A new flu is spilling over from cows to people in the U.S. How worried should we be?

Plus, Ted Lasso's real-life Roy Kent tells us how soccer fights toxic masculinity. [View this email online]( [Best of NPR]( April 2, 2023 Good morning. This week, [former President Trump was indicted]( we [mourned a deadly school shooting]( in Nashville, and [the planets aligned](. Plus, NPR's Scott Simon talks to a teacher who was shot 12 years ago at an event for Rep. Gabby Giffords. --------------------------------------------------------------- Scott’s Weekly Weigh-in [ A mourner in a red vest and sunglasses holds a sign reading "Why? Why?" at a makeshift memorial for victims of the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee] Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images A good weekend to you. When I heard of the shootings at Nashville’s Covenant School I thought of Pam Simon. She is a former teacher who was shot 12 years ago while working at an event for Rep. Gabby Giffords. Six people died and 13 were wounded. Pam and I are not related, but we have called each other cousin ever since we met when I came to Tucson after the shooting. The losses this week in Nashville moved me to ask Pam some questions: Q: Do you still feel something when you hear about another mass shooting? A: It sucks the air out of me. I don’t want to know the names, the ages, the faces of the injured and murdered. I let myself be numb. Yet I also feel duty-bound to honor each life. After all, someone prayed for me or spent time thinking about me, an injured person they did not know, 12 years ago. Q: You have been a schoolteacher, too, as well as someone wounded in a well-known crime. I was in the classroom when the Columbine shooting happened. A student asked me if I would take a bullet for them, as one of the teachers did at Columbine. I told them that I was a mother and had that same instinct, to protect my students as I would my own children. As a teacher and survivor of a mass shooting, I do not want to let fear keep anyone from living each day with gratitude and hope. Q: What have you learned over the past decade? The extraordinary resilience of the human spirit. People who have suffered horrendous loss can help others and be a voice for change. I also featured Pam in [our weekly essay](. And because it was [April 1]( we felt the need to take a break and laugh. [Scott Simon]( Scott Simon is one of NPR's most renowned news anchors. He is the host of [Weekend Edition Saturday]( and one of the hosts of the morning news podcast Up First. Be sure to listen to him every Saturday on your local NPR station, and follow him [on Twitter](. Quick note: Next Monday, this weekly Best of NPR and daily newsletter are becoming the Up First newsletter. Your trusted source for top stories and why they matter to you, podcast recommendations and moments of joy will all live under one name. - Every weekday, we’ll bring you the news you need to start your day. Plus entertainment guides, life advice, deep dives on complicated topics and more. - On Sundays, we’ll make sure you didn’t miss anything important with a showcase of the NPR network’s best journalism that week. Joining forces with the awesome team that makes the [Up First podcast]( will make the newsletter you already love smarter, and richer with the analysis and context you expect from NPR. Thanks for being an avid reader! --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- by [Suzanne Nuyen]( Stories you may have missed Chelsea Beck for NPR A bunch of sick pigs on an Oklahoma farm has led scientists to discover a new flu strain. The scientists also found the virus in goats, but learned it's especially prevalent in cows — and [uncovered evidence it's spilling over into humans](. Researchers think the general public is not at risk of exposure to the new strain in a large way, but the prevalence of influenza D in farmers is prompting scientists to call for more research on the strain. Is a shadowy global elite conspiring to force us all to eat bugs? The answer is obviously no — although insects are a great source of protein. Here's a brief history of [how an internet meme morphed into a full-blown conspiracy theory]( cited by right-wing figures internationally. Life expectancy in the U.S. is not looking good. It has dropped for a second year in a row — down to 76, and while other countries saw life expectancies rebound to pre-pandemic levels, the U.S. has not. A group of scientists is not at all surprised about the news. A decade ago, they [published a landmark study]( on America's poor health compared to other developed countries, and the statistics have only gotten worse since. Americans overall remain strongly opposed to the idea of reparations, even after decades of lobbying and years of national reckoning over racial justice. Critics of a national reparations program say [it isn't just about money](. Political science professor Tatish Nteta says many Americans “don’t believe the descendants of slaves deserve reparations.” --------------------------------------------------------------- Before you go [Afroman performing with a guitar, in a green shirt and a black vest with marijuana leaf design.]( Johnny Louis/Getty Images After police raided rapper Afroman's house in August, he decided to respond with what he says was the "smartest, most peaceful solution." He made a funny rap song about the police and [used footage from the raid in his music video](. Now, the police are suing him for invasion of privacy The Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso is a feel-good sports show on the surface. But the latest season has been exploring themes of loss, masculinity and the relationships between fathers and sons. Brett Goldstein, who writes for the show and stars as the gruff-yet-lovable Roy Kent, says his character is inspired by the real footballers he knew growing up. For these men raised in a "t[oxic, masculine environment]( soccer provides a space to access their emotions. A recently discovered quilt provides a peek into what life was like more than five decades ago, before Detroit's Black Bottom neighborhood was all but [wiped out by government-mandated redevelopment](. The blue and white quilt includes street names from the then-thriving center of African American life and culture. --------------------------------------------------------------- Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. 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