shaping the future. 

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Voters are finally casting their ballots in the midterm elections. In battleground states across the country, long-awaited contentious races are coming to a head as Washington prepares for a potential shift in power.

Today, eyes are turned to Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012. Gen Z is known to be outspoken and politically active — they have grown up surrounded by mass shootings, the climate crisis and threats to LGBTQ and abortion rights. Now, they’re heading to the midterm election booths. But will they vote in numbers big enough to make a difference?

Today on “Post Reports,” a roundtable discussion with three Post political reporters — Matt Brown, Carmella Boykin and Mariana Alfaro — on how Gen Z is expected to vote and what a future of Gen Z candidates could mean for the American political landscape.

You can find all of The Post’s midterm coverage here, including when your local polls close, tracking where abortion access hangs in the balance and when we can expect election results.

Elon Musk has made his mark on Twitter, but after he laid off thousands of employees, some are warning that the social network is ill-prepared to combat misinformation on Election Day.

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On the day before the midterms, Twitter owner Elon Musk encouraged Americans to vote for the GOP, breaking with other social media CEOs who’ve sought to remain apolitical.

For many of us here in the U.S., today marks the end of Daylight Saving Time - the day when we “fall back” an hour to Standard Time. But changing the clocks is divisive - and in Congress there’s even a stalled effort to stop it.

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Earlier this year, our colleague health reporter Dan Diamond took a break from covering covid to report on something a bit sunnier: the push in Congress to stay on Daylight Saving Time forever.

We aired an episode in March about it on Post Reports, and today, we have an update about that legislative effort. We’re re-airing that original episode, along with the latest news about Daylight Saving Time - and why we may be stuck changing our clocks, at least for now.  

Also check out our map on how permanent daylight saving time would change sunrise and sunset times.

Today on Post Reports, we look at how voting is going across the country, what to expect on Tuesday, and what the results of the midterm election could mean for how future elections are run.

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We have spent a lot of time this week talking about the midterm election and which party is likely to gain control of the House and Senate next year. But the results of the election could also change how future elections are run. 

That’s because a majority of Republican nominees on the ballot for the House, Senate and key statewide offices that oversee elections  — 291 in all — have denied or questioned the outcome of the 2020 election, according to a Washington Post analysis.

And if some of these election deniers win their races, they’ll have the opportunity to oversee local and statewide elections — which voting reporter Amy Gardner says could have huge consequences for American democracy:  

“Where we are in our democracy is that we trust our elections unless our candidate loses. And that is not a winning model for enduring democracy.”

Today on “Post Reports,” a conversation with Anthony Fauci. The prominent U.S. infectious-disease doctor is stepping down from the government next month, and he reflects on viruses, vaccines and getting Americans to believe in science again.

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After more than half a century in the government, Anthony Fauci plans to step down next month. 

Fauci’s tenure as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases put him on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic, the Ebola crisis, Zika and, of course, the coronavirus pandemic. He’s advised seven presidents. And we wanted to know what Fauci is thinking about as he prepares to leave his job.

We talk about the coronavirus, but also the other viruses that are spreading in the United States and around the world. And we talk about hope, and how to get Americans to believe in science again.

When a man entered Nancy Pelosi’s home in San Francisco last week and attacked her husband, the act was documented on cameras viewable by Capitol Police. What the delayed response exposes about limits in protecting lawmakers.

A Washington Post investigation found that while Capitol Police in Washington were tasked with monitoring live feeds of more than 1,500 cameras placed around the Capitol Complex and beyond, they had the best chance to stop what could have been a deadly attack at Nancy Pelosi’s home. The delayed response is opening up bigger questions about the weaknesses and limitations in protecting lawmakers as they face even more threats. Investigative reporter Aaron Davis explains how Capitol Police have handled Pelosi’s case and weighs whether the law enforcement agency is equipped for this contentious moment. 

Read more:

A Post exclusive on how Capitol Police cameras caught the break-in at Pelosi’s home, but no one was watching.



Post Reports examines how extreme rhetoric targeted toward members of Congress has been escalating lately, and is fueling even more threats on elected officials, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.). 

Every minute of your morning counts. Host Jeff Pierre takes you through the seven most important and interesting stories of the day, with the reporting and insight of The Washington Post. Get caught up in just a few minutes every weekday at 7 a.m. Launches Nov. 14. 

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

In a campaign season filled with critical races, Republican Kari Lake’s bid to be the next governor of Arizona stands out. Reporter Ruby Cramer joins us to discuss Lake’s candidacy, and why some think she represents the future of the GOP.

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National political enterprise reporter Ruby Cramer wrote about what it’s like to watch Lake on the campaign trail. 

The war in Ukraine may be thousands of miles away from Ohio. But because of the state’s large Ukrainian population, the war could determine who wins the state’s open Senate seat: isolationist Republican J.D. Vance or Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan.

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Republican J.D. Vance and Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan are in a tight race over an open Senate seat in Ohio, a state Donald Trump carried in 2020. While both candidates have talked plenty about domestic matters, there is one issue that could swing the race: what America’s role in the war in Ukraine should be. 

Ohio has a large population of people descended from Eastern Europe. One small city —  Parma — is home to the largest community of Ukrainian Americans in the state. While these voters often support conservatives, Vance’s opposition to providing more aid to Ukraine in the war with Russia has caused many of them to reconsider.  

Reporter Cara McGoogan joins us on “Post Reports” to discuss what she learned when she spoke to voters in Ohio.

Today on “Post Reports,” why RSV — respiratory syncytial virus — is overwhelming children’s hospitals, and what parents can do to keep their children safe.

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Children’s hospitals are under strain as they care for unusually high numbers of kids infected with respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. RSV, a common cause of cold-like symptoms, started surging in late summer, months before its typical season. This surge in RSV comes as the flu is sending a record number of people to the hospital this early in the season, along with continued covid-19 cases. Health reporter Fenit Nirappil on how RSV is affecting children across the country, and what parents should look out for as we move into winter virus season.

Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about mortgage rates, which are the highest they’ve been in two decades – what that means for the housing market, and why it could make housing costs even higher for renters and buyers alike – at least in the short term.

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Mortgage rates topped 7 percent this week, the highest level in 20 years — and the latest sign that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive moves to slow the broader economy are hitting the housing market hard already. Fed reporter Rachel Siegel breaks down what this means with our guest host, national security reporter Shane Harris.

Rishi Sunak is Britain’s new prime minister – the third one in two months. He’s also the first person of color to lead the country. But will he really be a departure from his predecessors?

Read foreign affairs columnist thoughts on Britain having its first leader of South Asian descent.

What data from the “nation’s report card” shows about how students progressed during the pandemic — and why people like Education Secretary Miguel Cardona are calling the results “appalling and unacceptable.”

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This week the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the “nation’s report card,” was released for the first time since 2019. Widely considered to be the most comprehensive look at how students are progressing academically, it showed that during the pandemic students across the country fell behind dramatically in math and reading. Education reporter Laura Meckler reports on what the data means and what educators and parents can do to counteract the learning loss. 

Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz are in a tight Senate race in purple Pennsylvania. The stakes are high as the nation waits to see if Democrats can flip this seat.

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On Nov. 8, Pennsylvanians will vote for their next senator – Republican Mehmet Oz, the TV personality, or Democrat John Fetterman, the state’s Lieutenant Governor.

