Author: Matt

The NCAA’s March Madness Tournament is upon us, and after over two years of pandemic restrictions at sporting events, stands are packed to full capacity with fans.

Transformative changes are happening off of the court too: for the first time in March Madness history, college athletes can cash in on endorsement deals because of changes to the NCAA’s Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) policies, which are a result of a Supreme Court ruling last summer.

While the new arena in college sports has been lucrative for athletes, with contracts reaching 7 figures, NIL advocates are concerned about the lack of legal and financial protections for students.

We speak with Stewart Mandel, Editor-In-Chief of college football at The Athletic, about how the current nature of NIL deals may risk exploiting student-athletes.

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Tuesday was the second day of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings. She would be the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice, and the first Democratic nominee to be confirmed since Elena Kagan in 2010. A vote on her nomination could come in weeks, and Democrats have the votes to confirm her without Republican support.

NPR political correspondent Juana Summers spoke to black women working to support Jackson’s historic nomination.

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Inside Ukraine, millions of people have been displaced, with millions more living in increasingly dire conditions. In the city of Maruipol, hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped — with dwindling supplies of food and water and no electricity. Mariupol has been bombarded by the Russians for weeks now. Petro Andrushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol’s mayor, told NPR civilians in bomb shelters are running out of food.

Millions of others have fled Ukraine without knowing if or when they’ll be able to return home. Amid that uncertainty, they must start a new life elsewhere. It’s an experience only people who’ve been refugees can truly understand. Mary Louise Kelly talks with refugees from Vietnam, Syria, and Afghanistan about their experiences, how fleeing their home country has affected their life and what life is like now.

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Senate confirmation hearings begin next week for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. If she is confirmed she will be the first Black woman on the high court and the first public defender. Judge Jackson served as a federal public defender between 2005 and 2007. She defended several Guantanamo detainees and others accused of crimes, a fact that her critics use to suggest that she works to free terrorists and put criminals back on the street.

The 6th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees every criminal defendant the right to an attorney. The right to have effective counsel, along with presumption of innocence are the basic principles of fairness in our legal system. But too often, having worked as a defense attorney is a stop sign on the road to the bench.

We speak with Martin Sabelli, president of the board of directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He explains why our legal system needs more judges with a background in criminal defense.

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It’s been one year since a white man opened fire at three spas in the Atlanta area killing eight people — six of whom were Asian women.

Since the beginning of the pandemic there has been an alarming rise in hate crimes against Asian people in America, and a majority of the victims are women.

Harmful stereotypes of Asian Women play a huge role here — often portrayed in pop culture as demure, exotic, hyper sexualized, or carriers of disease.

CNN journalist Amara Walker discusses what it feels like to live with these stereotypes and the threat of violence as an Asian American woman.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants America to help impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine. The U.S. favors other avenues of support, providing weapons and equipment. Now there are signs the Russian advance is stalling. Could there be a diplomatic endgame in sight?

Marie Yovanovitch is skeptical. The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine tells NPR a no-fly zone should be kept on the table, citing the unpredictability and ruthlessness of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Yovanovitch has written a new memoir, Lessons From The Edge. More from her conversation with NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly here.

Former Naval Intelligence Officer Steven Horrell says there’s an emerging possibility of a so-called ‘frozen conflict’ in Ukraine, with Russian forces failing to advance but also refusing to leave.

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The pandemic created a spike in demand for housing that sent real estate prices through the roof. Which means a lot of Americans could no longer afford to buy, while many of those who could are now experiencing buyer’s remorse.

NPR heard from many new homeowners who made compromises as they rushed to buy. Some even waived inspections or moved sight-unseen.

Hyojung Lee, a professor at Virginia Tech, explains how low interest rates, lockdowns and a desire to stop renting created the real estate scramble.

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In the U.S., with key COVID metrics trending rapidly downward, the pandemic’s third spring is already looking very different. But concerns remain about future variants as China and Hong Kong battle new outbreaks.

NPR’s Tovia Smith reports on workers heading back to the office — where employers are figuring out how to give them new flexibility.

NPR’s Will Stone reports on a recent change to the way the CDC talks about COVID risk. More on that story here.

NPR’s Allison Aubrey has more on the battle over new COVID spending in Congress.

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The scenes of devastation in Mariupol, a southeastern port city in Ukraine, are increasingly reflected in cities across the country as Russian forces advance. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the port city since the start of Russia’s invasion. A humanitarian crisis is deepening, as residents say they can’t find drinking water or food, and the International Committee of the Red Cross says they cannot get emergency supplies in.

Journalists Maura Reynolds and David Filipov both reported on Russia’s military campaigns in Chechnya. Olga Oliker of International Crisis Group is an expert on Russian military strategy. They talk about the lessons learned from past Russian actions in Chechnya, and later in Georgia and Syria, to help explain what could come next in Ukraine.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that could impose fifteen years in prison on anyone who publishes or broadcasts what the Russian government considers “false information” about the invasion of Ukraine. The law makes it illegal to use the word “war” or “invasion,” a move aimed at shutting down the last remaining independent Russian media outlets.

Even as news is being censored and social media platforms are being shut down, some people in Russia are determined to be heard. The Russian independent human rights group OVD-Info reports that more than 13,000 protesters in 147 cities have been detained since the war began just over two weeks ago.

Yulia Zhivtsova is one of those protesters. She was detained in Moscow for taking part in protests the day after Russia invaded Ukraine. She’s one of the thousands of protesters across the country who are defying the threat of violence and prison to express their opposition to the war in Ukraine.

And we’ll hear how Russian immigrants and Russian Americans are showing support for Ukraine as attitudes among some in their community shift from acceptance of Putin to outrage.

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

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