Business

Coal producers legally must restore damaged land, but some are dodging obligations

5:14am October 17, 2022

A Bloomberg News/NPR investigation found large U.S. coal companies used bankruptcy and asset transfers to move old mines to shaky new owners, putting at risk federally mandated land reclamation.

Halloween candy — and sweets of all kinds — are much more expensive now than they were last year.

Economy

The cost of candy is up a scary 13% just in time for Halloween

4:52pm October 16, 2022

by Becky Sullivan

Dressing up for trick or treat will also cost you. While the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't track the price of costumes, the prices of clothing and homemade sewing supplies have risen too.

Arts

What Nike's crackdown on sneaker resellers means for sneakerheads

7:53am October 16, 2022

by Ayesha Rascoe

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Mike Sykes II, author of The Kicks You Wear newsletter, about what Nike's crackdown on sneaker resellers and bots could mean for fans hoping to buy shoes at retail.

Use these tips to unlock and embrace the power to schmooze

5:00pm October 15, 2022

by Andee Tagle

Professional networking — whether in person or online — is tough for a lot of people. NPR's Life Kit breaks down how to make meaningful connections for your career.

Economy

Soaring food and rent costs hit home for families

8:00am October 15, 2022

by Stacey Vanek Smith

The torrid pace of inflation shows no sign of relenting and is now hitting hard at home — as soaring food and rent costs take a bigger bite out of family budgets.

Queue Listen Now

A poll worker sanitizes ballot marking machines at an early voting location in Inglewood, Calif., on Oct. 29, 2020. The Los Angeles County district attorney alleges that the CEO of Konnech, which makes scheduling software for poll workers, improperly gave Chinese contractors access to sensitive employee data.

Election software CEO is charged with allegedly giving Chinese contractors data access

7:36pm October 14, 2022

The Los Angeles County district attorney alleges that the CEO of Konnech, which makes scheduling software for poll workers, improperly gave Chinese contractors access to sensitive employee data.

When stocks are down, bonds hold steady or go up. So why are bonds down?

4:19pm October 14, 2022

The U.S. stock market is down this year. When that happens, bonds typically go up. But right now, both stocks and bonds are down.

A customer exits a Kroger grocery store on Sept. 9 in Houston, Tx.

National

Kroger and Albertsons plan merger to combine 2 largest supermarket chains

4:19pm October 14, 2022

by Alina Selyukh

The $25-billion deal is likely to draw intense scrutiny from federal regulators and critics as it would form a new supermarket colossus at a time of soaring food costs.

Queue Listen Now

Journalists raise their hands for questions as Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss holds a news conference in the Downing Street Briefing Room in central London, Friday. Truss let go her finance chief Kwasi Kwarteng and reversed course on sweeping tax cuts.

World News

The U.K. prime minister fires her finance chief and nixes tax cuts to calm markets

3:56pm October 14, 2022

by Willem Marx

In a move to calm financial markets and her own Conservative Party, Prime Minister Liz Truss canceled planned tax cuts for corporations and replaced Kwasi Kwarteng as treasury head with Jeremy Hunt.

Google announced late Wednesday that it would permit the Trump-backed social media site Truth Social to be downloaded through its app store, making the service available to millions of new users.

World News

Google is now distributing Truth Social, Trump's Twitter alternative

11:18am October 14, 2022

by Bobby Allyn

It is an about-face for the tech giant, which had blocked Trump's social media app from Google Play, its app store, over content that can incite violence.