Feb 12 When small colleges close, their hometowns feel the pain By Elizabeth Hewitt, The Hechinger Report The financial problems — and wholesale shutdowns — affecting an escalating number of colleges and universities touch not only students, faculty and staff but also local economies, often in rural places where they are among the most important employers and… Continue reading
Feb 12 Striking Denver teachers resume negotiations with school district By Colleen Slevin, Associated Press The meeting, facilitated by a federal mediator, was the first time the sides met since talks broke down over the weekend. Continue reading
Feb 12 U.S. jury convicts Mexican drug lord 'El Chapo' By Tom Hays, Associated Press Mexico's most notorious drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was convicted Tuesday of running an industrial-scale smuggling operation after a three-month trial packed with Hollywood-style tales of grisly killings, political payoffs, cocaine hidden in jalapeno cans, jewel-encrusted guns and a… Continue reading
Feb 12 IRS watchdog says shutdown caused 'shocking' drop in phone help By Marcy Gordon, Associated Press Disruptions from last month's partial government shutdown caused a "shocking" deterioration in the IRS' telephone help for taxpayers in the first week of the filing season, the agency's watchdog said in a report released Tuesday. Continue reading
Feb 11 Watch 5:42 Southern Baptist officials sexually abused hundreds, new reports reveal About 700 victims were sexually abused, assaulted or raped by Southern Baptist Church leaders and volunteers across two decades, according to a six-month joint investigation by the Houston Chronicle and The San Antonio Express. The papers also detailed how church… Continue watching
Feb 11 Watch 4:00 Why performance pay is at the heart of Denver's teacher strike Denver public school teachers went on strike Monday for the first time in 25 years. Much of the fight comes down to a pay system known that involves a complicated merit and bonus system, and that teachers say is vastly… Continue watching
Feb 11 How bots turned this State of the Union moment into a viral meme By Laura Santhanam Failing to successfully weed out bot-driven misinformation could ultimately undermine political discourse and democracy in the country, experts say. Continue reading
Feb 11 Prosecutors seek new sentence for officer convicted in Laquan McDonald case By Don Babwin, Associated Press Absent a new sentence and with credit for good behavior, Jason Van Dyke will likely serve only approximately three years. Continue reading
Feb 10 Watch 4:02 Where the Democratic candidates stand in the race to 2020 By PBS NewsHour NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent Jeff Greenfield puts the week in politics into perspective -- from the lack of moderate or self-identified centrists in the Democratic presidential race so far, to what the blackface controversy in Virginia says about race relations… Continue watching
Feb 10 Watch 8:05 Returning to the small town that Walmart left behind By Christopher Booker, Mori Rothman, Laura Fong For nearly 20 years retailers in downtown Winnsboro, South Carolina struggled to compete with Walmart's cheap products and one-stop shopping. As we reported in 2016, Walmart closed its supercenter there three years ago, one of 154 stores it shuttered across… Continue watching