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After Discrimination Finding, Jury's Out On Memphis Juvenile Courts

By Carrie Johnson • Aug 6, 2014

For people connected to the Memphis juvenile courts, April 2012 is unforgettable. That's when federal investigators determined that the Shelby County juvenile court system discriminated against African-American defendants.

The Justice Department said the system punished black children more harshly than whites. In the most incendiary finding, investigators said the court detained black children and sent them to be tried in the adult system twice as often as whites.

Liberians In America Help Dispel Ebola Myths Back Home

By Jim Burress • Aug 6, 2014

Amelia Togba-Addy lives in Atlanta, but Ebola is always on her mind.

Like many Liberian Americans, she has family and friends in West Africa, where Ebola has killed nearly 900 people. In Liberia alone, the World Health Organization has reported almost 500 cases and more than 250 deaths so far.

So when Togba-Addy's aunt called early one morning last week, she panicked.

"The first thing I thought about was, 'Oh! A family member has come down with the virus,' " she says. "So I started crying."

Scientists Say Child's Play Helps Build A Better Brain

By Jon Hamilton • Aug 6, 2014

This week, NPR Ed is focusing on questions about why people play and how play relates to learning.

When it comes to brain development, time in the classroom may be less important than time on the playground.

The Ebola Outbreak: 'A Dress Rehearsal For The Next Big One'

By editor • Aug 5, 2014

Until this year, the world had recorded 1,640 deaths from Ebola since the virus was discovered in 1976.

Then Ebola appeared in West Africa.

So far this year, 887 people have died of Ebola in West Africa, the World Health Organization said Monday.

To put that into perspective, more than a third of all people known to have died from the Ebola virus have died in the current outbreak.

Victim Of Insider Attack, Gen. Harold Greene Was An Engineer By Training

By Tom Bowman • Aug 5, 2014

No More Reservations: Exclusive Restaurants Require Tickets Instead

By editor • Aug 5, 2014

Have you ever wanted a ticket to see your favorite band so much that you could taste it?

You set the alarm, and start calling or clicking right when the tickets go on sale. You try again and again, until, finally, you snag a ticket. And even though the process is a pain, when you succeed, you feel like part of an exclusive group.

In the future, going out to eat could become a lot like going to a sold-out rock concert. In fact, some of the hottest restaurants now sell tickets instead of taking reservations.

Spurs Hire NBA's First Female Full-Time Assistant Coach

By Bill Chappell • Aug 5, 2014

The NBA now has its first full-time female assistant coach, as the San Antonio Spurs have hired WNBA star Becky Hammon to join their bench for the upcoming season. The move comes as Hammon says she'll retire after her current season playing for the San Antonio Stars.

Obama Says U.S. Exports Have Room To Run In Africa

By Marilyn Geewax • Aug 5, 2014

President Obama, speaking at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit on Tuesday, spotlighted $14 billion in new investments in Africa by U.S. companies involved in construction, technology and finance.

"The United States is determined to be a partner in Africa's success," Obama said. "I want Africans buying more American products. I want Americans buying more African products."

1.2 Billion Web Credentials Said To Be In Russian Gang's Hands

By Bill Chappell • Aug 5, 2014

In what's believed to be the largest stockpile of stolen Internet credentials in history, a Russian hacking ring has gathered more than 1.2 billion unique Internet credentials, according to Web security experts. The relatively small group has reportedly collected passwords along with user names and email addresses.

"This year is already on track to be the year of the mega-mega breach," Orla Cox, director of security response for the anti-virus software company, Symantec.

Murdoch Withdraws Bid To Buy Time Warner

By Bill Chappell • Aug 5, 2014

Nearly three weeks after reports surfaced that Twenty-First Century Fox had made a spurned offer to purchase fellow media giant Time Warner, Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch confirms that the deal is off. The rejected price had been reported as $80 billion.

Instead of buying Time Warner, Twenty-First Century Fox says it will buy back shares of its own stock, embarking on a plan to repurchase $6 billion worth of the shares over the next 12 months.

News and Features from APM and PRI

109: The future of work is anchor jobs and side hustles

By Molly Wood and Kai Ryssdal • 11 hours ago

We're headed for the biggest year of IPOs since the '90s dot-com boom. Lyft just went public, valued at $26 billion, with Postmates and Uber set to follow. Vested employees will become overnight millionaires, but what about the millions of independent contractors who deliver the food and drive the passengers? Lyft relies on its 1.4 million freelance drivers who earn, on average, $17.50 per hour with no benefits or organizing power. What's that mean for the U.S. workforce?

The return of the living dead: the highest-grossing horror reboots

By Danielle Chiriguayo • 11 hours ago

Horror is no stranger to Hollywood. And neither are reboots.

In 2017, the horror genre pulled in over $1 billion at the box office, but this year is shaping up to be a popular one for horror movie remakes, with the release of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary,” “Jacob’s Ladder” and “Chucky” — voiced by Mark Hamill this time around.

The tax overhaul's impact on the housing market? It's complicated.

By Marielle Segarra • 12 hours ago

A new study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York points to the 2017 tax overhaul as one reason sales of new homes declined sharply last year. The New York Fed pointed to the cap on the mortgage interest deduction and the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction as factors in slowing down home sales, especially when it came to sales in higher price brackets.

What can one company’s results tell us about the economy?

By Mitchell Hartman • 13 hours ago

BlackRock — the huge New York-based investment firm — today came in with some quite good financial results for the first quarter of 2019. At least, the numbers are good when you consider what was going on as the year started. With markets tanking at that time and a prolonged government shutdown, Wall Street forecasters were expecting a big decline in revenues and profits compared to the same quarter last year. Instead, BlackRock’s profits fell just slightly, as did its revenue. Meanwhile, its total assets under management actually rose by 3%, to $6.5 trillion.

What are the most common Boeing Max routes?

By Janet Nguyen • 14 hours ago

Chances are you won’t be traveling on a Boeing 737 Max during your summer vacation travels.

American Airlines announced it will cancel 737 Max flights through Aug. 19, while Southwest Airlines is cancelling 737 Max flights until Aug. 5. United is cancelling them through early July. The delays come after suspicions that Boeing 737 Max’s anti-stall software was involved in the deadly Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes.