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Stephanie is one of nearly one million Americans who have died of COVID-19. Her family says Stephanie’s death was avoidable, but in recent years, she had been drawn into conspiracy theories.

She believed that the coronavirus was a hoax and refused to get vaccinated. When she got COVID-19 last winter, Stephanie refused treatments and eventually died just a few days after Christmas.

While there is no way to know exactly how many people like Stephanie have died because they believed conspiracy theories, the Kaiser Family Foundation recently found that more than 200,000 Americans would be alive today, had they had been vaccinated.

NPR’s Geoff Brumfiel reports.

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Between the 1990s and late 2000s, people in Chechnya described Russia’s wars there as a nightmare. Its former leader, Akhmad Kadyrov, resisted Russian forces.

But today, the Muslim-majority Chechen Republic is ruled by Kadyrov’s son, Ramzan. He’s a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is accused of numerous human rights abuses and is also leading his own forces against Ukraine to aid the Kremlin.

Rachel Denber, Deputy Director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division, explains Ramzan Kadyrov’s stake in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

NPR National Security Correspondent Greg Myre, who reported from Chechnya during the wars, also breaks down the republic’s evolution over the last 25 years.

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You introduce yourself and then someone mispronounces your name. At that point you have to decide if you correct them or let it slide.

For many people from immigrant communities, this has been a lifelong experience. And sometimes, it’s about more than mispronunciation, it can signal exclusion and disrespect. Some people even change their names in order to fit in more easily and not be “othered.”

For years, LA Times columnist, Jean Guerrero, let people say her name without rolling their r’s, the way it would be said in Spanish. But after becoming the target of MAGA trolls online, she decided to reclaim the proper Spanish pronunciation.

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For years, most states have reported a shortage of special education teachers. Now, according to federal data, nearly every state is struggling to hire qualified educators. And when schools can’t find a licensed teacher, they hire people who are willing to do the job, but lack the training.

From member station WFYI in Indianapolis, Lee Gaines reports on what that means for students, and Dylan Peers McCoy reports on one approach — in Hawaii — that’s helped to fill shortages.

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California’s Reparations Task Force is preparing to release its first report on the impact of racism on African Americans in June. It’s the next step for the Task Force, following a narrow vote late last month to exclude some Black residents from being eligible if and when a reparations plan becomes law.

Under the current proposal, only those who can trace their lineage to enslaved or freed Black people before the end of the 19th century will qualify for reparations from the state.

Some Black Californians are fine with that for now. State residents Derika Denell Gibson, Taiwo Kujichagulia-Seitu, and Kaelyn Sabal-Wilson discuss what reparations would mean to them.

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The pains of every war ripple out beyond the borders of the conflict zone. And as the war between Russia and Ukraine drags on, the disruptions in the global food supply chain are beginning to deepen the already dire hunger crisis around the world.

Ukraine and Russia have an outsized role in global food production: combined, they are responsible for about 30% of the wheat in the world, about two-thirds of sunflower seed oil, large amounts of barley and corn, and more.

Now, because of the ongoing war, the price of food worldwide is skyrocketing and 38 countries are facing acute food insecurity, meaning they are just one step from famine.

NPR global health and development correspondent Nurith Aizenman reports on how the war is driving up prices.

David Beasley, executive director of the UN World Food Programme, talks about how food insecurity looks inside of Ukraine, and what is to come for the rest of the world.

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A federal judge struck down the CDC’s mask mandate for public transportation on Monday, clearing the way for airlines and ride hailing companies to eliminate mask requirements for passengers. What might the change mean for travelers — especially those most vulnerable to infection or too young to be vaccinated?

NPR science correspondents Selena Simmons-Duffin and Maria Godoy explain.

NPR’s Tamara Keith outlines the political implications for the Biden administration.

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Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter. His vision of the future may not pan out for the platform, but that vision represents what historian Jill Lepore calls ‘extreme capitalism.’

Lepore, a Harvard professor and New Yorker writer, is host of the podcast The Evening Rocket, where she examines what she calls Musk’s extravagant, “extreme” capitalism — where stock prices are driven by earnings, and also by fantasies.

NPR’s Bobby Allyn also explains Twitter’s effort to prevent Musk from gaining control of the company.

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More than 4.5 million Ukrainians have left their country since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. While many hope to return to Ukraine, they don’t know when it will be safe to do so. As the war shows no sign of stopping, some refugees are beginning to integrate into life in their adoptive countries.

One of those people is Anastasiia Konovalova. She used to be the head teacher at a primary school in Odesa, Ukraine, but fled to Bucharest, Romania after the war began. In a matter of weeks, she’s managed to get a school for Ukrainian refugees up and running. With more than 600 Ukrainian children on a waitlist to attend, Konovalova is now thinking about what a future in Romania could look like for these refugee children.

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This weekend, followers of three major religions are observing some of their most sacred holidays. Many will do so together, in person, for the first time in years.

Easter, Passover, and Ramadan all have their own symbolism and themes. And it’s not a stretch to tie any of those themes to world events; from the COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine.

We invited three faith leaders to tell us about the messages they’re bringing to their congregations during a difficult time – and a holy time: Reverend Marshall Hatch of the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, Senior Rabbi Ruth Zlotnick of Temple Beth Am in Seattle, and Imam Mohamed Herbert from The Islamic Society of Tulsa.

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