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Today’s best stories
Americans are behind on their credit card bills. Nearly one in five credit card users has maxed out their loans, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. People under 30 and those who live in low-income neighborhoods are more likely to be at or near their credit limit. Debt is a sign that borrowers are feeling the pressure of rising prices and high interest rates.
Credit card delinquencies increased during the first three months of the year. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, nearly one in five card users are “maxed out,” using at least 90% of their credit limit.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Credit card delinquencies increased during the first three months of the year. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, nearly one in five card users are “maxed out,” using at least 90% of their credit limit.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
- “Most investors now believe it will be September before the Federal Reserve is ready to start cutting interest rates,” NPR’s Scott Horsley reports First. Even though inflation has declined from what it was several years ago, prices continue to rise faster than most would like. More than half of all credit card users pay off their balance in full each month, so they aren’t affected by high interest rates. For this reason, there is no incentive to stop spending, making it difficult to control inflation.
Boeing violated an agreement that allowed it to avoid criminal prosecution following two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max planes more than five years ago, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors say Boeing failed to “design, implement and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws.” That means the company faces criminal charges for defrauding federal regulators, although Justice Department lawyers have not said whether they will pursue that action. Boeing says it disagrees with the DOJ’s conclusion that it violated the agreement.
- Boeing came under new scrutiny this year after a door stopper exploded on an Alaska Airlines flight in January. But it’s incredibly rare for someone to be killed or even injured during a commercial flight. Here’s why there’s usually no need to panic when a plane makes an emergency landing.
The huge container ship that hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge had electrical problems the day before it left the port of Baltimore, according to a preliminary report from National Transportation Safety Board investigators. The Dali experienced a “blackout” around ten hours before leaving the port. Crew members were able to restore power before the ship experienced a second power outage, after which the crew changed the configuration of the ship’s electrical system. The NTSB says the connection between these incidents and what happened early the next morning, when the Dali lost power twice in the minutes before colliding with one of the bridge supports, is still unclear. not clear.
The Science of Siblings
Paris Lekuuk, 15 (center), listens to a math lesson in the third grade class at her primary school in northern Kenya.
Claire Harbage/NPR
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Claire Harbage/NPR
Paris Lekuuk, 15 (center), listens to a math lesson in the third grade class at her primary school in northern Kenya.
Claire Harbage/NPR
THE Sibling Science is a new series from NPR exploring how our brothers and sisters can influence us, from our money and our mental health to our very molecules.
Until a few weeks ago, Paris Lekuuk, 15, had never set foot in a school. He recently decided to leave his life as a “moran”, a warrior of the Samburu people of Kenya. Its people have raised cattle in the area for centuries. The teenage warriors rely on a bond they say makes them closer than brothers to survive alone for months caring for livestock in the highlands. But the arrival of climate change threatens this brotherhood, which is why Lekuuk split up to go to school.
See photos of Paris and his fellow morans, and find out how he does at school without his brothers.
Listening of the day
The Philharmonie is winner of the Tiny Desk 2024 competition
Courtesy of the artist
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Courtesy of the artist
The Philharmonie is winner of the Tiny Desk 2024 competition
Courtesy of the artist
Nearly 7,000 artists submitted entries for this year’s Tiny Desk competition. NPR’s Bobby Carter, one of 15 judges, says it’s one of the most competitive yet. Past winners have signed recording contracts, written music for Broadway and even won Grammys. Today, NPR crowns a tenth winner.
Watch the music video for “What’s It All Mean” by this year’s winner, Philharmonik, and hear Bobby Carter explain why the judges chose this band from Sacramento, California.
3 things to know before you leave
Target has confirmed it will not carry its LGBTQ+ products for Pride Month this June in select stores after the discount retailer received backlash last year. Here, Pride Month products are on display at a Target store in Nashville, Tennessee in May 2023.
George Walker IV/AP
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George Walker IV/AP
Target has confirmed it will not carry its LGBTQ+ products for Pride Month this June in select stores after the discount retailer received backlash last year. Here, Pride Month products are on display at a Target store in Nashville, Tennessee in May 2023.
George Walker IV/AP
- The Target 2024 Pride Month collection will only be available online and in “select stores” based on “historical sales performance,” according to a company press release.
- Aldi and Hy-Vee grocery stores issued recalls cream cheese due to potential salmonella contamination.
- The Westminster Dog Show had some firsts this year. Mando represented the Lancashire Heeler, the last breed recognized by the American Kennel Club. And Nimble became the first mixed breed dog to win the competition’s agility championship.
This newsletter was published by Majd Al-Waheidi.
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