NPR-up front

"We, the voters:  The left, the right, the disillusioned."

Views expressed in this U.S., World, and Geopolitical News update are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 02 June 2024, 1321 UTC.

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by Anandita Bhalerao June 2, 2024 Good morning! This week, Trump was convicted on all counts in his criminal hush money trial; OpenAI took action on covert influence operations based in Russia, China, Iran, and Israel; and Bette Nash, the world’s longest-serving flight attendant, died at 88.

Best of NPR

Election season is long, and it’s very easy for the news to feel like an endless scorecard of who-said-what in campaign speeches and rallies. But ultimately, elections aren’t decided by political theater. They’re decided by people who vote to make their lives — and life in their country — better. Photos by Ash Ponders/NPR, Hannah Yoon/NPR, Justin Sullivan/Getty, and Chip Somodevilla/Getty. Collage by Jackie Lay/NPR In our ongoing series, “We, The Voters: The Left. The Right. The Disillusioned,” we ask people from across the country one question: What do you want from your government? Each week, we dig into the issues that you’ve told us matter the most: gun violence, the economy, immigration, reproductive rights, health care, and U.S. foreign policy. Abortion will be up for a vote in a number of states, with several more in the process of getting it on the ballot. We looked at six key facts you need to know about abortion, including that the number of abortions in the U.S. since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade has actually gone up. NPR's Steve Inskeep traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border to meet with people on all sides of the immigration issue: migrants who are waiting for their day in court, humanitarian workers who say they’ve faced increasing violence, and border security officials who say they’re overwhelmed. In 2023, more than 42,967 people died from gun-related injuries. Over half of those deaths were suicides. NPR's Michel Martin looked into why the conversation around gun violence overlooks the leading cause of gun deaths. Experts say inflation is relatively low. So why does it feel like we’re forking out more money on groceries every month? NPR's Ailsa Chang spoke with the lead author of a report that found most consumers expect food prices to keep rising in the coming year. She asks: When it comes to inflation, why do the facts differ so much from our feelings? In the coming weeks, we hope our coverage of health care and foreign policy will complete the picture, arming you with tools you need to make informed decisions at the polling booth come November. Find a full list of our stories on each topic here. Newsletter continues after sponsor message

The Week That Was

Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images Robert F. Kennedy Jr. doesn’t have a real chance of becoming president. But that hasn’t stopped his campaign — or his supporters. They include disillusioned former supporters of both the Democratic and Republican parties, who say the media lied to them about what he stands for. They also take issue with the argument that votes for him mean siphoning off enough support to change the balance in key swing states. NPR’s Stephen Fowler spoke with some of them at a rally in Nashville. Honoré Prentice was 9 months old when his Canadian parents adopted him from Haiti. Years later, one of his five biological brothers found him on LinkedIn. Many other cross-border adoptees follow their curiosity and pursue questions about their heritage and biological families. While reunions can be joyful and powerful, they can also raise complicated and unresolved feelings among adoptees about their origins. For years, Wymon Johnson took care of his older brother Obie when he was suffering from a serious lung illness. Obie moved into his home, and Johnson gave him his only bed and started sleeping on the couch. Johnson earned minimum wage through a state program to take care of his brother full time, but in 2019, Obie died suddenly during what was supposed to be a routine procedure. Johnson was heartbroken and had to vacate his home, with nowhere to go. Experts say that’s an aspect of caregiving few people talk about — what happens after the person you’re caring for is no longer with you.

Part-interview, part-existential game show

This is Wild Card from NPR. Host Rachel Martin rips up the typical interview script and invites guests to play a game about life's biggest questions. Rachel takes actors, artists and thinkers on a choose-your-own-adventure conversation that lets them open up about their fears, their joys and how they've built meaning from experience – all with the help of a very special deck of cards. LISTEN TO WILD CARD TODAY

Podcast Picks

Bas Czerwinski/AFP via Getty Images Throughline: The past is never the past, and every headline has a history. Go back in time to understand the present with hosts Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei.  The ICC top court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Hamas officials this week. The ICJ said it's "plausible" that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. But what are these courts, where did they come from, and how did they come to decide the rules of war?  Up From Dust, from KCUR: Explore the price of trying to shape the world around our needs, as seen from America’s breadbasket: Kansas.  What if planting trees is doing more harm than good? A vast ocean of grass and wildflowers once covered one-third of North America. Now, our obsession with trees is helping to destroy that diverse prairie biome. The Students' Podcast: Hear from the 10 finalists of NPR’s College Podcast Challenge.  In Dear Little Sister, Trinity Chase Hunt, a junior at the University of Delaware, shares phone calls and reads letters she's written to her sister, Jewel, who recently moved away to join the U.S. Army. This love letter to her sister explores how absence brought them closer.  Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from Hawai‘i Public Radio (edit station). This newsletter was edited by Carol Ritchie. Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Up First emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy