The highly contagious COVID delta variant is spreading across the country at exponential speed. In mid-June, it appeared the end of the pandemic could be in sight. Now, we’re facing what could be the worst surge yet. COVID patients are overrunning hospitals and, in some places, at twice the rate as last summer. We went door-to-door with Lisa Butler, a COVID survivor who is determined to get her Chicago community vaccinated.
This week, we share the story of an unlikely friendship between a cop and a man he arrested. Plus, Soledad O’Brien talks with Dr. Brian Castrucci, head of the de Beaumont Foundation, about fighting vaccine hesitancy. Then, a look at the warning signs before the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The U.S. could be facing its worst surge of COVID-19 yet. Nearly 80 percent of counties are considered to be either areas of high or substantial transmission. And even though 70 percent of U.S. adults are now vaccinated, millions of Americans still refuse to get the shot. Dr. Brian Castrucci is the president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation and a leading voice on public health issues. Soledad O’Brien talks with him about fighting vaccine hesitancy.
This week on Matter of Fact, we visit with the residents of Paradise, California. The 2018 Camp Fire destroyed their home. How they’re working to rebuild their lives. Plus, employers are working to bring back more employees who are now accustomed to working from home. Soledad talks to Beth Humberd, an associate professor of management at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and an expert on gender and diversity in the workplace. And, millions of American families are now getting direct monthly payments from the Child Tax Credit. The push to make those payments permanent.
Millions of Americans lost their jobs at the start of the pandemic last spring. Many are now returning to work, but for women it could be an even longer journey back to normal. They make up more than half of the nation’s unemployed. Beth Humberd is an associate professor of management at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and an expert on gender and diversity in the workplace.
Dozens of dangerous wildfires are once again torching the West Coast. Oregon’s Bootleg Fire, the largest in the U.S., has created so much smoke, air quality warnings have been issued on the other coast. Meanwhile, the Dixie Fire in Northern California has exploded to more than six times the size of San Francisco. Now it’s threatening some of the survivors of the Golden State’s deadliest wildfire. In 2018, dozens of families living in Paradise, California were forced to flee, after 85 people were killed and their town was burnt to the ground. Rebuilding their former homes, and putting their lives back together, will take years.
This week on Matter of Fact, we bring you the remarkable story of women raising their babies behind bars. Before the COVID-19 crisis was a threat, Soledad talked to pregnant prisoners on the waiting list for a room in the J-Unit, at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. In the J-Unit, non-violent offenders get to bond with their newborns while serving time. In this week’s program, we follow a mom raising her daughter in the J-Unit, a mother on the waiting list, and one who learns she’ll lose her baby immediately after giving birth.
Actor Danny Trejo is one of America’s favorite bad guys, starring as the villain in dozens of movies. He’s also had more on-screen deaths than any other actor. But what you may not know is Trejo has also struggled with addiction and did a stint in prison. While in rehab, he met writer and actor Donal Logue. Now, they’ve teamed up to create Trejo’s memoir, called “Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption and Hollywood.”
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, at least 17 states have passed laws this year to restrict voting access. Critics say the laws are meant to reduce turnout from Black, Latino, and younger voters who have helped elect Democrats. Republicans justify the laws, saying they are meant to combat voter fraud. According to election experts, fraud rarely happens. We bring you a portion of a recent BET News Special, “State of Our Union,” with Soledad O’Brien talking to Vice President Kamala Harris about the battle over access to the ballot.
Watch the full BET News Special here.
This week on Matter of Fact, we look at what it means to be an American. Correspondent Jessica Gomez set off on a road trip from Denver to St. Louis to listen to how people feel about their American identity. Plus, Special Contributor Ray Suarez shares the story of one of the most important contributions from immigrants: the building of the transcontinental railroad. And, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Nikole Hannah Jones shares what inspired her work on the New York Times’ 1619 Project.