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Can pandemic relief money help schools bring kids up to speed academically?

Oct 26, 2022
National reading and math scores are way down. But school leaders say it can be hard to put all that money toward instruction.
School districts have until September 2024 to spend the last of the $190 billion allocated to them in COVID relief funds.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Locked out of China by its zero-COVID policy, their lives changed course

Oct 5, 2022
China’s borders shut in March 2020 to contain COVID-19. It's been rough for people who made a life in China but were forced to leave.
China's rigorous COVID restrictions have made it difficult for some residents to return. Above, a woman at Hong Kong International Airport makes her way to hotel quarantine on Sept. 23.
Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images

China's lockdowns continue to disrupt personal lives and the global economy

Sep 12, 2022
"There was a convenience shop owner nearby me who ate nothing but instant noodles for weeks," says Marketplace's Jennifer Pak.
A guard wears protective clothing as he stands next to a barrier fence outside a Beijing apartment under lockdown in June.
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Remote workers have stayed in Truckee, California, but not the local workforce

Aug 16, 2022
Skyrocketing housing costs are driving out the local labor force, leaving all kinds of businesses in the small town short-staffed.
Truckee, California, became a haven for remote workers early in the pandemic.
Matt Gush/Getty Images

Are we back to normal? In a new normal? Economy gives mixed signals on the pandemic.

Jul 21, 2022
Some consumer and business behavior has rebounded. But as the BA.5 subvariant spreads, other trends show persistent trepidation.
There’s still hesitation when it comes to indoor shopping and crowded events, said Charles Lindsey, a consumer behavior expert. It seems like the pandemic economy hasn't entirely passed.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Shanghai's lockdown has eased, but businesses are still tallying the costs

Jul 14, 2022
Shanghai's lockdown crippled supply chains and logistics. Materials and transport costs climbed, and there have been personal struggles too.
Authorities put barriers around Shanghai streets to enforce the severe lockdown in the spring.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Health professionals wonder about future of COVID drugs as federal funding wanes

Jun 29, 2022
Drugmaker Eli Lilly will supply the government with another 150,000 doses of its monoclonal antibody to meet short-term demand.
A free monoclonal antibody treatment site in Miami. Eli Lilly said it will provide more of its antibody medication to the government, but drugmakers may shift their sales to the commercial market.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Corporations' decisions seem to signal the end of the pandemic

Jun 22, 2022
“Some companies are large enough that they can be the trendsetters,” one health economist tells us.
Broadway, which has been stringent on COVID-19 restrictions, is lifting its mask mandate on July 1.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

What will happen to women of color in the COVID-19 workforce?

Jun 9, 2022
“In almost every single state, the first person to be vaccinated was a woman of color,” says the 19th’s economy reporter Chabeli Carrazana.
A registered nurse vaccinates an 83-year-old woman at her home in Manchester, Connecticut, in February 2021.
Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

For kids who lost parents to COVID, the financial consequences compound the emotional toll

Jun 9, 2022
Losing a parent can have long-term financial implications for children.
Aidan (left), and Julius Garza (center), lost their father, David (right), to COVID-19 almost two years ago.
Courtesy Margaret Garza