Many believe that this seat is the best chance for Democrats to maintain a majority in the Senate. So what do we know about Senate hopeful John Fetterman? Who is the man behind the social media campaigns and the stroke survival story?

Only 2 percent of sperm donors in the United States are Black. This, in turn, leaves many aspiring Black parents with an agonizing choice: choose a donor of another race or try to buy sperm from unregulated apps and online groups. 

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Post reporter Amber Ferguson has spent months reporting on why so few Black men donate sperm. She found that the reasons for the shortage are myriad: failure of sperm banks to recruit Black donors; a selection process that demands a three-generation medical history and excludes donors with felony convictions; mistrust of the medical profession by Black men because of a legacy of historical discrimination. The result is a severe shortage, and intense competition for Black men’s sperm.

“If it's a White woman, she could just so easily get a sperm donor,” Ferguson says. “And if it doesn't work, she can get another one. She can get another one. For a Black woman, if she is lucky enough to find a Black donor, it's really maybe one of her only chances.”

For Black gay men who want to donate sperm, there are even more restrictions.

Today on “Post Reports,” why White people in the U.S. are now more likely to die of covid than Black Americans. 

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The imbalance in death rates among the nation’s racial and ethnic groups has been a defining part of the pandemic since the start. Early in the crisis, Black people died at higher rates than White people. But at the end of last year, the racial disparity in covid deaths vanished. Now, White people are more likely to die of covid than Black people. Reporter Akilah Johnson breaks down the complex, historic forces that brought us here and what this means for the future.

And, you may have heard the news about the resignation of United Kingdom Prime Minister Liz Truss. Truss lasted 44 days, making her the nation’s shortest-serving prime minister in 300 years. Our colleagues in London are bringing you the latest news of what could happen next - and you can find their reporting on washingtonpost.com. 

We also had an episode earlier this month about the eroding faith in the new prime minister – it’s called “In Truss, the UK doesn’t trust.” It’s a great explainer of who she is and how her proposals weakened the country’s already struggling economy. You can listen to it here.

Georgia, the state that was key to the Democrats taking control of Washington in 2020, could now be responsible for giving some of that power back to Republicans. 

In a contentious Senate race, former NFL star Herschel Walker (R) is taking on the Democratic incumbent, Raphael Warnock. Walker, however, is plagued with controversy that’s making it hard for Republicans to throw their support behind him. 

A rematch for governor pits incumbent Brian Kemp (R) against his 2018 challenger, Stacey Abrams (D). Abrams’s camp hopes her work to expand ballot access will be enough to get her to victory this time, but Kemp’s incumbent status is giving him the edge.

Democracy reporter Matt Brown explains the state of play in Georgia right now, just as the state has already smashed early-voting records.

Correction: A previous version of this episode mistakenly said Stacey Abrams lost the race for Georgia governor in 2020. She lost that race in 2018.

A new Washington Post investigation has uncovered the fact that hundreds of veterans have taken lucrative foreign jobs — often for countries with known human rights abuses. U.S. officials approved these contracts — but fought to keep them secret.

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The Post found more than 500 retired members of the military – from helicopter mechanics to high-ranking generals – have cashed in on work with foreign governments since 2015, sharing military expertise and political clout. 

Many worked for countries with known human rights abuses and political repression, but the U.S. military approved these contracts anyway. The activity lacks transparency or congressional oversight, and largely remains out of public view. 

Those seeking foreign work must first obtain approval from their branch of the armed forces and the State Department. The Post found these requests are largely rubber-stamped: Of more than 500 submitted since 2015, about 95 percent were granted. For military retirees who do this work without seeking approval, few penalties exist.

Correction: A previous version of this episode mistakenly said Keith Alexander was the first head of the U.S. Cybersecurity Command. The correct name is the U.S. Cyber Command.

Today, hearing aids are finally available over the counter. What this means for accessibility and first-time buyers. Plus, a test of the Earth’s planetary defense.

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For the hard of hearing, it feels like the Food and Drug Administration is finally listening. On Monday, the FDA is allowing hearing aids to be sold over the counter for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. This means you no longer need a prescription or custom fitting to get a hearing aid. Experts have called it a game changer that is expected to make hearing aids more affordable and accessible for millions of people.

Disability reporter Amanda Morris walks us through different types of hearing loss, the range of hearing aids available for consumers, and what this might mean for accessibility for the hard of hearing. 

Plus, some good news about our planetary defense system: NASA successfully altered the course of an asteroid, a technique that might someday stop an asteroid from crashing into Earth. 

After Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered child abuse investigations of the parents of transgender children, Morgan Davis – a trans man with Child Protective Services in Austin – was assigned two cases. They didn’t go as planned.

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Morgan Davis used to believe that his workplace – the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services – had a noble mission: to remove children from abusive situations.

But when he was asked to comply with a new mandate from Gov. Greg Abbott – one that required his office to “conduct a prompt and thorough investigation” of families with transgender children – that changed.

As a trans man with the support of his small team, he thought he could comfort the flagged families and close investigations quickly. “I was told that I would go into the home, I would assess it, I would come out, and we would be done.”

But that’s not what happened. Casey Parks reports.

This spring, Howard Schultz returned as Starbucks CEO to stop a rapidly growing unionizing effort. Today, what happens when an anti-union leader comes up against one of the fastest growing union efforts in the country. 

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With more than 225 stores voting to unionize since last fall, the Starbucks unionization effort has been seen as a beacon of hope for the labor movement. But despite his track record of providing workers with substantial benefits, Starbucks's founder and current CEO, Howard Schultz, sees the movement as a personal threat to his life's work. Reporter Greg Jaffe spent time with Schultz to try to understand his beliefs on unionizing, and what the future of the labor movement could be now that it has such a powerful adversary in Schultz.

The balance of power in Washington could come down to one or two states. In recent weeks, Republicans have set their sights on Nevada as their Senate candidates in other states, such as New Hampshire and Georgia, have stumbled. 

It’s an uphill climb for Republicans, who haven’t won a Senate race in Nevada in a decade. They see inroads with Latino voters and workers in the tourism and hospitality industries who were hurt by Democratic policies during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. But Democrats say they’re holding the line with a brigade of union workers and Nevadans who are frustrated with skyrocketing housing prices. 

National politics reporter Hannah Knowles spent some time in Las Vegas tracking the race between the Democratic incumbent, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, and hard-line conservative Adam Laxalt. She joined us on today’s “Post Reports” to tell us about what she learned from talking to voters in the Silver State.  

Over the weekend, the rapper Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) had antisemitic posts quickly taken down by Twitter and Instagram. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about how content moderation could change if Elon Musk and GOP leaders have their way.

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Over the weekend, the rapper Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) posted antisemitic messages on Twitter and Instagram. They were quickly taken down, and his accounts were restricted. But as Will Oremus reports, there’s a conservative-led movement that could change how companies approach such decisions. Between a growing field of state laws that seek to restrict content moderation and Elon Musk’s determination to loosen Twitter’s policies, posts such as Ye’s could soon become more prevalent online.

A wave of Russian airstrikes rocked Kyiv on Monday morning, shattering months of calm and thrusting the city back into the center of the war. Today on “Post Reports,” we hear from our reporter on the ground in Ukraine’s capital. 

