What will you do as masking indoors becomes optional? The statewide indoor mask mandate ends in Washington this weekend. KUOW spoke with several members of the public to get a sense of what they plan to do and how they’re feeling as the pandemic enters this new phase. Kate Walters
Remembering Carol "Mommom" Cohn, lost to COVID in 2020 Carol Cohn, known to her family as "Mommom," died from COVID in 2020. Her granddaughter Melanie Gardiner says Cohn loved to spoil her grandchildren with cookies and had a great sense of humor. Michael Levitt
Researchers suspect humans gave COVID to deer. And it once spilled back into a person Two studies still out for review show the latest evidence for COVID spillover from humans into white-tailed deer. The strains in the animals had been circulating for months, picking up mutations. Ari Daniel
Texas parents of transgender kids discuss Gov. Abbott's gender-affirming care order NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with two parents who are each raising a transgender child in Texas about Gov. Greg Abbott's directive to investigate certain gender affirming care as child abuse. Mallory Yu
PHOTOS: The precarious lives of India's COVID widows No matter how the pandemic proceeds, women who lost a husband — and sole family breadwinner — will lead irrevocably altered lives in the patriarchal society that is India. Text and photos by Ruhani Kaur
Katrina Spade: Could our bodies help new life grow after we die? We compost plants and livestock, so why not humans? Katrina Spade says that if you want to help the planet one last time, consider composting your body. Manoush Zomorodi
Even many decades later, redlined areas see higher levels of air pollution "We see a really clear association between how these maps were drawn in the '30s and the air pollution disparities today," says an author of a new study on the effects of discriminatory lending. Laurel Wamsley
Colorado's governor treated COVID differently than many Democrats. It may pay off Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., canceled Colorado's state of emergency last July. As omicron surged, he refused to reinstate state-wide mask mandates. His approach seems to have made him popular. Tamara Keith
A new group takes aim at voter rolls — but critics say their methodology is flawed NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with ProPublica writer Megan O'Matz about the Voter Reference Foundation, which enlists people to investigate voter roll irregularities. Critics say its methodology is flawed. Ailsa Chang
What's your risk of getting COVID? The CDC recently changed the answer New CDC guidance puts most of the U.S. at low risk of COVID-19. But what does that actually mean? Experts says the CDC metrics aren't necessarily the best way to gauge your individual risk. Will Stone
