COVID's Worst May Be Over; Media Coverage Of Missing Women; BTS At The U.N.

Plus, a looted clay tablet heads back to Iraq. [View this email online]( [NPR]( by Korva Coleman and Carol Ritchie First Up [As recently as Sept. 8, people were waiting at COVID-19 testing site in Kentucky, where over 4,000 new cases were confirmed that day.]( Jeffrey Dean/Bloomberg via Getty Images Here's what we're following today: Signs of hope: COVID-19 cases and deaths will likely decline from now through spring, according to analysis by researchers who advise the CDC. Although infections are still sky-high, [the worst appears to be over and the U.S. may be spared another winter surge](. The story of Gabby Petito, the photogenic white woman [who went missing and was later found dead]( in a Wyoming park, has riveted readers and the media over the past week. Native American women in Wyoming say it’s [heart-wrenching that the media ignores an epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women]( in the state. Congress has 10 days to break a standoff and prevent another partial government shutdown. Republicans show no signs of budging on a Democratic funding bill that also raises the debt ceiling. If the impasse continues, [it could hurt everything from interest rates on mortgages to the market value of retirement funds](. The company that runs New Orleans' power grid, Entergy, failed to rebuild a stronger system after hurricanes repeatedly knocked it offline. [Then Hurricane Ida knocked out power for more than a week]( in the middle of a heat wave, and residents paid the deadly price. The seven members of the world's hottest supergroup, BTS, strode onstage Tuesday to [kick off the U.N. General Assembly]( to appeal for halting climate change and boosting vaccines. We have a list of seven other surprising things happening at the high-level gathering. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- Picture Show [An Afghan photo studio owner and box camera photographer keeps an album with pictures he made during his years in Afghanistan's military.]( Lynzy Billing In the back rooms of Kabul's photo shops, thousands of [photos dating back 40 years and more sit unclaimed](. It remains to be seen if these shops can survive a new period of Taliban rule. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today’s Listen [A community of young investors on TikTok, including @ceowatchlist, @quicktrades and @irisapp, are using House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's stock trading disclosures as inspiration for where to invest themselves. ]( @ceowatchlist; @quicktrades; @irisapp/TikTok A community of young investors has a new strategy: watching financial disclosures of [sitting members of Congress for hot stock tips](. They're taking advantage of a law that requires lawmakers to report their stock trades — and they think House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's disclosures are a treasure trove. [🎧 Listen to the story here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Before You Go [The "Skinny House" or the "Spite House" is 10 feet wide at its widest. ]( Atlantic Visuals - In the latest example of a wicked-hot housing market, Boston's famous 10-foot wide "Skinny House" [has sold for $1.25 million](. - Willie Garson, who played Carrie Bradshaw's friend Stanford Blatch on Sex and the City, [has died at 57, his son announced Tuesday](. - A 3,500-year-old clay tablet that was looted from an Iraqi museum 30 years ago and [bought by Hobby Lobby is headed back to Iraq](. The Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was seized by U.S. authorities in 2019. - Two weeks after the statue of Robert E. Lee was removed in Richmond, Va., the former confederate capital will become home to [a new statue, this one commemorating the abolition of slavery](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. --------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Music, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Daily News emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]