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On Monday morning, Russian forces fired a series of airstrikes on major Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv. At least 11 people  were killed and more than 80 were injured nationwide according to Ukraine’s national police department. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the attacks as punishment after Ukraine bombed the Crimean Bridge this past Saturday. 

Russia’s strikes come after a relatively quiet summer in the Ukrainian capital. Missy Ryan, reporting on the ground in Kyiv, says the attack “brings home the fact that [the war] remains an incredibly volatile situation…and puts Kyiv back at the center of this escalating conflict.”

The Supreme Court of the United States reopened its doors to the public this week for the first time since March 2020. This new term brings new cases, a new justice and renewed questions about its legitimacy. 

Supreme Court reporter Robert Barnes runs down the slate of cases that will be heard this term and offers his insights about how Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the associate justices handled public disapproval during the summer recess.    

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Supreme Court debates Alabama’s refusal of second Black voting district

Supreme Court will allow public at arguments, continue live audio

A tax policy by the new administration in Britain sent the price of the pound plummeting and the global economy spiraling. Today on “Post Reports,” we explain why it caused such turmoil, and what else to expect from Prime Minister Liz Truss. 

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Prime Minister Liz Truss has been in office for only about a month, but already her proposals have weakened the struggling British economy and worsened her party’s support. Most notably, her administration proposed removing income tax for the most wealthy earners in Britain— a move that she quickly reversed after it was met with anger from the public and politicians alike. London correspondent Karla Adam explains Truss’s political ideologies and how these decisions could lead to a political power shake-up in the U.K. 

Iranian authorities are cracking down on protests inspired by the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman arrested for improperly wearing the hijab. But that hasn’t stopped demonstrators. Reporter Miram Berger explains what’s different about this moment. 

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Read about how a viral song became an anthem for protesters in Iran. 

Tactics of repression: How Iran is trying to stop Mahsa Amini protests

Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about a damning new report on systemic abuse in women’s soccer.

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Sports columnist Sally Jenkins said that abuse within women’s sports has been a long-standing problem, but it’s only recently that there’s been a public reckoning about it. 

“These are some of our top athletes in the country, and nobody did anything. They treated the women like they were the problem,” Jenkins said. “The systemic issue is men in suits at the top of these organizations who do not take complaints from athletes seriously.”

Jenkins joined “Post Reports” to explain how deep and far-reaching abuse is within not just soccer, but many other Olympic sports as well, and why the culture of abuse has gone on for so long.

For months, Republican leaders have been escalating a campaign against President Biden’s border security policies by transporting migrants from their states to Democratic-led areas, without providing a plan for what happens when they arrive. 

In a high-profile case in September, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew dozens of asylum seekers from Texas up to Martha’s Vineyard, a Massachusetts island. It prompted a legal backlash that alleged the plan was “fraudulent and discriminatory.” 

Beyond Martha’s Vineyard, thousands of migrants have been transported in a similar manner from Arizona and Texas to Washington, D.C., and other Democratic-majority cities. And those liberal areas are now struggling to accommodate them. In today’s episode, we hear from several people about their experience, as well as from reporter Antonio Olivo about what’s behind these broader actions.

Today on “Post Reports,” a show about how our bodies have changed during the pandemic. We hear from our listeners about how their bodies have surprised, delighted and worried them after these past few years. 

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Here on the “Post Reports” team, we’ve been thinking a lot about…our bodies. Specifically, how they’ve changed over these past two years, as we’ve gone through lockdowns, isolation and return-to-work. We reached out to our listeners to hear how their bodies have evolved over the course of the pandemic and got lots of fascinating stories, of both big and small evolutions. Today on the show, stories from our listeners and our newsroom, on everything from getting a lung transplant to growing out an afro. 

Plus, we talk with Well+Being editor Tara Parker-Pope about how to understand the changes we’ve gone through — and what the pandemic can teach us about caring for our communities. 

Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about Ian’s historic destruction in Florida, and why the story of this storm has only just begun.

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Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday in southwestern Florida as one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the United States. Millions of people are without power, and the full extent of the destruction may not be clear for days. 

We hear from Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Brittany Shammas, and Brady Dennis about what we know so far about the damage from Hurricane Ian. And why Florida is more vulnerable than ever to these storms, given its growing population and the effects of climate change.

Maps show how millions of people have moved into Hurricane Ian’s path.

Black men who have sex with men are contracting monkeypox at a higher rate than any other group in the United States. But they are among the least likely to be vaccinated. Today, the creative outreach to get at-risk groups vaccinated against monkeypox.

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Monkeypox cases might be going down, but there are still at-risk groups. While Black gay men are more likely to get monkeypox than other demographic groups, they’re also less likely to be vaccinated. Johnny Wilson, an employee with a county health department in North Carolina and a Black gay man himself, tried to address this disparity by providing monkeypox vaccines at nightclubs. Reporter Fenit Nirappil on how representation makes a difference when trying to close vaccine gaps.

Conservative Giorgia Meloni is Italy's presumed next prime minister. Who is she? And what do the results of Italy’s historic election mean for the strength of the far-right movement in Europe? 

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This week Italian voters sided with the far-right party Fratelli d’Italia, also known as the Brothers of Italy. The election results could also mean the country gets its first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. 

On today’s “Post Reports,” Rome bureau chief Chico Harlan dives into Meloni’s history, how she rose to prominence in Italian politics and her party’s proposals — including stricter limits on migration. And though the Brothers of Italy may not stay in control for long, Harlan says that in Europe the “signs to suggest that momentum has returned for nationalist parties” are piling up.

Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about how Black coaches have been excluded from the NFL’s top jobs, despite years of attention on this issue – and why the problem is actually getting worse. 

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Since 1989, only 25 head coaches in the National Football League have been Black, and in the more than a century long history of the NFL only 26 Black men have held the title. 

Despite 60 percent of the league’s players being Black, an investigation by The Washington Post found that the NFL’s hiring and firing practices still disadvantage Black coaches at every turn. 

Sports enterprise reporter Michael Lee and sports columnist Jerry Brewer join us today to discuss their reporting about how the NFL sidelines Black coaches.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is doubling down in Ukraine – holding staged referendums in occupied territories and drafting men to the war. Today on “Post Reports,” we’ll talk about how Russians are reacting to the dramatic escalation.

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This week in Ukraine, Moscow began staging referendums in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories and drafted hundreds of thousands of Russian men to join the war effort. The escalation sparked protests, arrests and sold-out flights as some Russians – who had tried for months to ignore the war – suddenly found their lives thrown into chaos as they were summoned to duty.

With the announcement of a military mobilization in Russia came a veiled threat: that Russia would use nuclear weapons, if necessary. The Biden administration has been sending messages to Moscow about the grave consequences that would follow, according to U.S. officials.

The death of Mahsa Amini is igniting protests across Iran — and it’s drawing global attention to Iranians’ anger and frustration with their ultra-conservative leaders.

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Earlier this month, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was detained by the so-called morality police in Tehran for violating Iran’s law on headscarves and died several days later. In the days since, protesters have flooded the streets in cities across Iran. Many have been burning hijabs, symbolizing their frustration with the Islamic republic’s restrictive rules and oppressive treatment of women. 

