The Daily Dive

The U.S. will provide $800 million in new military aid to Ukraine, totaling over $1 billion so far to help them fight back against Russia. This comes after Ukrainian President Zelensky made an impassioned plea to Congress for more help including a no-fly zone. It still doesn’t seem that the U.S. or European allies are ready to take that step, hoping to avoid a wider conflict. Julia Manchester, national political reporter at The Hill, joins us for more.

Next, more than a third of the CDC’s wastewater samples across the U.S. are showing rising Covid trends the first two weeks of March. Sewer samples can often spot increasing virus levels before official tests results. It’s unclear if this points to an upcoming wave, but we currently have 98% of the U.S. population that is in places with a low community level rating. Drew Armstrong, senior editor for healthcare at Bloomberg News, joins us for what the wastewater is signaling.

Finally, the Covid pill made by Merck has been prescribed heavily despite some concerns. Regulators and doctors think that the Merck pill should be one of the last options in treating Covid because concerns that it could cause birth defects and cause more variants to form. But with Pfizer’s pill in limited supply, many doctors have turned to molnupiravir. Jared Hopkins, pharma reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what to know about the Merck Covid antiviral.

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Inflation is keeping the prices of goods high and the Russian invasion of Ukraine is causing oil and gas prices to rise, but your electric bill is also soaring. Natural gas prices are being affected by the Ukraine crisis and raising the costs for utilities to produce electricity. As a result customers are seeing increases of up to 20%. Katherine Blunt, energy reporter at the WSJ, joins us for why your electric bill is going up.

Next, rising crime has been on everyone’s mind lately and in California, the conversation over criminal justice reform and crime policies will play out over the next state attorney general race and also a pair of efforts aimed at recalling two progressive district attorneys in LA and SF. The crime issue will also be made a centerpiece for the midterm elections nationally. Jeremy White, writer for the CA Playbook at Politico, joins us for more.

Finally, the workplace has gone through drastic changes as a result of the pandemic and even attitudes about work have changed. With more job openings than people looking for work, employees feel like they have all the power, but how long can that last? There is also a movement for better pay transparency, but would you disclose how much you make to others? Tess Vigeland, host of the new WSJ podcast “As We Work” joins us to talk about the changing dynamics of the workplace.

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California’s high speed rail is an ambitious infrastructure project that is behind schedule, billions of dollars over budget, and struggling to maintain support as the political energy behind it is murky at best. Plenty of work is being done right now, but it doesn’t completely match what was originally sold. Jill Cowan, California reporter at the NY Times, joins us for a look at where the biggest infrastructure project of them all is currently standing.

Next, the war in Ukraine is threatening the economic recovery here at home. Supply chains haven’t fully recovered from the pandemic and inflation is at record highs. Sanctions on Russia are crippling their economy, but also hurting us when it comes to energy, cars and food. Emily Peck, markets correspondent at Axios, joins us for more.

Finally, the CDC wants to monitor everyone’s poop, but states are not all on board. During the pandemic, state and local health officials were able to detect Covid in their communities before residents developed symptoms and the CDC wants to expand those programs to stay ahead of variants and other viruses too. States would need a widespread buy-in for this to be successful, but may logistical challenges remain. Katherine Foley, healthcare reporter at Politico, joins us for the plan to monitor the nation’s sewage.

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Russia continues its assault on Ukraine this time targeting a military base just miles away from the Polish border. The airstrike killed at least 35 and injured over 130 people. The two major concerns at the moment are that Putin is inching closer to a NATO ally which would draw the U.S. into a conflict if attacked, but also there is a fear that Russia might be gearing up to use chemical weapons. Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News, joins us for this latest attack, social media platforms being banned and inflation and high gas prices could endanger economic recovery here at home.

Next, there is a hidden cost to taxpayers for accusations of repeated police misconduct. The Washington Post collected data on nearly 40,000 payments at 25 of the nation's largest police and sheriff's departments and found that about $3.2 billion has been paid out to people claiming police misconduct. Many of the officers had multiple accusations. In most cases it is easier to just settle claims rather than long drawn out defenses and in paying a settlement, the officer or the department don't have to admit wrongdoing. Steven Rich, database editor for investigations at The Washington Post, joins us for more.

