Nation/World

As I prepare to wrap up my five years as Public Editor, I want to look at some of the broad themes that you — the listeners and readers — have raised repeatedly with my office. No surprise, one of the biggest concerns of the last four years has been NPR's coverage of then-candidate, now president, Donald Trump.

A new memoir reveals an unsavory depiction of tech startup culture. We’ll examine the influence of Silicon Valley’s most powerful companies — and how the public’s view of Big Tech is changing.

"I don't feel in the Chinese New Year mood at all this year," a netizen with username 朱一龙qwertyuiop416 posted this week on Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter. "I'm panicking. I'm getting more scared every day."

That sentiment reflects a trend on Chinese social media as confirmed cases of the Wuhan coronavirus surge.

Initially, there was some lightheartedness in posts. One Weibo user commented it was "the perfect time" to stay home and play a mobile phone game called Plague Inc.

The Trump administration is axing more environmental regulations, specifically, federal protections for the nation’s waterways. The change will have a significant impact to more than half of wetlands across the country, but especially in the West.

Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd speaks with Brett Hartl (@brett_hartl), government affairs director for the Center for Biological Diversity.

There aren’t many places in the United States where workers sit at sewing machines and make clothes by hand.

Good Clothing Company in Fall River, Massachusetts, is one of the few. The company can make anything from sweaters, shirts, jackets, dresses — even thousands of $17 scrunchies designed by Kaitlyn Bristowe of “The Bachelorette.”

Co-founder Jeanine Duquette says there’s an advantage to domestically producing products like Bristowe’s scrunchies because of the quick turnaround.

Nowadays, if you're a teenager who's good at video games there's a lot more to be had than just a pot of virtual gold.

There's college scholarships, tournament money and high salary jobs.

Today, more than 170 colleges and universities participate. And there's money on the table — more than $16 million in college scholarships. Naturally, high schools have followed suit.

This year, 17 states and the District of Columbia are offering formal esports teams.

Updated at 1:30 p.m. ET

Just hours before President Trump addressed thousands of anti-abortion rights activists at the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., his administration has given its attendees reason to cheer.

Updated at 6:34 p.m. ET

A second person in the United States has been infected with a dangerous new coronavirus that is spreading in China, U.S. health officials announced Friday.

A woman in her 60s got infected with the virus while traveling in the Wuhan, China, area in late December and became ill after returning home to Chicago Jan. 13, according to officials from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Illinois and Chicago health departments.

The 50th Davos gathering ended on Friday. It's the annual meeting that critics love to hate. They say the World Economic Forum's event is just a forum for the rich and powerful to feel as if they're making a difference. And that their wheeling and dealing does not include input from the rest of world.

So does the conference actually do any good?

Updated at 2:39 p.m. ET

A massive industrial explosion in northwest Houston early Friday killed two people, left a business in ruins, knocked homes off their foundations and sent debris flying for about half a mile.

The predawn blast at a building belonging to Watson Grinding and Manufacturing, which provides industrial services such as thermal spray coatings, could be felt more than 30 miles away, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said at a news conference.

Doctors fear that the only drug approved to prevent preterm birth, the nation's leading cause of infant mortality and disability, will no longer be available to expectant mothers.

The drug, whose brand-name version is Makena, has been in limbo since October, when an expert panel convened by the Food and Drug Administration reviewed the accumulated evidence and concluded that Makena is not effective in preventing preterm birth.

In a close vote, the panel recommended the FDA withdraw approval and pull the drug off the market.

Don't say she didn't warn you!

Back when Megan Thee Stallion graced the Tiny Desk Fest in the fall of 2019, she gave fans a hint about what — or who — her new music would sound like.

"My next project I will be introducing a new lady. Her name is Suga. She's besties with Tina Snow," Megan said in an exclusive post-show interview.