Month: March 2021

In the U.S., the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is improving every day, but hundreds of millions of people are still vulnerable. And now, with some states relaxing or eliminating public health measures altogether, many people live in places where the virus will be freer to spread unchecked.

KUT reporter Ashley Lopez reports on how business owners and employees are reacting to the rollback of COVID-19 restrictions in Texas.

And Rochelle Walensky, the new director for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, tells NPR this could be a turning point in the pandemic — as more states face crucial decisions about whether to relax public health measures. Here’s more from Walensky’s interview with NPR’s Ari Shapiro.

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.

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The Supreme Court heard arguments this week about voting laws in Arizona that would make ballot access harder for people living in rural areas like the Navajo Nation. NPR’s Nina Totenberg reports that the conservative court isn’t likely to strike down the laws which could pave the way for more legislation that cuts into future election turnout.

The push for legislation that would restrict voter access comes primarily from Republican lawmakers in state houses across the country. This is despite the fact that many GOP candidates benefited from record turnout last November.

NPR’s Ailsa Chang speaks with voting activist Stacey Abrams about her role in turning Georgia blue during the last election and the challenges that new legislation may pose for the future.

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.

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Disinformation isn’t new. But in the last decade, the growth of social media has made it easier than ever to spread. That coincided with the political rise of Donald Trump, who rose to power on a wave of disinformation and exited the White House in similar fashion.

NPR’s Tovia Smith reports on the growing threat of disinformation — and how expert deprogrammers work with people who believe it.

Other reporting on disinformation in this episode comes from NPR correspondents Joel Rose and Sarah McCammon.

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.

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Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines has taken over after a turbulent time. Former President Donald Trump was frequently at odds with the American intelligence community, including some of his hand-picked intel chiefs.

In her first interview after a month on the job, Haines tells NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly “it has been a challenging time” for the U.S. intel community.

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.

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Bayard Rustin, the man behind the March on Washington, was one of the most consequential architects of the civil rights movement you may never have heard of. Rustin imagined how nonviolent civil resistance could be used to dismantle segregation in the United States. He organized around the idea for years and eventually introduced it to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But his identity as a gay man made him a target, obscured his rightful status and made him feel forced to choose, again and again, which aspect of his identity was most important.

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