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The Jan. 6 hearings resumed on Thursday, a week after members of the U.S. House Select Committee interviewed Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She's a proponent of the disproven theory that the 2020 election was fraudulent and was in contact with several Trump surrogates after the former president lost the race.

Russia has arrested eight individuals it claims are connected to the bombing of a key bridge connecting Ukraine's Donbas region and Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces are now responding by targeting civilian locales, including a major park in Kyiv.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to be confirmed to his office for another term when the country's major party congress meets this weekend.

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Protests in Iran have been growing for four weeks. The movement has attracted widespread support.

Protests against Iran's supreme leader were prompted by the death of a young Kurdish woman while in police custody.

Over the past dozen or so years, Iranians have pushed back against their government, only for demonstrations to fizzle out, suppressed by a well-practiced system.

We discuss the situation in Iran, get a look at life inside the country, and talk about how this uprising is different from previous ones.

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President Biden surprised the nation when he announced he would pardon all simple marijuana convictions at the federal level.

It's a decision that echoes policy at the state level. Thirty-one states and D.C. no longer prosecute or criminalize a person for possessing small amounts of cannabis.

Experts say the bigger move was his request for the government to review marijuana's classification as a Schedule 1 drug – a category reserved for dangerous narcotics like heroin.

We discuss what it would mean if marijuana is rescheduled and national drug policy.

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Kansas voters surprised the country when they overwhelmingly voted against a constitutional amendment that would have banned abortion in the state.

But several more states are now set to vote on the issue next month.

According to a recent NPR and PBS poll, abortion is the second most important issue for voters after inflation. The overturning of Roe v. Wade has altered the political landscape in the run-up to the midterms.

We talk about how and take a look at what we can expect when Kentuckians head to the polls.

This conversation is part of our Remaking America collaboration with six public radio stations around the country. Remaking America is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The midterms are less than thirty days away and a new poll from AARP has found that women over 50 may be a deciding factor in this year's elections. More than half of the 800 women surveyed across the US are still unclear on which Congressional candidate they will vote for in the next five week.

Women over the age of 50 are among one of the most reliable voting blocs in midterm elections.

"We see this group of voters as incredibly diverse," says Christine Matthews, president of Bellwether Research and Consulting, who worked with AARP to conduct the nationwide survey. "The one thing they all have in common is they will show up to vote."

We discuss the study's findings and what to expect from these voters bloc during the midterms.

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Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker found himself in hot water this week after it was reported the former football star paid for a partner of his to have an abortion.

This week, President Joe Biden visited Puerto Rico and Florida after Hurricane Ian left both areas devastated.

A new term for the Supreme Court has begun. The court is set to hear new cases at a time in its history when many are questioning its legitimacy in light of its right-wing turn.

Meanwhile, the White House is accusing the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) of siding with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. But experts say the Biden administration probably won't take any action against Saudi Arabia.

We get into all this and more during the News Roundup.

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This week we discussed protests in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini's death after she was detained by morality police in the country.

Iran's Supreme Leader broke his silence after more than 2 weeks of massive protests across the country.

Dozens of demonstrators have died. Hundreds more have been arrested over the past two weeks, and the protests show no end in sight.

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According to the CDC, the teenage birth rate has dropped dramatically over the last two decades.

Advocates say comprehensive sex education and access to contraception are two reasons for that decline.

But, in a post-Roe world, some states are rethinking their sex ed requirements. Parents are getting involved too, voicing their concerns about what sex ed classes now cover.

Curricula vary wildly across the country. In some states, like Indiana, educators are reporting online threats and harassment over these classes.

We hear from teachers, parents and students from around the country on changes they want to see.

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President Putin's military mobilization effort – a forced conscription of between 300-thousand and a million Russian men to join the war in Ukraine has prompted an exodus of Russians.

"There are 190 different ethnic minorities in Russia," says President of the Free Russia Foundation Natalia Arno, "These groups are the ones being targeted by the Russian military for conscription."

Our guests take us inside Russia, and discuss with us what kind of toll the conflict is taking on everyday life.

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The Supreme Court's new term gets underway, but the country is still dealing with the fallout from the last one. Particularly the decision that led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The docket includes cases surrounding election integrity, gerrymandering, climate change, and affirmative action. According to a Gallup poll, the Supreme Court's approval is at a historic low.

We discuss some of the big cases and talk about what we can expect from the Supreme Court over the next few months.

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