One woman’s failed abortions led another to motherhood

Google is changing the way its search feature works, feeding users AI-generated replies to their questions rather than directing them to other websites. Read more:At its annual developer conference this week, tech giant Google is expected to tout big changes to its signature product, search. Instead of directing users to a list of websites or showing them an excerpt, Google’s AI will craft paragraphs of text that tries to answer users’ questions directly. AI reporter Gerrit De Vynck says the change could have huge consequences for the internet. Because AI chatbots are still unreliable, and because the information feeding the generative answers comes from a range of sources, users will need to watch out for false information. And the new format means that sources across the web –  bloggers, businesses,  newspapers and other publishers – are likely to see a huge loss of traffic.Gerrit joins us to break down what the changes to Google search mean for users, and why the company is moving in this direction.Today’s show was produced by Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks also to Heather Kelly. Also on the show: The Climate Solutions team at the Post has an eye-opening story about the benefits of leaving your lawn unmowed and letting nature do its thing. Read it here.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

In today’s bonus episode, we break down Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s feud, the biggest beef in recent rap history.Read more:In the past few weeks, a long-standing feud between rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake has boiled over. The two artists have released songs taking shots at each other at a rapid clip, astonishing fans with salacious allegations.On today’s show, The Post’s Joseph Ferguson explains the beef that caused the recent frenzy and how this moment has reignited the hip-hop industry.Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson and Sean Carter. It was edited by Ariel Plotnick and mixed by Sean Carter.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

It’s Friday, so it’s time for The Campaign Moment — our weekly roundtable conversation to help you keep track of the biggest developments of the 2024 campaign. Senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who writes The Post’s new newsletter by the same name, and national political reporter Isaac Arnsdorf join Elahe Izadi this week. They talk about how Stormy Daniels’s testimony this week could affect former president Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial and voters’ perception of him. Also, they’ll dig into the new questions around the latest move by the judge presiding over Trump’s classified documents case, why the House pushed back against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s efforts to remove Speaker Mike Johnson, and the political effect of President Biden’s threat to Israel that he’ll stop the shipment of U.S. weapons if the country goes forward with a plan to invade the city of Rafah in Gaza. Be sure to also follow The Campaign Moment show feed to hear extra episodes from Aaron and our politics team as the campaign year continues. 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 Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy.

Tensions are rising between the United States and Israel over the war in Gaza. President Biden has threatened to withhold arms if Israel advances into Rafah in southern Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then vowed that Israel would “stand alone.” Read more:This week, Israel began its long-promised military operation in Rafah, a city that houses upwards of a million displaced Gazans. Israel has taken control of the Gazan side of the border crossing, blocking aid deliveries amid a worsening humanitarian crisis. In response, the Biden administration paused a shipment of thousands of bombs to Israel. President Biden also publicly threatened to withhold military aid to Israel if it moves forward with the Rafah operation. Cease-fire talks remain ongoing, and U.S. officials have signaled optimism about securing a deal.Loveday Morris is reporting on the Israel-Gaza war from Jerusalem. She joins “Post Reports” to explain what Israel’s military operation in Rafah looks like on the ground and what impact a pause in U.S. military aid could have on the war. One other big story we are following: an exclusive Post investigation revealed that former president Donald Trump promised oil executives that, if re-elected, he would scrap many of Biden’s clean energy policies. Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan with help from Elana Gordon. It was mixed by Sean Carter and edited by Monica Campbell. Thanks also to Joe Snell.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

This week in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president, Stormy Daniels gave explicit and disturbing testimony and sparked an angry reaction from Donald Trump.Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress at the center of Donald Trump’s hush money trial, testified against the former president Tuesday. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, recounted details of her alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Her testimony was met with muttered profanities from the former president. At one point, Judge Juan Merchan called over Trump’s lawyer to warn that Trump’s cursing was audible and could be intimidating.  Trump is accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records to disguise a payment of $130,000 to Daniels in 2016 so that she would keep quiet about what she says happened between them. Today on “Post Reports,” reporter Devlin Barrett breaks down the significance of Daniels’s testimony on Tuesday and how that might complicate the outcome of the trial.Read more:Stormy Daniels testifies, Trump curses in an angry day in courtWhy Stormy Daniels’s account of sex with Trump may be problematic, and other takeawaysRead and subscribe to The Trump Trials newsletterToday’s show was produced by and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Lucy Perkins. Thanks to Elana Gordon.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

