National News

After years of research, an animal scientist looking for ways to keep inflammation down in cattle came up with a novel approach: feed them flax. The flax in their food helps keep animals healthy and has an added benefit for people who later eat their meat: omega-3 enriched beef.

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A study of mine blast victims finds further evidence that there's a resurgence of black lung among coal miners. The relatively young ages of some of the miners and their limited tenure underground suggests significant exposure to coal dust.

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When it becomes legal to sell marijuana in the state, packages will have to be labeled. The logo is a marijuana leaf centered over an outline of the state. Will T-shirts and bumper stickers follow?

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A new poll finds 42 percent of Americans aren't sure that the Affordable Care Act is actually a law. Guest Host Celeste Headlee discusses this and other health care-related issues with Mary Agnes Carey, senior correspondent at Kaiser Health News, and NPR's Senior Washington Editor, Ron Elving.

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From scandals involving the IRS, to spirited Benghazi hearings, it's been a tough week for the Obama administration. But will this bad week really have further political fallout? Guest host Celeste Headlee checks in with the barbershop guys.

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African-American entrepreneurs from all over the country have gathered in Ohio this week. Guest host Celeste Headlee speaks with Mike Green of the America21 Project about how to help black youth become more competitive in business. We also hear from teen entrepreneur Amber Liggett who started her own business, 'Amber's Amazing Animal Balloons.'

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Millennials are now driving less, waiting longer to get licensed, and turning more to public transportation and car-sharing. So is America's so-called driving boom over? Guest host Celeste Headlee asks Paul Eisenstein of TheDetroitBureau.com.

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Guest host Celeste Headlee and editor Ammad Omar crack open the listener inbox for feedback. This week, violin lovers say a conversation about aggressive parenting hit the wrong notes.

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Biking to work is a great way to get exercise, save money and reduce pollution from cars. But does the risk of accidents cancel out all the good? Experience in Europe says no, but the U.S. lacks that tradition of urban bike travel.

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Biking to work is a great way to get exercise, save money and reduce pollution from cars. But does the risk of accidents cancel out all the good? Experience in Europe says no, but the

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President of the San Francisco Federal Reserve John Williams made headlines yesterday when he speculated that the Fed may reduce its stimulus efforts in the coming months. Does this mean that the economy is moving in the right direction?

Economist David Wyss of Brown University explains to Marketplace Morning Report host David Brancaccio whether or not Williams' comments should be interpreted as optimism about the economy.

The Islamic group Hamas runs the Gaza Strip and controls the police force. A number of young men say police plucked them from the street and shaved their heads recently, apparently because the officers didn't approve of their hairstyles.

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If you have student debt these days, welcome to the club.

According to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York student loan debt in the U.S. has reached nearly $1 trillion, up $20 billion from last quarter. Excluding home loans, it now makes up a third of all consumer debt.  

And it's hitting young adults, who are already having trouble finding work, the hardest.

Students in some states are struggling more than others though. 

Share of Consumers with Student Debt:

Across the country, an average 16.2 percent of consumers owe some amount of student debt. But if you look at the state level, the country is split along the Mason–Dixon line, with a higher percentage of the population owing money in northern states than southern states.

Overall, Hawaii claims the lowest share of consumers with student debt, just 12 percent. While a whopping 25 percent of the population in Washington, D.C. owes student loan money.

Average Student Debt Per Borrower:

Students around the nation's capital also owe much more than others around the country. In the District of Columbia and neighboring Maryland, the average student is saddled with over $28,000 in debt.

Other states where students owe more are concentrated in the South and Northeast.

Percent of Delinquent Student Loans:

While the average student in the Northeast owes more, delinquency rates in the area are relatively low.

Around the rest of the country, the amount of delinquency varies significantly. Only 6.5 percent of South Dakota students have fallen behind on their loans, while a whopping 18 percent of West Virginia's are 90 days late or more on a payment. And another 13 states have delinquency rates of 13 percent or more.

Maps can only tell us so much.  What is your experience with student debt where you live? Share your story in the comment section below.

A fan favorite who gained nationwide fame because of his name, Trickle was known for both his many wins and his huge personality. But he may never have gotten over a granddaughter's death, friends say. Trickle was 71.

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For the first time since 2011, European auto sales went up according to new data out this morning. After 18 months of declining sales, new car registrations rose 1.7 percent for the European Union in April.

But don't celebrate yet. The reason for the uptick has a lot to do with this year’s calendar, as April has two more business days than it did in 2012. Click on the audio player above to hear more from the BBC's transport correspondent Richard Westcott.

Shug McGaughey is the trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Orb, who runs Saturday in the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown. Despite his long record of success, no one seems as surprised as the 62-year-old McGaughey to be pursuing one of the sport's top honors.

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It's been a big week for talk about farming and food on Capitol Hill. Both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have passed separate versions of the farm bill, which is long overdue for renewal. Next Monday, the full Senate is set to debate the bill. Debate on the on the floor of the House is expected in June. 

The stickiest wicket has been around the size of the food stamp program, technically known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. At last count, about one in five Americans received food stamps, many of them elderly or working-poor families with children. 

Use of food stamps has grown dramatically in the aftermath of the Great Recession, as more people struggled to get food on the table. Growth in the last decade has also come from easing of eligibility requirements for the program to make it more accessible. 

In the House, many politicians have expressed concerns that Americans are becoming too dependent on food stamps. After debates involving dueling Bible verses, the House Agriculture Committee passed a bill this week that would make it harder to qualify for food stamps, and cut more than $20 billion dollars to the program over the next ten years. 

About two million people, or four percent of participants, would lose food stamps under the current House bill, according to calculations from the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. It would be the largest cut in food stamps since the 1996 welfare reforms.   

The Senate’s current version of the bill would also make cuts to the food stamp program, though far smaller ones. Spending would shrink by about $4 billion over the next ten years. 

In an interview with Marketplace earlier this week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack argued that food stamps not only help those in need but also stimulate the economy, with every dollar spent in the food stamp program generating almost twice as much in economic activity. 

“As more people can buy more at the grocery store, that generates opportunities for grocers to increase employment, for those who truck produce to grocery stores to keep employed, for those in the processing and shipping and packaging and warehousing of food products,” he said. 

”Those are all basic opportunities that are maintained or expanded because we’ve got this Food Nutrition Assistance Program.”

The government of President Nicolas Maduro announced this week that it would import 50 million rolls of toilet paper to meet the growing demand. The oil-rich country already suffers from a shortage of medicine, milk and sugar.

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The government of President Nicolas Maduro announced this week that it would import 50 million rolls of toilet paper to meet the growing demand. The oil-rich country already suffers from a shortage of medicine, milk and sugar.

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"I think we overreached in '98 — how's that for a quote you can use?" the former House speaker says of the Clinton impeachment. Now he tells fellow Republicans that they need to be "calm and factual" as they pursue answers from the Obama administration about the IRS and other scandals.

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