News

Mini figurines based on Molotov cocktails, featuring the Ukrainian flag sold for $20 each, with proceeds donated to a non-profit aid group, Direct Relief.

A toymaker raised $145,000 for Ukraine by creating a Lego-based Zelenskyy figurine

1:44pm March 31, 2022

A custom LEGO store in a Chicago suburb has raised more than $145,000 for Ukraine relief by selling figurines of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Molotov cocktails.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during a press conference in 2018. Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, donated hundreds of millions of dollars to local election officials leading up to the 2020 election.

Politics & Government

Private funding saved the 2020 election. Now, some GOP-led states are banning it

1:32pm March 31, 2022

by Miles Parks

One study found that the U.S. government spends as much maintaining parking facilities across the country as it does running elections.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the U.S. Congress on March 16, 2022, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. Since the war began, he has been appealing to world leaders for more support for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia.

Americans have more confidence in Zelenskyy than Biden when it comes to world affairs

1:24pm March 31, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

Some 72% of Americans have confidence in the Ukrainian president's handling of world affairs, a Pew Research Center survey finds. Meanwhile, just 48% say the same about U.S. President Biden.

Religious icons are framed in a home for the elderly in Khurvaleti, Georgia.

World News

Russia's war in Ukraine reminds Georgians of what they survived in 2008

1:24pm March 31, 2022

In Georgia, people living on the frontlines of Russia's 2008 invasion say they worry about what Putin's war in Ukraine will mean for them.

Queue Listen Now

According to a new report, Nicki Minaj is one of the few top female songwriters in an industry where 57% of songs have no female writers.

Women are still missing in the music industry, especially behind the scenes

1:20pm March 31, 2022

by Andrew Limbong

According to a new study, fewer than 4% of producers making songs on the Billboard Top 100 last year were women — a number that hasn't changed much over the past decade.

Biden will release more oil to fight high prices

1:16pm March 31, 2022

by Tamara Keith

Gas prices have been soaring. President Biden is announcing he will release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Queue Listen Now

A Ukrainian soldier stands in front of a destroyed Russian armored personnel carrier in a village on the frontline of the northern part of the Kyiv region on Monday. Russia says its troops are starting to withdraw from Kyiv, thought the Pentagon believes

National

Russian troops leaving Kyiv area as Moscow focuses more on eastern Ukraine

12:58pm March 31, 2022

The Russians are pulling some troops away from Ukraine's capital Kyiv. But what exactly does this mean? U.S. and Ukrainian officials suspect Moscow may just be pausing before another big offensive.

Queue Listen Now

Angelina Voychenko (left) and her children and Yuliya Bortnik (right) and her son fled Mariupol after hiding for weeks in the basement of Voychenko's parents' home, with no electricity, phone service or heat, as the building shook from fighter jets and ex

World News

Ukrainians navigate a perilous route to safety out of besieged Mariupol

11:20am March 31, 2022

by Becky Sullivan

"It is either die or leave. We had no other way," says one woman who arrived in Zaporizhzhia after three attempts at escape. Officials say nearly 100,000 people are still trapped in the besieged city.

Queue Listen Now

Data from the Los Angeles Police Department shows 128 pedestrians were killed in the City of Los Angeles in 2021, an increase of 6% over 2020.

National

A secretive LA group has a new mission: paint untouched crosswalks

10:32am March 31, 2022

by Vanessa Romo

"We've been met with delays, excuses, and inaction from our city government," says the Crosswalk Collective LA. Now, the group has taken matters into its own hands and hopes to spread a DIY message.

Close friends Joshua Paredes, Michael Walujo and John LeBlanc are working together to set up a crisis help line for nurses following the suicide of their friend Michael Odell in January.

Health & Safety

A nurse's death raises the alarm about the profession's mental health crisis

10:28am March 31, 2022

by Rhitu Chatterjee

After nearly two years of grueling shifts treating COVID patients, a group of nurses lost one of their closest friends to suicide. They're determined not to let others fall through the cracks.