National

Seattle Cleaner On Being An Essential Worker During The Pandemic

4:12pm April 23, 2020

A housecleaner, Jonny, has lost his job due to the pandemic and is cleaning a grocery store now. He talks about what it has been like to be kept from the work which he says he loves very much.

Louisiana Senator Comments On The Suggestion That States File For Bankruptcy

4:12pm April 23, 2020

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., about the suggestion that states should seek bankruptcy filings in lieu of another relief package.

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Drained By Pandemic, States Are Asking For Federal Aid

4:12pm April 23, 2020

by Bente Birkeland

State coffers have been wiped out by a loss of income and sales tax revenue and the cost of fighting the coronavirus. States are begging the federal government to help with massive budget shortfalls.

How Government Agencies Determine The Dollar Value Of Human Life

4:12pm April 23, 2020

by Sarah Gonzalez

Reopening the economy requires contemplating the trade-off between lives and money. Government agencies are already used to putting dollar values on human life when considering safety regulations.

Coronavirus Updates: The Latest Unemployment Data In The U.S.

4:12pm April 23, 2020

In the last month, the coronavirus pandemic has claimed the jobs of one in six workers in the United States. NPR economic, science and congressional correspondents discuss the latest coronavirus news.

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Testing Capacity Will Determine Abilities Of States To Reopen

4:12pm April 23, 2020

Where is the United States on COVID-19 testing capacity — and what's the testing baseline to states to reopen?

Emergency personnel transport a patient into Elmhurst Hospital in New York City earlier this week. The number of new cases in the city has been decreasing, though New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said state officials recently received some eye-opening prelimina

Coronavirus Has Infected A Fifth Of New York City, Testing Suggests

3:41pm April 23, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

Gov. Andrew Cuomo also said Thursday that based on the preliminary results of antibody testing, officials estimate about 2.7 million people across the state — or nearly 14% — have been infected.

Energy analysts say coal use is down so much that some power plants might run out of room to stockpile it.

National

Pandemic Shutdown Is Speeding Up The Collapse Of Coal

3:11pm April 23, 2020

by Reid Frazier

Coal use has plummeted in part because it's more expensive than natural gas or renewable energy. Mines are shutting down, and some power plants may run out of places to stockpile coal.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology (above) has been the focus of the lab accident theory. Scientists interviewed by NPR said that all evidence points to the pandemic not being the result of a lab accident.

Virus Researchers Cast Doubt On Theory Of Coronavirus Lab Accident

2:41pm April 23, 2020

The Trump administration is investigating the theory that the virus leaked from a lab. Scientists who work with viruses say that's virtually impossible and point to transmission from an animal.

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A statue of John Harvard, namesake of Harvard University, wears a face mask last month on the school's campus in Cambridge, Mass.

Harvard And Other Universities Turn Down Relief Funds Amid Swell Of Criticism

2:39pm April 23, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

President Trump and others criticized "elite, wealthy institutions" for money allocated to them by a federal package.