Author: NPR

The FBI announced Thursday that it had thwarted a plan by far-right militia members to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and charged six men in relation to the plot.

The plot began as talk on social media sites, with a group of men gathering on Facebook to share anti-government reaction to Whitmer's coronavirus restrictions and shutdowns.

Experts say the pandemic, protests, and the words of the president have combined to fuel a rise in right-wing extremism. Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a professor at American University who tracks right-wing extremism, spoke to NPR about how right-wing recruiters are taking advantage of President Trump's hesitancy to condemn white supremacy and militia groups.

And while these men have been referred to as members of a "militia," that term has also resurfaced a debate about whether groups like this should actually be referred to as domestic terrorist groups, says Kathleen Belew, an assistant professor of history at the University of Chicago who studies paramilitary and white power groups.

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"Excess" profits during wartime have been subject to tax at several points in American history. Writer Anand Giridharadas argues we are at similar point today as billionaire wealth has continued to grow in spite of the pandemic. He is the author of Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World.

Chuck Collins of the Institute for Policy Studies notes U.S. billionaires rebounded quickly from the economic collapse earlier this year.

Alan Murray, CEO of Fortune Media, argues that business leaders today are more conscious of social injustice and inequality than the billionaires of the past.

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Two years ago, about 12% of American households reported they didn't have enough food. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, that number has nearly doubled. It's even more severe for Black and Hispanic families.

Texas Public Radio's Paul Flahive reports on a giant food bank in San Antonio that can barely keep up with the growing demand.

Experts say the problem of food insecurity in America needs bigger, longer-term solutions. Erthain Cousin, former U.S. Ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, tells NPR's Michel Martin the country needs to think bigger than food banks and start investing in businesses that can improve nutrition in low-income communities.

And Jim Carnes of Alabama Arise, an organization working to end poverty in Alabama, explains that food insecurity goes hand in hand with poverty. And the main factor driving poverty in the U.S.? Medical expenses.

Listen to a special episode of All Things Considered all about food insecurity during the pandemic.

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President Trump told the country Tuesday: "Don't be afraid of COVID. Don't let it dominate your life." This was in a video published after the president's return to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. During his nearly 72-hour stay, Trump received care from top doctors and experimental treatments that are not readily available to the millions of Americans who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Marshall Hatch, a pastor of New Mount Pilgrim Church in Chicago, lost his sister to COVID-19 and says the president's message feels like an insult for families grieving in the wake of this disease.

While the vast majority of Americans don't have access to the kind of care that the president received, it's not the only example of how the pandemic is having disproportionate effects on certain groups. California Health Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly explains a new state rule that will tie re-opening plans to improvements in its hardest-hit communities.

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The president, first lady, and a growing list of White House staffers have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Ever since President Trump left the White House for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday, administration officials — including the president's physician — have been reluctant to share clear and complete information about his health.

Zeynep Tufecki, professor at the University of North Carolina, explains how the White House cluster may have developed.

The president's niece, psychologist Mary Trump, tells NPR that her family has a hard time confronting the hard reality of disease. Trump is the author of Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man.

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