The Takeaway

April 9, 2018: An apparent gas attack on civilians in Syria near the capital of Damascus has left at least 40 dead and hundreds more wounded. President Donald Trump and the European Union suspect Syrian government forces under Bashar al-Assad of perpetrating the attack, and early Monday morning Israel is believed to have launched a retaliatory strike against a Syrian air base that killed upwards of a dozen people. The Takeaway examines the attack and considers what international consensus is building, if any, around a unified response. Plus, we look at the nationwide town halls led by student organizers that fostered a dialogue about gun violence with congressional representatives; a new lawsuit on behalf of American Samoans alleging their lack of birthright citizenship is a violation of the Constitution; and the larger mechanisms at play behind the viral Deadspin video showing Sinclair newscasters reciting from the same script.

April 6, 2018: This week, striking teachers across Oklahoma have been following in the footsteps of their counterparts in West Virginia. Their grievances, like those of so many teachers across the country, focus not only on low wages but the general lack of funding from the statehouse for basic operational costs. Public schools are dealing with a shortage of supplies, outdated textbooks, poorly maintained buildings, and in some cases, a four-day school week. Since 2008, a confluence of factors, both political and economical, have pushed Oklahoma's state government to continually slash the education budget. The Takeaway looks at the protests unfolding in Oklahoma and how fiscal policy across the board has set the ground for the dismal state of education funding. Plus, we examine the startling number of Mexican children born to incarcerated mothers and raised in the prison system.

April 5, 2018: On Tuesday afternoon, a disgruntled blogger forced her way into YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California, and fired at employees before committing suicide. The incident follows a spate of mass shootings around the country. But it also points to a troubling trend, a rise in the number of workplace homicides across the U.S. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 500 workplace killings in 2016. That's up from 409 in 2014. The Takeaway looks at how a significant portion of these incidents are committed from embittered current or former employees. Plus, we bring you the latest on the unarmed black man shot and killed by police in Crown Heights, Brooklyn; the federal trial of three Kansas men who planned to bomb a Somali mosque; and, on its 50th anniversary, the James Brown concert in Boston that quelled potential riots as the country exploded after the assassination of Dr. King.

April 4, 2018: 50 years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. King was in Memphis to support the city’s striking sanitation workers who were protesting abusive working conditions and low wages. Today, the Lorraine Motel stands as it did back in 1968, no longer a functioning motel, it’s part of the National Civil Rights Museum and its most famous occupant has become implanted in our national consciousness. The Takeaway examines how King has become an icon of the Civil Rights Movement and why his symbolic presence has changed in the decades since his death. Plus, we look at the premiere of VICE's sixth season reviewing the juvenile justice system in America; and how the the border wall has become a defining issue in American politics.

April 3, 2018: Early in March, President Trump boasted that in a potential trade war between the U.S. and China, the U.S. would easily prevail. This statement came just a couple of weeks before announcing that he would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and on potentially an estimated $60 billion worth of Chinese goods, sparking fears of retaliation. On Monday, investors' anxieties were realized in a financial riposte from China. The Takeaway reviews China's retaliatory tariffs of up to 25 percent on 128 American-made goods ranging from wine and pork to steel piping, scrap aluminum and an assortment of fruit and nut products. Plus, we examine "matrescence," the period of newfound maternity for women who have just given birth; the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 50 years ago; and how urban environments can thrive through city-based evolutionary advantages.

April 2, 2018: On Friday, thousands of Palestinians took part in demonstrations along the Israel-Gaza border. The protest was just the beginning of what is expected to be a six-week long demonstration. But on that first day, interactions between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers quickly turned violent. At least 15 Palestinians were killed and, according to the Gaza health ministry, more than 700 were wounded. The Takeaway explores the geopolitical context for the ongoing demonstrations in Gaza. Plus, we examine the soaring rates of childhood lead poisoning in California's Bay Area; a statewide teachers strike in Oklahoma that is grinding the school system to a halt; the first undocumented immigrant in California appointed to a statewide post; the story of a young undocumented immigrant who became an informant for the FBI, before they turned on him; and a dialogue between Martin Luther King Jr.'s barber and a current civil rights advocate.

March 30, 2018: The Texas Civil Rights Project estimates that in total, about 3,000 U.S. military veterans have been deported from the country, though the Department of Homeland Security does not officially keep track. Hector Barajas, once such veteran, operates a safehouse in Tijuana, Mexico, nicknamed "The Bunker." The storefront functions as a makeshift asylum for veterans deported to Mexico. Barajas served in the military for six years when he was expelled from the U.S. after serving two years in prison due to a weapons charge. The Takeaway brings you to Barajas, who speaks about the way undocumented veterans are treated by the federal government. Plus, the state of the #MeToo movement in Africa; an 'overlooked' woman some call Korea's Joan of Arc; and the selection of a white woman to curate African art at the Brooklyn Museum.

March 29, 2018: It’s been rumored for weeks in political circles, and on Wednesday evening President Trump made it official: Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is out and will be replaced in the coming weeks by the president’s physician, Navy Admiral Ronny Jackson. Shulkin was an Obama-era holdover, who quickly became the target of accusations of spending abuses, mismanagement, and suffered a staff rebellion within the agency. The Takeaway looks at this latest cabinet-level departure. Plus, we examine the ransomware attack holding Atlanta's digital systems hostage; the Wisconsin special elections that Governor Walker had been trying to delay; the tiny provision in the federal spending bill that President Trump signed last week which could have an outsize impact on minor league baseball players; and the way scientific research has been designed to emphasize male bodies.

March 28, 2018: On Monday night, the Commerce Department formally announced that it will comply with a Trump administration request to include a citizenship question on the 2020 decennial census. Advocacy groups also spoke out against the decision, citing intimidation as reason immigrant populations may fail to participate in the census. The Takeaway looks at how Asian-American communities are already at risk of being undercounted due to language barriers, poverty, status, and housing stability. Plus, we scrutinize Donald Trump Jr.'s business trip to India; the deadly inferno that claimed the lives of dozens of schoolchildren in Russia; a series of highly-restrictive abortion laws that may be setting up a Supreme Court battle; and we take listener questions about women's health.

March 27, 2018: For the past few years, Syria's Eastern Ghouta region has been under siege by the Russian-backed government of Bashar al-Assad. In the past month alone, more than 1600 civilians have been killed and thousands wounded as government forces have borne down on the Damascus suburb. Late last week, a tentative ceasefire allowed thousands of civilians and rebel fighters to leave Ghouta and relocate in the northwestern province of Idlib. The city of Douma now remains the only rebel-controlled area near the capital. The Takeaway examines the tenuous state of affairs among Syria's many factions. Plus, we look at the doctors on the front lines of the war on gun violence; the response from the people of Sacramento to the fatal shooting of Stephon Clark, who was unarmed; the expulsion of Russian diplomats from over 20 countries; and the disparity in healthcare that women of color face.