From This Collection

With COVID-19 comes a surge in gun sales

Apr 13, 2020
The FBI reports that background checks in March were up. Some of those purchasing guns are doing so for the first time.
People wait in line at Northwest Armory, a gun store in Portland, Ore., on March 21, 2020, two days before the governor issued a stay-at-home order.

Who's getting the $1,200 COVID-19 checks first?

Those who filed taxes in the past two years and used direct deposit for their refunds will be the first to get the payments, the IRS says.
People who never gave the IRS their bank information may have to wait weeks, if not months, to get their payments.
William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

Will insurance companies cover mental health services' switch to telehealth?

Apr 10, 2020
Therapists and psychiatrists are just starting to submit their March bills.
Telehealth is becoming more popular because of stay-at-home orders.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

There's already a shortage of big-rig truck drivers, and the pandemic may make it worse

Apr 10, 2020
Many DMVs and driver-training schools are closed, making it impossible for new drivers to get behind the wheel.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has only made it harder to fill a truck driver shortage.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Ticket buyers and sellers say StubHub owes them after widespread event cancellations

Apr 10, 2020
The company changed policies on refunds and payouts at the end of March, to the chagrin of buyers and sellers on the secondary ticket marketplace.
Stadiums, arenas and other venues around the country are empty with all events either canceled or postponed.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Puzzle sales are peaking during COVID-19 quarantine

Apr 10, 2020
"We're pretty much experiencing Christmastime at Easter," one manufacturer said.
Ravensburger, the global market leader in puzzle making, says sales are up 370%.
Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

Wholesale food businesses ship directly to consumers to meet demand

Apr 10, 2020
With some supermarket shelves empty, food providers turn to door-to-door delivery.
Empty shelves where packets of flour would normally be stocked are pictured below half-empty egg and sugar stocks in a north London supermarket.
Isabel Infantes/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

State workers under pressure to keep up with soaring unemployment

Apr 10, 2020
The incredible surge in claims is putting a huge amount of pressure on the public service workers processing them.
An unemployment agency office is currently closed because of COVID-19 in Detroit, Michigan on March 26, 2020.
Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

Despite staggering unemployment numbers, it's even worse than it looks

Apr 9, 2020
Nearly one out of 10 people who had a job to go to before the pandemic don't have one now.
One expert estimates unemployment in the U.S. is around 14% currently.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images