None of this comes without aggressive pushback from the Iranian government, however — including restricted internet access and cell service, police beatings of protesters, and enormous deployment of security forces. 

Foreign affairs reporter Miriam Berger explains the significance of these protests and what could happen next.

How a pandemic food program was used to allegedly defraud the government of $250 million. 

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This week, the federal government indicted 47 people connected to the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future in the largest known pandemic fraud scheme. The nonprofit claimed to be giving meals to thousands of kids who needed them. Instead, the Justice Department said, they were using bribes and shell companies to falsify information, and in some cases used the federal money they got to buy real estate, luxury cars and jewelry. 

Congressional economic policy reporter Tony Romm reports on how the complex scheme was pulled off and what it reveals about how the government was spending relief money during the pandemic. 

Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico five years ago. Recovery in many ways had just begun when Fiona hit the island. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk to Arelis R. Hernández about why the recovery has been stymied, and how another storm could complicate it further. 

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Hurricane Maria cleaved Puerto Rican memory. There was one kind of life before the storm, and an entirely different life that emerged in its wake. 

Before the storm, the Caribbean island archipelago was teetering economically and unraveling politically. In the five years since, there have been ongoing blackouts, protests, earthquakes and a global pandemic. Puerto Ricans have moved from powerlessness to precarity.

As the anniversary approached, The Washington Post went back to visit those who opened up their homes then, to show us their lives now. Hurricane Fiona — which hit Puerto Rico on Sunday, destroying homes, roads and bridges — was still days away. But even before that, much of the post-Maria recovery work had just begun. Arelis R. Hernández reports. 

Read the latest live updates on Hurricane Fiona here.

You can also listen to an Opinion piece from Lin-Manuel Miranda and his father about how to get Puerto Rico help now. Miranda is the creator of “Hamilton” and “In The Heights,” and his father, Luis A. Miranda Jr., is a philanthropist and political strategist.

On today’s show, we take you to London for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. Plus, the colonial legacy and potential future of the monarchy without her leadership.

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The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, was laid in the royal vault at Windsor Castle on Monday. The funeral procession marks the end of 10 days of national mourning.

London correspondent Karla Adam describes how thousands of people camped near Westminster Abbey to watch the funeral procession. “There were sleeping bags. A lot of people brought toys or games or chess sets just to pass the time because they’ve been camping out for a day or two,” she said, while others watched from big screens across the city.

The queen’s passing has been marked around the world with tributes from world leaders and around-the-clock media coverage. But as foreign affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor shares later in the show, it also sparked criticism of the monarchy’s past and debates about the relevancy of the institution. 

“It's important to look at the queen in her own right as opposed to the queen as this icon of the empire,” Tharoor says. “It is also very hard to separate that, because what is the queen without being an icon of empire?”

Follow The Post’s live coverage of the funeral here.

For 780 Afghan evacuees stuck at a beachside resort in Albania, the future is unclear. They might never make it to the U.S. All because they took the wrong plane out of Afghanistan.

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The Afghans living at the Rafaelo Resort were evacuated from Afghanistan by nonprofits and organizations that expected Albania would be a stopover — a temporary landing pad as evacuees were processed for permanent resettlement in the United States. The Biden administration, which faced intense criticism for the way it ended the U.S. war in Afghanistan and failed to evacuate many of its Afghan allies, says it never promised to provide refuge for everyone.

This year-long bureaucratic mess is only now moving toward a resolution — for some. In the meantime, day-to-day life at tThe Rafaelo has become the strangest of limbos, as senior producer Ted Muldoon reports with national security reporter Abigail Hauslohner. Surrounded by tourists on the sun-drenched coast of the Adriatic Sea, they are profoundly grateful but , and also frustrated that they can’t yet start building a new life.

“People told us about just the monotony of the same thing over and over again,” said Hauslohner, “and the uncertainty about the future kind of destroys you.”

More than 100,000 railroad workers were ready to strike this week in the name of more sick days. Plus, what happens when a man with a pistol shows up outside the home of a congresswoman.

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When 115,000 unionized railroad workers made it clear there would be a strike if freight companies didn’t give them sick days, President Biden made some calls.

After hours of negotiations, the strike was likely averted, but the high-stakes freight rail drama could heat up again soon. Labor reporter Lauren Kaori Gurley takes us behind the scenes of the Biden administration’s last-ditch efforts to avoid an economic crisis.

Also, during a Saturday night in July, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) called 911 multiple times after an encounter with two men outside her Seattle home.

National political enterprise reporter Ruby Cramer discusses how extreme rhetoric targeted toward members of Congress has escalated lately, and the impact of these threats on elected officials.

On today’s show, what you need to know about the updated booster shots and why they matter amid growing pandemic fatigue. Plus, new research on the science of sitting and the pitfalls of being an “active couch potato.” 

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The new coronavirus vaccine boosters are now widely available in the United States, but the updated shots are rolling out amid widespread pandemic fatigue. 

Federal health officials say that these updated vaccines could help buffer communities against future surges of the virus. Earlier this month, officials announced plans of turning coronavirus shots into an annual dose, similar to the flu shot.  

Today on Post Reports, health reporter Lena H. Sun, who’s followed the coronavirus pandemic from the beginning, answers some of the most pressing questions about the omicron-targeted boosters. 

Plus, The Washington Post’s newest wellness columnist, Gretchen Reynolds, on why exercising the recommended 30 minutes a day might not be enough if you are an “active couch potato.” 

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol still has some unfinished business. Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) joins us to discuss what’s left. Also, the significance of Sheryl Lee Ralph’s first Emmy. 

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Over the summer, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol dominated the news cycle by unearthing revelatory evidence that illuminated the connection between allies of former president Donald Trump and the violence that took place. 

Yet, at the same time primary voters across the country elected nearly 200 candidates who also touted Trump’s baseless claim that he won the 2020 election.

Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.), a committee member, joins us today to discuss what to expect from the committee in the fall and whether its work has had an impact on the strength of election denialism among the public. 

Then, pop culture reporter Sonia Rao joins the show to discuss a moment that stunned the Emmy Awards audience: Sheryl Lee Ralph’s acceptance speech. Rao breaks down why Ralph’s first Emmy is a cultural milestone, and what it meant when she belted out “I am an endangered species” on stage.

Today, what the sudden retreat of Russian forces in key areas of Ukraine means for the future of the war. Plus, how one Ukrainian mayor is holding onto his city in wartime.

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Over the weekend, Russian soldiers fled their encampments in Zaliznychne, Ukraine. As Ukrainian soldiers poured into the area, Russians dropped their weapons, leaving rifles behind. 

The flight of Russians from the village marks a new reality that took the world by surprise; Russian invaders are on the run after invading Ukraine in February. The apparent collapse of Russian forces has caused shock waves in Moscow, while the evidence of Ukrainian gains continues to emerge. Reporter Steve Hendrix on what this means for the future of the war in Ukraine.

As the Ukrainians continue to fight back on the ground, one local politician is doing everything he can to keep his community together. Mykola Khanatov is the mayor of Popasna, a city occupied by Russian forces. Reporter Dalton Bennett documents Khanatov’s commitment to his town during wartime. 

In the run up to the midterms, no issue has upended the battle for control over Congress and statehouses as abruptly as abortion. Could it slow down — or stop — the anticipated red wave?    

