🖤 Donations of all sizes power our public service journalism Give Now

People still leaving California for Texas despite COVID-19 surge

Jun 26, 2020
The reasons for relocation include the lower cost of living, bigger houses for less money and more conservative politics.
Demonstrators call for the reopening of Texas at the state Capitol in April. Politics is one reason some Californians relocate to Texas.
Sergio Flores/Getty Images

Takeout cocktails have saved many businesses. Some states want to make them permanent offerings.

Jun 25, 2020
Takeout cocktails have saved jobs in the restaurant and bar industries.
A bartender sells a frozen margarita to go in New York City. Offering alcohol for takeout  has helped keep restaurants and bars afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.
Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

As OSHA takes limited role in the pandemic, Virginia sets workplace safety rules

Jun 25, 2020
The state will make standards legally binding, where federal guidelines are mere recommendations.
An employee wearing gloves and a face mask cleans a restaurant in Arlington, Virginia. The state is finalizing safety mandates to protect employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

The Fed says big banks have passed their COVID-era stress tests

Jun 25, 2020
But the central bank is putting a stop to share buybacks and limiting bank dividends.
The Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mental health spending may be up because of COVID-19

Jun 24, 2020
Some employers are adding new options related to wellness to their health care offerings.
Almost a third of workers surveyed had accessed or planned to access mental health care during the pandemic.
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

How Asian-owned businesses are weathering the pandemic

Jun 24, 2020
While Black owned businesses were worst hit, those owned by Asian people were close behind.
A view of New York's Chinatown in 2019. A study found that Asian-owned companies have been among the hardest hit economically by the pandemic.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

As pandemic worsens, will restaurants need to pull back again?

Jun 24, 2020
Small restaurants are at the greatest risk if put under new restrictions.
A Los Angeles restaurant worker wears a face covering and gloves for handling takeout orders, accompanied by pandemic-safety instructions.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

The IMF predicts the global economy will shrink by 5% this year

Jun 24, 2020
That means fewer jobs and more debt. And the U.S. may be in for even worse.
A man passes graffiti about the coronavirus in Beirut, Lebanon. The IMF is predicting a world-wide downturn of 5% as people spend less money while stuck at home due to COVID-19.
Patrick Baz/AFP via Getty Images

Who’s getting access to COVID-19 testing?

Jun 24, 2020
Different areas of the U.S. have ramped up testing, but it’s not enough.
Workers wearing personal protective equipment host drive-thru testing for the COVID-19 in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Global trade was down 18.5% in May. And that's the good news.

Jun 23, 2020
The World Trade Organization says things could have been far worse.
Cranes stand idle at the nation's busiest shipping port, the Port of Los Angeles. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, trade halted.
Mario Tama/Getty Images