Post Reports

Asian American communities are bracing themselves against an increase of violent assaults, leaving the marginalized group feeling under attack and isolated. Read more:Attacks against Asian Americans are surging. While data is scant, the numbers in New York City and San Francisco — cities with large, long established Asian American communities — are up. Racially motivated attacks are chronically underreported, reporter Marian Liu says. “On top of that, there's a high threshold to proving what a hate crime is.” Liu spoke with Post Reports senior producer Reena Flores about the recent string of viral videos showing violence against elderly Asian Americans and how those attacks have left people in the minority group fearful. “The community has been left feeling very isolated.” Liu says. “They had to report this on their own, create their own database. And many have taken to patrolling their own streets —like people are patrolling Chinatown on their own.” About US is an initiative by The Washington Post to cover issues of identity in the United States. Sign up for the newsletter.

As President Biden seeks to reset immigration policy, uncertainty surrounds the U.S. relationship with Honduras and its president, Juan Orlando Hernández, who is implicated in drug trafficking. Read more:For four years, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández built his governing program around the demands of the Trump administration, which in turn stayed out of Honduras’s domestic affairs. Now, that arrangement is ending, and Hernández is finding himself in a precarious position as the United States pivots from one administration to another. Mexico City bureau chief Kevin Sieff spent a week with Hernández and his team. He spoke with producer Alexis Diao about that surreal week, and how the biggest threat to Hernández could be an extradition treaty he pushed through himself.Subscribe to The Washington Post: postreports.com/offer

Behind the fight over raising the minimum wage — and why the Senate parliamentarian is at the center of it. Plus, boomers embrace online shopping. Read more:President Biden’s push to increase the federal minimum wage is facing significant hurdles in Congress, opposed by skeptical Republicans, centrist Democrats and many business owners. Labor reporter Eli Rosenberg lays out the cases for and against the policy as a tool of financial relief during the pandemic.Obscure Senate procedures are also complicating the issue. Post producer Arjun Singh and lawyer Jonathan Gould explain the role of the Senate parliamentarian in deciding whether Democrats can squeeze a federal minimum-wage hike into a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package using the budget reconciliation process. Older Americans are increasing buying groceries — and just about everything else — on the Internet. Abha Bhattarai unpacks boomers’ growing tech savvy. Subscribe to The Washington Post: postreports.com/offer

Merrick Garland’s plans for the Department of Justice. And, another push to provide pandemic loans to small businesses.Read more:President Biden has vowed to remake the Department of Justice, placing a greater emphasis on promoting racial justice, criminal justice reform, and investigating and rooting out domestic terrorism. His nominee for U.S. attorney general, Merrick Garland, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. Matt Zapotosky reports. Business reporter Aaron Gregg explains the change in coronavirus relief that could help more mom-and-pop businesses survive the pandemic.Subscribe to The Washington Post: https://postreports.com/offer

Pregnant people and their babies face severe risks if they get infected with the coronavirus. Newly available vaccines could be a source of hope. But without good data, many pregnant people are agonizing over whether the shots are right for them.Read more:As vaccines become more widely available, many pregnant people are being asked to decide whether they’re ready to trust and receive a shot. For some, that decision could be the difference between life and death. False claims tying vaccines to infertility are driving doubts among women of childbearing age. Health officials worry their hesitation may affect efforts to reach immunization targets.If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners — one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer. 

Most Texans are finally getting their power back, but millions of people are still without water as the crisis escalates in the storm-ravaged state. And why coronavirus cases are finally dropping in the United States.Read more:Although most Texans have finally had their power restored, millions of people are now facing a water crisis because of cracked pipes and knocked out water-treatment plants. Arelis Hernández reports from San Antonio.The rate of newly recorded coronavirus infections is plummeting from coast to coast and the worst surge yet is finally relenting. Writer Reis Thebault on why covid-19 cases are dropping.

Philadelphia’s first mass vaccination site looked like a model of 21st-century efficiency — until the city abruptly shut it down after losing trust in the group that ran it. Plus, how the pandemic has led some men to realize they need deeper friendships. Read more:A mass vaccination clinic in Philadelphia opened with fanfare but closed amid rifts of trust. Frances Stead Sellers explains the swift rise and fall of Philly Fighting Covid. No game days. No bars. Samantha Schmidt reports on how the pandemic is making some men realize they need deeper friendships. 

Understanding the freezing weather sweeping across the United States — and why Texas’s independent power grid was doomed to fail in its wake. Plus, NASA tries to land a car on Mars. Read more: At least 14 people are dead in four states after a record-breaking cold snap swept through parts of the United States. Meteorologist Matthew Cappucci explains the science behind the freezing temperatures — and why the country might be bracing for more. Will Englund reports on how the Texas power grid got crushed because its operators weren’t prepared. NASA’s Mars rover, Perseverance, could be in for a bumpy landing Thursday. But if it survives the “seven minutes of terror,” Perseverance could hold the key to future exploration of the Red Planet. 

Why it won’t be easy to root out far-right extremism in the military. Why Indian farmers are protesting. And who pours the kibble for the first dogs? Read more:In the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Pentagon is struggling to answer a basic question: How many extremists work among its ranks? Missy Ryan reports. In Delhi, tens of thousands of Indian farmers have formed a protest encampment several miles long. Joanna Slater traces the origins of the revolt. Graphics reporter Bonnie Berkowitz on who takes care of White House dogs. If you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, please subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners — one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer.

In honor of Presidents’ Day, the story of a president who was impeached during a time of great division: Andrew Johnson. This story is from The Post’s podcast “Presidential” with Lillian Cunningham.Read more:The Post’s podcast “Presidential” is a historical journey through the personality and legacy of each of the American presidents. Listen to the whole archive here. If you’re hearing this episode on Presidents’ Day, check out the “Presidential” trivia event! It's free, virtual and will take place on Monday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Here’s the link to register: https://washpost.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RQlQCtT1TyiACpm2HZl_uAIf you value the journalism you hear in this podcast, subscribe to The Washington Post. We have a deal for our listeners — one year of unlimited access to everything The Post publishes for just $29. To sign up, go to postreports.com/offer.