Post Reports

Today on “Post Reports,” we catch up on the cast of characters in the Trump documents case: from his aide and co-defendant Walt Nauta to special counsel Jack Smith to the Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon.

Read more:

Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he broke the law dozens of times by keeping and hiding top-secret documents in his Florida home — the first hearing in a historic court case that could alter the country’s political and legal landscape.

Today we have a who’s who of the case — from Trump’s valet and co-defendant Walt Nauta to the Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon, who will play a pivotal role in the trial.

In the midst of other big news last week, you may have missed the surprising Supreme Court decision in support of voting rights in Alabama. Today, we break down the case that redraws Alabama’s congressional map. 

Read more:

It seemed almost predictable that the three liberal justices on the Supreme Court would side with civil rights groups in the latest case on voting rights in Alabama. But when Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Brett Kavanaugh, two conservatives, sided with the liberal justices, it shocked people who watch the court.

The case centered on redrawing congressional districts in Alabama. The state wanted to draw the map with just one district favoring Black Democrats. But the Supreme Court decided that two districts favoring Black voters should exist in Alabama.

Post reporter Robert Barnes joins guest host Rhonda Colvin with all the details of why this decision is groundbreaking — and what it means for Black voters across the country. 

A much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia is underway. But as Samantha Schmidt reports from the beleaguered city of Kherson, a push for liberation from Russian occupation is just the beginning. 

Read more:

A much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia is underway. There are signs of small gains for Ukrainian troops, but wins will be difficult as a long battle appears ahead.

Today on “Post Reports,” foreign correspondent Samantha Schmidt explains what is at stake in this critical moment for the war and what she is seeing on the ground in the heavily contested southern region of Kherson.

Former president Donald Trump has been indicted for a second time. Now, he’s being charged with obstruction and conspiracy in connection with classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate, which could mean years in prison if he’s found guilty. 

Read more:

For the second time in two months, former president Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican frontrunner, has been indicted. As the first former president to face federal criminal charges, Trump has been charged with 37 counts, including illegal retention of government secrets, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. Trump must appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday.  

Today on “Post Reports,” national security reporter Devlin Barrett breaks down the charges and what Trump’s legal troubles could mean for 2024.

Today, we break down what’s happening with the Canadian wildfires, the smoke enveloping parts of the United States, and what you can do to protect yourself. 

Read more:

While the United States has grown accustomed to increasingly devastating wildfires ravaging the West Coast, the country is facing a new challenge: intense wildfire smoke hitting the East Coast from fires burning through Canadian forests. This week, the smoke has blanketed the East Coast corridor and is spreading to the Midwest. With the air quality at hazardous levels, we talk to Amudalat Ajasa, a weather and climate reporter for The Washington Post, about how people can protect themselves from breathing wildfire smoke, and whether the changing geography of wildfires could impact clean air initiatives.

How a reclusive heiress’s past in suburban D.C. sparked a true-crime sensation in Brazil — and a national reckoning over modern-day slavery and the status of household servants. 

Read more:

Margarida Bonetti was a mysterious figure in São Paulo, Brazil, for more than two decades. She was often seen walking her dogs (Ebony and Ivory) through the streets of the Higienópolis neighborhood or peeking through the stained-glass windows of her crumbling mansion — her face covered in a layer of white cream. 

Journalist Chico Felitti couldn’t stop thinking of the woman rattling around her abandoned house, and wanted to know her life’s story. A story that has now become an obsession in Brazil. 

In the Portuguese-language podcast “A Mulher da Casa Abandonada,” or “The Woman in the Abandoned House,” Chico Felitti tells Margarida Bonetti’s story — from privileged daughter, to expat, to accused criminal and international fugitive. 

The Post’s Manuel Roig-Franzia dug deeper into Margarida’s past, and in hundreds of pages of court documents discovered some surprising names, such as now-Supreme Court Justice Brett  M. Kavanaugh. 

Manuel Roig-Franzia walks us through what he learned from Chico Felitti’s podcast and his own investigation into the life of Margarida Bonetti.

We’re more than a year away from the 2024 presidential election and there are already 12 republican candidates. The question, as it’s been since 2016: Can anyone beat Trump? 

Read more:

Michael Scherer is a national political reporter for The Post. He says even though 2024 is a ways away, this is still a pivotal time. Large donors are figuring out who to back and candidates are trying to make themselves stand out in a crowded field. 

Scherer will tell you all you need to know at this point in the GOP race. Who are the candidates? What are they promising? And is any of it enough to unseat the front-running Trump? 

What happens when the “sideshow characters” of national politics are suddenly thrust onto the main stage? And in a post-Donald Trump Washington, where are they now?

Read more:

Ben Terris has spent years covering politics via the people on the fringe: operatives who aren’t well known but are key to understanding how Washington works. 

When a former reality TV show host became president, suddenly some of those political oddballs were running things. Terris’s book, “The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind,” details the stories of people such as Sean McElwee, the pollster-turned-political-gambler who fell out of favor in Democratic circles, and Ian Walters, a longtime conservative communications director who broke with his closest friends after they staunchly backed Trump.

In today’s episode, Terris recounts the characters he met covering the Trump administration and how they’ve changed the face of power in Washington.

Today, a conversation with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on how loneliness is posing a profound public health threat in the United States. 

Read more:

Vivek Murthy, surgeon general of the United States, says loneliness is a serious threat to the mental and physical health of the nation. Studies show half of U.S. adults experience loneliness, and the consequences can be devastating; from a greater risk of depression and anxiety, to heart disease, stroke and dementia. 

In an advisory issued in May, Murthy called for Americans to spend more time with each other, especially in an increasingly divided and digital society. Today, we talk to Murthy about what loneliness looks like in America, how technology is a double-edged sword, and how we can strengthen our social connections with each other.

The United States won’t default on its debt payments, that’s the good news. The bad news? A lot of Democrats and Republicans are unhappy with the agreement that President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy crafted.

Yet, both men say the deal represents a win for their respective parties. So, who actually got what they wanted out of this deal? Rachel Siegel joins us to explain. 

Read more:

Here’s what’s in the debt ceiling bill

The new SNAP work requirements in the debt bill, explained