Family

The child poverty rate in the U.S. more than doubled in a year.

A pediatrician's view on child poverty rates: 'I need policymakers to do their job'

4:34pm September 15, 2023

by Lauren Hodges

After the expanded credit took effect, child poverty hit a historic low of 5.2% a year ago. New Census data shows it has since rocketed to 12.4%. Doctors are seeing this play out in real time.

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National

StoryCorps traces one remarkable kid's journey into adulthood

7:36am September 15, 2023

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of StoryCorps, we revisit some conversations with Joshua Littman, a young man with Autism Spectrum Disorder. His dream job is working at the Library of Congress.

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A swing sits empty on a playground outside in Providence, R.I. Experts say the end of the expanded child tax credit was a key factor in the big rise in child poverty.

National

Child poverty more than doubles — a year after hitting record low, Census data shows

4:58pm September 12, 2023

by Jennifer Ludden

Experts point to the expanded child tax credit as key to this poverty yo-yo. When it ended, many lower-income families struggled to pay their bills or buy enough food.

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Justin Kasieta, who is 22 now, was just 13 when his father died and he was thrust into a role looking after his four younger siblings. In college, he interned in the state legislature and the U.S. Congress.

National

These kids used to get the bill for their own foster care. Now that's changing

10:07am September 12, 2023

by Joseph Shapiro

States routinely took the benefits checks of children in foster care who were orphans or disabled. After an NPR/Marshall Project investigation, there's reform.

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Education

Student loan borrowers are spending a lot of time on hold, says federal watchdog

4:39pm September 11, 2023

by Cory Turner

The head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says many borrowers are struggling to get through to the companies that get paid to answer their questions.

Kayce Atencio, who had a heart attack when he was 19, was unable to rent an apartment for years because of bad credit attributed in part to thousands of dollars of medical debt. "It always felt like I just couldn't get a leg up," says Atencio, one of millions of Americans whose access to housing is threatened by medical debt.

Medical debt nearly pushed this family into homelessness. Millions more are at risk

5:00am September 11, 2023

by Noam Levey

Saddled with debt from health care, many Americans are forced into painful tradeoffs. And some are losing their homes.

Natasha Poonawalla, executive director of the vaccine-manufacturing Serum Institute of India, donned an haute couture sari for the 2022 Met Gala. The garment is on display at the museum show '"The Offbeat Sari" (pictured, right). The designer is Sabyasachi Mukherjee and the metal corset is by Schiaparelli.

I love saris — but I have never seen saris like these before

4:54pm September 08, 2023

by Rhitu Chatterjee

NPR correspondent Rhitu Chatterjee visited a hit London museum show called "The Offbeat Sari." It showed her how the garment has changed — and made her reflect on what the sari means to her.

National

As StoryCorps marks 20 years, we commemorate a family's service on Sept. 11

8:08am September 08, 2023

We revisit a 2007 conversation with John Vigiano, a New York firefighter, whose sons Joseph and John Vigiano Jr., both died in the line of duty in the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001.

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Former YouTube star Ruby Franke, pictured here in a video for her mental health counseling service ConneXions, was charged with six felony counts of child abuse.

YouTube vlogger Ruby Franke formally charged with 6 felony counts of child abuse

10:50am September 06, 2023

by Emily Olson

Ruby Franke, the YouTube mommy blogger behind the channel 8 Passengers, was arrested last week after her 12-year-old son climbed out a window and ran to a neighbor's house asking for food and water.

A photo of the recalled Boon Flair Elite highchair.

National

More than 85,000 highchairs that pose a fall risk are being recalled

6:14pm September 03, 2023

by Joe Hernandez

Bolts used to secure the seats of certain Tomy Boon Flair & Flair Elite highchairs can come loose, allowing the seat to detach from its base.