Biden Death Row Clemency, Long COVID Research, Lebanon Antiquities Damaged

Summary

Up First from NPR - December 23, 2024

NPR's Up First delivered a comprehensive and engaging overview of the day's most pressing issues, focusing on President Biden's recent use of clemency powers, the ongoing challenges in Long COVID research, and the extensive damage to Lebanon's cultural heritage sites amid conflict. Here's a detailed summary of each segment:

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1. President Biden Commutes Sentences of 37 Federal Death Row Inmates

Key Points: President Joe Biden made a significant move by commuting the sentences of 37 out of 40 men on federal death row, converting their sentences to life imprisonment without parole. This decision marks one of the most substantial actions against capital punishment in recent presidential history.

Notable Discussions:

• Biden's Rationale: Biden emphasized his long-standing opposition to the death penalty, citing his experiences as a public defender, senator, vice president, and president. He stated, “I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level” (04:05).

• Exceptions Made: Three high-profile cases were exempted from this commutation: Robert Bowers (2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting), Dylann Roof (2015 Charleston church shooting), and Zocar Sarnev (2013 Boston Marathon bombing). These individuals remain on federal death row due to the nature of their crimes.

• Political Context: The decision also serves as a preemptive measure to prevent the incoming Trump administration from potentially resuming federal executions. NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram highlighted that Biden’s actions were in part to ensure continuity in halting federal executions (06:11).

• Reactions: The move has received praise from criminal justice advocates like Bryan Stevenson, who remarked that it “sends a message that the death penalty isn't the answer to concerns about public safety” (05:17).

Conclusion: Biden’s commutation reflects a broader shift in federal justice policy, emphasizing rehabilitation over capital punishment while leaving space for continued debates on the death penalty at state levels.

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2. NIH's $300 Million Investment in Long COVID Research Faces Criticism

Key Points: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a $300 million investment aimed at finding treatments for Long COVID, a condition affecting approximately 17 million American adults with symptoms like extreme fatigue, brain fog, and heart problems.

Notable Discussions:

• Patient Frustration: Despite substantial funding, patient advocacy groups are dissatisfied with the pace of progress. Sarah Bowden, NPR’s health reporter, reported that only eight out of hundreds of NIH-funded studies are clinical trials targeting treatments, leading to calls for more immediate relief for sufferers (07:34).

• NIH's Standpoint: The NIH acknowledges the urgent need for treatments but argues that a comprehensive understanding of Long COVID’s underlying biology is essential before launching widespread clinical trials. Dr. Leora Horw from NYU emphasized the importance of safety and effective use of resources, noting concerns about "jumping into clinical trials too soon" (08:36).

• Impact on Patients: Many individuals with Long COVID are resorting to long-term disability and experimental treatments. Dr. Michael Broad from UT Health Austin expressed the difficulty in treating patients without established therapies, highlighting the frustration on both sides of the medical community (09:57).

Conclusion: While the NIH's funding underscores the seriousness of Long COVID as a public health issue, the tension between the need for rapid treatment solutions and the necessity of thorough research remains a critical challenge.

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3. War Between Israel and Hezbollah Damages Lebanon's Cultural Heritage

Key Points: The recent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants has inflicted significant damage on Lebanon's rich tapestry of cultural heritage sites, including Greco-Roman ruins, Crusader castles, and Ottoman architecture.

Notable Discussions:

• On-the-Ground Observations: NPR International correspondent Lauren Frayer documented extensive destruction in southern Lebanon, where historic sites like Crusader castles were battlegrounds. She recounted visiting a 3,000-year-old castle in Tibnin, witnessing the collapse of Crusader walls and debris from airstrikes (11:17).

• UNESCO Protections Ignored: Despite the presence of UNESCO World Heritage site markers, many landmarks did not remain protected. An Israeli airstrike created a crater near Greco-Roman temples in Baalbek, and archaeological assessments for damage are still underway (13:28).

• Emotional and Cultural Impact: Local officials, such as Ali Fawaz, expressed profound sadness over the destruction of cherished historical sites, viewing the damage as an erasure of Lebanon’s heritage and identity (12:18).

• Rebuilding Challenges: The World Bank estimates $8.5 billion in damages and economic losses, making rebuilding a protracted and costly endeavor. Political instability and ongoing military presence complicate restoration efforts, with many areas still inaccessible to civilians and reconstruction teams (14:02).

