Every weekday afternoon, Kelly McEvers and the hosts of NPR’s All Things Considered — Ailsa Chang, Audie Cornish, Mary Louise Kelly and Ari Shapiro — help you consider the major stories of the day in less than 15 minutes, featuring the reporting and storytelling resources of NPR.
The GOP Operatives Toying With Trump, Hoping For A President Biden
The President traveled to Florida today. It’s one of three states that just set records for new daily deaths from the coronavirus. Trump’s trip there included a stop at a fundraiser for his re-election campaign.
Several Republican-run groups including The Lincoln Project are opposing that campaign, running slick political ads aimed at an audience of one. Ari Shaprio explains.
And Asma Khalid reports GOP opposition to the President draws a lot of attention, but it’s unclear whether voters are moved by the messaging.
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Testing Labs Falling Behind; SCOTUS Rules On Trump Taxes
With so many new coronavirus cases, testing labs are falling behind and people are waiting days for results.
On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Trump was not immune from a grand jury subpoena for his financial records. But Americans are not likely to see the president’s taxes before Election Day.
There were nearly 2.4 million new applications for state and federal unemployment benefits last week, according to the Labor Department. After four straight months of people applying for unemployment by the millions, NPR’s Scott Horsley reports there are growing signs it won’t be getting better anytime soon.
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3 Million Cases And Counting, U.S. Faces Same Problems From Beginning Of Pandemic
The U.S. Supreme Court has made it more difficult for women to get access to birth control. The opinion upheld a Trump administration rule that allows employers to use religious or moral reasons to deny birth control coverage.
The United States has more than 3 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus and is still facing the same problems from the early days of the pandemic, including a lack of PPE, slow testing and not enough contact tracing.
Doctors are using a new antigen test that is a faster way to spot people infected with the coronavirus. NPR’s Rob Stein reports it’s cheaper and simpler but may be less reliable.
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Ideas For Reopening Schools; Evidence Of Airborne Spread
The Australian state of Victoria, which includes Melbourne, just started a new six-week lockdown. The state just recorded a record number of new daily cases: 191.
Education and public health experts agree it’s important that kids get back to school in the fall. The question is how to do it safely. NPR’s Anya Kamenetz reports on some radical ideas for reopening.
Some experts say there’s increasing evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted through particles that travel through the air when we breathe. The World Health Organization has been cautious about confirming that idea.
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Lawsuit Forces Release of Government Data On Racial Inequity Of Coronavirus
For the first time in the states history, Arizona has activated “crisis of care standards,” a set of protocols health care workers can use to make decisions about how to allocate resources.
The mayor of Houston says ICU beds are starting to fill up and the city has two weeks to get things under control.
The New York Times sued the federal government to obtain data collected by the CDC that reveals more information about how the virus has affected people of color in the United States. The numbers revealed Latinx and Black people are three times as likely to become infected as white people.
The virus is spreading fast in Florida. To reach the hardest hit communities, public health workers in Miami are going door to door in Latinx neighborhoods with supplies and information.
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How Did We Get Here?
It can feel a bit like headline deja vu: New cases on the rise; bars and restaurants closing back down. More than 130,000 people have died in the United States. Hotspots cropping up across the country.
How — after four months — are we here?
We examine the emphasis on individual decision making, and science journalist Ed Yong explains how individual actions led to a “patchwork pandemic.”
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Fauci Admits Government Fault On Masks; Celebrating July 4 Safely
Employers added 4.8 million jobs last month but the U.S. is still down 15 million jobs since February. And those new figures are from a survey before the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
Coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose in part due to Memorial Day weekend celebrations, when people went out to beaches and restaurants. From a report by NPR’s Allison Aubrey, experts share tips on how to safely celebrate the Fourth of July
There’s been a lot of mixed messaging on masks. Dr. Anthony Fauci tells NPR the government could have done a better job early on. And NPR’s Maria Godoy reports on how to choose the best mask for you.
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The Mask Debate Is Over; Fauci On Mandates, Vaccine Skepticism
As Arizona hits new records of coronavirus cases and deaths, the state announced they will pause their reopening plans.
More and more Republicans are speaking up in support of face masks. Even Vice President Mike Pence has been wearing one in public lately.
Dr. Anthony Fauci tells NPR the coronavirus surges we’re seeing now are partly the result of too few people wearing masks. Fauci said it’s especially hard to explain the risk to young people, because the virus has such a broad range of severity.
Plus, a group of scientists who wanted to make it easier to track the virus in your community created an online risk assessment map. NPR’s Allison Aubrey and Carmel Wroth reported on the new tool.
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Gaps In The Russian Bounties Story; Fauci Warns Of 100k Cases A Day
Dr. Anthony Fauci told members of Congress Tuesday that although he can’t predict the ultimate number of coronavirus cases in the United States, he “would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around.”
The New York Times reported that Russian military intelligence offered money to the the Taliban in exchange for killing American troops in Afghanistan. NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly spoke with Aaron O’Connell, a Marine Corp veteran who served on the National Security Council, about Russia’s possible motives.
Coronavirus testing in the U.S. is up, but not up enough. Public health researchers say only a handful of states are testing at the level needed to suppress the virus.
To see how your state is doing with testing, go to NPR’s tracker.
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