Episode four of On Our Watch from NPR and KQED investigates the case of a plainclothes Stockton police officer who grabbed a Black 16-year-old, took him to the ground and punched him, knocking the teen’s two front teeth onto a convenience store floor.
‘A Code Red For Humanity:’ Climate Change Is Getting Worse — Faster Than We Thought
A landmark new report from the United Nations warns that the world is running out of time to avoid the catastrophic effects of global warming.
Those effects are already becoming clear as extreme weather, drought, and fire become more common. One of the latest examples: wildfires are raging amid a record heat wave in Turkey, Lebanon, Italy and Greece. Durrie Bouscaren reports for NPR from Istanbul.
And, as NPR’s Jeff Brady reports, climate change is also changing lives in subtler ways.
Other reporting heard in this episode came from NPR’s Rebecca Hersher, who’s been covering the new U.N. report on climate change.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Biden Admin Sees Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill As A Win
After months of bipartisan negotiation, the Senate may finally vote this weekend on a 2,700 page infrastructure bill that includes $1 trillion in spending on things like roads, bridges, public transit, and broadband.
A Resistant Gov. Cuomo Could Face Impeachment
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is refusing to resign after this week’s explosive report from the state’s attorney general. It detailed multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Cuomo.
Cuomo has categorically denied harassment and groping allegations. And he said that people have “sought to unfairly characterize and weaponize everyday interactions.”
Multiple high profile politicians have called for Cuomo to step down, including President Biden. Meanwhile, NPR’s Brian Mann discusses how Democratic leaders in New York state legislature plan to move forward with impeachment proceedings.
Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
Beirut’s Deadly Port Explosion, One Year Later
It’s been exactly one year since a massive explosion in Beirut’s port killed over 200 people, injured thousands and caused billions of dollars in damage.
Eviction Protection Extended, But Millions Of Renters Still Face Uncertainty
At the stroke of midnight last Saturday, a federal moratorium that had been in place for nearly eleven months expired.
After the Supreme Court ruled that the CDC could not extend that moratorium, the Biden administration asked Congress to take action. But Congress failed to maintain protections for renters before the House went into August recess.
Now, many renters fear eviction could coming knocking at their doors.
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., told NPR that she is urging local governments to institute any protections possible to prevent a wave of mass evictions across the country.
The Virginia Poverty Law Center’s Christine Marra explains where the national situation leaves renters in her state and across the country.
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.
On Our Watch: 20-20 Hindsight
In episode three of On Our Watch, we examine the records that were unsealed by this transparency law to piece together what exactly happened on September 14, 2014 when Pedie Perez was shot and killed outside a liquor store by a police officer, Wallace Jensen.
New Phase Of Pandemic Met With Confusion And Exhaustion
The United States has reached yet another turning point in this pandemic—one that may feel particularly unrelenting and confusing.
Vaccine Mandates Are Spreading Alongside Dangerous Delta Variant
The Delta variant is more dangerous and contagious than many experts initially realized. In response to the uptick in cases and hospitalizations countrywide, some government leaders are implementing mask mandates.
President Biden announced on Thursday that federal government employees will be asked to attest to their vaccination status. White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients explains what the new requirement will look like.
And NPR Correspondent Brian Naylor reports on how federal employees are feeling about this change.
Justice Department Struggles To Bring Jan. 6th Cases To Trial
Four police officers offered harrowing testimony of their experiences protecting the U.S. Capitol on January 6th during the first hearing for a new Democrat-led House Select Committee investigating the attacks.
The committee was proposed as a bi-partisan effort by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi but after she rejected two nominees from Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the hearings have begun without support from Republican leaders.
Since January 6th the Justice Department has arrested hundreds of people who were at the Capitol. NPR Investigations Correspondent Dina Temple-Raston reports that while those cases initially seemed like they’d be a slam dunk, the process of bringing them to trial has proved more difficult than anyone could have imagined.