Conclusion: The conflict's toll on Lebanon's cultural heritage represents not only a loss of historical landmarks but also a deep emotional scar on the nation's collective memory, with long-term implications for cultural preservation and national identity.

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Final Thoughts

NPR's Up First provided listeners with a thorough examination of these critical issues, enriched by expert insights and on-the-ground reporting. The episode underscored the complexities of presidential clemency powers, the urgent need for advancements in Long COVID treatments, and the profound cultural losses resulting from geopolitical conflicts. As always, Up First ensures that its audience is well-informed with nuanced and in-depth analysis of the day's most important stories.

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This summary is based on the transcript provided and captures the essence of NPR's Up First episode released on December 23, 2024.

Transcript

[Asma Khalid]

Good morning. It's Asmaa Khalid. Before we dive into today's show, I want to give you all a quick look behind the scenes of up first here at npr. Our staff work round the clock to bring you the latest news. They coordinate with reporters and editors across the country and around the world to make sure you start your day with analysis and news from the biggest stories of the moment. The best way to support this work is to sign up for npr. It's a simple recurring donation that unlocks sponsor free listening to every episode of Up first, along with perks for more than 25 NPR podcasts. If you're already a Plus supporter, thank y'all very much. If you're not, please consider joining NPR in our mission to create a more informed public. You can sign up for NPR today at plus.NPR.org that's plus.NPR.org now onto the news. President Biden is using his presidential authority to commute the sentences of dozens of men on federal death row. With just a few weeks left in office. What's behind the president's decision? I'm Asma Khalid, and this is UP FIRST from NPR News. For those living with long Covid, it can come with extreme fatigue, brain fog and heart problems. Millions of Americans can't keep waiting and keeping their lives on pause or even dying, you know, with this condition. Will new investment in research bring patients suffering with these symptoms any closer to reliable treatments? And a number of cultural heritage sites in Lebanon were damaged during the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Will they be rebuilt? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

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[Asma Khalid]

His clemency powers to commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row. The 37 individuals who are all men will now serve life in prison without parole. It's one of the most significant moves against capital punishment in recent presidential history. And here to talk through the news is NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shiveram. Good morning, Deepa.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Hey, good morning.

[Asma Khalid]

So what has President Biden said about this decision?

[Deepa Shivaram]

Well, the president put out a statement this morning and he laid out a couple of points. He was clear in saying that he condemns the people convicted of murder who are on federal death row, and he grieves with the victims who have suffered because of them. But he says his decision to commute the sentences for the 37 men was guided by his conscience, his experience as a public defender, his time as a senator, vice president and president. And Biden said, quote, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. And just a couple of things to keep in mind here. Asma Biden commuted the sentences of these 37 men to life in prison. So that's different than granting a pardon. Right. These men will still be guilty for the crimes they committed. They will not be eligible for any kind of parole. And the other thing to remember is that Biden's actions here only apply to those facing the federal death penalty. There are still people on death row in different states, though. And of course, three of the 40 men on federal death row, Biden did not commute their sentences.

[Asma Khalid]

So tell us more about those three men. Who are they?

[Deepa Shivaram]

Yeah, so these are very specific, pretty high profile cases that involved terrorism or hate fueled mass murder. So that includes Robert Bowers, who was convicted for the 2018 mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue Dylann Roof, convicted for the 2015 mass shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, and Zocar Sarnev, who was convicted of the 2013 bombing at the Boston Marathon. Those three men will remain on federal death death row.

[Asma Khalid]

Deepa, I think this is all really interesting because I recall covering President Biden's campaign and back during that 2020 presidential election cycle. He said that he opposed the death penalty, but he has not taken a whole lot of action on as president on this issue until now. How much pressure was he facing to do this?

[Deepa Shivaram]

Yeah, I mean, there were a lot of calls for Biden to use his clemency powers for those on death row, from criminal justice advocates to people like Pope Francis. And it really bubbled up more after he pardoned his own son, Hunter Biden, who was convict of tax and gun charges. And after that happened, Biden used his clemency powers to pardon 39 people who had been convicted of nonviolent crimes. He commuted the sentences of about 1500 people who had been on home confinement during the COVID 19 pandemic. But advocates considered those actions to be pretty small overall. And they were really waiting on Biden and calling on him to take this big step on the death penalty here. And I will say the reaction to this new announcement has been pretty positive so far. Advocates like Bryan Stevenson, who is known for his advocacy for fighting for innocent folks on death row, praised Biden for his decision. And he said it sends a message that the death penalty isn't the answer to concerns about public safety.

