Nation Mar 31 Slapping incident at the Oscars sparks difficult but important conversations Four days after the shocking events at this year's Oscars, the fallout is not over yet. The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences says it is considering disciplinary action against Will Smith. Author and film critic Eisa Nefertari Ulen,…
Health Mar 29 FDA and CDC authorize additional COVID booster shots for some Americans The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed a second booster shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for those over 50. It also applies to younger people with badly weakened immune systems.
Education Mar 24 States call in the National Guard to mitigate school staffing shortages For two years, the pandemic has hammered schools and accentuated the staffing shortages they are facing. It’s led to enormous problems with teacher morale, burnout, school closures and learning losses. But some states are using the National Guard to fill…
Health Mar 23 What’s driving the dramatic rise in alcohol-related deaths during the pandemic? During the first year of the pandemic, alcohol-related deaths increased dramatically by 25 percent, according to a new study. In 2020, deaths jumped from about 79,000 a year to 99,000, with the spike seen across all drinking-age groups. Katherine Keyes,…
Economy Mar 17 Rising rents squeeze Americans across the country We've talked about inflation a lot lately and how it's at a 40-year high. But rising rents are a part of that calculation. In many places around the country, rents have been climbing for months, far above the lows of…
Science Mar 14 Two years into the pandemic ‘COVID is not done with us’ It is now more than two years since the WHO declared the COVID-19 emergency a pandemic, and last week the death toll topped 6 million people worldwide. While the U.S. in many ways appears to have moved into a new…
Science Mar 09 Shackleton’s ship Endurance discovered after more than 100 years at the bottom of the sea Off the coast of Antarctica, deep underwater, researchers have discovered the British ship called “Endurance," the vessel that launched one of the most remarkable stories of survival and determination. William Brangham reports.
World Mar 08 How Biden’s ban on Russian oil will impact the U.S. and Europe The U.S. ban on Russian oil adds another level of pressure to a strained global market. The average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. is now $4.17, and the price of crude oil topped $130 a barrel…
Economy Mar 04 Strong jobs report signals more Americans returning to labor market as coronavirus wanes The latest jobs reports shows U.S. job growth surged in February as the omicron wave of COVID-19 began fading. The Labor Department reports employers added a net of 678,000 jobs, the most since July. Jared Bernstein, who serves on the…
Economy Mar 02 How high could gas prices go as sanctions ratchet up on Russia? As nations increase economic pressure on Russia, President Biden has warned that some of those moves could also end up hurting U.S. consumers, especially at the gas pump. Gas prices are already high, further pinching consumers who are also dealing…