Post Reports

Late at night, in parts of Washington, a group of people and their small dogs walk the alleyways and trash bins hunting rats, in a city that’s filled with them. The Post’s Maura Judkis and Bishop Sand report on the hunt and what it says about our relationship with animals. 

Read more:

The Ratscallions hunt rats with terriers and small hounds in different parts of Washington. Linda Freeman, the group’s leader and a Bedlington terrier breeder, began rat hunting five years ago after being hounded to create a D.C.-based group by the founder of a similar group in New York City. 

Despite the illegality of rat hunting in Washington, some residents and police officers thank the group for their efforts. So far this year, calls to the city regarding rat infestations are up compared to 2022. However, some Ratscallions members admit that they are not motivated to control the city’s rat population but rather see it as a team sport that makes their dogs happy. 

Israel plunged Gaza into a communications blackout Friday that left more than 2 million people without cell service or internet access for almost two days. On Saturday, it began a major ground assault on territory, ushering in a new phase of the war. 

Read more:

In a televised address Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the goals for the new phase of Israel’s war with Hamas were clear: “To beat the enemy and guarantee our existence.”

Since then, Israeli troops have swiftly penetrated deep within Gaza. As a relentless bombing campaign continues, the military confirmed that combined infantry, armor and engineering forces are all inside Gaza’s borders.

Amid the barrage, Gazan civilians scrambled for safety — and struggled to communicate with loved ones and the outside world following a communications blackout that stymied access to cell service and the internet for two days. Hundreds were killed, bringing the death toll in Gaza to more than 8,000 since the war began, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. Meanwhile, the status of more than 200 Israeli hostages taken by Hamas weeks ago remains uncertain.

Reporter Miriam Berger is in Tel Aviv covering the conflict for The Post. She says this moment has left both Israelis and Palestinians feeling existentially threatened — and bracing for a long fight ahead.

Taylor Swift’s 2023 Eras Tour is projected to rake in billions of dollars, becoming the highest grossing concert tour in history. But her economic impact doesn’t stop there. Today, we break down the economy (Taylor’s version). 

Read more:

Pop powerhouse Taylor Swift has been in the music business for nearly two decades. But 2023 is turning out to be her most remarkable – and highest-earning – year. Swift is on pace to earn billions of dollars from her Eras Tour, more than any other touring artist in history. That includes the Beatles, Elton John and pop legend Michael Jackson. According to a new analysis from Bloomberg News, Swift herself is a billionaire. 

What’s even more surprising is that Swift’s Eras Tour has also generated millions for the U.S. economy. That includes the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars cities from Cincinnati to Los Angeles have projected they’ll earn from these shows, and jobs for some dedicated Swifties. 

Today on “Post Reports,” class is in session for Swiftonomics 101. Guest host and economics correspondent Abha Bhatterai and entertainment reporter Emily Yahr discuss how the pop icon became such a business behemoth.

Subscribe to The Washington Post via Apple podcasts here.

More than 200 people were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, according to Israeli authorities. On today’s “Post Reports,” we hear about one family’s ordeal, and what the hostage crisis means for Israel’s possible ground invasion of Gaza.

Read more:

More than 200 people were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, according to Israeli authorities. Moshe Leimberg’s wife, Gabriela, and 17-year-old daughter, Mia, are among them. On today’s “Post Reports,” we hear about Leimberg’s family before war broke out and the devastating moment he discovered they were kidnapped.

Then Washington Post Jerusalem bureau chief Steve Hendrix explains the strategy behind Hamas’s taking of so many hostages, what has been learned from the few who have been released, and the dilemma the Israeli government faces as it prepares for a ground invasion of Gaza, where the hostages are presumed to be held.

“We are preparing for a ground incursion,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an address to the nation Wednesday. It was his strongest public indication yet that he would order an invasion of Gaza. “I won’t specify when, how, how many. … I also won’t detail the range of considerations, most of which the public is not aware of.”

Correction: A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated where Rep. Tom Emmer is from. The audio has been updated to remove the error.