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The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June has shifted the midterm landscape. Many had previously anticipated a Republican wave in November, but that advantage could be eroded by voters concerned over the rollback of abortion protections around the country.  

Since this summer, Democrats have overperformed in special elections, and voters showed up in droves to reject a ballot measure aimed at restricting abortion in deeply conservative Kansas. While Democratic candidates are highlighting the antiabortion views of their opponents, Republican candidates are moderating their stances on websites and campaign trails. 

Campaign reporter Hannah Knowles traveled to Pennsylvania to speak with voters there about how their views on abortion will impact their voting behavior on Election Day. 

The death of Queen Elizabeth II, and how her reign over Britain shaped the world for 70 years. 

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Queen Elizabeth II is dead. She passed away peacefully on Thursday afternoon at the age of 96, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace. She was Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and held the throne for 70 years. 

The world had been bracing for her passing for some time. “Operation London Bridge” even maps out what happens next, the when and the how. Her son now takes over as King Charles III. 

Despite the preparations, Brits are still in shock. For many, Queen Elizabeth was all they knew, a constant amid big cultural shifts and geopolitical changes, nationally and globally. 

She became queen at a time when British colonial rule was imploding. She ushered in a new era of the Commonwealth. Tabloids and television zeroed in on her marriage and family life, but she still somehow remained private.

Adrian Higgins reported for The Washington Post for years, covering the royal family. He joins “Post Reports” to look back on the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II, and how her death calls into question the future of a monarchy that dates back to the 10th century.

How the water crisis in Jackson, Miss., reached its tipping point. Plus, one Peruvian farmer’s fight for climate justice.

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The capital city of Jackson, Miss., has been without drinkable tap water since late July. But this isn’t the first time there’s been a water crisis in the majority-Black town. 

“I think what's really been lost is that there was a crisis in Jackson long before,” reporter Emmanuel Felton says, “And what had been going on for years was really almost constant boil water notifications.”

Residents say sewage is spilling into backyards and people are getting rashes and lumps from the water. “It’s horrible, it’s horrible, everything is horrible,” resident Tammie Williams says. “And it’s it’s a disaster, really, you know? Disaster.”

Today on Post Reports, Felton explains how the water crisis in Jackson got so dire, and whether there’s any end in sight.

Plus, we bring you to the mountains of Peru, where one farmer is trying to save his city from drowning by suing one of the biggest carbon emitters in the world. The case could set a precedent for holding polluters accountable for harming the planet. Reporter Sarah Kaplan has more.

The latest in the Justice Department’s investigation into Donald Trump. And the students who survived the mass shooting in Uvalde, Tex., return to school for the first time. 

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On Monday, a federal district judge pumped the brakes on the Justice Department’s investigation into the material seized from former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property. The judge granted Trump’s request to appoint a special master to review the documents. Rosalind Helderman, a political enterprise reporter for The Post, walks us through what this news means for the Justice Department and what we can expect next in this investigation. 

After much delay and postponement, students at Robb Elementary School are finally returning to school in Uvalde, Tex., this week. In May, a gunman entered the school and killed 19 fourth-graders and two teachers. Questions over safety, security and adequate student support have divided this small community and broken trust with the school district and law enforcement. Today, Arelis Hernández brings us the story of families struggling with these difficult back-to-school decisions as they try to recover from the unimaginable.

In the fourth episode of the “Broken Doors” podcast, we explore the minutes between approval for a no-knock warrant and a deadly raid. 

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All this week on “Post Reports,” we’re airing episodes of the “Broken Doors” podcast, an investigative series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the American justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca.

The fourth episode of this series is called “The blink of an eye.” In this episode, we head to Port Allen, La.

On July 25, 2019, a Black man was killed during a no-knock raid on a motel room in Louisiana. His fiancee was also inside. An investigation into what led up to the fatal shooting reveals the speed with which it happened — and raises questions about electronic warrants, a relatively new technology being adopted by law enforcement agencies across the country.

For any updates to the series since the podcast aired earlier this year, check out Monday’s Post Reports episode, “No-knock warrants, revisited.”

In the third episode of the “Broken Doors” podcast, we come face to face with a sheriff and a judge.

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All this week on “Post Reports,” we’re airing episodes of the “Broken Doors” podcast, an investigative series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the American justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca.

The third episode of this series is called “‘You’re interrogating me.’” In this episode, we return to a rural county in Mississippi.

After hearing from survivors of no-knock raids and learning about the deadly consequences, we put our questions directly to the sheriff and the judge who had allowed these raids in Monroe County. People in the community still live in fear as Ricky Keeton’s family continues their battle for justice.

For any updates to the series since the podcast aired earlier this year, check out Monday’s Post Reports episode, “No-knock warrants, revisited.”

In the second episode of the “Broken Doors” podcast, a family confronts a sheriff after a deadly no-knock raid.

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All this week on “Post Reports,” we’re airing episodes of the “Broken Doors” podcast, an investigative series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the American justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca.

The second episode of this series is called “‘Why y’all had to go in that way?’” In Episode 2, we return to a rural county in Mississippi.

Around 1 a.m. on Oct. 28, 2015, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office hurled a battering ram into the home of Ricky Keeton to carry out a no-knock search warrant. After the raid turned deadly, Ricky’s family confronted the sheriff — and began secretly recording. 

For any updates to the series since the podcast aired earlier this year, check out Monday’s Post Reports episode, “No-knock warrants, revisited.”

An unusual warrant. A pattern of questionable no-knock raids. A reporting thread that just kept going. “Broken Doors” is an investigative podcast series from The Washington Post, hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca.

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No-knock warrants allow police to force their way into people’s homes without warning. What happens when this aggressive police tactic becomes the rule, rather than the exception? 

All this week on “Post Reports,” we’re airing episodes of the “Broken Doors” podcast, a six-part investigative series about how no-knock warrants are deployed in the American justice system — and the consequences for communities when accountability is flawed at every level. Hosted by Jenn Abelson and Nicole Dungca.

Today, we have the first episode of this series, called “‘That’s what you get.’”

In Monroe County, Miss., sheriff’s deputies burst through the front door of a man’s home as he slept. He said they pointed a gun at his head and ransacked his home in search of drugs and cash. The no-knock search warrant they used was threadbare. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

For any updates to the series since the podcast aired earlier this year, check out Monday’s Post Reports episode, “No-knock warrants, revisited.”

Today on “Post Reports,” we revisit the use of one of the most intrusive and dangerous tools in policing: no-knock warrants.

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Two years after the death of Breonna Taylor, the Justice Department announced federal charges against four officers involved in her death. At the time, officers had a no-knock warrant for the young Black woman’s apartment.

For Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, the Justice Department investigation represented a step toward justice for her daughter — but it was also a reminder of how much further police accountability has to go.

Since this spring, and the release of the “Broken Doors” podcast, activists, local government leaders and national law enforcement officials have continued to scrutinize the use of no-knock warrants by police. Today on “Post Reports,” investigative reporters and “Broken Doors” hosts Nicole Dungca and Jenn Abelson bring us updates from across the country, revisiting fatal no-knock cases and weighing in on what’s happened in Kentucky since Taylor’s death. 

Today on “Post Reports,” Helena Andrews-Dyer on her new book, “The Mamas” and what it takes to be an authentic Black mother in a mostly White mom group.

