Following up on some of our most interesting stories

Plus, how protesters use traffic cones to disrupt self-driving cars.

View this email online by Suzanne Nuyen September 3, 2023 Good morning. This week, we saw the last blue supermoon until 2037, the EPA removed federal protections for most U.S. wetlands, and Judge Tanya Chutkan set Trump's federal trial for March 4, 2024. Plus, Scott Simon recommends some Labor Day movies.   Best of NPR Sometimes, a news story really gets its hooks into your brain. Months, even years later, you might wonder, "Whatever happened there? Where are they now?" It's why, since 2017, NPR's Goats and Soda team has dedicated the week leading up to Labor Day to follow up on their most interesting stories.  Screengrab by NPR via u/kevin1760/Reddit  Goats and Soda is NPR's health and global development blog. The team tells stories about our changing world, focusing on low- and middle-income countries. Editor Marc Silver says the last week in August is usually a slow news week. "We asked our writers if they had a story they were interested in revisiting, and off we went!" In past years, reporters looked back at what happened to a betrothed couple whose wedding plans were disrupted by COVID, a surgeon in Ghana who didn't have electricity and a collective of women pushing for an end to the practice of male fishermen asking for sex before giving them fish to sell. Silver says sometimes the follow-ups are more popular than the original story.  Here are the stories the team checked in on this week:  🐐 Several goats ran wild in the streets of San Francisco in March. Has anyone taken responsibility for their escape? 💊 In December 2022, the World Health Organization linked Indian-made cough syrups to 66 child deaths in Gambia. An author follows up on how the Indian pharmaceuticals market is faring now. 🪂 The pandemic disrupted many medical fly-in missions, where physicians from wealthy countries go to low-resource countries to set up short-term clinics. Take a look at how the controversial programs are doing today. ⚔️ A cease-fire ended the nearly two-year civil war in Ethiopia last November. Nevertheless, widespread sexual violence continues. 🐦 The tale of two brothers who saved hundreds of birds injured by kite strings was nominated for an Oscar this year. The two brothers tell NPR how the nomination changed their lives. Newsletter continues after sponsor message The Week That Was Matt Kile for KFF Health News After battling colon cancer, Eloise Reynolds' husband, Kent, died in 2022. She paid his final medical bill that summer. Then another bill came. Reynolds' story — part of NPR's Bill of the Month series — highlights a perplexing reality in medical billing: Providers can come after patients for more money well after the bill has been paid.  San Francisco's streets are flooded with self-driving cars. Not everyone is happy about it. Masked protesters are using a low-tech solution to immobilize driverless cars: the traffic cone. The Biden administration released a list of the first 10 drugs Medicare will target for price cuts. The Inflation Reduction Act gave Medicare the power to negotiate with drugmakers over these prices. Prices will be announced by Sept. 1, 2024, but they won't begin until 2026.  Editor's note: This story includes images and descriptions of war injuries that some readers might find disturbing In May, Ukrainian soldier Andrii Smolenskyi was injured in an artillery blast that took his arms and eyes. It was a miracle that he survived. This month marks the fourth wedding anniversary with his wife, Alina. With no end to the war in sight, it's unclear what the future holds for his rehabilitation journey.  Podcast Picks Center Street NPR's Book of the Day: Bookworms, tune in. We're recommending today's best writing in a snackable, skimmable, pocket-sized podcast. Catch up in 15 minutes or less.  🎧 In Filthy Rich Politicians, conservative columnist Matt Lewis closely examines how people get richer after being elected to office and what this wealth means for our political systems. 1A from WAMU: Listening to the news can feel like a journey. But 1A guides you beyond the headlines — and cuts through the noise.  🎧 Cable TV has been central to American politics and culture for over 80 years. This episode examines how cable news has shaped our culture and what it means for the 2024 election.  This Is Our Hawai'i, from Hawai'i Public Radio: Host Russell Subiono visits different communities in Hawaii threatened by outside ownership and listens to what locals have to say.  🎧 James Dole transformed Lanai into one of the world's largest pineapple plantations. Before that, businessman William Irwin bought nearly the whole island for $1. Who put it up for sale?  You Count On NPR. NPR Counts On You.  Community support is the NPR Network's greatest strength and individuals like YOU make it possible. It's a key part that fuels our mission informing and engaging your community, your nation, your world.  It takes all of us. Help today.  Donate Now Scott's Thoughts Nextrecord Archives/Getty Images  America observes Labor Day weekend with mattress sales, picnics and political speeches. In the movies, more tech-created superheroes show up than labor and working-class characters. Here are a few films you might want to watch this weekend that feature the hearts and minds of working men and women:   🍇 The Grapes of Wrath (1940): John Ford masterfully captures John Steinbeck’s novel about the Dust Bowl trek of the Joad family. “I'll be everywhere,” Henry Fonda as Tom Joad tells his mother. “I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry, and they know supper's ready, and when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build — I'll be there, too.”   🌊 On the Waterfront (1954): Director Elia Kazan sparked controversy by naming names during the McCarthy period. But this film’s moving portrayal of dockworkers and corruption among those who claim to represent them is beyond dispute. Says young Marlon Brando, as Terry Malloy: “Conscience — that stuff can drive you nuts!”   🚗 Blue Collar (1978): Shot on location at a car factory in Detroit, Richard Pryor, Yaphet Kotto, and Harvey Keitel are auto workers on the line. “They pit the lifers against the new boys, the young against the old.”   🏭 Norma Rae (1979): Sally Field plays an Alabama textile worker based on the real Crystal Lee Sutton, who climbs atop her worktable and writes “UNION” for her co-workers to see. Their machines fall silent in solidarity.   Maybe the likes of Tom Joad, Terry Malloy, and Crystal Lee Sutton are the real superheroes.  Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). This newsletter was edited by Carol Ritchie. Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Health and more! 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