Dustin Jones
National Public Radio
A STORY OF YOUTH, HOPE AND LOSS––AND THE MYSTERY OF COVID-19
"The doctors didn't know what to do. Audrey, the incapacitated young woman in the ICU, had just celebrated her 29th birthday. She was physically fit and had been in perfect health. Just six months earlier, she had run a marathon with her twin sister, Kelsey. And Audrey had always been health conscious; she worked as a transplant nurse in Denver. The medical team — nine doctors working in unison with X-ray technicians, phlebotomists and nurses — could not explain why Audrey's heart was failing."
TRUMP WANTS THE DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG DEALERS. HERE'S WHY THAT PROBABLY WON'T HAPPEN
"... However, Trump does have a plan for addressing America's drug problems, even if he didn't discuss it Wednesday night: institute the death penalty for drug traffickers, smugglers and dealers. It's an approach in stark contrast with much of the world — it's also a violation of international human rights laws. This extreme position on drug offenses came right out of the gate with Trump's candidacy. During his campaign announcement last November, the former president drummed a familiar beat on securing America's southern border and combating Mexican drug cartels. He didn't go into detail on his promises, but did outline how he would handle certain drug offenses."
NEW VA PROGRAM INVESTIGATES OUTDOOR THERAPY FOR VETERANS
"Getting into shape traditionally tops many people's lists when it comes to New Year's resolutions. But after a tumultuous past year, focusing on mental health needs is also important. Recently passed legislation aims to help America's military veterans with both. Last month, President Trump signed the Accelerating Veterans Recovery Outdoors Act after it easily passed in Congress in a rare instance of bipartisan support, as part of a package called the Veterans COMPACT Act of 2020."
CITIES AND STATES ARE IMPOSING NEW COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS. EXPERTS SAY IT'S NOT ENOUGH
"Coronavirus cases are surging across the U.S., prompting many state and local leaders to impose new restrictions. But some experts say these efforts may be too little, too late — like a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. The virus is spreading unchecked through communities in nearly every state, and new cases topped 150,000 for the first time on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. is expected to continue breaking records as temperatures drop, bringing people into closer quarters indoors."
STILL THERE: ALZHEIMER'S HAS RAVAGED HIS MOTHER'S MEMORY, BUT MUSIC BRINGS HER BACK
"Eighteen years ago, Adam Kaye was hosting a family barbecue at his home in Del Mar, Calif., when his mother, Martha Kaye, broke the news. At 71 years old, she realized that she was becoming forgetful. While working in the kitchen, she would ask herself out loud, "What am I doing?" Martha — better known as Marti — started calling everyone "Darling" because names had begun to slip her mind.
Adam had suspected something was wrong. So when Marti told him she had Alzheimer's disease, the diagnosis didn't come as a surprise. "But that didn't mean that it wasn't very difficult to hear," he says. "It was something upsetting for my young daughter, who had never seen her grandma cry at the time."."
LA SOUFRIERE VOLCANO: A GROWING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
"The volcano La Soufrière began to explosively erupt on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent last Friday. For nearly a week, periodic eruptions have covered the island in ash and volcanic flows of molten rock and gas have gushed down the mountainside. Residents have been displaced and are left without clean water or electricity, adding a humanitarian emergency into the mix.
La Soufrière's eruption forced approximately 30 villages on the northern portion of the island to evacuate. A report by the World Health Organization and The Pan American Health Organization said 16,000 to 20,000 people are affected. More than 4,000 people are occupying 89 public shelters. Two thousand others confirmed they are staying with friends or family."
THE ABORTION RULING HAS TROOPS AND VETERANS SPEAKING OUT, SOME FOR THE FIRST TIME
"For the first time in her life, Marine Corps Capt. Meleah Martin is refusing to wear American flag attire this Independence Day. Instead, she told her family that she will only wear pride colors and apparel. Not because she's unpatriotic – she's spent approximately 16 months deployed overseas as an F-18 pilot. But because she believes her constitutional rights are under attack.
Martin said it's been disheartening to witness liberties such as the right to protest or to cast a ballot come under attack in recent years. Those frustrations turned to devastation for her with the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, stripping away the constitutional right to an abortion. Martin hopes to someday start a family, but as someone who identifies as a lesbian, she's scared her right to marry and have children may also be in danger."
The War Horse
YOU DON’T KNOW, AND I DON’T WANNA TELL YA
A few smiles crept out from everyone sitting around us, accompanied by a laugh or two, then an awkward pause. His mother looked down at the table for a moment and then raised her head; our eyes met. We sat in silence for what felt like minutes. “What did you all see over there that would make him do something like this?” she asked. I bowed my head and stared down at the table. I didn’t have a response.
The screams and machine guns are roaring. My heart rate is skyrocketing. My friends are dying. And I can't save them. Others try hard to help by providing aid or returning fire while I fail to engage. Useless.
I chamber another round. Misfire. Misfire. Misfire. Marines continue to die. The screams turn to cries. The ground turns from a dusty brown to a damp crimson.
Additional Writing
THE BLOOD OF PATRIOTS
I told him about the first guy that I lost, how he had everything above his jaw-line taken off with an RKG grenade. This is essentially a small parachute-stabilized grenade, that when detonated becomes a shape charge, forcing molten copper and tungsten through an area no more than half an inch in diameter, to tear through the Humvee and through the back of my buddy’s head. Skull fragments splintered off and became shrapnel that wounded the other four Marine passengers. We both sit in what others might consider to be an awkward silence. We sit, drinking our beer, looking into the glass as we fiddle them around with our hands, reliving these events over and over again in our minds. Sometimes it is best to just say nothing.