The UN and climate change; UAW strike, day 4; Barrymore interrupts his show: NPR
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Today’s news
Climate change will be one of the main topics on the agenda this week, as world leaders gather in New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly. Tens of thousands of people gathered in the city yesterday ahead of the event. Many of them called on President Biden to move away from fossil fuels.
Thousands of activists, indigenous groups, students and others took to the streets of New York for the March Against Fossil Fuels on Sunday, September 17, in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Thousands of activists, indigenous groups, students and others took to the streets of New York for the March Against Fossil Fuels on Sunday, September 17, in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres will host a new event, the Climate Ambition Summit this week. He asked countries to make credible commitments to engage in a process of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. NPR’s Rachel Waldholz reports First that we have already “locked in” some warming, but we need to reduce global emissions to zero to prevent the situation from getting worse, and we are currently not on track to meet these goals.
- Meanwhile, on the west coast, The state of California has filed a lawsuit against oil giants including Exxon Mobil, Shell and BP. The suit claims the companies misled the public about climate change and the dangers of fossil fuels.
- Climate change is a major problem for young voters but lags behind other issues, according to polls. Here’s why environmental activists think that’s changing.
The auto workers’ strike today enters its fourth day. Three manufacturing plants closed in Missouri, Ohio and Michigan in the first simultaneous strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. Here’s how the strike could impact the entire economy.
- Michigan Radio’s Tracy Samilton is on the picket line in Michigan. She says the workers there are “resolute and quite defiant.” She reports that the union has lowered its initial demand for a 40% pay increase over four years to the mid-30s. But that’s still a significant departure from Ford and GM’s 20% counteroffer.
- Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers union, has been in office for less than six months. Samilton says he “got more applause than Bernie Sanders” at a rally in Detroit last Friday. Learn about his family’s long history in the automotive industry.
Drew Barrymore, who drew criticism for taping new episodes of her daytime talk show despite ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes, she now announces that she will postpone the next season until after Hollywood’s writers’ and actors’ strikes. The Talk and Jennifer Hudson show will also be put on hiatus.
- Barrymore wasn’t the only talk show host to resume filming. But NPR’s Mandalit del Barco says the focus was on Barrymore because she made very public announcements, was famous most of her life and “comes from Hollywood royalty.”
Rescuers removed American explorer Mark Dickey emerged from Morca Cave, Turkey, last Tuesday, more than a week after becoming seriously ill from stomach bleeding thousands of feet below the entrance. Nearly 200 people took part in the rescue operations. Dickey was in the cave continuing work from a Turkish expedition from last year.
- On Morning edition today, Dickey says he is getting better every day and he is ready to go caving again. He adds that to his knowledge, the illness was not linked to the cave or caving. He says that although caves can “instill a lot of fear in people”, he finds them “very simple” and believes they are a great place to “push your limits and build your endurance”.
I’m really in
Bagels on display at Katz’s Delicatessen in Manhattan.
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Bagels on display at Katz’s Delicatessen in Manhattan.
Stan Honda/AFP via Getty Images
NPR’s Emma Bowman was worried that her order of plain bagels meant she had boring taste buds. But today, she praises the plain bagel, calling it “a litmus test for the quality of an establishment.” In a world of Instagrammable food maximalism, Bowman remains true to his love of pure carbs.
What do you really like? Fill this form or leave us a voice note at 800-329-4273, and a portion of your submission may be broadcast online or on the radio.
Listening of the day
Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images
Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images
2020 was a catastrophic year for Peng Haitao. His father died of pneumonia during the COVID lockdown in Wuhan, China. Her son died in childbirth a few months later. When Peng came across a melancholic song on the piano called “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” his emotions flooded. He taught himself to play and performed publicly to help others deal with their pain. Peng speaks to All things Considered about how grief connects people.
3 things to know before you leave
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured an image of a newborn star that reveals what Earth’s sun may have looked like when it was just tens of thousands of years old.
ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, T. Ray (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies)
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ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, T. Ray (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies)
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured an image of a newborn star that reveals what Earth’s sun may have looked like when it was just tens of thousands of years old.
ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, T. Ray (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies)
- Have you ever wondered what might our sun have looked like when it was a baby star? A new image captured by the James Webb Telescope shows the newborn star Herbig-Haro 211, which will eventually become a star like our sun.
- A joint British media investigation The Times, the Sunday Times and Channel 4 accused actor and comedian Russell Brand of sexual assault, rape and psychological abuse. Brand released a statement last Friday denying the allegations.
- Jann Wenner, the founder of rolling stone review, apologized and was removed from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation board after he said black and female musicians were not “articulate” enough to be featured in his book.
This newsletter was published by Majd Al-Waheidi.
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