Business

When Congress Was Last Called To Help Rescue An Economy In Free Fall

6:27am April 15, 2020

by Kelsey Snell

The 2008 economic crisis had both parties on Capitol Hill acting swiftly to provide relief this time around. Congress learned it takes time for policies to take hold, but political fallout is swift.

Queue Listen Now

News Brief: WHO Funding, Reopening The U.S., Antibody Tests

6:23am April 15, 2020

U.S. ends WHO funding pending a review of its handling of COVID-19. President Trump backpedals comments that only he can reopen the U.S. And, tests to detect past COVID-19 exposure hit the market.

Queue Listen Now

Economy

Questions For An Employment Lawyer From Essential Workers

9:56pm April 14, 2020

Essential employees have lots of questions about what they should or should not do during the pandemic. Shannon Liss-Riordan, an employment attorney, answers their questions with NPR's Scott Simon.

The plunge in demand for air travel during the coronavirus crisis is reflected on an airport screen in New Orleans on April 4.

Health & Safety

Airlines Reach Agreement With Treasury Department On Share Of Coronavirus Aid

7:49pm April 14, 2020

by David Schaper

To prevent mass layoffs of airline employees, Congress authorized $50 billion in grants and loans for the carriers, as part of the $2.3 trillion economic relief package approved last month.

Cesaro and Ricochet compete during the WWE Live Tokyo on June 29, 2019.

Florida Designates Pro Wrestling 'Essential Business'

6:40pm April 14, 2020

by Greg Allen

Florida's statewide stay-at-home order no longer applies to pro wrestling. Governor Ron DeSantis made the change and WWE resumed its live television shows on Monday without fans in attendance.

Kroger and the food workers union want grocery staff to be designated as first responders in the coronavirus pandemic.

Grocery Workers Should Be Designated First Responders, Supermarkets And Union Say

6:17pm April 14, 2020

by Alina Selyukh

Kroger and Albertsons have joined the food workers union UFCW in urging state and national officials to give grocery staff higher priority for testing and access to masks and other protections.

With flight schedules slashed, airline counters at Reagan National Airport are empty. The fallout from the coronavirus will be much worse than during the financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund says.

IMF Warns Of Steepest Recession Since The Great Depression

6:07pm April 14, 2020

by Scott Horsley

The fallout from the coronavirus will be much worse than that of the financial crisis, the IMF says. The global economy is expected to shrink by 3% this year; the U.S. GDP could fall twice as much.

Unicorn Riding Scooter In Fatal Crash

4:48pm April 14, 2020

by Greg Rosalsky

As venture capital retreats, hot startups are collapsing.

Employees and family members protest outside a Smithfield Foods processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota last week. The plant has had an outbreak of coronavirus cases.

How One City Mayor Forced A Pork Giant To Close Its Virus-Stricken Plant

4:32pm April 14, 2020

by Dan Charles

Smithfield Foods didn't want to stop slaughtering hogs at its Sioux Falls pork plant, even after hundreds of workers got sick with the coronavirus. Then the city's mayor forced the company's hand.

World News

Foxconn And Other Chinese Companies Reopen Factories — Very Carefully

4:16pm April 14, 2020

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Eva Dou of The Washington Post about the changes Foxconn and other manufacturers have made in order to reopen their factories in China after the coronavirus pandemic.