Month: March 2021

Thousands of unaccompanied migrant children have shown up at the southern border in recent weeks, overwhelming the government’s ability to process and transfer them into the custody of sponsors or family members.

Melissa Lopez, director of Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services Inc, tells NPR what the situations looks like from her vantage point in El Paso.

Mark Greenberg, senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, explains why COVID-19 protocols are making it even harder for the government to handle the increase in migrants at the border.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear from local journalists about what’s happening in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

People who stormed the Capitol were radicalized by what they consumed online and in social media. That should sound familiar: Ten years ago, ISIS used a similar strategy to lure Americans to Syria.

Dina Temple-Raston reports on the pattern of radicalization. Tom Dreisbach explores familiar warning signs in the past of one Capitol siege suspect — including hateful speech and violent rhetoric.

More reporting from the NPR Investigations team is here.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear from local journalists about what’s happening in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

In this episode from NPR’s Louder Than A Riot, New Orleans rapper Mac Phipps speaks exclusively to NPR about the power dynamics at play throughout his clemency hearing, and hosts Sidney Madden and Rodney Carmichael examine how his hip-hop career continues to affect his image in the eyes of the law.

Find more episodes of Louder Than A Riot on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

It’s been one year since Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police in her own apartment. In that year, Taylor’s name has become a national symbol in the fight against racial injustice and police violence. But beyond the symbolism, many feel that actual progress has been disappointing.

In Louisville, Taylor’s death has made other young Black women reflect on their own safety. Reporter Jess Clark of member station WFPL spoke to Black high school students who say Taylor’s death changed the way they look at police.

Amid the national protests against police brutality and systemic racism, Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott marched with her daughter. A year later and Scott has introduced legislation in Taylor’s name that would ban no-knock search warrants, among other things. Scott spoke with NPR about what change she has seen in the last year.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Less than 4% of Brazil’s population has been vaccinated, and now a dangerous new variant has overwhelmed parts of the country’s health care system.

Duke University’s Miguel Nicolelis tells NPR what it’s like in Sao Paulo, where hospitals are turning patients away.

Other countries are also struggling to contain the coronavirus, combat disinformation, and distribute vaccines. NPR international correspondents survey the obstacles: Diaa Hadid in Islamabad, Ruth Sherlock in Beirut and Julie McCarthy, who covers the Philippines.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear from local journalists about what’s happening in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

March 11 will mark one year since the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic — when schools, businesses and workplaces began shutting down.

To mark the moment, two of the nation’s top public health officials who have helped lead the U.S. response to the pandemic — Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Francis Collins — spoke to NPR about what they’ve learned, what they regret and why they’re hopeful about the year ahead. Hear their full interview with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly.

Collins is the Director of the National Institutes of Health and Fauci is the chief medical adviser to President Biden.

And NPR’s Brianna Scott reports on how some Americans remember March 11.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Jury selection in the highly anticipated trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin began Tuesday after being delayed amid an effort to gain clarity on the potential of a third-degree murder charge. Chauvin faces charges in the killing of George Floyd last Memorial Day.

Jamiles Lartey, who reports on criminal justice and policing for The Marshall Project, explains the delay.

NPR’s Leila Fadel and Adrian Florido have been covering the trial in Minneapolis.

Benjamin Crump, the attorney representing the family of George Floyd, argues that civil suits could deter police violence — even if settlements aren’t accompanied by a criminal conviction.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Over the weekend, the Senate approved a version of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, setting up a vote in the House that could send the package to Biden’s desk as early as Tuesday.

The package contains direct cash payments for many Americans, extended unemployment benefits, billions of dollars for vaccine distribution and a significant change to the child tax credit that could lift millions of American children out of poverty. Indi Dutta-Gupta of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality explains how the credit would work.

And there’s new guidance for Americans who’ve been fully vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say vaccinated people can feel safe enjoying a few pre-pandemic freedoms. NPR’s Allison Aubrey has details. Here’s more information on the new CDC recommendations.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

What do you do after you’ve survived a mass shooting? In this episode of NPR’s Embedded podcast, we hear the staff at the Capital Gazette newspaper return to work after losing five of their colleagues.

Trauma reveals itself in unexpected ways, coworkers struggle to figure out how they fit together as a team, and the staff grapples with the question: Is the newspaper that existed before the shooting the same one that exists after?

Colombian President Iván Duque won praise from the United Nations, Pope Francis and the Biden administration with his recent announcement that Colombia would welcome Venezuelan refugees with open arms — providing protected status, work permits and legal residency for up to 10 years.

President Duque tells NPR why he’s hopeful the move will spur the U.S. toward more aggressive support of Venezuelan migrants, some of whom are currently protected by a deferred deportation order signed by President Trump on his final day in office.

Reporter John Otis explains what Colombia’s new policy means to Venezuelans already living there.

In participating regions, you’ll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what’s going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.