When People Make Their Own Banks
An ex-con lends money to people in need; a group of friends creates a savings club. Even without banks, people often figure out how to get the money they need, when they need it.
National
Pentagon Hopes Brain Tissue Research Will Help Prevent Injuries
More than 260,000 cases of traumatic brain injury have been reported by American service members sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. Now the Department of Defense has created a tissue bank where the brains of deceased service members will be studied, in an effort to treat and prevent brain injury from combat. Melissa Block speaks with the director of the brain tissue repository, Dr. Daniel Perl.
Housing Market Watchers Edgy As Mortgage Rates Keep Climbing
The Federal Reserve's economic stimulus has helped keep mortgage rates at record lows in the years since the Great Recession. But rates are ticking upward, leaving some investors worried that the nascent housing recovery will suffer if the Fed unravels its policies too quickly.
Unpaid No More: Interns Win Major Court Battle
A federal ruling against a major movie studio's use of unpaid interns could have a wide impact on uncompensated labor, including internships for college credit. Workers' advocates say many interns are preventing workers who can't afford to work free from entering the labor force.
Basketball: The 'Ultimate Contradiction'
No matter who is playing, the art of basketball is a paradox for fans. "In basketball, as in life, we may dutifully celebrate the aggregate, but we're always spellbound by the exceptional," says Frank Deford.
Immigration Bill May Keep Wage Exemption For Foreign Herders
Peruvian shepherds on guest worker visas tend thousands of sheep in Wyoming, but they only make about half of what agricultural workers elsewhere are paid. Some ranchers say the exemption from minimum wage requirements is necessary; workers' rights advocates say it's exploitation.
Hockey's Hottest Teams Hit The Ice In Stanley Cup Final
After a bitter lockout that shortened the season, the National Hockey League is finally gearing up for the Stanley Cup Final. The series features two of the league's six original franchises, the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks, and both teams come into the series on a roll.
Net Giants Try To Quell Users' Jitters About Their Data
Tech companies that field National Security Agency data requests are currently barred from sharing those requests publicly. But Google, Microsoft and Facebook all have a financial interest in showing their users that the NSA does not enjoy unfettered access to their data.
In Arizona, An Unlikely Ally For Medicaid Expansion
Republican Gov. Jan Brewer, one of President Obama's staunchest critics, has confounded conservatives in her own party by pushing for an extension of Medicaid coverage in the state.
As Drought Turns To Flood, Farmers Get 'Weather Whiplash'
In the past three years, Midwestern farmers have seen flooding, then record-setting drought, and now flooding again. "As much as we think we have things cornered and we know what's going to be happening, you just don't know what will happen," a meteorologist says.