Tomorrow, the United States of America celebrates its 250th anniversary. The planning of events has been marked by the cancellation of long scheduled programs.
Anastasia Tsioulcas is a reporter on NPR's Arts desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards and the myriad accusations of sexual misconduct against singer R. Kelly.
July 4th events for America's milestone birthday are being threatened by a brutal heat wave. And, Russia has struck Ukraine's capital, killing several people in what it calls retaliatory attacks.
The costs of having a baby in the U.S. can be hard to predict and budget for. We want to hear your stories and questions about how to navigate the system.
The Trump administration has indicted a former Olympian over damage to the National Mall's reflecting pool. A lawyer for David Hearn says he's innocent.
Russia's economy is suffering from high inflation, an acute labor shortage and widespread fuel shortages amid sustained Ukrainian drone strikes on energy infrastructure.