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President Biden said that the United States will cut its greenhouse gas emissions to half of 2005 levels by the end of this decade. The Senate is on track to approve billions for climate resiliency programs this week and Democrats have made climate policy a central piece of their forthcoming $3.5 trillion economic package.
The proposals are all unprecedented — but are they enough to meet the scale of the challenge?
This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell, science correspondent Dan Charles.
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The unemployment rate dropped to 5.4% in July — a low for the pandemic. Nearly a million new jobs were added to the economy — although restaurants and factories are still hurting for workers. Covid cases continued to rise, too. We take a look at the two ends of the response spectrum: New York City's vaccine mandate and Florida's free-for-all.
This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, White House correspondent Asma Khalid, chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley, national correspondent Greg Allen, and national correspondent Jasmine Garsd.
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People agree: prices are up on everything from gasoline to used cars. But both experts and voters disagree on the cause and whether inflation is here to stay. That uncertainty makes the economy a potent messaging tool ahead of the 2022 race for control of Congress.
This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow and White House correspondent Asma Khalid.
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Gene Sperling oversees the White House's rollout of COVID relief. On Monday, he told reporters that President Biden had "quadruple-checked" whether he had the legal grounds to extend the eviction moratorium unilaterally but said ultimately the president's hands were tied by a Supreme Court ruling that blocked the administration from extending its past moratorium beyond the end of July. Yesterday, the administration extended the renter protections anyway. And, the U.S. continues the hard task of global vaccine distribution.
This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell.
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An investigation found that Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women in and out of state government and worked to retaliate against one of his accusers, New York's attorney general announced Tuesday. The findings quickly renewed calls for the Democrat's resignation or impeachment. Cuomo smacked down the allegations, citing generational differences, and calling the investigation politically motivated.
This episode: White house correspondent Asma Khalid, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.
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A vote on the trillion-dollar proposal is expected as soon as Thursday. Also, President Biden has been denying tens of thousands of migrants asylum proceedings, citing public health fears. After months of stagnant negotiations, immigration and civil rights groups are taking the White House to court.
This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, congressional reporter Claudia Grisales, national political correspondent Mara Liasson, White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez.
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President Biden gave a speech Thursday afternoon begging folks to get vaccinated. A CDC document warns that the very contagious delta variant means "the war has changed" against COVID.
The bipartisan infrastructure deal which passed its first vote in the Senate this week is evidence that President Biden may be able to foster cooperative lawmaking in modern Washington, as he promised during the campaign. Will it help his party hold onto congressional majorities during a difficult midterm election cycle?
This episode: White House correspondent Asma Khalid, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and congressional correspondent Susan Davis.
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The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was born from the civil rights movement of the '50s and '60s, but in recent years the Supreme Court has effectively nullified its key provisions. We explore why the law was first passed and what it means for voters of color now that its powers have been gutted.
This episode: congressional correspondent Susan Davis and national justice correspondent Carrie Johnson.
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The White House says it is "following the science" on masks after the CDC issued new guidance, but some experts say they're falling short on the social science: how to convince the remaining 40 percent of American adults to get vaccinated.
Alabama has the lowest vaccination rate in the nation and residents there aren't likely to listen to President Biden. Can football coach-turned-Senator Tommy Tuberville convince the rest of the state to get inoculated?
This episode: White House correspondent Scott Detrow, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, national correspondent Debbie Elliott, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.
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The officers — Pfc. Harry Dunn and Sgt. Aquilino Gonell of the U.S. Capitol Police, and Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department — testified before a congressional committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump's supporters. The officers each detailed brutal violence and abuse at the hand of protestors that left them with ongoing physical and mental injuries.
This episode: White House correspondent Ayesha Rascoe, congressional reporter Claudia Grisales, and justice correspondent Ryan Lucas.
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