NATO Positions Itself For War

When Russia’s war in Ukraine began over two years ago, neighboring countries feared that they could be next.

And NATO asked itself – was it prepared to defend its territory if war arrived on its doorstep?

The answer was no.

So, its military chief decided it was time to ramp up NATO’s strategy and revive its military headquarters.

And for the first time this spring, NATO will exercise brand new war plans to prepare for the worst.

The plan comes as Donald Trump makes another run at the White House, and expresses skepticism about NATO along the way. Can NATO take on Russia if American support for the alliance doesn’t hold?

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What Do We Understand About Long COVID?

This week marks four years since the outbreak of Covid-19 was officially declared a pandemic. One of the most vexing legacies — one that science still hasn’t solved — is long Covid. That’s the debilitating condition that can develop in the aftermath of an infection.

Millions of Americans are living with the often debilitating symptoms that can include brain fog, shortness of breath, and low energy. Some struggle with simple daily living tasks like laundry and cooking.

Four years since the pandemic hit, patients with long Covid are still fighting for answers.

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You’re Not Imagining It; Shrinkflation Is Real

Here’s one sign that shrinkflation is no longer just a topic for economics nerds.

Cookie Monster recently complained on social media that his favorite food was getting smaller. “Me hate shrinkflation!” the fuzzy blue monster declared. “Guess me going to have to eat double da cookies!”

President Biden promised to sign a bill banning it during his State of the Union address.

Shrinkflation isn’t new.

It’s been happening for years. But people seem to be paying more attention right now amidst high food prices and inflation. And the White House is clearly aware of that.

After years of rising prices, many Americans are fed up with paying more and getting less. Will the pendulum ever swing back?

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Ramadan In A Time Of War

The holy month of Ramadan begins this week. It is a holy month of worship for Muslims during which they worship, study the Quran, pray and fast from sunrise until sunset.

It is a time of light, but Ramadan feels different this year, especially for Palestinian-Americans, says Eman Abdelhadi. She is a professor at the University of Chicago, whose research focuses on Muslim-Americans.

Abdelhadi says “every moment of joy feels stolen and elicits a sense of guilt.” The guilt she describes is connected to the mass death and suffering in Gaza.

What does Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza mean for the holiest of Muslim holidays?

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FX’s Shogun Takes A New Approach To An Old Story

When Shogun, James Clavell’s best selling novel was adapted into a powerhouse NBC miniseries in 1980. The hero of the story was Englishman John Blackthorne.

The people he met when he landed in Japan in search of riches, are viewed and portrayed as primitive.

In the 2024 Shogun adaptation the Japanese characters are fully formed. The series elevates the stories of the Japanese characters as much as it does Blackthorne’s.

That was a deliberate decision on the part of Shogun co-creators Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks.

In the 1980 version of Shogun, Japan, its culture and its people were portrayed as foreign and remote. What do we lose when stories are only told from one point of view? And what can be gained when we widen the lens?

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Generations After The First Nuclear Test, Those Sickened Fight For Compensation

On August 6, 1945, a stone-faced President Harry Truman appeared on television and told Americans about the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima.

The attack on Hiroshima marked the first time nuclear power was used in war, but the atomic bomb was actually tested a month earlier in the Jornada del Muerto desert of New Mexico.

At least hundreds of New Mexicans were harmed by the test’s fallout. Radiation creeped into the grass their cows grazed, on the food they ate, and the water they drank.

A program compensating victims of government-caused nuclear contamination has been in place since 1990, but it never included downwinders in New Mexico, the site of the very first nuclear test.

This week, the Senate voted to broaden the bi-partisan legislation that could compensate people who have suffered health consequences of radiation testing. Now, the bill will go to a House vote.

Generations after the Trinity Nuclear Test, will downwinders in New Mexico finally get compensation?

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