Business

U.N. Security Council Takes Aim At Islamic State's Funding Sources

10:24am December 18, 2015

It's hoped the plan will disrupt the financing of ISIS. Renee Montagne talks to Matthew Levitt, a former senior official in the Treasury Department's terrorism and financial intelligence branch.

Queue Listen Now

Country-of-origin labels — like this one, on a package of steak at a grocery store in Lincoln, Neb. — tell consumers where their meat comes from.

National

Was That Steak Raised In The USA? Soon, It'll Be Hard To Know

11:42pm December 17, 2015

by Grant Gerlock

Congress looks set to repeal requirements for country-of-origin labels on packages of meat at the grocery store. The labels declare where an animal was born, raised and slaughtered.

Queue Listen Now

Oil Industry Ups And Downs Price Out Longtime Residents Of Fracking Towns

6:48pm December 17, 2015

by Marie Cusick

The sudden ups and downs of the oil and gas industry can feel like whiplash for rural communities seeing an influx of workers. Affordable housing has been a challenge. With the current slowdown in drilling, rental prices have dropped, but they're still much higher than they were pre-boom, leaving low-income and senior people still struggling to find a place they can afford.

Queue Listen Now

Yes, this is a story about the budget â read on.

Winners And Losers Tucked Inside The Spending And Taxing Bills

5:59pm December 17, 2015

by Marilyn Geewax

Conservatives don't like the price tag and liberals don't like the priorities. Still, Congress is making quick progress on a massive legislative push affecting government spending and business taxes.

National

Pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli Arrested On Securities Fraud Charges

5:27pm December 17, 2015

by Jim Zarroli

The young man who caused a huge controversy by trying to jack up the price of a life-saving drug is in the news again. Martin Shkreli was arrested Thursday morning on charges of securities fraud.

Health & Safety

America's 'Third Wave' Of Asbestos Disease Upends Lives

5:11pm December 17, 2015

Everything seemed to be going smoothly for Kris Penny, who pulled fiber-optic cables for a living. Then he got a cancer called mesothelioma that's almost always tied to asbestos exposure.

A file photo shows AIDS activists carrying an image of Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli in a makeshift cat litter pan, angry over his company's move to raise a drug's cost. Shkreli was arrested on charges unrelated to that 5,000 percent price hik

FBI Arrests Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli On Fraud Charges

4:30pm December 17, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Martin Shkreli, the drug executive who was widely criticized for sharply raising the price of a drug used by HIV patients, has been released on $5 million bond.

National

Casino Magnate Sheldon Adelson Revealed As Buyer of Las Vegas Paper

4:19pm December 17, 2015

by David Folkenflik

NPR previously reported on the investigation into who bought The Las Vegas Review-Journal. Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson purchased the paper for $140 million, his family confirmed in a statement Thursday.

Kofenya Coffee in Oxford, Ohio, has been operating a token-based pay-it-forward scheme for around six months. Customers pay for a cup of coffee in advance for a stranger.

Movement To Pay It Forward With A Cup Of Coffee Spills Into U.S.

3:05pm December 17, 2015

by Lauren Razavi

The idea behind Suspended Coffees: Buy a cup of coffee in advance for a stranger who couldn't otherwise afford it. The movement took off in cafes across Europe. It's now finding its legs in the U.S.

An American Airlines airplane prepares to land at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana on Sept. 19. Currently charter flights (including American Airlines charters) are the only way to fly between the two countries, but commercial flights are se

World News

Commercial Flights To Resume From U.S. To Cuba

3:00pm December 17, 2015

by Camila Domonoske

Restrictions on visiting Cuba will remain, but authorized travelers can soon fly directly from American airports to the island nation. Currently, charter flights are the only air travel option.