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The U.S. has the worst maternal mortality rate of high-income countries globally, and the numbers have only grown.

According to a new study published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association – maternal death rates remain the highest among Black women, and those high rates have more than doubled over the last twenty years.

When compared to white women, Black women are more than twice as likely to experience severe pregnancy-related complications, and nearly three times as likely to die. And that increased rate of death has remained about the same since the U.S. began tracking maternal mortality rates nationally — in the 1930s.

We trace the roots of these health disparities back to the 18th century to examine how racism influenced science and medicine – and contributed to medical stereotypes about Black people that still exist today.

And NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks with Karen Sheffield-Abdullah, a nurse midwife and professor of nursing at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, about how to improve maternal health outcomes for Black women.

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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Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Bettie Davis, Clark Gable. During Hollywood’s Golden Age, which existed roughly from the 1910s and 20’s into the early 1960s, these actors weren’t just stars…

They were in the words of NPR’s movie critic Bob Mondello “American royalty”.

But in an age of Disney and Marvel, the movie star appears to have been eclipsed by the franchises in which they appear.

NPR critics Mondello and Aisha Harris breakdown the decline and seemingly disappearance of the classic movie star and what that means for Hollywood.

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The police killing in France of a 17-year old of North African descent sparked protests and violence across the country as well as a national conversation about racism and police brutality.

Rebecca Rosman reports from the Paris suburb of Nanterre where the police killing took place. NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley reports from Marseille, the scene of some of the worst violence. And Ari Shapiro interviews Sebastian Roche, a sociologist who studies policing and race in France.

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On Wednesday Israel said it concluded a two-day military operation in the Jenin refugee camp meant to root out armed militants. The raid on the camp in the occupied West Bank – complete with airstrikes – was the most intense military operation Israel has carried out in more than 15 years. At least 12 Palestinians were killed and scores wounded. One Israeli soldier was killed.

Israel claimed the attack was one that targeted militants and minimized harm to non-combatants. NPR’s Daniel Estrin visited Jenin as the operation was winding down and said Palestinians had a different story to tell.

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It’s been more than a decade since ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was repealed. Introduced in 1993, the law remained in effect until 2011. During that time an estimated 114,000 troops were forced out of the military because of their sexual orientation.

Veterans who received an “other than honorable” discharge from the military under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” were ineligible for veterans’ benefits. That meant missing out on benefits like free VA healthcare, VA-backed home loans or funds for college tuition.

While the Pentagon says that 90% of applications to change discharge status have been granted, advocates say that as of March 2023, only 1,375 vets have had benefits reinstated – a tiny fraction of the number of affected vets believed to be out there.

NPR’s Quil Lawrence follows the story of two gay veterans, both affected by “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, but in very different ways.

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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There’s nothing obviously patriotic about scarfing down as many hot dogs as you can in ten minutes. So how did competitive eating become so synonymous with the holiday celebrating the Fourth of July?

To find out, host Scott Detrow visits a hot dog eating contest in Washington, D.C.

And producer Matt Ozug unpacks the evolution of eating as a sport, from a 17th century farmer to today’s televised competitions.

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The Supreme Court ended its term this week with three rulings that will have far reaching consequences in the lives of millions of Americans.

The court struck down President Biden’s student debt relief program. It also sided with a Colorado website designer who wants to refuse business to a same-sex couple, and it effectively killed affirmative action in college admissions.

All three rulings were a 6-3 split. All of the court’s Republican-nominated justices voting against the three justices who were put forward by Democratic presidents.

NPR’s Scott Detrow speaks with two legal experts, journalist Dahlia Lithwick and law professor Leah Litman from the University of Michigan, about what this term tells us about the current Supreme Court.

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A week on from an aborted uprising, Vladimir Putin is still standing. But for how long? The brief rebellion, launched by the leader of the mercenary Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin, marked the greatest challenge to Putin’s rule since he came to power, 23 years ago.

The mercenary leader is now in exile in Belarus and no charges are being filed against him or his followers. So where does that leave Putin, who has a reputation for being ruthless with his enemies?

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The Supreme Court effectively killed race-conscious admissions in higher education on Thursday.

In two cases, the court decided that the admissions policies of Harvard and the University of North Carolina – both of which consider race – are unconstitutional, ruling the policies violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

The decisions reversed decades of precedent upheld over the years by narrow court majorities that included Republican-appointed justices. The rulings could end the ability of colleges and universities, public and private, to do what most say they still need to do: consider race as one of many factors in deciding which of the qualified applicants is to be admitted.

NPR’s Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg reports on the ruling and what it means for college admissions. NPR’s Adrian Florido looks at how colleges and universities in California adjusted their admissions policies when the state banned affirmative action 25 years ago.

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A punishing heat wave has left more than a dozen people dead across Texas. In recent days temperatures have climbed above 100 degrees in many parts of the state. Now the extreme heat is heading east, putting people’s health at risk across the Mississippi Valley and the Central Gulf Coast.

NPR’s Lauren Sommer reports on how climate change and the El Niño climate pattern are increasing the intensity and frequency of heat waves. And Monica Samayoa from Oregon Public Broadcasting reports on how one county is suing oil and gas companies for damages caused by a heat wave.

This episode also features reporting from KERA’s Toluwani Osibamowo in Dallas.

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