News

Willie McLaurin speaks at the 2020 Kentucky Baptist Pastors' Conference in 2020. McLaurin was named the interim president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee on Tuesday, the first African American to lead one of the denomination

First African American picked for key Southern Baptist Convention position

6:12pm February 01, 2022

by The Associated Press

McLaurin, 48, will fill the post vacated by Ronnie Floyd, who resigned over the Executive Committee's handling of a third-party investigation into how the it addressed sexual abuse reports

Heartbroken? There's a scientific reason why breaking up feels so rotten

5:37pm February 01, 2022

by Terry Gross

Science writer Florence Williams experienced what felt like a brain injury when her husband left her after more than 25 years. Her new book is Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey.

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Johnson & Johnson and the opioid distributors AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health reached a settlement with Native American tribes over their role in the opioid crisis.

Native American tribes reach a tentative opioid settlement with J&J and distributors

5:15pm February 01, 2022

by James Doubek

Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health will pay $590 million to Native American tribes under a proposed settlement for the companies' role in the opioid crisis.

Abdul Alim, one of Pakistan's oldest COVID survivors, died of natural causes on Jan. 27. He was 104 years old.

A 104-year-old COVID survivor has died. He wanted to keep people safe until the end

5:14pm February 01, 2022

by Benazir Samad

In his final days, Alim asked people not to visit him or his family due to rising COVID cases in his community. "Even in death he wanted to keep people and our family safe," says his son.

Anaïs Mitchell performs on Oct. 05, 2019 in New York City. Shortly after, at the onset of the pandemic, Mitchell relocated to her home state of Vermont.

Music & Culture

'Hadestown' creator Anaïs Mitchell's new solo album reaches forward in looking back

4:09pm February 01, 2022

Anaïs Mitchell spent more than a decade developing her hit musical Hadestown, a retelling of a Greek myth set in hell. Now, after eight Tony Awards and a Grammy, she has changed the scenery.

Milltown's popular Groundhog Day festivities are canceled this year, following the death of the local celebrity, who for the last several years has been given the task of predicting whether there will be an early spring or six more weeks of winter.

National

A celebrity groundhog dies shortly before his big day

4:07pm February 01, 2022

by Bill Chappell

New Jersey's Milltown Mel "recently crossed over the rainbow bridge," his handlers say — and they scrambled to find a replacement rodent for Groundhog Day, to no avail.

Author Toni Morrison pictured at Princeton University in New Jersey in October 1993. She is known for her 11 novels, but her single short story has often been forgotten.

Books

Toni Morrison's only short story is available in book form for the first time

3:40pm February 01, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

The late Nobel laureate and novelist was known for her examination of the Black experience. "Recitatif" is about two girls, one Black and one white, but doesn't reveal which is which.

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A pair of male penguins named Elmer and Lima just became the first same-sex couple to foster an egg together at New York's Rosamond Gifford Zoo. They've been taking care of the chick since he hatched on Jan. 1.

National

Two male penguins welcome hatchling as New York zoo's 1st same-sex foster parents

3:26pm February 01, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo says Elmer and Lima are its first same-sex parents to successfully hatch an egg, calling the penguins "exemplary in every aspect of egg care."

Members of Team Switzerland arrive at the Olympic Village ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on Feb. 1, 2022.

Sports

FBI advises athletes to leave their personal phones at home for the Beijing Olympics

3:21pm February 01, 2022

by Sharon Pruitt-Young

The bureau is advising travelers to use a temporary phone while in China in order to protect themselves from potential cyber attacks.

A commuter wearing a protective face mask looks at her mobile phone in a train arriving at the Central Train Station in Brussels in May 2020. Belgium's new rule addresses the ever-blurry line between work and personal life in the pandemic.

World News

In Belgium, government workers no longer have to answer the boss's emails after hours

2:59pm February 01, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

Thousands of federal civil servants will no longer have to answer calls or emails from their bosses outside of working hours. The law aims to address burnout exacerbated by the pandemic.