Remembering John Shelby Spong, Episcopal bishop and LGBTQ champion

In 1977, Spong became one of the first American bishops to ordain a woman into the clergy. In 1989, he was the first to ordain an openly gay man. Spong died Sept. 12. Originally broadcast in 1996.
http://dlvr.it/S8ljv9

Texas' abortion law is back in court

A federal judge will decide whether to block Texas' new restrictive abortion law after hearing from Justice Department attorneys and lawyers for the state. He offered no timetable for a decision.
http://dlvr.it/S8ljtf

Senate confirms Rohit Chopra to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The Senate narrowly approved Chopra, a member of the Federal Trade Commission, to run the CFPB. He is likely to give the bureau a more aggressive role than it had under the Trump administration.
http://dlvr.it/S8ljrZ

Australia plans to open its borders for its own vaccinated citizens to travel

Travel restrictions that have trapped most Australians and permanent residents at home over the past 18 months would be removed when 80% of the population aged 16 and older were fully vaccinated.
http://dlvr.it/S8ljmm

A pill can reduce deaths by half in new coronavirus patients, company says

If cleared, Merck's drug would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19, a potentially major advance in efforts to fight the pandemic.
http://dlvr.it/S8ljkj

Congress Avoids A Shutdown, But Other Standoffs Persist

The House voted 254-175 in favor of a short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, but other major issues, such as suspending the debt limit, remain unresolved.
http://dlvr.it/S8h55b

School Boards Are Asking For Federal Help As They Face Threats And Violence

School board meetings, usually one of the most mundane examples of local democracy in action, have exploded with vitriol across the country in recent months, and many school leaders are scared.
http://dlvr.it/S8h554

The Racist Legacy Of Early Immigration Law Is Still Alive Today

Atlantic writer Caitlin Dickerson talks about Haitian immigrants at the border, and explains how both Trump and Biden immigration policies are based on a racist system created by the Founding Fathers.
http://dlvr.it/S8h52v

Biden's Approval Rating Recovers Some From Last Month's Low, An NPR Poll Finds

The latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey finds that 45% of U.S. adults approve of the job President Biden is doing, while 46% disapprove. That's a little better than his numbers last month.
http://dlvr.it/S8h50k

A 105-Year-Old Woman Who Survived The 1918 Flu Dies After Contracting COVID

Primetta Giacopini's life ended the way it began — in a pandemic. "I think my mother would have been around quite a bit longer" if she hadn't contracted COVID, her daughter says.
http://dlvr.it/S8h4yV

New Study Finds More Than A Third Of COVID-19 Patients Have Symptoms Months Later

The symptoms, such as headache, fatigue and cognitive dysfunction, persist or recur months after diagnosis, far more often than they do for the flu, researchers say.
http://dlvr.it/S8cFwf