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Washington Post culture writer Helena Andrews-Dyer talks about her latest book “The Mamas: What I Learned About Kids, Class and Race from Moms Not Like Me.”

The book is a memoir of Andrews-Dyer’s personal experience of what it was like to be the only Black woman in her neighborhood’s mom group. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to join at first. 

“I think for me as a Black mother, immediately just instantly the image that comes up in your head is White women,” Andrews-Dyer said. “It's like strollers taking over the local cafe, going to baby yoga, baby music class in their yoga pants. It's just like all of these images and stereotypes pop into your head and you immediately think, as a Black woman and woman of color, ‘Oh, that's not for me.’”

But in some ways, Andrews-Dyer writes, “I needed this space as much as they did.” Andrews-Dyer is a middle-class, Black professional woman living in a rapidly gentrified neighborhood in Washington, D.C., with two little girls and a husband. 

But she “had not seen a story about motherhood that looked like me. … And so I had to tell it.”

“The Mamas” was released by Crown Publishing this week.

President Biden’s new plan to cancel some student loan debt will impact millions of Americans. On today’s “Post Reports,” we learn how this program works, what it means for the economy and why some people are unhappy with this approach. 

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Millions of Americans rely on the federal government to cover the cost of college. Soaring tuition costs, higher enrollment and changes to the federal lending system have all contributed to the $1.6 trillion in outstanding federal student debt. 

This week, President Biden announced a plan to cancel up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for many borrowers, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients.

National higher education reporter Danielle Douglas-Gabriel provides a walkthrough of who qualifies for the plan and the arguments for and against this massive debt forgiveness.  

In the last days of the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, a suicide bomber set off a blast at Kabul airport. It killed an estimated 170 Afghans and more than a dozen U.S. troops. Today, one year after the withdrawal, Pentagon reporter Dan Lamothe takes a closer look at the days leading up to that devastating blast and what happened in its aftermath. 

From a Marine in a scout-sniper team, to the top military commander who planned and directed the operation, today’s episode shares the stories of the U.S. service members who lived through the violent evacuation process. Some of these never-before-heard accounts offer a different and more nuanced picture than the story the U.S. government tells. 

On today’s “Post Reports,” how a car bombing in Moscow has become a flash point in the war in Ukraine, and what it could signal is coming next. 

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On Saturday, Daria Dugina, the daughter of a far-right Russian nationalist, died in a car bombing in a Moscow suburb. Russia’s domestic security agency, the FSB, accused Ukraine of organizing the attack, which many think was intended for Dugina’s father, Alexander Dugin.  Ukraine denied any involvement. 

The killing has already created a new flash point, as Putin’s ally calls for “more than revenge” for his daughter’s killing and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns of a possible escalation in Russian attacks ahead of Ukraine’s independence day. 

Reporter Mary Ilyushina explains what this bombing could mean for the future of the war in Ukraine.

Today on Post Reports, how government officials in Iran cut corners to expedite a yet-unproven vaccine developed by a company close to the supreme leader. 

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Last year, as Iranian regulators considered endorsing a locally developed coronavirus vaccine, a top health official issued a warning, saying the test results were insufficient, and the vaccine’s approval could undermine efforts to contain the deadly spread of covid throughout Iran.

But the vaccine had influential backers – it was the highly touted project of a company called Barkat, part of a corporate empire close to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Business reporter Yeganeh Torbati reports that government officials cut corners to expedite the yet-unproven vaccine, even as the supreme leader barred the import of some Western-made vaccines, and imports of other vaccines encountered delays.

Today on “Post Reports,” the changing relationship between former president Donald Trump and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and what it could mean for the future of American politics. 

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Rupert Murdoch has swayed global politics through his media empire for decades. His relationship with former president Donald Trump was regarded as one of his strongest alliances, with Trump dominating the conservative media outlets Murdoch owns. But as media reporter Sarah Ellison explains, Trump and the Murdochs were aligned for mutual benefit – and that dynamic could be changing. 

Correction: A previous version of this podcast mistakenly referred to 21st Century Fox instead of Fox Corporation. The Murdochs sold most of 21st Century Fox to Disney, and rebranded the assets they retained as Fox Corporation.

Today on Post Reports, how early mistakes by the Biden administration left gay and bisexual men facing the threat of an agonizing illness and the potential for broader circulation of monkeypox. Plus, an unintended consequence of overturning Roe.

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For two months, the Biden administration has been chased by headlines about its failure to order enough vaccine doses, speed treatments and make tests available to head off an outbreak that has grown from one case in Massachusetts on May 17 to more than 13,500 this week, overwhelmingly among gay and bisexual men. And 100 days after the outbreak was first detected in Europe, no country has more cases than the United States — with public health experts warning the virus is on the verge of becoming permanently entrenched here, Dan Diamond reports.

Plus, later in the show: Abortion bans and restrictions are complicating access to drugs that treat rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and even cancer. Reporter Katie Shepherd says it’s because these drugs could be used to induce abortions. For patients, doctors, and pharmacies, that’s meant confusion, fear and painful choices.

Congresswoman Liz Cheney’s crushing defeat in Wyoming’s Republican primary on Tuesday. Plus, Alaska experiments with a new way to vote. 

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Rep. Liz Cheney’s loss on Tuesday night wasn’t really a surprise — not even to her. As vice chair of the congressional committee investigating Jan. 6, she’s carved a new reputation as a voice of anti-Trumpism within the Republican party. But her constituents have rejected it. Politics reporter Amber Phillips explains what Cheney’s future could look like from here. 

And two years ago, Alaska adopted a new way of voting that seems to be gaining steam in other places across the country: ranking candidates. Experts say ranked-choice voting boosts the chances for candidates with a wider appeal. Phillips breaks down what this experimentation with a new voting system could mean. 

Today on “Post Reports,” why school districts across the country are facing a critical teacher shortage this fall. Plus, we meet some of the covid “super-dodgers.”

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As back-to-school season gets into full swing, many schools across the United States are still scrambling to hire teachers.Education reporter Hannah Natanson has been speaking with educators and administrators about why we’ve run out of people who are willing to teach and what this will mean for students.

Then, meet the “super-dodgers” – the people who have never gotten covid-19. After an overwhelming response when she looked for sources, reporter Ellen McCarthy spoke to several people who have impressively avoided the coronavirus – or so they thought.

One year ago today, Kabul fell to the Taliban, ending two decades of war and U.S. occupation. Today on Post Reports, we take you to Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where a year of peace hasn’t healed old wounds or brought new opportunities.

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When the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan last summer and U.S. forces began a chaotic exit, the world watched in horror as people flooded the airport in Kabul, desperate to escape Taliban rule. 

But far from the capital city, in Helmand province, the news of Taliban victory was met with joy and relief. Helmand was home to some of the most gruesome fighting during the war, and people were ready for peace. 

Kabul bureau chief Susannah George reports on what life is like there now. At schools, markets, courts and health clinics, a degree of normalcy has returned to daily life – but the year has exposed the depths of Afghanistan’s trauma and laid bare the shortcomings of the Taliban government.

The newly unsealed search warrant for Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home lists potential crimes, including violating the Espionage Act. The Washington Post reported Thursday that the FBI was also looking for classified documents about nuclear weapons. 

