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  • Dec 20, 2018

    Marlboro manufacturer makes a big bet that the future is vaping

    Today the Altria Group – the tobacco giant that used to be known as Philip Morris – announced it’s spending $12.8 billion to buy a 35 percent stake in Juul Labs. That’s the e-cigarette maker that dominates the vaping market here in the U.S., and which some public-health advocates worry is getting another generation hooked […]

  • Dec 20, 2018

    My Economy: Housing the homeless during the winter

    Eleanor Watts with her dog Dexter.
    Leisha Santorelli/Marketplace

    "Here in Manchester, we say you're two paychecks away from homelessness."

  • Dec 20, 2018

    The backstory of Hot Wheels, the most popular toy 50 years ago

    There are more than 20,000 variations of Hot Wheels, according to Mattel.
    Renata Sago/Marketplace

    Fifty years later, the toy cars are still going strong.

  • Dec 20, 2018

    What’s a company to do with all that Facebook Data?

    The District of Columbia sued Facebook today for sharing users’ personal data with consulting firm Cambridge Analytica before the 2016 election. But that may be the least of the company’s troubles today. A New York Times investigation has revealed that Facebook has been sharing WAY more of its users’ data with other companies than we […]

  • Dec 20, 2018

    "Beale Street" and "Homecoming" star Stephan James on finding success in Hollywood

    Stephan James speaks about "If Beale Street Could Talk" at Essence Festival on July 6, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
    Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Annapurna

    Ten years into his acting career, Stephan James is having a breakout moment.

  • Dec 20, 2018

    Why FedEx is a bellwether for the global economy

    Experts say the shipping company’s earnings offer a look ahead at where the economy’s going

  • Dec 20, 2018

    Trump says new NAFTA will pay for wall. Not likely.

    President Trump seems to have softened his stance on border-wall funding as a make-or-break issue to avoid a government shutdown. Instead, he says Mexico will pay for the wall indirectly through the new NAFTA agreement, now known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). It’s an idea he’s mentioned more than a few times, but so […]

  • Dec 20, 2018

    NYC set to give ride-hail drivers big raises

    Cars drive through afternoon traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge on July 30, 2018 in New York City.
    Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    The nation's first minimum wage for drivers could boost their pay by more than 40 percent.

  • Dec 19, 2018

    The other side of an Amazon deal

    A tarp drapes 1851 S. Bell Street, one of the office buildings left empty after the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia lost tens of thousands of workers due to government budget cuts and military relocations.
    Mark Wilson/Getty Images

    While companies like Amazon get tax breaks and other perks to set up operations, local communities are pushing their own agendas as well.

  • Dec 19, 2018

    Seniors are still struggling to recover after the financial crisis

    Kathy Stevens, 67, plays bridge with friends at Riverview Towers in Pittsburgh. Stevens lost about a third of her savings during the financial crisis in 2008. It set off a decade of scaling back and she now lives in subsidized senior housing.
    Erika Beras/Marketplace

    The number of seniors filing for bankruptcy has nearly doubled since 2007 to a record high of 12 percent, part of it driven by the financial crisis; another part by mounting debt for things like medical care, mortgage loans and credit card bills.