Month: August 2020

From therapeutics to testing to vaccine development, public health experts are increasingly worried the Trump administration is letting politics guide public health decisions.

NPR’s Richard Harris reports on a quiet change to testing guidelines made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week.

NPR’s Joe Palca explains what protections exist to insulate the vaccine development process from political influence.

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Professional athletes from several leagues said they would not play scheduled games Wednesday night in response to events in Kenosha, Wis.

Basketball, baseball, tennis and soccer players announced in the last 24 hours that they would not play scheduled games. These decisions come after Jacob Blake, a Black father was shot by police in Kenosha on Sunday.

NPR spoke to the lawyer representing Blake’s family, who said earlier this week that Blake is paralyzed from the waist down.

Ahead of the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington, NPR’s Cheryl Corley reports on an upcoming march for racial justice.

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Donald Trump told the Republican National Convention: “The crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon — and I mean very soon — come to an end.” That was in 2016.

Today the president and his party are reprising a similar pitch to voters, as police shootings and the protests that follow them continue. NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe reports on how the president’s ‘law and order’ message has changed over time.

And Evan Osnos of The New Yorker explains why some white voters are still sticking with the GOP. He wrote about that in his recent piece, “How Greenwich Republicans Learned To Love Trump.“

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The FBI has called it a potential domestic terror threat. The President says he doesn’t know much. Now, congressional candidates who’ve signaled support for the internet hoax ‘QAnon’ are on the ballot this November.

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Louis DeJoy testified in front of the House Oversight Committee today. He denied ordering the removal of mail sorting machines, but also said he would not put them back into operation.

NPR’s Kirk Siegler reports on how the recent slowdown in mail service is hurting Americans in rural areas — people who helped elect President Trump.

NPR’s Planet Money tells the story of how the USPS got so strapped for cash in the first place. Listen to their full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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For the first time in modern history, a major political party convention was not about the optics, the crowds, or arena-sized production value. The Democratic National Convention, held virtually, was less about the medium and more about the message. NPR spoke to three Democratic voters to hear what they thought.

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Former President Barack Obama reportedly changed the speaking order during Wednesday night’s Democratic National Convention so that he would speak before Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, symbolizing a passing of the torch from one political generation to another. So what would a Biden-Harris administration look like?

NPR’s Susan Davis explains that while Biden would inherit new problems caused by the pandemic, he’ll also face long-standing issues with Congress.

And NPR’s Carrie Johnson explores what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have said about the possibility of a Biden administration Department of Justice prosecuting President Trump — if he’s voted out of office.

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For months President Trump has tried to suggest voting by mail is not reliable, while ‘absentee’ voting is. There’s no difference.

NPR’s Pam Fessler reports some states are trying to make the process easier by tweaking the deadline by which ballots must be postmarked.

And reporter Frank Morris explains what’s happening to hundreds of mail sorting machines that have been taken out of service at postal locations around the country.

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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill welcomed students back to campus, only to cancel all in-person classes a week later. Can any college campus really open while the virus is still so widespread?

NPR’s Elissa Nadworny reports on what it looks like to try, from The University Of Georgia.

And NPR’s Sequoia Carrillo reports on how U.S. military academies are making it work.

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Testing is down 40% in two of the hardest-hit states — Texas and Florida. Ashish Jha of Harvard’s Global Health Institute explains what might be going on.

NPR’s Alison Aubrey describes a new COVID-19 test developed by Yale University that works with saliva.

And NPR’s Kirk Sielger reports on a school district in Idaho that’s preparing to reopen — and possibly close right back down again.

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