Up First NPR

Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine boosters clear another regulatory hurdle. Senate Democrats lose a major push for voting rights protections. And a meeting in Moscow signals Russia's embrace of closer contact with Afghanistan's Taliban rule.

Congressional investigators endorse a criminal contempt charge against a key Trump ally, as Democrats weigh cuts in the Biden spending agenda. The accused gunman in a Florida high school shooting appears in court, while families of victims near a settlement. And will parental outrage at school board meetings translate to votes in fall elections?

Jury selection begins in the Georgia trial of three white men charged with murdering a 25-year-old Black man, Ahmaud Arbery. Former President Donald Trump sues the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. And the Biden administration promotes new support for kids' mental health as new NPR poll data reveals continued pandemic harm.

U.S. officials join an investigation into the kidnapping of 17 missionaries and family members in Haiti. China's economic growth slows as the huge real estate firm Evergrande races toward possible debt default. And the FDA is poised to approve more COVID vaccine booster shots.

When Soul Train was first nationally syndicated in October of 1971, there was nothing else like it on TV. It became an iconic Black music and dance show — a party every weekend that anyone could join from their living room. In the first episode of a three-part It's Been A Minute series examining the concept of crossover in pop music across three decades, Sam Sanders breaks down the lasting influence of Soul Train. With Hanif Abdurraqib, author of A Little Devil in America, as well as scholars, fans and even a few featured dancers, they ask: why has there never been another show like Soul Train since it went off the air?

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel recommends booster shots for those who got the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The killing of a British lawmaker is called an act of terrorism, and is prompting a review of security protocols. Ethiopia's civil war is entering a new phase, with civilians not only in the path of violence but also facing famine.