Biden commutes sentences; Long covid; Blake Lively : NPR

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As we speak’s prime tales

President Biden used his clemency powers at present to commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 males on federal loss of life row. They’ll now serve life in jail with out parole. It is one of the vital strikes in opposition to capital punishment in current presidential historical past. Biden did not commute the sentences of the opposite three males, who had been concerned in instances of terrorism or hate-fueled mass homicide.

🎧 Biden launched an announcement this morning saying he condemns the folks convicted of homicide on federal loss of life row and grieves the victims of the crimes, NPR’s Deepa Shivaram tells Up First. He defined his choice to commute the sentences was guided by his conscience, his expertise as a public defender, and his time as a senator, vp and president. The potential for the incoming administration resuming federal executions that he halted in 2021 performed an element within the consideration to commute the sentences, in response to Biden’s assertion.

The Nationwide Institutes of Well being introduced a $300 million funding to analysis remedies for lengthy COVID. The company, in complete, has directed $1.8 billion towards learning the illness, which has been linked to excessive fatigue, mind fog, and coronary heart issues.

🎧 Affected person advocacy teams say there’s an excessive amount of give attention to understanding why folks get sick and never sufficient give attention to relieving folks’s struggling, says Sarah Boden with NPR-KFF Well being Information collaboration. Within the U.S., there are an estimated 17 million adults with lengthy COVID. Many are unable to work or care for his or her households. The NIH says there’s actual urgency to find remedies for the illness’s long-term results, however scientists first want a stable understanding of the underlying biology.

Lebanon is stuffed with antiquities just like the Greco-Roman ruins, Crusader castles and Ottoman structure, however some have been broken within the Israel-Hezbollah battle. With a shaky ceasefire in place, officers are working to evaluate the injury to those cultural heritage websites.

🎧 NPR’s Lauren Frayer lately visited a number of of these websites. She noticed the Byzantine fortifications of a walled previous metropolis destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. “These are a few of the iconic websites you see on postcards of Lebanon,” she says. In mid-November, the United Nations added 34 websites in Lebanon to its record of protected cultural properties hoping to forestall injury to them. But it surely didn’t assist with all of them. The World Financial institution estimates the price of injury and financial losses from the battle in Lebanon to be about $8.5 billion. Rebuilding can’t start in a variety of areas till Israeli troops totally withdraw.

As we speak’s hear

Musician Saint Levant has been promoting out European and U.S. venues performing songs about his household and Gaza, the place he grew up. His newest album, Deira, is an ode to his heritage and the Gaza resort his father constructed, which was destroyed within the battle. At his concert events, he opens with the identical music, “On This Land,” a part of which was recorded in Gaza in the course of the battle. The 24-year-old additionally talked about falling out and in of affection along with his music. NPR’s Majd Al-Waheidi caught up with him earlier than a present in D.C.

🎧 Take heed to snippets of his music, what he has to say about his new music and the way the battle has influenced it.

Image present

Goats and Soda, NPR’s international well being and improvement weblog, printed a number of photo-driven tales that resonated with folks in 2024. The group gathered a sampling of their favourite photograph posts from the previous 12 months. The record consists of dramatic drone photos of the world’s “foodscapes,” a take a look at households striving to supply wholesome meals for his or her children and Bolivian ladies skateboarding of their conventional attire and bowler hats. You possibly can see the colourful and telling photos by clicking right here.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

In a authorized criticism, Blake Vigorous has accused her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni and his group of launching a smear marketing campaign to silence her narrative about his and a producer’s alleged repeated sexual harassment.After practically 40 years of enterprise, Social gathering Metropolis introduced Saturday that it has began to wind down operations because it prepares to shut all of its places completely.A girl died Sunday after being set on fireplace whereas aboard an F practice in Brooklyn, N.Y. Police have arrested an individual of curiosity within the case. (by way of Gothamist)

This article was edited by Obed Manuel.