News

Susan Monarez is the first director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to require Senate confirmation. She's also the first director without a medical degree in more than 70 years.

(Image credit: Kayla Bartkowski)

President Donald Trump is aiming to fundamentally shift how the country manages homelessness with a new executive order he signed last week.

It calls for changes that would make it easier for states and cities to move people living on the street into treatment for mental illness or addiction, and in some cases, potentially force people into treatment.

Consider This: The Trump administration says the federal government has spent tens of billions of dollars on housing without addressing the root causes of homelessness. But critics worry this new executive order won't solve those root causes, either.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

(Image credit: Mario Tama)

Trump has said he kicked Epstein out of his club for hiring workers away from Mar-a-Lago. When asked Tuesday if the workers included young women, Trump responded, "the answer is yes, they were."

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski)

Compounding pharmacies are crimping sales of Novo Nordisk's obesity drug Wegovy by making what are essentially copies of the name-brand medicine. The company says it trying to stop them.

(Image credit: Scott Olson)

As President Trump bends the federal government to fit his agenda, he is also gilding the White House to suit his aesthetics. And there's one more thing he really wants: a ballroom.

(Image credit: Joe Raedle)

Todd Blanche's personal involvement in the case of Jeffrey Epstein is fueling questions about proper procedures at the Justice Department.

(Image credit: Kent Nishimura)

The Trump administration proposes eliminating a 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger people. That would undermine the EPA's climate change regulations for power plants and cars.

(Image credit: Tierney L. Cross)

Earlier this year, Iran ordered Afghans living illegally in the country to leave. Since then, the government has labeled them Israeli spies, targeted their housing, employment and banking.

(Image credit: Elise Blanchard)

Buckingham Nicks is the sole record that Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks released as a duo before joining Fleetwood Mac.'/>

Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks recorded an album as a duo before joining Fleetwood Mac. It wasn't a hit in 1973. But after much anticipation, it's due to get its first reissue in September.

(Image credit: Kristin M. Hall)

The Trump administration has effectively eliminated two rules designed to promote cleaner cars. Now, as the EPA suggests not considering carbon dioxide to be pollution, the last is poised to fall.

(Image credit: Justin Sullivan)

The GOP bill is called the "Make Entertainment Great Again Act," but it focuses on one particular venue: the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Significant obstacles stand in the way.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

The United Kingdom plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel commits to peace in the Gaza Strip and stopping the annexation of the West Bank.

(Image credit: Toby Melville)

Panicked.'/>

As he winds down his podcast after 16 years, Maron reflects on what he'll miss: "These conversations are very real conversations for me ... and that is kind of nourishing for the spirit and the soul."

Millions of people in the world today face starvation in Gaza and in other parts of the world, from Sudan to Yemen. What happens to the body when food is lacking?

(Image credit: Hassan Jedi/Anadolu)

After Nabarun Dasgupta lost a close friend to an overdose, he dedicated himself to addiction research and trying to empower drug users with lifesaving information.

(Image credit: Pearson Ripley/University of North Carolina)

Prices have risen a tad on some items especially affected by tariffs. But for the most part, companies are finding ways to delay price increases — for now.

(Image credit: Matt Slocum)

Authorities have identified a gunman who opened fire inside a Manhattan office building yesterday, killing four people. And, Gaza is only receiving a fraction of aid needed to help the many starving.

(Image credit: JOHN LAMPARSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

A UN-backed food security body says famine is unfolding in Gaza, with thousands of children malnourished and hunger-related deaths rising. The group warns that airdrops alone won't prevent a "humanitarian catastrophe"—only immediate, unrestricted aid access can.

(Image credit: Ali Jadallah)

U.N. officials say many people in Gaza are experiencing "famine-like conditions." Health experts who have studied past famines warn that the fallout can reverberate across generations.

(Image credit: Abdalhkem Abu Riash)

Trump says he personally told his "very good friend Rupert Murdoch" that he had not sent a racy birthday greeting two decades ago to Jeffrey Epstein. Murdoch's Journal reported it anyway.

(Image credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)