NPR News

When I was a kid, my brother, sister, and I came to the dinner table prepared to do three things: Bless the food, eat, and share a story. We grew up in a family where the oral tradition was woven into the strands of our everyday lives. Mom was an English teacher. Dad, a grass-roots civil rights organizer who worked in public policy, was a gifted, charismatic storyteller. He didn't hold back when it came to sharing narratives about the dignity of Black people and the struggles we faced and transcended.

Don Schaffner had Thai takeout for dinner a few nights ago, just as he did occasionally in the weeks and months before the current COVID-19 pandemic.

That's worth knowing. Schaffner is a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey whose expertise includes quantitative microbial risk assessment, predictive food microbiology, hand-washing and cross-contamination.

After nearly a day-long delay, the Iowa Democratic Party started releasing results from the Monday night caucuses. The party blamed a "coding issue" with the app for its inability to release results after the caucuses, as campaigns and voters waited in anticipation.

Only 41 delegates are at stake, but Iowa is known for helping to make or break a presidential candidates' momentum. Now, the meltdown over results is prompting renewed criticism of the state's process and first-in-the-nation status.

By now, you've probably heard that the federal government shut down at 12:01 a.m. ET Tuesday after members of Congress were unable to reach a budget agreement in time to keep the government funded.