When Francis became pope in 2013, it was clear that he would be an unconventional pope. He was more casual than his predecessors, and often rejected the fineries of his office. In particular, he made a splash when, early on in his papacy, he responded to a question about gay priests by declaring, “Who am I to judge?”Since then, Francis has moved to make the Catholic Church more welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community, including approving the blessing of same-sex couples, and allowing transgender people to be baptized. At the same time, the Church continues to argue that homosexuality is “intrinsically disordered,” and that “sex-change intervention” could poses a threat to human dignity. But in spite of this, Francis has begun to regularly invite transgender women, many of them current or former sex workers, to meet him at the Vatican. Rome bureau chief Anthony Faiola met a number of these women, and joins “Post Reports” to talk about how these meetings came about and the resulting backlash Francis has face from conservative clerics. Today’s show was produced by Peter Bresnan. It was edited by Monica Campbell and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

Today, whether the U.S.’s long-delayed aid to Ukraine will impact the outcome of the war.Read more:After months of stalled negotiations, Congress passed a foreign aid package that included $61 billion in aid to Ukraine. With low supplies and exhausted soldiers, the war-torn country is in desperate need of funding and weapons. U.S. officials hope the aid will buy time for Kyiv to replenish its military ranks and strengthen battlefield defenses, but The Post’s Missy Ryan reports that even the large aid package is unlikely to enable a major Ukrainian offensive anytime soon. Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick. It was edited by Allison Michaels and mixed by Sean Carter.Subscribe to The Washington Post here.

In a time of rising anger and threats, one man in Endicott, N.Y., in the throes of a mental health crisis threatened Rep.Marjorie Taylor Greene, telling her “You spread hatred, and you’re gonna pay for it.” Here’s what happened to him. This story is part of our Deep Reads series, which showcases narrative journalism at The Washington Post. It was written and read by Ruby Cramer. Audio production and original music composition by Bishop Sand.

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, who writes The Post’s new newsletter by the same name, and White House reporter Cleve Wootson join Martine Powers this week. They talk about how President Biden responded this week to the campus protests over the war in Gaza and what that could mean for his support, whether voters are paying attention yet to former president Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York related to a hush money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, and what a story South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem reveals in her new book about killing a dog could mean for her prospects to be Trump’s running mate. You can now also follow The Campaign Moment in a new feed to hear extra episodes from Aaron and our politics team as the campaign year continues. 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 and Sean Carter. It was edited by Renita Jablonski and Mary Jo Murphy.

In February, a massive cyberattack nearly brought down the entire U.S. health system. Doctors are still reeling, and many patients don’t even know their data has been exposed. Today, Dan Diamond traces what went wrong and the new scrutiny in Congress.Read more:Even if UnitedHealthcare isn’t your health insurer, the company has probably interacted with you or your data in some way. UnitedHealth Group is both the nation’s largest insurer and its largest employer of physicians. It owns pharmacies and home health agencies. One of its subsidiaries, Change Healthcare, processes more than 40 percent of the country’s medical claims, acting as a kind of “information superhighway,” explains the Post’s national health reporter, Dan Diamond.  In February, hackers broke into that system and led to what is being described as the largest cyberattack ever in American health care. Behind the scenes, the attack froze health payments and compromised patient information. It spread pain across doctors and hospitals nationwide, especially in rural communities. It’s still unclear how many people have been impacted, and the breach has yet to be fully resolved.   The chaos and fallout brought UnitedHealth Group’s CEO, Andrew Witty, to testify this week before Congress for the first time in more than 15 years. During separate House and Senate committee hearings, representatives grilled Witty on why basic security safeguards were lacking and, more broadly, whether UnitedHealth Group might have become too big, raising bigger questions about how U.S. health care operates. Today’s show was produced by Elana Gordon. It was edited by Lucy Perkins and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks also to Stephen Smith.  Subscribe to The Washington Post here.