After three long, chaotic weeks, the nation finally has a new House speaker – U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson from Louisiana. So who is he? And how did Congress get here? 

Read more:

On Wednesday, 220 Republicans finally chose their new House leader: a congressman from Louisiana named Mike Johnson.

But the man who’s second in line for the presidency is a relative unknown, even to political insiders. Philip Bump breaks down what is known about Rep. Johnson and how House Republicans finally came together to vote for the conservative congressman.

Subscribe to The Washington Post via Apple podcasts here.

What to know about the many guilty pleas rolling into the Georgia case charging former president Donald Trump and his allies with election interference. 

Read more:

The Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta has become the epicenter of one of the most-watched criminal cases in the country right now, charging former President Donald Trump and his allies with interfering with Georgia’s 2020 election results. This week, reporters and politicians alike have been shocked by a windfall of guilty pleas.

Recognizable faces including former Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, and lesser-known political figures such as Kenneth Chesebro and Scott Hall all pleaded guilty in the sweeping criminal racketeering case.

Today, national correspondent Holly Bailey explains what happened in the courtroom this past week and whether Trump’s list of allies might suddenly be turning against him.

A fast-rising number of people, including families, are approaching the U.S.-Mexico border. Many seek asylum. Now, President Biden wants Mexico to crack down on migrants, but Mexico is reaching its limits to do so.

Read more:

When President Barack Obama faced a steep rise in people migrating toward the southern U.S. border in 2014, he pressured Mexico to curb migration at its southern border with Guatemala. President Donald Trump did the same years later.

Now, Mexico is once again facing pressure, this time from the Biden administration, to stop the number of people migrating north. But Mexico is reaching its limits as thousands of people cross into the country from throughout Latin America and other parts of the world. 

The Post’s Mary Beth Sheridan traveled to a migrant shelter in the central Mexican city of San Luis Potosí, where mattresses line a basketball court as the facility exceeds capacity.

After seeking community and sisterhood in a sorority, Artemis Langford faced death threats and an attempt to kick her out because of her identity. This Deep Reads episode is part of a collection of occasional weekend stories from “Post Reports.”

Today, “Post Reports” goes back to school, to the cafeteria, where something has changed. Reporters Lenny Bernstein and Lauren Weber bring us the backstory of how ultra-processed foods ended up on lunch trays, amid growing concerns about child nutrition.

When students in Robeson County, N.C., returned to school this fall, a new choice appeared on the lunch line: Lunchables. Kraft Heinz reformulated the grocery-store favorite so it would meet school nutrition requirements — and now, school districts across the country are deciding whether to buy in.

For many health experts, the availability of Lunchables and other processed foods in schools runs counter to the effort started over a decade ago by former first lady Michelle Obama, to overhaul school lunch diets amid sharp rises in childhood obesity and other chronic health problems. 

So what happened? 

Today on “Post Reports,” we venture into a cafeteria, a food trade show and dig behind the scenes — into the history of Lunchables itself — to find answers. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post via Apple Podcasts at this link. 

Read more:

How Lunchables ended up on school lunch trays.

Many of today’s unhealthy foods were brought to you by Big Tobacco.

Why many ultra-processed foods are unhealthy.

USDA announces rigorous new school nutrition standards.

Subscribe to The Washington Post via Apple Podcasts at this link. 

A previous version of this podcast included a slogan for Otis Spunkmeyer and misattributed it to C.H. Guenther & Son. The audio has been corrected.

Why the House can’t elect a speaker to lead it. And the temporary solution some Republicans are proposing in the meantime. 

Read more:

For two weeks, the House of Representatives has had no speaker. After the ouster of Kevin McCarthy, Republicans tried to push a replacement through. First, there was Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and then a second choice emerged: firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). But after two votes,

Republicans failed to get behind Jordan, a conservative best known as a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus.

Marianna Sotomayor breaks down why Republicans didn’t coalesce behind Jordan and what the party is thinking now about how to legislate without a permanent speaker.

Subscribe to The Washington Post via Apple Podcasts at this link.