Public health experts in the United States are warning of a possible “tripledemic” of respiratory illness this winter: an increase in COVID cases, an early flu season and a surge in cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Hospitals in some parts of the U.S. are already seeing a surge in cases of RSV, which usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms but can be very serious for infants.

Peace talks between Ethiopia’s government and rebel forces in Tigray began Monday in South Africa, where the African Union is mediating the highest-level effort so far at ending the bloodshed. The war began in November 2020 when Ethiopian troops, backed by soldiers from neighboring Eritrea, launched an assault on the northern Tigray region against the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front.

We speak with Phyllis Bennis, Director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies, about the growing crisis in the occupied West Bank as Israel escalates its daily military raids. At least 120 Palestinians have been killed so far this year, including dozens of children. U.S. President Joe Biden met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog Wednesday but neither mentioned Palestinians in public remarks. “There has to be a change to acknowledge that U.S.

A group of progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives this week sent, then retracted, a public letter urging the Biden Administration to engage in direct diplomacy with Russia to end the war in Ukraine while continuing to arm and support the government in Kyiv. The letter was signed by 30 lawmakers from the Congressional Progressive Caucus and saw an immediate and fierce backlash, as critics said it undermined Ukraine’s position and downplayed Russian atrocities.

As Republican-led states clamp down on voting rights, we look at how Black voters are helping to organize unprecedented voter turnout ahead of midterms. “We are literally fighting for democracy,” says LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, who says organizing voters is “the winning strategy” despite the resolve of the “consulting class” to invest campaign funds primarily in TV ads.

As the midterms draw closer, we speak with journalist Will Bunch about how extremist Republican candidates increasingly look like they could win. In Pennsylvania, the Republican gubernatorial candidate is Doug Mastriano who attended the January 6th “Stop the Steal” rally and helped arrange buses for pro-Trump protesters to come as well. He later worked with former President Trump’s legal team to overturn the 2020 election results.