Post Reports

How a pandemic food program was used to allegedly defraud the government of $250 million. 

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This week, the federal government indicted 47 people connected to the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future in the largest known pandemic fraud scheme. The nonprofit claimed to be giving meals to thousands of kids who needed them. Instead, the Justice Department said, they were using bribes and shell companies to falsify information, and in some cases used the federal money they got to buy real estate, luxury cars and jewelry. 

Congressional economic policy reporter Tony Romm reports on how the complex scheme was pulled off and what it reveals about how the government was spending relief money during the pandemic. 

Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico five years ago. Recovery in many ways had just begun when Fiona hit the island. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk to Arelis R. Hernández about why the recovery has been stymied, and how another storm could complicate it further. 

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Hurricane Maria cleaved Puerto Rican memory. There was one kind of life before the storm, and an entirely different life that emerged in its wake. 

Before the storm, the Caribbean island archipelago was teetering economically and unraveling politically. In the five years since, there have been ongoing blackouts, protests, earthquakes and a global pandemic. Puerto Ricans have moved from powerlessness to precarity.

As the anniversary approached, The Washington Post went back to visit those who opened up their homes then, to show us their lives now. Hurricane Fiona — which hit Puerto Rico on Sunday, destroying homes, roads and bridges — was still days away. But even before that, much of the post-Maria recovery work had just begun. Arelis R. Hernández reports. 

Read the latest live updates on Hurricane Fiona here.

You can also listen to an Opinion piece from Lin-Manuel Miranda and his father about how to get Puerto Rico help now. Miranda is the creator of “Hamilton” and “In The Heights,” and his father, Luis A. Miranda Jr., is a philanthropist and political strategist.

On today’s show, we take you to London for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. Plus, the colonial legacy and potential future of the monarchy without her leadership.

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The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, was laid in the royal vault at Windsor Castle on Monday. The funeral procession marks the end of 10 days of national mourning.

London correspondent Karla Adam describes how thousands of people camped near Westminster Abbey to watch the funeral procession. “There were sleeping bags. A lot of people brought toys or games or chess sets just to pass the time because they’ve been camping out for a day or two,” she said, while others watched from big screens across the city.

The queen’s passing has been marked around the world with tributes from world leaders and around-the-clock media coverage. But as foreign affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor shares later in the show, it also sparked criticism of the monarchy’s past and debates about the relevancy of the institution. 

“It's important to look at the queen in her own right as opposed to the queen as this icon of the empire,” Tharoor says. “It is also very hard to separate that, because what is the queen without being an icon of empire?”

Follow The Post’s live coverage of the funeral here.

For 780 Afghan evacuees stuck at a beachside resort in Albania, the future is unclear. They might never make it to the U.S. All because they took the wrong plane out of Afghanistan.

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The Afghans living at the Rafaelo Resort were evacuated from Afghanistan by nonprofits and organizations that expected Albania would be a stopover — a temporary landing pad as evacuees were processed for permanent resettlement in the United States. The Biden administration, which faced intense criticism for the way it ended the U.S. war in Afghanistan and failed to evacuate many of its Afghan allies, says it never promised to provide refuge for everyone.

This year-long bureaucratic mess is only now moving toward a resolution — for some. In the meantime, day-to-day life at tThe Rafaelo has become the strangest of limbos, as senior producer Ted Muldoon reports with national security reporter Abigail Hauslohner. Surrounded by tourists on the sun-drenched coast of the Adriatic Sea, they are profoundly grateful but , and also frustrated that they can’t yet start building a new life.

“People told us about just the monotony of the same thing over and over again,” said Hauslohner, “and the uncertainty about the future kind of destroys you.”

More than 100,000 railroad workers were ready to strike this week in the name of more sick days. Plus, what happens when a man with a pistol shows up outside the home of a congresswoman.

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When 115,000 unionized railroad workers made it clear there would be a strike if freight companies didn’t give them sick days, President Biden made some calls.

After hours of negotiations, the strike was likely averted, but the high-stakes freight rail drama could heat up again soon. Labor reporter Lauren Kaori Gurley takes us behind the scenes of the Biden administration’s last-ditch efforts to avoid an economic crisis.

Also, during a Saturday night in July, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) called 911 multiple times after an encounter with two men outside her Seattle home.

