Some states are still struggling; California has lost 32,000 teaching positions since 2008. Here, teachers, parents and supporters rally as the Los Angeles Unified School District board meets to consider budget cuts and layoffs on Feb. 14.
Credit John Hanna / AP
In Kansas, legislators are considering devoting extra funds to tax relief instead of hiring more state workers. Republican state Rep. Joe Patton of Topeka, shown in November, talks about proposals to eliminate the state's income tax.
At the end of most previous recessions, hiring has increased among state and local governments, helping the broader economy to recover.
That's not happening this time around.
Layoffs have started to taper off, and tax receipts are starting to improve. But states are still a long way from bringing their workforces back up to pre-recession levels. And cities and counties remain in greater fiscal peril.
A shooting spree that left three African-Americans dead in Oklahoma and the death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin have renewed public debate about hate crime laws. Host Michel Martin speaks with law professor and former federal prosecutor Paul Butler about hate crime statutes and whether they're necessary.
A quarter of U.S. teens between ages 16 and 19, who are looking for work, can't find it. Michael Saltsman of Employment Policies Institute says teen unemployment isn't just about buying pizza on Friday nights. The cash teens earn is often essential for supporting themselves and their families. Saltsman speaks with host Michel Martin.
For the last three summers, the teen unemployment rate has been above 20 percent. As high school students start making summer plans, the moms weigh in on whether its good for teens to work. Host Michel Martin speaks with regular moms Jolene Ivey, Aracely Panameno and Dani Tucker.
As he's been reporting for NPR.org in recent months, Alan Greenblatt has noticed something unusual: he's increasingly being asked to prove who he is and that he is, in fact, a journalist. Here's what he found when he started to ask why that's happening:
How many people would bother to impersonate a reporter? Enough, apparently, to cause some government officials to do preliminary background checks on people to whom they grant interviews.
The World Bank has been led by an American since its founding in 1946. Now, two candidates from developing countries, including Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, say their experiences make them better candidates. Okonjo-Iweala speaks with host Michel Martin about why the World Bank should open up its selection process.
As part of Tell Me More's series for National Poetry Month, host Michel Martin shares a poetic tweet from writer and artist Heather Feaga from Phoenix, Arizona. Listeners are invited to tweet original poems of 140 characters or less to #TMMPoetry.
Most pitchers in the majors stick to fastballs, curveballs, sliders and change-ups when facing batters at the plate.
But not New York Mets right-hander R.A. Dickey. Dickey is currently the only knuckleball pitcher in a current rotation. At 37, he's also one of the older pitchers in the league and has seen his career — and life — mimic the erratic trajectory of the difficult pitch he throws game after game.
