Candidates' Views On Poverty Get Little Attention
The nation's poverty rate is as high as it's been in almost two decades. Last year, 1 in 6 Americans was poor — more than 46 million people, including 16 million children. But on the campaign trail,...
View ArticleSwing-State Billboards Warning Against Voter Fraud Stir Backlash
Dozens of anonymous billboards have popped up in urban areas in the crucial battleground states of Ohio and Wisconsin. The signs note that voter fraud is a felony, punishable by up to 3 1/2 years in...
View ArticleFlorida Officials Investigate Fake Voter Eligibility Letters
It's a sign that Election Day is getting closer: increasing reports of efforts to intimidate or mislead voters. Florida officials say they're now investigating fake letters that have been sent to...
View ArticleLarge Power Outages Raise Concerns For Election Day
Transcript ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: And I'm Audie Cornish. Looming over the recovery from Super Storm Sandy is what to...
View ArticleWhat If There's No Winner? Presidential Campaigns And Their Lawyers Prepare
The presidential race is expected to be extremely close, and that has a lot of people nervous about what it will mean for election night. Does it mean that the vote count could drag on for days, or...
View ArticleVoting By Email In New Jersey Runs Into Snags
Melissa Block talks with Pam Fessler about voting issues that arose on Tuesday.
View ArticleFixing Long Election Lines May Be Easier Said Than Done
Although voting problems in Tuesday's election were fewer than some people had expected, there were extremely long lines at many polling sites; so many that President Obama noted them in his victory...
View ArticleStorm-Battered Food Banks Struggle To Help The Hungry
Food banks in New York and New Jersey were already hard-pressed to meet the demands of families struggling with a bad economy. Add to that a natural disaster and the upcoming holidays, and they're...
View ArticleWant To Help Sandy Victims? Send Cash, Not Clothes
Whenever there's a disaster, people want to give, and Hurricane Sandy is no exception. According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, U.S. charities collected more than $174 million in donations as of...
View Article'Giving Tuesday': The Start Of A Holiday Tradition?
First, there was the post-Thanksgiving sales spectacle Black Friday and then the online version, Cyber Monday. Now, charitable groups want to start a new holiday tradition — it's called Giving Tuesday...
View ArticleThanks, But No Thanks: When Post-Disaster Donations Overwhelm
Newtown, Conn., was so inundated with teddy bears and other donations after last month's school shootings that it asked people to please stop sending gifts. Relief groups in New York and New Jersey are...
View ArticleThe 'Second Disaster': Making Good Intentions Useful
Among the donations that poured into the American Red Cross building after the earthquake in Haiti three years ago was a box of Frisbees. In a flood of well-intentioned but unneeded donations, this box...
View ArticleTurning The 'Day Of Service' Into A Longer Commitment
This weekend, hundreds of thousands of people — including President Obama and his family — are participating in volunteer activities around the country. Saturday's National Day of Service kicks off the...
View ArticleStudy: Nearly Half In U.S. Lack Financial Safety Net
In his inaugural address, President Obama talked about a country where even "a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else." But in reality,...
View ArticleFixing Long Lines At The Polls May Be Harder Than You Think
Minutes after he was re-elected in November, President Obama vowed to fix the long lines that many voters faced at the polls. He mentioned the problem again in his inaugural address. And now, the...
View ArticlePresident's New Voting Commission Greeted With Skepticism
One of the more memorable moments in President Obama's State of the Union address this week was his introduction of an elderly woman sitting in the House gallery. The president said that Desiline...
View ArticleAdvocates Warn Sequester Could Mean Big Cuts For The Low-Income
Many programs affecting low-income Americans — like food stamps, Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families — are exempt from across-the-board spending cuts set to go into effect March 1.But...
View ArticleAging Homeless Face More Health Issues, Early Death
If aging is not for sissies, that's especially true if you're homeless. You can be on your feet for hours, or forced to sleep in the frigid cold or seriously ill with no place to go. But, increasingly,...
View ArticleHealth Problems Compound For Aging Homeless
Tony Lithgow and Andrea Mayer have been living under a highway overpass in downtown Baltimore since last year. He's 49 and has been homeless on and off for eight years. She's 51 and has been homeless...
View ArticleFree Tax Help Protects Low-Income Filers From Pricey Loans
As this year's tax deadline approaches, hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans are relying on free services to help them with their returns.Tax preparation fees — even a few hundred dollars —...
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