The White House has deferred to states about reopening their economies. This week, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced that his state would move to phase one of their plan to reopen. Phase one will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, May, 8th. While the stay-at-home order will still be in effect, there will no longer be a distinction between essential and non-essential businesses.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, shares what metrics the state used to determine that it’s the right time to begin phase one.
Phase one of North Carolina’s reopening includes a relaxation of restrictions on social gatherings, including worship services. Services with more than 10 people can take place as long they are outside and social distancing is respected. Spence Shelton, lead pastor at Mercy Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, shares what it’s like to lead group worship remotely and how he’s navigating phase one.
Dr. Lucian Conway is a professor of Social Psychology at the University of Montana studying what shapes human thoughts and communications at the Political Cognition Lab. He shares what’s driving the gap between what liberals and conservatives think about how seriously to take the threat of COVID-19 and how the government should respond to it.
Small business owners have been saddled with the enormous responsibility of managing their businesses during the pandemic. They’ve seen a sharp decline in sales with no end to the public health crisis in sight. This week, we hear from two small business owners trying to navigate the new normal. Lenore Estrada is the owner of Three Babes Bakeshop in San Francisco and Abigail Opiah is the cofounder of Yeluchi by Unruly, a mobile hairstyling service.
This week, the Justice Department announced that they were dropping the criminal case against Michael Flynn, President Trump’s first national security adviser. Flynn had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI twice regarding conversations he’d had with a Russian diplomat in 2016. Katie Benner, who covers the Justice Department for The New York Times, shares how the decision came about and whether or not it undermines the credibility of the Russia investigation.
Burning of Three Black Churches Serves as Reminder of Racism’s Continuing Legacy
The churches were all burned in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, over the course of ten days in March.
Congress Investigates the High Cost of Insulin
The price of insulin has nearly tripled in the last decade. Congress is now investigating why.
An Uncertain Path Forward for Transgender Troops
On Friday, the Trump administration banned transgender people from openly enlisting in the military. Advocates say this marks a return to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” for transgender troops.
Guests:
Pennsylvania’s Attorney General released a grand jury report on Tuesday documenting decades of child sexual abuse by over three hundred Catholic priests in the state. We discuss the findings of the report and hear from Bishop Lawrence Persico of the Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania; a conversation with Christine Hallquist, who won the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Vermont on Tuesday. She’s the first openly transgender nominee for governor for a major political party; on Tuesday, Nebraska held its first execution in more than 20 years. Convicted murderer Carey Dean Moore was put to death by a lethal injection that included, for the first time, the synthetic opioid, fentanyl; Puerto Rican musician, Ileana Cabra better known as iLe discusses her new song that’s out today, and also touches on the political situation in Puerto Rico, almost a year after Hurricane Maria.
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