Latest Stories

Latest Stories

Inside China's "superchip" black market

Aug 29, 2024
Powerful computer chips are sold in Shenzhen markets despite U.S. restrictions on exports, says Ana Swanson of the New York Times.
An electronics store in a Shenzhen tech market, where vendors are selling some restricted NVIDIA superchips.
Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images

At Dollar General, sales of "consumable" goods are up. But profits are down.

Aug 29, 2024
The retailer can only raise prices so much — households that earn less than $35,000 a year account for 60% of its sales.
Even when wholesale prices for its goods rise, Dollar General can only charge its customers so much. 
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Businesses' investment in new equipment helped boost GDP

Aug 29, 2024
The real gross domestic product for the second quarter was even stronger than previously thought.
Businesses' investments in new equipment have helped fuel better-then-expected GDP growth.
Getty Images

The dollar weakens as markets bet on Fed cutting interest rates

Aug 29, 2024
That's a positive for U.S exports, but it raises prices for imported goods.
Lower rates tend to reduce demand for bonds bought with dollars, which decreases the value of the currency.
Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images

Composting bodies catches on as the eco-friendly alternative to burial and cremation

Aug 29, 2024
Body disposition can have a major environmental impact. That’s partly why 12 states and counting have legalized human composting in the past five years.
One disposition produces 200-300 pounds of soil, according to Earth Funeral CEO Tom Harries. But most families choose to keep a fraction of it.
Mat Hayward/Getty Images for Earth Funeral

Survey shows more Americans worried about cost of fighting climate change

Aug 29, 2024
Most Americans support government action on climate change, but a growing minority worry it will harm the economy, according to survey data from Stanford University and Resources for the Future.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Latinas' contribution to GDP grew by half from 2010 to 2021

Aug 29, 2024
New research finds that Latinas accounted for $1.3 trillion in 2021, thanks largely to the daughters of immigrants.
Latinas accounted for 30% of the growth in the labor force from 2010 to 2021. But they are still overrepresented in certain low-wage jobs.
Leo Patrizi/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

How a small Kentucky town was 10 years ahead of the government

Aug 28, 2024
As the federal government tries to connect every home to high-speed internet by 2030, Kai Ryssdal visits a Kentucky town that already did that — 10 years ago.
An early transition toward high-speed fiber internet has transformed some American communities.
Andie Corban/Marketplace

What cash prizes do Paralympians win if they medal?

Aug 28, 2024
Paralympians recently started receiving as much as Olympians for each gold, silver and bronze. That extra amount helps these athletes, who have to pay a lot of money for training and equipment.
Brian Siemann, a member of the U.S Paralympic Track and Field Team, will compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Why the date August 28 has special significance in American history

A number of events important to the Civil Rights Movement — from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech to Emmett Till's murder — took place on Aug. 28.
On Aug. 28, 2008, Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president at the DNC in Denver, Colorado.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images