The Daily

In the past, Republicans have been able to secure what some see as an unfair political advantage by gerrymandering political districts.

But after the recent redrawing of zones, the congressional map across the U.S. is perhaps more evenly split than at any time in the past 50 years.

What happened?

Guest: Nate Cohn, a domestic correspondent for The Upshot at The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• The surprisingly fair congressional map defies the expectations of many analysts — and it is something of an accident.

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A series of text messages released in the past week show how Ginni Thomas, wife of Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court, urged White House officials to push to overturn the result of the 2020 election.

There has never been a spouse of a sitting justice who has been as overt a political activist as Ms. Thomas — and that presents a real conundrum for the court.

Guest: Jo Becker, an investigative reporter for The New York Times. 

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Background reading: 

• The long crusade of the Thomases has taken them from the fringes of the conservative movement to the very center of it.
• In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Ginni Thomas was involved in a range of efforts to keep President Donald J. Trump in power.

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At every step of his political career, Senator Joe Manchin III has helped a West Virginia power plant that is the sole customer of his private coal business, including by blocking ambitious climate action.

A Times investigation has revealed the strands of the unusual relationship between Mr. Manchin and that especially dirty power plant, showing just how entwined they are.

Guest: Christopher Flavelle, a climate reporter for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• How Mr. Manchin aided coal, stymied climate legislation, and made a fortune.

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Since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, 10 million Ukrainians — about a quarter of the population — have been displaced, and about four million have fled the country.

Iryna Baramidze is one of them. From a middle-class neighborhood of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, she has been married to her husband for 12 years and has an 11 year-old son, Yuri.

Over three weeks, our producer Clare Toeniskoetter followed Iryna as she made an impossible choice.

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Background reading: 

• After meeting with Ukrainian refugees in Poland last week, President Biden called Vladimir Putin “a butcher.”
• As Ukrainians flood into Poland, the travel industry has become part of an effort to supply transportation, accommodation and more to the refugees.

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Demand for traveling nurses skyrocketed during the pandemic. In March 2020, there were over 12,000 job opportunities for traveling nurses, but by early December of that year, the number had grown to more than 30,000 open positions. Lauren Hilgers details the experiences of America’s traveling nurses and questions whether this “boom” will continue.

Myriad factors compelled thousands to abandon their permanent posts, among them the flexible nature of being a traveling nurse and its associated lifestyle (fewer hours, better pay). Traveling nurses can often make more in months than they would make as staff nurses in a year. Insufficient support to deal with waves of coronavirus sufferers at hospitals has driven many away.

But, as Hilgers writes, while hospitals have scrambled to hire traveling nurses, many have been chafing at the rising price tag. A number of states are exploring the option to cap travel-nursing pay, and the American Hospital Association is pushing for a congressional inquiry into the pricing practices of travel-nursing agencies. However, Hilgers concludes, the problem is unlikely to be solved until hospitals start considering how to make bedside jobs more desirable.

After two years, nurses in the United States have borne witness to hundreds of thousands of Covid deaths. Should their pay reflect this?

This story was recorded by Audm. To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

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Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last year, thousands of women and girls who were in school or had jobs were forced back into their homes.

The Daily producers Lynsea Garrison and Stella Tan have been talking to women and girls across the country about their lives under Taliban rule — and about what kind of future they now face.

Background reading: 

• The Taliban has reneged on its promise to open Afghanistan’s girls’ schools. The reversal could threaten aid as international officials had made girls’ education a condition for greater assistance.

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. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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From the outside, Russia’s relentless bombardment of Ukraine looks indiscriminate and improvised. But the approach is part of an approach devised decades ago in Chechnya.

The Times journalist Carlotta Gall, who covered the Chechen conflict, explains why wars fought by Russia some 30 years ago could inform what happens next in Ukraine.

Guest: Carlotta Gall, the Istanbul bureau chief for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Russia’s experience in a string of wars led to the conclusion that attacking civilian populations was not only acceptable but militarily sound.

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Democratic support for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who could become the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice, was never in much doubt. Less certain was the depth of Republican opposition.

To analyze how the arguments have played out so far in her confirmation hearing, we look at four key moments.

Guest: Adam Liptak, a reporter covering the Supreme Court for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• In her first day of hearings, Judge Jackson gave few hints about her judicial philosophy but spoke forcefully about public safety and terrorism.
• On Tuesday, Judge Jackson pushed back against Republican attacks on her record, presenting herself as a firm believer in judicial restraint.

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Among the actions taken by the West to punish Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine is the blacklisting of the incredibly rich and politically connected Russian businessmen known as oligarchs.

But how could sanctions on Russia’s superwealthy increase the pressure on President Vladimir V. Putin to end the war?

Guest: Matt Apuzzo, a reporter for The New York Times, based in Brussels.

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Background reading: 

• For nearly a decade, sanctions have been little more than names on a list for wealthy Russians. Now, amid the war in Ukraine, governments are working to give them bite.
• Western investment, law and lobbying firms have previously helped enmesh oligarchs into financial and legal systems.

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More than two years into the pandemic, coronavirus infections are surging in China and nations in Europe. The reason: BA.2, a highly contagious version of the Omicron variant.

At the same time, the United States is doing away with a number of pandemic restrictions, with mask mandates ending and businesses no longer requiring proof of vaccination from customers.

We explore what these BA.2 surges look like and ask whether the U.S. is ready for a new wave of Covid cases.

Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, a science and global health reporter for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Another Covid surge may be coming, and some scientists are warning that the U.S. isn’t doing enough to prevent it from endangering vulnerable Americans and upending lives.
• Many epidemiologists suspect that BA.2 may reverse the decline of cases in the United States. Here’s what we know so far about the variant. 

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For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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