As survivors ran from the crumbling Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, first responders raced inside, searching for anyone who might need their help. New York firefighter Brenda Berkman was one of them. Now, she’s helping create a lasting piece of art of the World Trade Center site and its rebuilding.
This weekend marks 20 years since terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center, killing nearly 3,000 people and hurting thousands more. As the towers fell, New York firefighters rushed inside, while survivors ran for their lives. A handful of those brave first responders were women. Ten years ago, they shared some of their memories with Soledad, wanting to make sure the roles they played on 9/11 would never be forgotten.
This week on Matter of Fact, a look at how climate change is intensifying the destruction caused by natural disasters. Craig Colten is a geography professor at Louisiana State University and studies how communities can better cope with extreme weather. Then, Tennessee leads the nation in COVID cases per capita, especially among its children. Correspondent Jessica Gomez follows school nurses and frontline doctors as they struggle to treat a growing number of sick kids. Plus, Bonnie St. John became the first African American to medal at the Paralympics more than 30 years ago. Correspondent Julia Sun sat down with her to talk about sports, determination, and resilience.
More than 30 years ago, Bonnie St. John became the first African American to medal at the Paralympics. The then-19-year-old Alpine skier brought home a silver and two bronze medals. Since, she’s graduated Harvard, earned a Rhodes Scholarship, became a Fortune 500 executive, and advised the White House. Correspondent Julia Sun sat down with St. John to talk about sports, determination and resilience.
Tennessee leads the nation in COVID cases per capita, especially among its children. Pediatric cases now make up more than 35 percent of all new infections in the state. And the children’s hospital in Shelby County, home to Memphis, says 97 percent of their beds are full. This comes as Tennessee’s governor has banned schools from requiring students to wear masks. Correspondent Jessica Gomez follows school nurses and frontline doctors as they struggle to treat a growing number of sick kids.
Americans from coast to coast are facing devastating weather disasters. Hurricane Ida flooded the Gulf Coast, knocking out power to more than a million homes and businesses ahead of a sweltering heat wave. Then, the remnants of Ida took a deadly swipe at much of the East Coast. Meanwhile, the West Coast is facing another historic wildfire season coupled with a historic drought. Climate scientists have been warning for decades about the impact of global warming on the intensity of the natural disasters. Craig Colten is a geography professor at Louisiana State University and studies how communities can better cope with extreme weather.
This weekend marks 66 years since 14-year-old Emmett Till was brutally murdered by two white men in Sumner, Mississippi. A white woman, Carolyn Bryant, had accused the young black teen from Chicago of sexual advances, an accusation she later admitted was a lie. The men kidnapped him, beat him, and threw him in the Tallahatchie River with a cotton gin tied around his neck. They were acquitted by an all white jury. Till’s death sparked the efforts of civil rights activists such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. Correspondent Diane Roberts takes us inside the Emmett Till Interpretive Center and the efforts to preserve Till’s legacy.
Students across the U.S. are back in the classroom for the 2021-2022 school year. Millions spent last school year with disrupted schedules, limited social contact and remote learning challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the highly contagious Delta variant has intensified the threat of classroom infections to its highest level yet. Arizona, Texas, and Florida outlawed mask mandates in schools. Now as outbreaks send thousands of students home, school districts are defying state orders. Soledad O’Brien talks to Dr. Stephanie Elizalde, the superintendent for the Austin Independent School District in Austin, Texas.
Ramesh Rajasingham is the United Nation’s Acting Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator. He is in Haiti, meeting with emergency response teams and some of the thousands of people displaced by the recent 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Soledad O’Brien talks to him about what’s next for the island nation struggling to recover from a series of natural disasters.