The Omicron subvariant BA.5 is proving that the pandemic is still not over. It continues to evade immunity, even from previous omicron infections. The good news is that death rates are down and hospitals aren’t overwhelmed like before, but the virus is spreading fast again and the small fraction of people getting seriously ill can add up. Umair Irfan, senior reporter at Vox, joins us for how virus mutations are keeping Omicron in play. Next, all signs point to President Biden running again in 2024, but the one person who weighs most heavily on his decision is former President Trump. It has set up an almost codependent relationship between the two for the next election. Rumors are that Trump could declare in September and Biden in April, but there are plenty of considerations yet to be made. Matt Viser, White House reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for how we could be in store for a presidential rematch. Finally, we’ll tell you how the Brazilian butt lift became one of the deadliest cosmetic surgeries and inadequate regulations make it hard for patients to tell if they are getting a good doctor or not. One of the things to consider, there is a difference between plastic surgeons, which require years of specialized training and cosmetic surgeons which doctors can call themselves after a few months of training. Fiona Rutherford, healthcare reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for what to know. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A committee of the Texas House of Representatives released a preliminary report over the weekend of all the failings in the response to the shooting in Uvalde that led to the death of 19 children and 2 teachers. The report was all bad news and found problems at every level. Despite there being almost 400 officers from various agencies, no one took command of the situation, the school itself also didn’t follow safety protocols, and those that knew the shooter missed several warning signs. Alicia Caldwell, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how a lack of leadership and communication delayed a confrontation with the gunman. Next, we’ll talk to a man that has gone public with his battle with monkeypox. He will detail his illness from being notified by phone that he was exposed to the flu-like symptoms and the painful lesions that appeared all over his body. One of the toughest parts of recovery was the isolation he had to be in while waiting to get better. His decision to go public about his experience led to a lot of reaction online, most of which was supportive. Matt Ford, actor, writer and video producer, joins us for what it’s really like to experience monkeypox. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
President Biden wrapped up his first presidential trip to the Middle East over the weekend with few concrete deliverables on increased oil production from Saudi Arabia and no progress on an Israeli and Palestinian resolution. Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News, joins us this, Biden’s meeting with the Saudi crowned prince, another round of bad poll numbers, and Sen. Joe Manchin refusing to support the president’s agenda. Next, some restaurants are facing an extortion racket and it’s all playing out on Google. Emails are being sent to dozens of restaurants threatening bad, one-star reviews unless owners pay up with $75 Google Play gift cards. These reviews are critical in attracting business and some restaurants are complaining of inaction on the part of Google in policing these negative comments. Christina Morales, food reporter at the NY Times, joins us for how restaurants are responding. Finally, the battle for the future of American passenger rail is currently being played out. Amtrak is trying to expand with 39 new routes to reach dozens more cities and towns and it has the money to do so, but it doesn’t have the railroad tracks. Amtrak contracts with private rail owners because it doesn’t own its own, but the fight to keep freight and the supply chain moving, is taking precedent. Luz Lazo, reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for what to know in a decision that could come by the end of summer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is getting an upgrade this weekend (July 16) as it debuts a new three-digit number for calls and texts. The new number is 988 and the hope is that the shorter number will be more memorable during a crisis. Underscoring how important the service is, latest numbers show that one in six calls to the hotline go unanswered, so it is more important then ever to get people connected. Brianna Abbott, health reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what to know about 988, the new National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number. Next, recent news out of the field of xenotransplantation, two brain-dead people has pig hearts transplanted which offered doctors a chance to use new infectious disease protocols designed to help ensure that pig viruses aren’t transmitted to patients. This is all leading up to plans for the FDA to allow clinical trials for pig organ transplants. Amy Dockser Marcus, health and science reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more. Finally, anot...
Twitter is now suing Elon Musk seeking to enforce the $44 billion deal he made to buy the company after he said he wanted out. Musk says his decision to drop out has to do with Twitter not providing him enough info to be able to verify how many accounts on the platform are fake and that could be tough to decide as data scientists say isn’t easy to determine. Sarah Needleman, tech reporter at the WSJ, joins us for the complex metric this legal battle will be centered on. Next, CA Gov. Gavin Newsom took to Washington DC while President Biden is out of the country on a trip to Israel and the Middle East. It seems that Newsom has been trying to raise his national profile on issues such as abortion, climate change and guns and even pushing back on his own party for not being strong enough on those issues. All that movement has sparked discussion on whether he has presidential ambitions. Hannah Knowles, campaign reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for more. Finally, Americans are cancelling homebuying deals at the highest rates since the start of the pandemic. A new report from Redfin says 15% of deals are being cancelled and even homebuilders are seeing cancellations. Inflation and higher mortgage rates are mostly to blame with some borrowers no longer qualifying for the loans they want. Diana Olick, real estate correspondent at CNBC, joins us for what to know. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
NASA has released photos from the James Webb Space Telescope from its first six months of observation and the incredible images show a range of deep space features including a nebula around a dying star, water vapor around an exoplanet, an area where new stars are born and a huge image of five galaxies where one of them is tearing a path through the cluster. Purbita Saha, deputy editor at Popular Science, joins us for our first look at what the JWST can do. Next, a new report from the CDC is showing that the pandemic fueled a surge in superbug infections and deaths. Overall, there was a 15% increase mostly due to sicker patients, lack of staff and safety equipment and doctors overprescribing antibiotics. Early on when doctors didn’t know how to treat Covid, they gave almost 80% of those hospitalized antibiotics even though they didn’t need them. Lena Sun, health reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for more. Finally, as many people continue to look for new jobs that provide the work/life balance they want, remember to look at the fine print. Those remote jobs you may have your eye on, may not be as remote as you think. Some jobs listed as remote still require new hires to come into the office part-time or even live nearby to attend occasional in-person meetings. Lindsay Ellis, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what to watch out for so you don’t waste your time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Americans relationship with college is complicated and according to a new poll many think that it might not be worth the cost and time commitment. Overall, most people believe that the benefits outweigh the costs long-term, and those with bachelor’s degrees usually earn 75% more than they would if they only have a high school diploma. But the pandemic also plays a big part in this as enrollment has been down 1.3 million students since March 2020. Chris Quintana, education reporter at USA Today, for how many still value higher education, but feel it’s too expensive for many. Next, could your smartphone be ruining your memory? We are increasingly outsourcing much of our memory to an external device like our phones and we are missing out on some of the complex actions our brains should be doing. Experts say that constant distractions from notifications are keeping us from moving memories into long-term storage. Another downfall is relying too much on GPS step-by-step directions which can prevent us from improving spatial memory abilities. Rebecca Seal, contributor to the Guardian, joins us for the rise of digital amnesia. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Driven by mass migrations of both workers and employers, red states have been winning the post-pandemic economic recovery over blue states. Not really a move because of political preferences, workers left for financial and lifestyle reasons such as cheaper housing, less Covid restrictions and lower taxes. Biggest winners are Florida, Texas, and North Carolina while California, New York and Illinois have lost the greatest number of residents. Josh Mitchell, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how red states have had quicker recoveries. Next, we’ll tell you about Jonathan Mitchell, the architect of the Texas abortion law. Known by many to be a very bright legal mind, his legal theories and court cases have laid the groundwork which brought down Roe v. Wade. Looking ahead to what is next, he has jumped into other lawsuits over everything from a contraceptive mandate to affirmative action and same-sex marriage. His theories are based in textualism, which basically refers to the thought that if a constitutional right is not mentioned in the constitutional text, then it doesn’t exist. Lauren McGaughy, investigative reporter at the Dalla Morning News, joins us for more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.