Why FBI Director Wray will step down at the end of Biden's term. And, the UHC CEO killing turns public attention to U.S. life expectancy, health care

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🎧 Wray said stepping down is the right thing to do for the FBI and will help avoid dragging it deeper into the fray, NPR’s Ryan Lucas tells Up First. Wray emphasized that the work the FBI is doing is critical and that won’t change. Trump was happy with the announcement, saying Wray’s departure would mark the end of the weaponization of the justice system. Lucas says Wray defended the FBI’s independence and tried to keep it out of political fights on Capitol Hill, but it was impossible with its investigations over the past several years. The bureau has investigated Hunter Biden, the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

🎧 The CDC’s latest calculations put America’s life expectancy at 77 ½ years, which is on par with countries like Ecuador and Croatia, NPR’s Selena Simmons-Duffin says. Dr. Steven Woolf of Virginia Commonwealth University says research shows that about 10% to 20% of health outcomes are related to health care. Poor diet, physical inactivity, child poverty, public policies and gun violence also play a role. Drug overdoses account for many deaths among young people and are one factor that has driven the U.S. life expectancy down compared to countries without an opioid epidemic.

🎧 The Democratic Party has faded in relevance and strategy over the last few election cycles, making way for super PACs to take the lead in highly specific swing states, according to NPR’s Stephen Fowler. Fowler says there's growing acknowledgement that the DNC needs to focus more on year-round organizing, recruitment and fundraising. He adds they also need  to help state parties -- especially in Republican-led states -- with these efforts. There’s a feeling among party leaders that the next DNC chair needs to be someone with experience leading that type of always-on campaigning style. Two leading candidates are Ken Martin of Minnesota and Ben Wikler of Wisconsin.