Month: April 2023

Just a few years before the violence and chaos currently engulfing Sudan, it seemed to be on a tenuous path toward democracy.

NPR’s Emmanuel Akinwotu explains how two rival generals who had promised to transition the country to civilian rule are instead tearing it apart in a bloody power struggle.

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While the country seemingly moves on from the pandemic, an estimated 15 million U.S. adults are suffering from long COVID. Scientists are trying to understand what causes some people to develop long COVID while others do not.

NPR’s Will Stone spoke with researchers and reports on a growing body of evidence that points to one possible explanation: viral reservoirs where the coronavirus can stick around in the body long after a person is initially infected.

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Millions of children have left Ukraine since the Russian invasion. They have relocated across the country and the globe. And while these children are survivors, for many the emotional scars are difficult to heal.

A team of NPR journalists spent months following the stories of 27 kindergarten students – 6-year-olds – who were forced to leave their homes and school in the northeast city of Kharkiv in Ukraine when Russian troops invaded.

Two of the children, Aurora and Daniel, were best friends. Always together in class – inseparable – until they were forced apart by war. Daniel and his family fled to New York. Aurora and her parents ended up in Spain.

Host Elissa Nadworny speaks with the children and their parents about how they are learning to live without each other in a world where they have already lost so much.

And a psychologist discusses the strength and resilience of kids in the face of trauma.

The Environmental Protection Agency unveiled ambitious new emissions rules this week. The agency estimates car makers would need up to 67% of their new vehicle sales to be electric by 2032 in order to comply with the stricter standards.

Michelle Krebs, executive analyst with Cox Automotive says the changes “reinvent the vehicle” and will require a reinvention of the auto industry.

In the face of these impending changes, Keith Barry, an automotive reporter for Consumer Reports, walks through what prospective electric vehicle buyers should be considering.

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Syria is buckling under the stresses caused by civil war, a brutal dictatorship, punishing international sanctions, and most recently the devastation caused by earthquakes in the region last February.

At the same time, the effectiveness of sanctions meant to hurt and isolate the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad is being questioned. Recently, a group of former U.S. officials and Syria experts urged President Biden to rethink U.S. policy and make sanctions more effective.

NPR’s Aya Batrawy traveled to a government-controlled area of Syria to learn more about what life under sanctions is like there.

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Millions of Ukrainian children had their schooling interrupted by Russia’s invasion. The war has also shaped their childhood in lasting ways.

NPR’s Elissa Nadworny visited a kindergarten classroom in Kharkiv, Ukraine, that was hit by Russian artillery last August. She set out to find out what happened to the children who had been students there.

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Democrats and Republicans disagree on a lot of issues. But there’s a growing consenus in both parites that China represents a threat to the U.S. And some worry that the rise in anti-China rhetoric could pave the way for xenophobia against Asian-Americans.

Congresswoman Judy Chu, D-Calif., is concerned about that. She herself has been accused of disloyalty by a fellow lawmaker, and she says she worries about a “new McCarthyism,” in the Republican Party.

And Erika Lee, a professor of history and Asian-American studies at the University of Minnesota, says there’s a long American history of national security concerns fueling xenophobia.

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A majority of the Nashville Metro Council supports reappointing former state Representative Justin Jones to the seat he was expelled from last week.

Jones was one of two Democrats ousted by the Republican-controlled Tennessee state legislature after taking part in protests calling for stricter gun control in the state.

NPR’s Ailsa Chang speaks with Nashville Council Member-At-Large Zulfat Saura about her vote to send Jones back to the State House.

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Whether you’re a politician, a mental health expert, or a parent, it seems everyone has a problem with TikTok. Some concerns stem from the social media platform’s addictive qualities or its effects on one’s mental health. Critics have also noted dangerous video trends. Members of Congress in both parties are calling for a ban over fears that the Chinese government could harvest Tik Tok user information. And many states and colleges have taken steps to regulate the platform.

But for tens of millions of Americans, TikTok has become a part of their lives, providing entertainment, news, and even community.

Are the threats to ban TikTok missing the point?

Host Scott Detrow talks to Mark Pocan, a Democratic Congressman from Wisconsin, and Rebecca Jennings, who covers internet culture for Vox.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, a 19th century abortion ban took effect in Wisconsin and forced those practicing and seeking reproductive healthcare to travel across state lines.

Earlier this week, voters elected Judge Janet Protasiewicz to become a justice on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, flipping control of the court to liberals for the first time in 15 years. That could have big implications on the future of abortion in the state.

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Dr. Kristen Lyerly, an OB-GYN from Green Bay, Wisconsin, about how the judicial change could impact Wisconsin doctors who provide reproductive healthcare and their patients.

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