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Day laborers in Southern California struggle as work dries up due to COVID-19

Apr 24, 2020
Some workers are organizing to hand out food and supplies to members of their community in crisis.
This sign encourages potential employers and workers to congregate at the Pasadena Community Job Center, run by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. But the Center closed in March.
Paulina Velasco

Businesses adapt to the pandemic by moving online

Apr 23, 2020
We hear from a pair of children's entertainers and a doctor.
Susan Estes and Steve Brown, a clown duo from NYC.
Courtesy Susan Estes

First the virus, then the oil crash, hit Midland, Texas

Apr 23, 2020
Midland, Texas, is ground zero for oil and gas production in the U.S., and much of the local economy, in some way or another, is tied to the industry. When West Texas Intermediate went negative for the first time ever on Monday, everybody in Midland felt it — on top of the coronavirus. This morning […]
A pumpjack in Midland. The Texas oil patch has never seen a bust like this one.

States are trying to build armies of coronavirus contact tracers

Apr 23, 2020
But public health departments have been chronically underfunded.
Contact tracers try to find everyone a person who tested positive for COVID-19 has come into contact with.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images

Upper Midwest, Great Plains states have fared best in SBA emergency loan program

Apr 23, 2020
As Congress weighs a new round of funding, data reveal that the upper Midwest and Great Plains regions benefited the most from the first round of PPP funding.
With the coronavirus closing many businesses, the Paycheck Protection Program saved  millions of jobs that would have been lost, according to MIT research.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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How has Vietnam been so successful at containing COVID-19?

Apr 23, 2020
It's had just 268 confirmed infections and zero deaths reported.
Motorists wearing face masks ride on a busy road in Hanoi on April 23, 2020, as Vietnam eased its nationwide social isolation effort.
Nhac Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images

In the COVID-19 economy, unintended consequences play a part in policymaking

A rise in domestic violence, a decline in car accidents and more.
FDA deregulation of COVID-19 antibody tests has led to a false sense of security for some, an unintended consequence of the move.
Al Bello/Getty Images

Do unemployment benefits in the time of COVID-19 cover the cost of living?

Apr 23, 2020
Those dollars stretch farther in some states than others.
The benefits vary from state to state, though right now, recipients also qualify for $600 a week in federal pandemic unemployment benefits.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images