News

Starbucks workers at three stores around Buffalo, N.Y., have voted on whether to join a union.

National

Starbucks workers form their 1st union in the U.S. in a big win for labor

3:40pm December 09, 2021

by Alina Selyukh

Baristas and other workers from three stores voted whether to unionize. Starbucks fought the plan. Now, workers at four additional U.S. locations are also pursuing union votes.

By the time it was contained, the Caldor fire had destroyed more than 1,000 structures, damaged 81, injured at least five people and forced some 50,000 people to evacuate from the Lake Tahoe area.

A father and son were arrested in connection with California's massive Caldor Fire

2:45pm December 09, 2021

by Rachel Treisman

David Scott Smith, 66, and Travis Shane Smith, 32, are accused of "reckless arson" in connection with the Caldor Fire, which burned more than 220,000 acres across three California counties this fall.

A makeshift memorial sits outside Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., last week.

National

Oxford shooting victim's family files $100 million suit, saying the school failed her

1:59pm December 09, 2021

by Bill Chappell

The lawsuit says "multiple concerned parents" alerted school officials to violent threats two weeks before the shooting at the Michigan high school, only to be told there was no reason to worry.

Politics & Government

Journalist says Republicans now have more reliable ways to overturn election results

1:36pm December 09, 2021

by Terry Gross

Atlantic journalist Bart Gellman says the Republican party is increasingly unwilling to accept defeat and, in fact, is "prepared to win by sacrificing the essential elements of democracy."

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A pastor received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in May, during a gathering of a group of interfaith clergy members, community leaders and officials at the Washington National Cathedral, to encourage faith communities to get the COVID vaccine.

1 in 10 Americans say the COVID-19 vaccine conflicts with their religious beliefs

1:18pm December 09, 2021

by Deepa Shivaram

A new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute and the Interfaith Youth Core shows most Americans believe too many people are using religious beliefs as a reason to not get vaccinated.

Politics & Government

House retirement tracker: Senior Democrats exit as the GOP is confident of a takeover

12:20pm December 09, 2021

A growing number of House lawmakers have opted not to run again in 2022, but so far more Democrats than Republicans are choosing to end their service.

Staff at Oxford High School flagged concerning behavior by Ethan Crumbley just hours before he opened fire. Despite the concerns, he was not sent home or placed in in-school suspension.

National

Actions by school staff before Michigan shooting fuel questions about their liability

12:17pm December 09, 2021

by Becky Sullivan

After his teacher found a disturbing drawing, the suspect was allowed to return to class without a search of his backpack or locker. "A lot could have been done different," the prosecutor has said.

Researchers highlighted ads they say Facebook failed to recognize as not being political, including an ad for a new Ford pickup truck.

Researchers explain why they believe Facebook mishandles political ads

12:01pm December 09, 2021

by Bill Chappell

"We can do a lot better," said Laura Edelson, lead author of a new study on Facebook's ad program. "This is not the state of the art of content moderation, or detection of problematic content."

President Biden traveled to Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday to talk about how the newly signed infrastructure law will boost the community. As Biden sells his agenda, a new NPR/Marist poll finds his approval rating stuck at 42%.

Politics & Government

A new poll finds major warning signs for Biden and fellow Democrats

9:48am December 09, 2021

The NPR/Marist survey has President Biden with a 42% approval rating. Americans also don't feel the direct payments or expanded child tax credits Democrats doled out helped them much.

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The Supreme Court heard arguments in a challenge from parents in Maine who want to use a state tuition program to send their children to religious schools.

Supreme Court signals further erosion of separation of church and state in schools

8:40pm December 08, 2021

by Nina Totenberg

The handwriting on the wall came during a nearly two-hour argument involving a challenge brought by two Maine families to the state's unusual way of providing public education.

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