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Will anyone save Ukraine? Feb 14, 2022

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Diplomatic efforts to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine have failed to ease tensions — and that has huge stakes for Ukraine, for Europe and for America’s standing in the world.

The U.S. State Department has announced that the U.S. will close its embassy in Ukraine’s capital, with remaining embassy personnel being relocated closer to the border with Poland because of mounting U.S. fears of an invasion by Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to leave the diplomatic door open, but as national security reporter Shane Harris explains, talks aren’t producing any breakthroughs.

Skating and SCOTUS Feb 11, 2022

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Today on Post Reports, a guide to the judges being considered to fill Justice Stephen Breyer’s Supreme Court seat and make history as the first Black woman on the court. Plus, two Washington Post politics experts talk … figure skating.

After Justice Stephen G. Breyer announced his plan to retire at the end of the Supreme Court’s current term, all eyes turned to President Biden, who now has the chance to bolster the court’s liberal minority and deliver on a major campaign promise: to nominate the first Black female justice.

On today’s Post Reports, White House reporter Seung Min Kim runs through the professional backgrounds and legal philosophies of three of the judges under consideration – Ketanji Brown Jackson, Leondra Kruger and J. Michelle Childs – and the challenges they could face if nominated.

And later in the episode, non-sports-reporters Phil Rucker and Robert Samuels join Maggie Penman to talk about … Olympic figure skating.

Why your rent is going up Feb 10, 2022

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We look at why rents have gone up across the nation, and whether that trend will end any time soon.

Nationwide, the price of renting a home has skyrocketed recently — in some places the rent is up more than 30 percent. As economics correspondent Abha Bhattarai explains, the effect on some renters has been severe: Millions of Americans have been forced to move, while others have become homeless until they can find another place to live.

Is ISIS back? Feb 09, 2022

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What a brazen Islamic State prison break reveals about the strength of the terrorist group. Plus, amid uncertainty over the future of Roe v. Wade, Vermont moves to enshrine access to abortion in the state’s constitution.

The world forgot this Syrian prison. The Islamic State did not. Baghdad bureau chief Louisa Loveluck was recently in Syria reporting on the fallout from a brazen ISIS attack, and what it revealed about the enduring strength of the group.

Politics reporter Caroline Kitchener reports on abortion for The Post. She explains the latest moves by state legislatures to either protect — or restrict — access to abortion as the Supreme Court considers a decision that could limit or even overturn Roe v. Wade.

Born in the U.S.A., skiing for China Feb 08, 2022

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What it means for a star American athlete to compete for China in the Beijing Olympics. Plus, how an anonymous Instagram account called “Dear White Staffers” is exposing what it can be like working for lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Eileen Gu is an American dream of an Olympic athlete. Born and raised in San Francisco, she won gold in the big-air freestyle skiing event and is a favorite in two more events. But she’s not competing for the United States. She’s competing for China. Les Carpenter reports on how Gu’s choice magnifies the ongoing tensions between the United States and China.

An Instagram account called “Dear White Staffers'' has become a safe space for congressional aides to anonymously call out lawmakers and share their experiences. Marianna Sotomayor reports that the account is also galvanizing unionization efforts on the Hill.

Can diplomacy save Ukraine? Feb 07, 2022

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As Russia appears to prepare for a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States and NATO allies scramble to find a diplomatic resolution.

Russia is close to completing preparations for what appears to be a large-scale invasion of Ukraine that could lead to 50,000 civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis with millions of refugees fleeing the chaos, according to U.S. military and intelligence assessments.

Intelligence reporter Shane Harris breaks down how the diplomatic efforts to de-escalate on the border are going –– and where the skepticism of all sides in the conflict comes from.

A way back to Adelaida Feb 04, 2022

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For four years, Maria Chic Reynoso and her daughter, Adelaida, only spoke through a screen. They were separated at the U.S. border under Trump. Though they’re reunited, they’re still haunted by the past — and the possibility of another separation.

Maria Chic Reynoso and her daughter, Adelaida, were among the first to be separated at the U.S.-Mexico border in the summer of 2017 under the Trump administration — a year before the White House publicly acknowledged it was separating young children from their parents.

Maria was deported back to rural Guatemala, and Adelaida was sent to live with Maria’s sister in South Florida. Maria and Adelaida spent four agonizing years apart from each other, unsure as to whether or when they would see each other again.

In 2021, Maria and Adelaida were finally reunited. But as Mexico City Bureau Chief Kevin Sieff explains, the trauma of the separation is far from over.

“Almost every family I've talked to has expressed some fundamental kind of fracture in their family that didn't just occur at the moment of separation, but occurred in the period between separation and reunion,” Sieff explains. “And it's just obvious that all of these families are going to have a hard time rebuilding relationships, including this one.”

George Floyd and the ‘duty to intervene’ Feb 03, 2022

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Three police officers are on trial in Minnesota for their role in George Floyd’s murder. The case centers on their “duty to intervene” in the actions of Derek Chauvin. But some are asking: How do you teach cops to stand up to other cops?

Former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao are facing trial on federal charges that they deprived George Floyd of his federal civil rights in the fatal May 2020 arrest. Reporter Holly Bailey has been reporting on the courtroom proceedings — a process that’s played out much differently than in Chauvin’s trial. “It feels like we're really going to get deep into what police officers in Minneapolis are trained to do, and how exactly they are trained,” Bailey says.

In the aftermath of Floyd’s death and Chauvin’s conviction, police departments around the country have been seeking out training in “bystander intervention” — teaching police officers how to speak up when their colleagues are doing something harmful.

“For decades and decades, we've been teaching police officers about intervention, but we've been doing it really badly,” says Jonathan Aronie of the Sheppard Mullin law firm, the co-founder of the Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement Project. “All we do is we give them a PowerPoint and we say, ‘Thou shall intervene,’ as though it's easy. And we've never, ever taught the skills of intervention.”

Getting vaccines ready for young kids Feb 02, 2022

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For many parents of young kids, the news that Pfizer and BioNTech are seeking emergency-use authorization for a coronavirus vaccine for children younger than 5 couldn’t have come soon enough. What we know — and don’t know — at this point in the process.

Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that coronavirus vaccines for children younger than 5 could be available far sooner than expected — perhaps by the end of February — under a plan that would lead to the potential authorization of a two-shot regimen in the coming weeks.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions about the regulatory strategy here, says science reporter Carolyn Y. Johnson. But for parents of young children, this news may feel like a light at the end of the tunnel.

Boycott or not, the Olympics are big business Feb 01, 2022

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Today on Post Reports, we talk about corporate responsibility — at the Olympics, and in the C-suite. Plus, Wordle gets bought out.

The U.S. government may be boycotting the Olympics, but American corporate sponsors aren’t. Global business reporter Jeanne Whalen says, “China is the world's second biggest economy, and for many of these companies, it is one of their biggest markets.” We break down what that means for the diplomatic boycott and its impact.

A Washington Post review of America's most valuable public companies reveals that Black employees still represent a strikingly small number of top executives — and that the people tapped to boost inclusion often struggle to do so. Business reporter Tracy Jan explains why.

Plus, one more thing about Wordle — and why the popular online word game being bought by the New York Times feels like the end of an era.

Have federal student loans? Tell us what you’ve done since the payment freeze. The Washington Post is covering the freeze on federal student loan payments, which was first imposed in March 2020 because of the pandemic. We'd like to hear from borrowers on how the freeze has impacted them.

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