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On Friday afternoon, a judge unsealed the search warrant for the FBI’s search on former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. The warrant revealed the FBI went there looking for evidence of crimes, including mishandling defense information and the destruction of records. The receipt of what the agents seized includes four sets of top-secret documents, and seven other sets of classified information. 

But the day before, The Washington Post learned that classified documents related to nuclear weapons were among the items the FBI sought in the raid. Intelligence and national security reporter Shane Harris explains what type of information could be in these documents and why experts and the Justice Department are so concerned about it falling into the wrong hands. 

Billionaire Peter Thiel was one of Facebook’s first investors. Now, more than a decade later, Thiel is investing in a slate of right-wing candidates in the midterms. Reporter Elizabeth Dwoskin explains Thiel’s rise. 

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Elizabeth Dwoskin reports on how Peter Thiel went from Facebook investor to an architect of the new American right. 

This week, Democrats had a surprise victory in the Senate, passing a $700 billion bill to fight climate change and lower health-care costs. This legislation is a big deal - but it’s not exactly what many Democrats were hoping for. 

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The Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act on Sunday, and it’s expected to pass the House and become law. The landmark legislation contains climate measures, major changes to health care, tax hikes on corporations and dozens of other provisions. White House economics reporter Jeff Stein says that when the process started, “Democrats were hoping the bill would signal a New Deal-style era, where fundamental parts of the country’s economy and social fabric would change.” Those aspirations may not have been fulfilled, after compromises Democrats made to get the bill passed. But, Stein says, “it’s pretty much bigger than almost any other legislative efforts we’ve seen.” Stein breaks down what’s in the Inflation Reduction Act and how it could affect you as a consumer.

The legislation has a provision that would offer rebates to subsidize the installation of a little-known, energy-efficient solution for cooling homes: heat pumps. The two-way air conditioners keep spaces cool in hot months and warm in cold months – and they’re much better for the environment than using traditional energy sources.Innovations reporter Pranshu Verma fills us in on why heat pumps are worth our attention.

Today on Post Reports, why the FBI searched former president Donald Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, and what they’re looking for.

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On Monday, former president Donald Trump announced that his Palm Beach, Fla., home had been searched by the FBI. No former president has ever faced a search by federal investigators like this.

This is the next step in an investigation of whether Trump took classified documents with him when he left the White House. The National Archives retrieved 15 boxes of documents from Mar-a-Lago earlier this year.

Matt Zapotosky, an editor at The Post who formerly covered the Justice Department, explains what federal agents were looking for and the complex calculations behind the FBI’s search.

What we know about the often clandestine operation of how countries trade prisoners, and what that means for WNBA star Brittney Griner. And Jason Rezaian weighs the U.S. response to hostage-taking by hostile governments. 

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With the sentencing of Brittney Griner last week, the clock started ticking on potential U.S. negotiations with Russia to secure the release of the WNBA star and another American, security consultant Paul Whelan. But how do prisoner swaps actually work? What are the considerations both countries have to weigh before agreeing? And what happens after a deal is made? Senior national security correspondent Karen DeYoung breaks down the ins and outs of prisoner swaps. 

Also, Post Opinions writer Jason Rezaian – who was released as part of a prisoner swap after spending 544 days in an Iranian prison – talks about the growing problem of Americans being taken hostage by hostile governments and what to expect in the Griner case. “I'm asked often if I'm for or against these kinds of exchanges,” he said. “My answer is, that's not the right question. The right question is … ‘What are we doing to deter hostage-taking in the first place?’”

On today’s “Post Reports,” a conversation with author Angela Garbes about her new book, “Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change.” 

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In 2020, author Angela Garbes found herself at home taking care of her two daughters, clinically depressed and unable to write. It was a time when people were told to stay home, unless you were an essential worker. 

“But I remember sitting there being like, ‘What about me?’ ” Garbes told “Post Reports” editor Lexie Diao. “What about parents? What about mothers? Like, what we are doing is nothing less than essential. … The pandemic has exposed that without care, we’re lost.”

Garbes’s new book is called “Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change.” The book examines the history of caregiving in America through the lens of the author’s own Filipinx identity, and makes the case that caregiving is an undervalued and overlooked labor that disproportionately relies on women of color.

What’s to blame for a summer of flight disruptions. And the legacy of pioneering “Star Trek” actress Nichelle Nichols.

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This summer has been filled with air travel issues: canceled flights, lost baggage, long lines. There’s been a lot of finger-pointing from airlines, at weather issues and short-staffed air traffic controllers, but federal data suggests the airlines themselves are to blame for many of the disruptions. Transportation correspondent Lori Aratani explains why airlines are still struggling to handle the demand for travel, and how to plan ahead when traveling. 

Nichelle Nichols, the actress best known for her role as Lt. Uhura in “Star Trek,” died last weekend at 89. David Betancourt discusses the road she paved for Black women in entertainment and the impact she had on the entire science fiction genre.

Today on “Post Reports,” we take you to a conservative-leaning steel town in Illinois grappling with its new role as home to the closest abortion clinics for many patients in the South and Midwest post-Roe.

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Granite City is a conservative-leaning community in Southern Illinois that’s seen layoffs at the local steel mill and had dozens of businesses close in recent years. But the city is now becoming known for something else: abortion. It’s home to the closest abortion clinics for many out-of-state patients across the South and Midwest who can no longer access the procedure where they live because of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe. v Wade. 

Granite City’s geography – it sits at the bottom of a blue state, surrounded by a sea of red states with abortion bans – means as many as 14,000 people are expected to come here for an abortion in the next year.

That influx of abortion patients could infuse much-needed cash into the city. But some in Granite City are not comfortable hitching their economic fortunes to abortion.

Abortion reporter Caroline Kitchener and audio producer Ariel Plotnick went to Granite City just days after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. They talked to people in the community about what this post-Roe era could mean for their city. 

An abortion access victory in Kansas. Trump-backed candidates on the rise. What the results of Tuesday’s elections could mean for the midterms in the fall. 

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Kansas voters delivered the first election win to protect abortion access since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Campaign reporter Hannah Knowles unpacks this surprising outcome — supporters of abortion rights overwhelmingly won — and what lessons it carries for the politics of abortion.

At the same time, many candidates backed by former president Donald Trump and those who denied he lost the 2020 election prevailed in their primary races Tuesday. Hannah says the fall midterms are expected to be a red wave even as Democrats “hope that in the end, voters will just see these candidates as too extreme and especially see their kind of campaigns against democracy itself as too extreme.”

The killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the world’s most wanted terrorist, leaves al-Qaeda in a leadership crisis. But the drone strike ordered by President Biden also highlights new tensions with the Taliban one year after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

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Ayman al-Zawahiri’s safe house in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, was targeted by a drone strike Saturday after months of planning, officials said Monday. And Zawahiri had been a U.S. target for more than two decades: He oversaw the 9/11 attacks alongside al-Qaeda’s founder, Osama bin Laden.

“This is a victory for the president, no doubt,” national security reporter Shane Harris says on today’s episode of Post Reports. “But beneath that victory is the fact that the world's most wanted terrorist moved right into the capital city of the country that [Biden] ordered troops to leave last year.”

Rep. Peter Meijer was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, but back in his district a right-wing base on the rise hopes to punish him for his vote.

