Economy Aug 31 Families paying for school lunches grapple with recurring online transaction fees Schools are increasingly turning to online payment systems for school lunches. Those systems are run by payment processing companies, which typically charge transaction fees. According to federal analysis, families qualifying for reduced-price meals may be paying as much as 60…
Nation Aug 31 Paralympian Tatyana McFadden on her quest for a track and field medal record The 2024 Paralympics for athletes with disabilities is underway in Paris. One of the more than 4,000 competitors is closing in on a remarkable achievement: winning the most track and field medals in either the Olympics or Paralympics, for either…
Politics Aug 29 Nebraska Supreme Court to decide if lawmakers there can restore voting rights to felons The Nebraska Supreme Court heard arguments this week on whether a recently passed law, which allows former felons to vote, violates the state’s constitution. Nebraska is one of 26 states and the District of Columbia that have restored former felons’…
Health Aug 25 In post-Roe era, study finds more Americans are self-managing their abortions According to a new study, the percentage of people who say they’ve tried to end a pregnancy outside of the medical system has gone up since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. John Yang speaks with…
Health Aug 24 How extreme heat is contributing to a nationwide blood shortage The American Red Cross says there’s an emergency shortage of blood for transfusions. In July, the national supply dropped by more than 25 percent. The Red Cross says the only solution is more blood donors. Jessa Merrill, director of biomedical…
Health Aug 24 What the end of a COVID vaccine access program means for uninsured Americans As new, highly contagious mutations are making this summer’s COVID surge significantly bigger than expected, the FDA approved updated COVID vaccines on Friday. But funding runs out this month for a federal program providing free vaccines to uninsured and underinsured…
Nation Aug 24 The future of debt relief for Black farmers after decades of discrimination According to federal data, there were about 925,000 Black farmers in 1920 in the United States. A century later, that number has declined to only about 42,000. John Boyd Jr., founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association, joins…
Nation Aug 23 Fed chair says ‘time has come’ to cut interest rates amid signs of weakening job market Financial markets rallied Friday after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that it’s time to start cutting interest rates. The question now is by how much, and how quickly fed policymakers will act. Powell said inflation is low enough and that…
Nation Aug 17 The importance of earthquake planning beyond the West Coast This week’s 4.4 magnitude tremor in Los Angeles was along a fault that runs through a densely populated area. But California isn’t the only region in the U.S. with the potential for major earthquakes. Brian Houston, director of the University…
Politics Jul 28 How the Harris 2024 campaign affects Democratic candidates and ballot initiatives Just 100 days out from Election Day, the U.S. political landscape is drastically different than it was a little more than a week ago. The effects of the shakeup on the Democratic presidential ticket are being felt in the battle…