Health & Safety

A mother reacts to the bankruptcy deal involving Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin

4:35pm May 31, 2023

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Kara Trainor, whose son was born dependent on opioids because of her addiction, about what the Purdue Pharma settlement could mean for her and her family.

President Biden speaks during a meeting about the American Rescue Plan on March 5, 2021, in Washington, D.C. Some of the pandemic funding allocated in legislation like the American Rescue Plan is being clawed back as part of a budget deal.

Debt limit deal claws back unspent COVID relief money

11:59am May 31, 2023

As part of spending negotiations between the White House and House Republicans, pandemic-era aid is getting pulled back. A document circulated by the White House shows what would be cut.

Health & Safety

The number of Asians and Pacific Islanders with diabetes keeps going up

7:52am May 31, 2023

by Pien Huang

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at risk for developing diabetes at lower weights and younger ages than others. Doctors are working from the inside the community to make people healthier.

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Good health depends on more than daily exercise and a healthy diet. Access to safe housing, good schools and a decent job are important too.

Living Better: What it takes to get healthy in America

7:43pm May 30, 2023

by Allison Aubrey

Poor diet, lack of exercise, stress and trauma, all drive America's declining life expectancy and increasing rates of chronic disease. So how can we live better in America? NPR looks for answers.

The impact of video games on child development is often misunderstood

4:28pm May 30, 2023

by Yuki Noguchi

Video games can get a bad rap when it comes to kids and mental health, but their impact on child development is often misunderstood. Gaming can be a powerful training tool for a variety of skills.

Why our allergies are getting worse —and what to do about it

1:39pm May 30, 2023

by Dave Davies

From excessive hygiene to low-fiber diets, author Theresa MacPhail explores the deep-rooted causes of rising allergy rates in her new book Allergic.

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Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.

A landmark appeals court ruling clears way for Purdue Pharma-Sackler bankruptcy deal

1:11pm May 30, 2023

by Brian Mann

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York cleared the way for a controversial bankruptcy deal that grants immunity from opioid lawsuits to members of the Sackler family.

Why one expert says America's fentanyl crisis has geopolitical roots

10:34am May 30, 2023

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, about the geopolitics of fentanyl and the opioid crisis at large.

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Community activist Margaret Gordon sits on a bench in West Oakland with the BART tracks behind her on March 4, 2022, as a semi-truck stops on 7th Street, on a popular trucking route to the nearby Port of Oakland.

Advocates: Reparations are the answer for sea level threat in West Oakland, Calif.

6:54am May 30, 2023

by Ezra David Romero

Reparations are one way to confront the rising sea levels in West Oakland, Calif.

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Lakeisha Lee placed flowers at the base of a monument honoring her late sister Brittany Clardy Thursday, May 26, in Saint Paul. Clardy went missing more than a decade ago and was found murdered.

The first office for missing and murdered Black women and girls set for Minnesota

5:00am May 30, 2023

by Dana Ferguson

The office will investigate cold cases and reopen suspicious cases, assist police agencies and community groups in active cases, and serve as a point of contact for those reluctant to talk to police.