Here & Now Anytime

The Trump administration has deployed a military presence to Los Angeles amid protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Retired 4-star General Barry McCaffrey explains his concerns about how Trump is using the armed forces in an American city. And, as Trump's tax bill makes its way through the Senate, the food assistance program SNAP could see cuts. Pamela Irvine, CEO of Feeding Southwest Virginia, details how the work her food bank does might be be impacted. Then, in 2019, the sandbag levee protecting Anderson Jones' home failed, letting floodwaters seep past the barrier. After a years-long journey, Jones is back at home. Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd reports on the rebuilding process and how a new pump project could mitigate future floods. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

The ongoing protests in Los Angeles started after immigration raids and workplace arrests in the city. The Wall Street Journal's Michelle Hackman explores the decision-making that led the Trump administration to carry out recent immigration actions. And, hundreds of scientists with the National Institutes of Health have signed a letter calling to protect biomedical science from what they called forced politicization by the Trump administration around important research. Jenna Norton, a researcher with the NIH and one of the organizers behind this letter, explains more. Then, in 2019, an unrelenting flood swamped more than half a million acres in the Mississippi Delta's Yazoo Backwater. It took more than six months to recede. Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd reports on a pumping station project that could protect against destruction from future floods. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

President Trump ordered the Pentagon to send around 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to protests against immigration raids in the city. Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, explains the legal implications. Trump ignored California Gov. Gavin Newsom's objections to deploying the National Guard. The last time a president called in the National Guard without the governor's approval was in 1965 during the Selma march. Historian Julian Zelizer explains more. Then, John Ruskey calls the Mississippi River "a creative force" that sculpts the landscape and rejuvenates the people who experience it up close. But climate change is making that force stronger and more destructive. Here & Now's Chris Bentley took a canoe ride with Ruskey and reports on the future of the river. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

The federal trial of media mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs is ending its fourth week. Combs faces charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. We get the latest from the Washington Post's Samantha Chery. Then, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, the Kenyan writer who is considered to be one of the founders of African literature, died last week at the age of 87. Kenyan writer Dennis Mugaa joins us. And, the blockbuster hit "Jaws" would not have been possible without the support of locals on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. A new exhibit on the island celebrates the helping hands that made the film come to life 50 years ago. WBUR's Andrea Shea reports. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

President Trump signed a proclamation Wednesday to ban nationals of 12 countries from entering the U.S. One of those countries is Afghanistan, where thousands of Afghans helped the U.S. military fight its 20-year war there. Zia Ghafoori, a former interpreter for the U.S. military, and Shawn Van Diver, founder and president of AfghanEvac, a group that helps resettle Afghans, join us. Then, two food distribution sites have reopened in Gaza after violence in the region temporarily shut them down. UNICEF's James Elder joins us from on the ground in Gaza. And, researchers are praising the results of two studies that used immunotherapy to fight one of the most difficult-to-treat types of brain cancer, glioblastoma. We hear from STAT's Angus Chen. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]