[Asma Khalid]

Just briefly here, how much of Biden's decision was also impacted by how the incoming Trump administration might handle federal executions?

[Deepa Shivaram]

Yeah, I mean, Biden took pretty sweeping action here on the death penalty compared to previous Democratic presidents. And he did kind of hint at the incoming Trump administration for why he made this decision. Back in 2021, Biden put a moratorium on federal execut, but that could have been undone by Trump. And Biden said he didn't want to stand back and let a new administration resume executions that he halted.

[Asma Khalid]

That's NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram. Thanks so much.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Thanks for having me.

[Asma Khalid]

The National Institutes of Health recently announced it's investing $300 million to research treatments for Long Covid. In total, the agency has directed $1.8 billion towards studying the virus and its after effects, which is associated with extreme fatigue, brain fog, and heart problems. But many patients are frustrated that researchers haven't come up with a reliable treatment yet. For more on this, I'm joined now by health reporter Sarah Bowden. Good morning, Sarah.

[Sarah Bowden]

Hey, good morning.

[Asma Khalid]

So, Sarah, $300 million, it sounds like a substantial amount of money. Why are patient groups still not pleased with this?

[Sarah Bowden]

Yeah. So the NIH has funded hundreds of different kinds of studies on Long Covid, but just eight of those studies have been clinical trials looking at possible treatments. And patient advocacy groups say this pace is just way too slow. And also they feel that there's been too much focus in trying to understand why people get sick with Long Covid, but not enough attention on trying to relieve their suffering, helping them feel better. And somebody who I've talked to a lot about this is someone named Megan Stone, who is the executive director of the long Covid campaign.

[Asma Khalid]

There really is a burden to make up this last time. Now, millions of Americans can't keep waiting.

[NPR Sponsor]

And keeping their lives on pause or even dying.

[Asma Khalid]

You know, with this condition, like, we really do need to see progress.

[Sarah Bowden]

Also, I'll note, Asma, that an estimated 17 million adults in the US have long Covid and that means many of them are unable to work or care for their families. And that is why some consider the COVID pandemic a mass disabling event.

[Asma Khalid]

So, Sarah, what does the NIH say about these criticisms?

[Sarah Bowden]

Well, the agency agrees that there's a real urgency to find treatments, but they told me that scientists need a solid understanding of the underlying biology of long Covid, which is a complicated disease that can damage nearly every organ system. And researchers have learned a lot. For example, one NIH funded study found that people are less likely to get long Covid if they've been vaccinated. I Talked to one NIH funded researcher, Dr. Leora Horw with, She's at NYU, and she told me that, you know, you have to remember we're only five years into this pandemic and there is real concern that jumping into clinical trials too soon might not be safe. It could waste money, it could waste time. But it is also true that so far we still don't have any FDA approved drugs or devices or any therapy specifically for long Covid.

[Asma Khalid]

So how are patients coping in the meantime?

[Sarah Bowden]

Well, for a lot of people, their only option is to go on long term disability while they keep trying different drugs and therapies to manage their symptoms. And patients tell me they're exhausted, they're frustrated, and doctors feel this way too. For example, Dr. Michael Broad at UT Health Austin, he says there's a lot of guesswork in treating long Covid because there's just not enough research. I'm in this terrible position of I don't want to hype up a treatment.

[Asma Khalid]

That is still experimental, but I also.

[Sarah Bowden]

Don'T want to hide it. Rhode also told me he prescribes medications that are not approved by the FDA for long Covid, but they are approved for other illnesses. This is called off label prescribing and often insurance companies don't cover these prescriptions and that leaves very sick people having to decide whether to pay out of pocket for treatment.

[Asma Khalid]

Thanks so much, Sarah, for your reporting.

[Sarah Bowden]

Thank you.

