Author: Matt

The 9/11 terrorism case has been in legal limbo for more than a decade and many doubt the case will ever make it to take to trial. That’s partly because the defendants were tortured in secret CIA prisons, so there are ongoing legal fights over what evidence is admissible. Meanwhile, the accused men are at the U.S. military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and thousands of 9/11 family members wait for a resolution.

NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with two young people whose fathers died in the World Trade Center attacks, as they debate whether the 9/11 defendants should get plea deals.

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Six years after his death in prison, sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to dominate the news.

A House committee has released a suggestive note sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday that is signed “Donald J. Trump.” The White House continues to deny now President Trump wrote or signed it.

Separately, a New York Times investigation tracked Epstein’s relationship to the country’s leading bank, JPMorgan Chase. It concludes that the bank enabled his sex crimes, even as evidence against him piled up.

Times reporter Matt Goldstein explains.

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Chris Hugues has what he calls an interesting job.

He’s an assistant operator at a wastewater treatment plant in Cavendish, Vermont.

On a recent August afternoon he gave NPR’s Jenna McLaughlin a tour of the plant.

Hughes loves his work, in all its technical, mathematical, chemical, and yes, dirty, glory.  

But lately, Hughes has had to worry about a new hazard: cyberattacks.  

The threat of someone cutting water off for Americans is real.

Chinese hackers recently spent nearly a year inside a Massachusetts utility company that provides power and water.

And last October, hackers targeted American Water, the largest wastewater utility company in the country.

Water is an appealing target for hackers. People like Chris Hughes are working to make sure a cyber-attack doesn’t stop the flow. 

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This episode was produced by Alejandra Marquez Janse.

It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Andrew Sussman.

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Over the weekend, President Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a character from the war film “Apocalypse Now” and, in that same post, seemingly threatened “WAR” in Chicago; later, the president indicated that sending in troops would be to clean up cities, not to go to war. But weeks of talk of sending federal troops into Chicago has set the city on edge.

NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks with Dr. Robert Pape, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who has studied political violence for 30 years, and who worries his city could be a powder keg.

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Email us at considerthis@npr.org.This episode was produced by Henry Larson and Avery Keatley.

It was edited by Sarah Handel. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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President Trump has vowed to abolish the Department of Education. He’s pressured schools to end DEI initiatives and protections for transgender students. He’s rescinded guidelines that barred immigration enforcement at schools. 

So what could Trump’s policies mean for kids in public schools? We get answers from NPR education correspondent Cory Turner and NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.

 

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This episode features reporting by Frank Langfitt. It was produced by Tyler Bartlam and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane and Hannah Gluvna. It was edited by William Troop, Nicole Cohen, and Kelsey Snell. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a scathing line of questioning from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the Senate on Thursday.

Kennedy is a vaccine skeptic and is using his position as Secretary of Health and Human Services to radically change vaccine policy. 

In recent weeks, there have been a number of public health officials who have resigned or been fired, creating chaos at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies. 

Federal employees are also speaking out, including more than 1,000 former and current HHS employees who penned a letter urging Kennedy to resign. 

Now, some states are taking vaccine policy into their own hands

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This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink, Marc Rivers, and Manuela Lopez Restrepo, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane.

It was edited by Jonaki Mehta, Diane Webber, and Scott Hensley.

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The one thing certain about the COVID vaccine right now is that everything about it is changing.

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved the next round of COVID-19 vaccines for the fall season, but it’s significantly changed just WHO can get it.

That move comes amidst a broader effort by the Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to change policy and guidance around many vaccines. 

At this point — we’re guessing you have lots of questions about vaccination in general, but especially around COVID shots.

That’s why we asked our NPR listeners to submit their questions about the FDA’s new COVID vaccine guidance.

UCSF infectious disease doctor Dr. Peter Chin-Hong answers your questions. 

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“Chief diversity officer” was once Corporate America’s hottest job. 

Now corporate America has retreated from DEI and slashed thousands of jobs. So where does that leave the people who’ve built careers around that work? 

Hear the story of one veteran executive who’s been job-hunting for more than a year.

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This episode was produced by Kathryn Fink and Christine Arrasmith.

It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Rafael Nam.

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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So many movies are made about the beginning of a relationship. That first spark of attraction. That first kiss. 

The new dark comedy “The Roses” is about the other end – when it’s all falling apart. 

Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman star as Theo and Ivy, a couple who was once very much in love. Two children and a transatlantic move later, they’re now struggling to save their marriage.

No one thinks it’s going to work – including their therapist.

Cumberbatch and Colman sit down with host Mary Louise Kelly to discuss how they leveraged their real-life friendship to play two people who love to hate each other.

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This holiday episode was produced by Kira Wakeam and Kathryn Fink. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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The Trump Administration has made significant changes to the departments in charge of public health. So what does that mean for the health of average Americans and to the future of public health research?

NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks with Dr. Craig Spencer, an emergency medicine physician who also teaches public health policy at Brown University.

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This episode was produced by Tyler Bartlam. It was edited by John Ketchum. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. 

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