What do minimum wage hikes mean for businesses and customers? Dozens of states are raising the minimum wage. NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Gina Schafer, CEO of Ace Hardware, who decided to implement the pay bump across the board in all her stores.
An Uber rider who got stuck in the Virginia traffic jam ended up with a $600 bill Andrew Peters was stuck on I-95 for nine hours this week after snow and ice caused tractor-trailers to jackknife on the interstate, making the road impassable. By Thursday, Uber had offered a refund. Jonathan Franklin
Airbnb's new experiment to combat rental bias uses initials instead of names The project is limited to Oregon users and follows a lawsuit settlement alleging that hosts could discriminate against Black renters based on their names. Vanessa Romo
Mercedes' new electric concept car uses mushrooms and cacti to build its seats The VISION EQXX prototype can go about 620 miles on a single charge, Mercedes says. Tien Le
Thousands of airline passengers are stranded. Here's what to do if you're one of them Thousands of flights have been canceled, leaving travelers scrambling to figure out how to book new seats and get reimbursements for added expenses. Vanessa Romo
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes is found guilty on 4 counts in her fraud trial Holmes, who was once seen as one of the most promising leaders in Silicon Valley, could spend up to 20 years in prison for lying to investors and patients of the blood-testing company. Bobby Allyn
Some of the artists from journalist Ian Urbina's music project say they were misled Journalist Ian Urbina recruited musicians to make music based off his reporting on crimes in international waters. Some participating artists complained they were misled about their side of the deal. Andrew Limbong
All audio recorded before 1923 — like possibly the 1st soda ad — enters public domain On Jan. 1, all sound recordings before 1923 entered the public domain, due to the Music Modernization Act. The release is a treasure trove of opera, vaudeville, marching bands and spoken word. Vincent Acovino
Travel disruptions put a damper on holiday celebrations NPR's Rachel Martin talks to David Slotnick, senior aviation business reporter at the travel website The Points Guy, about COVID-related staffing that has led to thousands of flight cancellations.
2022 is promising to be big year for electric vehicles Big automakers are planning to introduce several new models of electric vehicles in the coming year, though the demise of a hoped-for subsidy may keep sales sluggish in the short term. Camila Domonoske