The Takeaway

Where the United States Postal Service Stands on Mail-In Ballots Come November

As we move closer to November, we need to keep talking about what it looks like to vote during a pandemic.

Blast Rocks Beirut on Tuesday Amid Mounting Tensions and Economic Turmoil

At least 30 people were killed with thousands injured; hospitals were overwhelmed by the number of injuries.

Why Are So Many Golden Age Rappers Dying Young?

There is a troubling pattern of rappers that came to fame during the late 80s and 90s dying in their 30s and 40s.

Activists See Progress in Fight to Halt Surgeries for Intersex Children

Last week, the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago became the first major hospital in the country to officially halt genital surgeries for intersex children.

This week, President Trump renewed his commitment to questioning the integrity of our election system and the Senate left town on Thursday without reaching an agreement on a new stimulus bill, leaving millions of unemployed Americans in economic limbo. At the same time, the U.S. surpassed 150,000 deaths caused by the coronavirus as confirmed cases in many states continue to climb.

With less than 100 days until the general election, Jane Coaston, a senior politics reporter at Vox, and Tim Alberta, Chief Political Correspondent for Politico, share how voters are processing this moment and their options for November.

Joni Ernst is a Republican Senator from Iowa whose seat was considered relatively safe until recently. Today, she’s fighting off a challenge from Democrat Theresa Greenfield, an Iowan who like Ernst has farm-girl roots. Ernst describes how campaigning has shifted as a result of COVID-19 and what she thinks of the president's response to the pandemic.

You can listen to Amy's interview with Theresa Greenfield here.

Check out our ongoing coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here.

Check out our local leader series here.

Perhaps, no state better embodies the polarization and partisanship with which we approach election administration than Georgia.

After a messy primary in June with long lines and shuttered polling locations, election officials in the state have been working to improve and restore faith in the process for what is certain to be a contentious election in November. And, in a little over a week, they’ll get another try. On August 11th, more than half of Georgia’s 159 counties will hold runoff elections giving voters and election staff another test run prior to the election. 

Efforts to recruit and train more poll workers are underway and more early voting locations are open in Fulton County, the epicenter of Election Day problems. Situated in metro Atlanta, Fulton County is also the state’s most populous. 45 percent of the population there is African American. It is also heavily Democratic. Hillary Clinton carried the county with almost 70 percent of the vote and 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacy Abrams won it with 72 percent.  

Guests:

Robb Pitts, Chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners 

Evan Malbrough, a 2020 graduate of Georgia State University and founder of The Georgia Youth Poll Worker Project

Stephen Fowler, a political reporter, Georgia Public Broadcasting

Last Friday, the world learned of the death of Congressman John Lewis. A civil rights icon and hero, John Lewis was known as the "conscience of the Congress," where he served for more than 30 years. In the week following his death, we’ve seen countless tributes across social media and from his colleagues on the House floor. There is a growing movement for Alabama’s Edmund Pettus Bridge to be renamed in his honor and on Wednesday, The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act was introduced in the Senate.

Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence of Michigan, Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina, and Congresswoman Lauren Underwood of Illinois share their remembrances and reflect on the legacy of John Lewis. 

In the last year, the Congressional Black Caucus, one of the most powerful blocks in Congress, has lost three veteran members after the deaths of Elijah Cummings, John Conyers, and John Lewis. John Bresnahan, Congressional Bureau Chief at Politico, weighs in on this moment for the CBC as it sits at the forefront of the national effort to enact police reform.