Post Reports

Despite being the world’s wealthiest nation, the U.S. has communities that are still exposed to toxic tap water. Today, we hear how a city in New Mexico has struggled with high levels of arsenic in its water — and how its residents are fighting back. Read more:Fifty years after the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act, which is supposed to limit toxins in Americans’ water, many people around the country cannot safely drink from the tap.Drinking water samples tested in Sunland Park, a small New Mexico city, found illegally high levels of arsenic in each of the past 16 years. In 2016, levels reached five times the legal limit.The city also reflects parts of the United States — low-income areas and Latino communities — that are particularly exposed to arsenic in their drinking water at higher rates than any other racial or ethnic group, even when controlling for socioeconomic factors. In Sunland Park, residents’ complaints have mounted in recent months, and some are taking the first steps toward filing a lawsuit. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk to investigative reporter Silvia Foster-Frau about her reporting from New Mexico and why problems with toxic water there — and elsewhere in the country — persist. Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Maggie Penman and Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

A high-profile prison escape. A TV station takeover. An assault on police. Today on “Post Reports,” how powerful gangs in Ecuador pushed this historically peaceful nation to the brink and led its new president to declare war. Read more:Ecuador has long been an ecotourism hub and a safe haven, mostly immune from the guerilla violence endured for decades in neighboring Colombia and Peru. But the country has experienced a shift in recent years, becoming a center for drug trafficking and organized crime, as global demand for cocaine surges to new levels.  On Jan. 9, this new reality came into full focus through coordinated attacks that shook the country to its core, culminating on live TV for all of Ecuador and the world to witness. The Post’s Bogotá bureau chief, Samantha Schmidt, and Ecuadorian journalist Arturo Torres have spent months reconstructing what exactly happened that day: how the chaos unfolded, the extent to which gangs infiltrated institutions, and President Daniel Noboa’s controversial response, giving unprecedented power to the military. Piecing together the details through exclusive interviews and footage revealed a deeper truth, Schmidt tells “Post Reports,” which is that the crisis in Ecuador isn’t an outlier. What happened that day and the complicated aftermath represent “a canary in the coal mine” moment and a warning for all of Latin America. Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Monica Campbell. Thanks to Maggie Penman, Arturo Torres and Peter Finn.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

On Saturday, Iran directly attacked Israel. Now, Israel’s war cabinet is weighing possible responses as the U.S. and others have called for restraint.Read more: Ninety-nine percent of the more than 300 missiles and armed drones Iran launched against Israel were intercepted by Israel and its allies, according to the Israel Defense Forces. But the direct attack has also raised concerns about a broader war between Iran and Israel, and whether Israel would be able to fight two wars at once, against both Hamas and Iran. Israeli officials say that while they don’t want to, they have the capability to do so.Jerusalem bureau chief Steve Hendrix joins Post Reports to discuss what led to the attack and what could be coming next in the region. Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was mixed by Sam Bair. It was edited by Maggie Penman and Lucy Perkins.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Today on Post Reports, we’re on the scene at the Manhattan courthouse where Donald Trump is facing trial in the first ever criminal prosecution of a former U.S. president.  Read more:Jury selection began today in the trial to determine whether Trump broke state law in New York by falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment in 2016 to keep adult film actress Stormy Daniels quiet about their alleged affair. Isaac Arnsdorf and Shayna Jacobs are at the courthouse and tell Martine Powers what they’ve seen so far.  Today’s episode was produced by Peter Bresnan and Ted Muldoon, who also mixed the show. It was edited by Lucy Perkins.

It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments during the 2024 campaign. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, the author of The Post’s newsletter by the same name, chats with Martine Powers and our Arizona-based democracy reporter, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, about the Arizona abortion ruling threatening to upend the 2024 election. The Arizona Supreme Court this week ruled that a near-total abortion ban from 1864 can go into effect in the state. It’s a big test for Donald Trump, who has taken credit for overturning Roe v. Wade but said that Arizona went too far and that state lawmakers would quickly “bring it back into reason.”Yvonne, Martine and Aaron also chat about an awkward moment for RFK Jr.’s campaign, and how the N.Y. hush money trial could play for Trump in swing states like Arizona. Follow The Campaign Moment in a new feed to hear extra episodes from Aaron and our politics team as the campaign year continues on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Maggie Penman.