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This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week.

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This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week.

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Inflation continues to be the highest it has been in 40 years driving costs up, but drivers nationwide are also having to contend with spiking gas prices which are the highest since 2008. The invasion in Ukraine and bans on Russian oil and natural gas are keeping these prices high with no end in sight. Michael Laris, transportation reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for how people are adjusting as gas keeps going up.

Next, President Biden’s ‘test to treat’ program started rolling out this week to praise and also many questions. People will be able will be able to walk into participating pharmacies or clinics and if they test positive for Covid, they will be given a free course of Pfizer or Merck’s antiviral pills. Questions are still floating around about supply of pills, rapid tests, and concerns over drug to drug interactions. Katie Shepherd, health and science reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for more.

Finally, the cost of going out is also going up with inflation creating problems for the nightlife industry. The increased costs for supplies and labor for restaurants and bars is leading to raising entrance fees and charging more for food and drink. The need to socialize and go out is high post-pandemic, but the high cost is making people reconsider. Anna Kambhampaty, styles reporter at the NY Times, joins us for nightlife inflation.

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The U.S. and European allies have done as much as they can to support Ukraine except for getting their militaries involved. The challenge is not engaging in fighting with Russia for fear it could spur WW3. Military analysts think that the risk of use of nuclear weapons is low, but it’s not a chance anyone wants to take. Stephen Fidler, bureau chief at large for the WSJ, joins us for how the West continues to help without getting directly involved in fighting.

Next, a sad follow up to a story that was a medical first. David Bennett, the first patient ever to receive an animal organ genetically modified to prevent rejection in a person, has died. He died two months after being implanted with a pig heart. The heart was working fine for weeks, but Bennett’s health deteriorated in the last few days. Karen Weintraub, health reporter at USA Today, joins us for what we know.

Finally, Disney has been hearing from upset fans angry about the high cost of tickets and fees for line-cutting apps that used to be free. Pent up demand is sending people to both Disney World and Disneyland in droves, but many increasingly feel that fun trips are out of reach without some serious investment. Hannah Sampson, travel reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for more.

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President Biden has announced the latest steps to maintain pressure on Russia as Putin continues the Ukrainian invasion… banning the imports of Russian oil and natural gas. In his announcement Biden acknowledged two key things: First, we will see increased gas prices as a result and secondly, some of our European allies won’t be able to take the same steps right away because of their dependence on Russian energy. Russia is the world’s third-largest oil producer and Europe is their biggest customer. Justin Scheck, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how the oil bans will affect prices in the U.S.

Next, the Great Resignation saw many people choose to leave their toxic jobs for better ones or leave for jobs that offered a better work-life balance. But not everyone left and some just opted to take it a little easier and work less. Employers struggling to retain workers are just having to deal with it. The Hustle culture is over and the challenge for employers is to figure out how to navigate changing workplace attitudes. The new hybrid work life might be one that accommodates both types of employees. Aki Ito, senior correspondent at Business Insider, joins us for the new coasting culture at work.

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Inflation keeps rising for the moment and could get worse before it gets better as the situation in Ukraine shows no signs of slowing down. Trying to figure out when prices will come down is tough and depends on many factors affects cars, rent, and energy costs. Gwynn Guilford, economics reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what’s coming down and what’s going up this year.

Next, a new study looking at brain scans of people before and after contracting Covid shows that they had more loss of gray matter and tissue damage than those who did not get infected. Notably, the study looked at those that were older and had more mild infections, meaning they did not have to go to the hospital. The shrinkage and damage was primarily in areas associated with smell. Pam Belluck, health and science writer at the NY Times, joins us for more.

Finally, more Americans are reporting that they are starting to feel the health worker shortage. Demand in health services is going back up as people are getting into their regular checkup routines, but they are finding it difficult navigating canceled appointments or delayed surgeries. More than one in five people said they skipped annual checkups and getting back hasn’t been so smooth. Tina Reed, healthcare editor at Axios, joins us for how the health worker shortage continues to affect us.

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