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Less than two weeks after arriving in Congress, one of Republican Rep. Peter Meijer’s first votes was to impeach former president Donald Trump after the events of January 6, 2021. 

Now, Meijer is fighting for his seat back home in his western Michigan district where supporters of the former president have mobilized in staunch opposition to the congressman. And despite bucking his party to stand with Democrats in impeaching Trump, Democrats trying to flip his seat blue have interfered in the primary to boost his opponent in the hopes of facing an easier opponent in the fall. 

Today on Post Reports, politics producer Arjun Singh takes us to western Michigan to understand the stakes of this Republican primary and explore just how strong Meijer’s opposition really is. 

Help us learn a little more about our listeners and take The Washington Post’s podcast survey here.

Today on “Post Reports,” we talk to tech columnist Geoffrey A. Fowler about how apps are spying on our kids — and what we can do to stop it. 

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Geoff has been looking at tech from a consumer perspective in his series We the Users, and he says apps are spying on our kids at a scale that should shock you. 

More than two-thirds of the 1,000 most popular iPhone apps likely to be used by children collect and send their personal information out to the advertising industry, according to a major new study shared with Geoff by fraud and compliance software company Pixalate. On Android, 79 percent of popular kids apps do the same. 

On today’s show, Geoff tells us who the biggest offenders are, and what parents can do to protect their kids’ privacy online.

The story of a 10-year-old who crossed state lines for an abortion after Roe v. Wade fell sparked loud skepticism from media and politicians. Today, how local journalists uncovered the truth — and why the public rarely hears such abortion stories at all.

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When the Indianapolis Star published a story July 1 about a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio who was forced to travel to Indiana for an abortion because of new restrictions in her home state, it sparked a national frenzy. An indignant President Biden cited the story a week later as an example of extreme abortion laws, and his political opponents pounced. They suggested it was a lie or a hoax. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board concluded it was “too good to confirm,” and the Post’s Fact Checker cautioned it was “a very difficult story to check.” Ohio’s attorney general went further, calling it a “fabrication.”

Meanwhile, local journalists went digging. Using shoe-leather tactics, reporters in Ohio and Indiana proved that the horrific story no one wanted to believe was indeed true. 

Today, media reporter (and frequent guest host) Elahe Izadi tells the story of how local journalists got the first big scoop of the post-Roe era, why the public rarely hears such abortion stories and the role local journalists play in documenting the consquencesof Roe’s fall.

Today on Post Reports, how the Justice Department is investigating former president Donald Trump’s actions surrounding the 2020 election. Plus, how same-sex marriage has become a bipartisan issue.

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This week, a Washington Post investigation revealed that the Justice Department is investigating former president Donald Trump’s conduct surrounding efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Devlin Barrett reports on what the investigation looks like and whether any criminal charges could result.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Congress is considering a bill to protect same-sex and interracial marriage — two long-standing rights that some fear could be revoked by the court in the future. While the Senate still needs to vote on the bill, almost 50 House Republicans joined Democrats to approve it. Congressional reporter Marianna Sotomayor explains why some Republicans' views of marriage have changed, and the political calculations others could be making with their vote.

The World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global health emergency over the weekend — leading to debate within the White House over whether the United States should do the same as case numbers continue to climb.

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The Biden administration is weighing whether to declare the nation’s monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency. As health policy reporter Dan Diamond explains, officials are hoping to make a decision this week – but the deliberations are complicated by politics. 

Monkeypox is the latest global health emergency. Here's what to know. 

As the United States confronts its largest-ever monkeypox outbreak, public health authorities navigate a delicate but familiar balancing act: how to warn gay men about their risk without fueling hate. This story was published last month during Pride.

If you value the reporting you hear on the podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. That’s the best way to support the work we do. Go to washingtonpost.com/subscribe.

While the U.S. government is scrambling to lower inflation for Americans, there’s a growing concern about what rising interest rates means for the rest of the world, especially poorer countries. 

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It has been said that when America sneezes, the world catches a cold, and White House economic reporter Jeff Stein says in this case, it could be much worse than a cold.

“We're on the precipice of a tsunami of debt slamming into dozens, if not hundreds, of countries with rising interest rates in the U.S.,” Jeff said. “That could have tremendous consequences, tremendous humanitarian impacts, tremendous impacts for hunger across the globe.”

As the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates again this week, Jeff explains how poorer nations could suffer from the U.S. efforts to slow inflation. Can economic policymakers prevent a crisis?

If you value the journalism you hear on this podcast, consider a subscription to The Washington Post. Go to washingtonpost.com/subscribe.

The House committee investigating Jan. 6 has wrapped up its first series of hearings. Today on “Post Reports,” a debrief on what we’ve learned about what happened behind-the-scenes that day, and what’s next for the committee.

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For over a month now, members of Congress have been calling witnesses and making the case that former president Donald Trump played a critical role in the attack on the Capitol. 

On Thursday night, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol held its last scheduled hearing this summer. But the committee is still interviewing potential new witnesses — and it’s not over till it’s over.

Marianna Sotomayor, a congressional reporter for The Post, hosts today’s show and guides us through a conversation with political investigations reporter Rosalind Helderman. They discuss the big reveals from Thursday night’s hearing, as well as the big questions on Americans’ minds: What should we take away from all this? And how will these hearings shape our understanding of the insurrection and Trump’s role on Jan. 6?

Also, take our quiz to test your knowledge on the Jan. 6 hearings.

Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about the end of a grand experiment: universal free school lunch. The program started to address childhood hunger early in the pandemic, but it's set to expire at the end of the summer.  

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For many school administrators, providing universal free meals has been a no-brainer. 

“The reason we like this program is that it takes all the shame out of all the kids that eat free lunch,” said Donna Martin, a school nutrition director in a rural county in Georgia where kids have had universal free lunch for years under a provision that allows districts with high concentrations of poverty to feed every child for free. “You try not to identify them, but everybody knows who eats free lunch. So, in my community, everybody eats lunch and there's no shame.”

Education reporter Moriah Balingit explains what this program did, and why it’s going away now, despite how popular it is among schools. 

“The pandemic became sort-of this policy laboratory to try out things that a lot of progressives have wanted for a long time, like the Child Tax Credit and universal free lunches. And I think there was some hope, some optimism that these programs would continue. But, of course, as we saw with the Child Tax Credit and now we're seeing with the free lunches, they are being allowed to expire because there's not the political will to continue them.”

Today on “Post Reports,” how the rising cost of living is pushing many Americans into homelessness, even if they have good jobs. 

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The sheriffs arrived at 6 a.m. in early June to tell Josanne English what she already knew: She was being evicted.

She’d lost her job as a project manager near Sacramento in April, then fell behind on rent as $6-a-gallon gas and higher costs for food and utilities depleted her monthly budget. By the time she lost her home two months later, she owed $9,160 in rent and late fees, and her bank account was nearing zero.

English never thought she would be in this situation. She made nearly $100,000 last year. But, economics correspondent Abha Bhattarai says, she’s not alone. 

“What's been striking this time around, just in conversations with families and also with homeless shelters and service providers, is that the people who are losing their homes now often have jobs. Sometimes they're even really good-paying jobs. But, you know, maybe their lease comes up for renewal. It's going up by 20 percent or 30 percent and they just can't afford that.”