Russian wildfires rage on, worsened by a record-setting heatwave; jobs numbers show a drop in temporary jobs, worrying economists; agonizing decisions when babies are born severely pre-term; popular Rwandan President Paul Kagame is being quietly accused of suppressing political opposition; the week's agenda; the nation's first "test-tube baby," now 29, has a baby of her own; the lasting impact of the Grateful Dead, 15 years after guitarist Jerry Garcia's death.
Temporaray job numbers were down last month, worrying economists; headlines.
The Labor Department's jobs report for July, released last Friday, showed overall unemployment stayed the same at 9.5 percent, but that the economy lost 5,600 temporary jobs. This ended nine months of gradual increases. Concerned economists say temporary jobs can be seen as a leading economic indicator of how businesses will proceed in the hiring of permanent workers.
In theory, the Internet provides a level playing field for businesses and consumers alike. That’s because, since its creation, the Internet has been built around the principle of “net neutrality”: all traffic online travels as quickly as it can, given the technology and congestion it encounters along the way. According to an article published by our partner The New York Times, however, a backdoor deal may be nearing between Google and Verizon, which could give a speed advantage to those websites who are willing to pay more.
Today is the 15th anniversary of Jerry Garcia's passing. We look back at The Grateful Dead and heard from listeners. The band was unique in the way they worked to level the playing field for their fans. Takeaway listener, Devin wrote to us from New York:
[The Grateful Dead] had their own ticketing system, which gave preference to more loyal fans; first and only, that I know of, occurrence of a music loyalty program. They encouraged trading of the concert tapes amongst their fans.
It's been 11 years and the nation's black farmers have still not received the nearly $1.25 billion settlement they were promised by the Agriculture Department. The Senate was expected to approve the measure before the start of recess last Thursday, but Republicans put the brakes on the vote after citing concerns that Democrats had not outlined a plan to pay for the settlement.
One in eight babies in the U.S. is born prematurely. In the best case scenarios, these tiny infants grow up to live healthy lives, and maybe even become famous. Stevie Wonder, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton were all born pre-term.
But in the worst case scenarios, their early days are defined less by potential future accomplishments than by the all-out struggle to hold onto life.
Javier Blas, commodities correspondent for the Financial Times on Russia's drought and grain exports; headlines.
A recent heat wave in Russia coupled with extraordinarily dry conditions has been feeding the most widespread wildfires in the nation’s recent history. The fires stretch from central Russia to near Moscow and are generating a devastating plume of smoke that has killed 52 people and destroyed over 2,000 homes. Those massive fires are having a secondary (and potentially more lasting) effect as they have threatened the Russian wheat crops, which make up about eight percent of the world’s wheat production.
Since General David Petraeus took over command of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan more than a month ago, one of his top priorities has been rooting out corruption there. He has intensified efforts to uncover bribery in the Afghan government and watch the workings of U.S. contracting practices. Last week, he was joined in his efforts by Congressman Edolphus Towns, the chair of the House Oversight Committee. The New York Democrat just returned from a trip to Afghanistan where he visited with Petraeus to investigate waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
On Monday, Rwandans head to the polls to vote in presidential elections. Incumbent President Paul Kagame is expected to win by a landslide. Kagame is credited with bringing stability, development and economic prosperity to Rwanda following the 1994 genocide. While few expect violence on election day, Amnesty International says voters are casting their ballots in a climate of fear.
Thousands of babies are conceived through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) each year, but 29 years ago, when Elizabeth Comeau was born, the in vitro method was considered strange and miraculous. Comeau was America's first "test-tube baby." Now, at 29 years old, she's just given birth to her own baby boy.
(Correction: an earlier version of this story referred to Comeau as the "world's first test-tube baby" - she was actually the first in the United States. Louise Brown, born in the UK in 1978, was the world's first baby conceived via IVF.)
The last time anyone got to hear Jerry Garcia play live was on July 9, 1995, when the Grateful Dead performed in Chicago. At the time, no one knew it be their last show: Exactly a month later – fifteen years ago today – guitarist Jerry Garcia died.
Today we take a look at the cultural impact Garcia and the Dead had (and still have) on music lovers, from the band's beginning in the '60s through today.
We want to hear from you. What are your favorite jam band experiences and what are your favorite jam band tracks?
The Senate failed once again to approve the nearly $1.25 billion owed to black farmers. The settlement stems from a dispute between the Department of agriculture and minority farmers over racial discrimination. The payment has been held up in the House, where Republicans recently rejected a plan to pay the settlement. Gary Grant, president of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association has been fighting to secure the funding; he responds to the latest holdup.