[Asma Khalid]

That's health and science journalist Sarah Bowden. She's a member of NPR's KFF Health News Collaboration. Lebanon is a small country, chock full of antiquities. Greco Roman ruins, Crusader castles, Ottoman architecture, and some of it was damaged in the war there this fall between Israel and Hezbollah militants. Christmas Day marks one month since a ceasefire took effect in Lebanon. In addition to the more than 4,000 people who were killed there. According to Lebanon's health ministry, officials are still assessing damage to cultural heritage sites. NPR international correspondent Lauren recently visited several of those sites, and she joins us now. Good morning, Lauren.

[Lauren Frayer]

Good morning, Asma.

[Asma Khalid]

So tell us about what you saw at the places you visited.

[Lauren Frayer]

Yeah, I went into areas of southern Lebanon that saw the fiercest fighting of the war. In some cases, Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah militants were fighting inside Crusader castles. I saw Byzantine fortifications of a walled old city destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. Churches and mosques that had been hit. Some of these are some of the iconic sites you see on postcards of Lebanon. But Israel accuses Hezboll of hiding weapons and fighters in some of them. In mid November, the United nations added 34 sites in Lebanon to its list of protected cultural properties, hoping to prevent damage to them.

[Asma Khalid]

Do those protections hold? No.

[Lauren Frayer]

I mean, at least not for all of them. I went to a 3,000-year-old castle in a place called Tibnin, near the boundaries of Syria, Lebanon and Israel. One of its Crusader era walls had crumbled. I climbed to the roof. It was littered with debris from Israeli airstrikes on homes nearby. And I was with a municipal official named Ali Fawaz. He was seeing for the first time, and he was emotional. He said he felt very sad, very sad.

[Asma Khalid]

It's a very important place. It's our history. So you feel from inside something, who cut it from you?

[Lauren Frayer]

This castle's been the pride of his community, literally for centuries. And to him, this damage is priceless.

[Asma Khalid]

You know, Lauren, in war, cultural sites are meant to be protected by all parties in a conflict. So what is the extent of the damage here you're seeing?

[Lauren Frayer]

Lebanon's six UNESCO World Heritage sites are marked with this blue and white symbol that signifies UN protection. It's even painted on the roof of the ticket office so that it's visible by warplanes. I visited three of the six UNESCO heritage sites. The monuments themselves are still standing. But, for example, an Israeli airstrike left a crater in the tourist parking lot right next to some Greco Roman temples in Baalbek. Archaeologists have yet to X ray the columns for hairline fractures from the force of explosions all around them. There's also damage to historic stone houses, ancient markets, Joan Farshuk Bajali is a specialist in heritage architecture who's been going around to properties on Lebanon's National Register of Historic Places to literally see if they're still there.

[NPR Sponsor]

If you start removing all these houses.

[Deepa Shivaram]

Within a few years, there will be no memories left and the history will become amiss. But when you keep monuments standing, then you can actually keep the history alive.

[Lauren Frayer]

You know, she sees this damage as an Israeli attempt to erase Lebanon's claim to its history and its own land. Israel, of course, denies that, just like in Gaza. It says its intention has not been to lay waste to residential areas, only that it's responding to militant attacks that come from these same areas.

[Asma Khalid]

Lauren, what are the prospects of rebuilding?

[Lauren Frayer]

I mean, the World bank estimates that in Lebanon the cost of damage and economic losses from the war to be about eight and a half billion dollars. So rebuilding will be a huge years long project. This is a country that the economy has already been in shambles before this war and that rebuilding can't begin in a lot of these areas until Israeli troops withdraw. And that hasn't finished yet. There are areas still where civilians cannot get home in Lebanon and where they can't reach antiquities either.

[Asma Khalid]

That is NPR's international correspondent Lauren Frayer. Thanks so much.

[Lauren Frayer]

Thanks, Asma. Happy holidays.

[Asma Khalid]

You too. And that's up first for Monday, December 23rd. I'm Asma Khalid. For your next listen, consider Consider this from npr. It's been a year of high stakes elections around the globe. About half the world's population lives in countries where elections have taken place, from India and Venezuela to the US And South Africa. So what did we learn about this state of democracy? Listen to Consider this from npr. Today's episode of up first was edited by Dana Farrington, Carrie Feible, Denise Rios, Lisa Thompson and Ali Schweitzer. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas and Anna Perez. We get engineering support from Nisha Hynes and our technical director is Carly Strange. Join us again tomorrow.

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