National political enterprise reporter Ruby Cramer discusses how extreme rhetoric targeted toward members of Congress has escalated lately, and the impact of these threats on elected officials.

On today’s show, what you need to know about the updated booster shots and why they matter amid growing pandemic fatigue. Plus, new research on the science of sitting and the pitfalls of being an “active couch potato.” 

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The new coronavirus vaccine boosters are now widely available in the United States, but the updated shots are rolling out amid widespread pandemic fatigue. 

Federal health officials say that these updated vaccines could help buffer communities against future surges of the virus. Earlier this month, officials announced plans of turning coronavirus shots into an annual dose, similar to the flu shot.  

Today on Post Reports, health reporter Lena H. Sun, who’s followed the coronavirus pandemic from the beginning, answers some of the most pressing questions about the omicron-targeted boosters. 

Plus, The Washington Post’s newest wellness columnist, Gretchen Reynolds, on why exercising the recommended 30 minutes a day might not be enough if you are an “active couch potato.” 

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol still has some unfinished business. Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) joins us to discuss what’s left. Also, the significance of Sheryl Lee Ralph’s first Emmy. 

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Over the summer, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol dominated the news cycle by unearthing revelatory evidence that illuminated the connection between allies of former president Donald Trump and the violence that took place. 

Yet, at the same time primary voters across the country elected nearly 200 candidates who also touted Trump’s baseless claim that he won the 2020 election.

Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.), a committee member, joins us today to discuss what to expect from the committee in the fall and whether its work has had an impact on the strength of election denialism among the public. 

Then, pop culture reporter Sonia Rao joins the show to discuss a moment that stunned the Emmy Awards audience: Sheryl Lee Ralph’s acceptance speech. Rao breaks down why Ralph’s first Emmy is a cultural milestone, and what it meant when she belted out “I am an endangered species” on stage.

Today, what the sudden retreat of Russian forces in key areas of Ukraine means for the future of the war. Plus, how one Ukrainian mayor is holding onto his city in wartime.

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Over the weekend, Russian soldiers fled their encampments in Zaliznychne, Ukraine. As Ukrainian soldiers poured into the area, Russians dropped their weapons, leaving rifles behind. 

The flight of Russians from the village marks a new reality that took the world by surprise; Russian invaders are on the run after invading Ukraine in February. The apparent collapse of Russian forces has caused shock waves in Moscow, while the evidence of Ukrainian gains continues to emerge. Reporter Steve Hendrix on what this means for the future of the war in Ukraine.

As the Ukrainians continue to fight back on the ground, one local politician is doing everything he can to keep his community together. Mykola Khanatov is the mayor of Popasna, a city occupied by Russian forces. Reporter Dalton Bennett documents Khanatov’s commitment to his town during wartime. 

In the run up to the midterms, no issue has upended the battle for control over Congress and statehouses as abruptly as abortion. Could it slow down — or stop — the anticipated red wave?    

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The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June has shifted the midterm landscape. Many had previously anticipated a Republican wave in November, but that advantage could be eroded by voters concerned over the rollback of abortion protections around the country.  

Since this summer, Democrats have overperformed in special elections, and voters showed up in droves to reject a ballot measure aimed at restricting abortion in deeply conservative Kansas. While Democratic candidates are highlighting the antiabortion views of their opponents, Republican candidates are moderating their stances on websites and campaign trails. 

Campaign reporter Hannah Knowles traveled to Pennsylvania to speak with voters there about how their views on abortion will impact their voting behavior on Election Day. 

The death of Queen Elizabeth II, and how her reign over Britain shaped the world for 70 years. 

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Queen Elizabeth II is dead. She passed away peacefully on Thursday afternoon at the age of 96, according to a statement from Buckingham Palace. She was Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and held the throne for 70 years. 

The world had been bracing for her passing for some time. “Operation London Bridge” even maps out what happens next, the when and the how. Her son now takes over as King Charles III. 

Despite the preparations, Brits are still in shock. For many, Queen Elizabeth was all they knew, a constant amid big cultural shifts and geopolitical changes, nationally and globally. 

She became queen at a time when British colonial rule was imploding. She ushered in a new era of the Commonwealth. Tabloids and television zeroed in on her marriage and family life, but she still somehow remained private.

Adrian Higgins reported for The Washington Post for years, covering the royal family. He joins “Post Reports” to look back on the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II, and how her death calls into question the future of a monarchy that dates back to the 10th century.