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Actor Oscar Isaac was middle school-age in 1992 when Hurricane Andrew swept through his hometown, blowing the roof off his Florida home. He remembers holding his dog and huddling with his family under some cushions in the living room as water rose up to his ankles. Isaac's family, who were evangelical Christian, initially thought the storm was a sign of the the apocalypse. After it passed, he says, "I remember coming out to the neighborhood and it really looked like an atom bomb had gone off. It was just leveled, the whole place." It was an early lesson in the temporary nature of things, a the ..read more

Some 2,000 Amazon warehouse workers on Staten Island have signed a call for unionization and on Monday plan to ask federal labor officials to authorize a union vote. The push in New York ratchets up growing unionization efforts at Amazon, which is now the second-largest U.S. private employer. The company has for years fought off labor organizing at its facilities. In April, warehouse workers in Alabama voted to reject the biggest union campaign yet. As that vote ended, the Staten Island effort began, led by a new, independent Amazon Labor Union, organized by current and former workers from the ..read more

Drone operators were preparing to launch a daring rescue mission to carry several dogs out of a volcano's lava zone when they realized something had changed: All of the dogs were already gone. It was apparently the work of a group of mysterious rescuers who left a spray-painted banner reading, "The dogs are fine." The message was signed "A Team." The dogs' plight has made headlines for weeks after emergency teams realized the animals had been stranded by lava from a volcano's prolonged eruption on the island of La Palma, Spain. Drones have dropped food and water for the animals as officials co ..read more

The world's largest movie theater chain is adding onscreen captions at hundreds of U.S. locations in an effort to make moviegoing more accessible. AMC Theatres announced last Friday that 240 of its locations — in more than 100 U.S. markets — are adding open captioning to certain showings. The change took effect last week and is aimed at improving the viewing experience for people who have hearing loss and for whom English is not their first language. "Inclusive programming is core to AMC's strategy, and we're proud to lead the theatrical exhibition industry by making some open caption showtime ..read more

This is a tale of two Jackson, Mississippi's. There's Jackson, the state capital, run historically by white conservatives. Then there's Jackson, the 82 percent Black city, run by a mayor wanting to make it "the most radical city on the planet." February's winter storm and water crisis provided just the latest high profile example of the two Jackson's clashing. State and local governments have made a pastime out of pointing fingers at each other for the city's woes, from crime to potholes to urban blight. Mississippi leaders say Jackson is just one city and can't hog resources to fix problems f ..read more

Updated October 21, 2021 at 2:03 PM ET Attorney General Merrick Garland deflected questions about whether the Justice Department is investigating legal violations by former President Donald Trump and about the reach of the ongoing probe into the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6 at his first congressional oversight hearing since he arrived to run the Justice Department seven months ago. Garland, who had been an appeals court judge for more than two decades before joining the Biden administration this year, told members of the House Judiciary Committee that he is laboring to keep the Justice Departm ..read more

Democrats have been negotiating for weeks over just how much to spend on a budget reconciliation bill that would address key Biden administration priorities in areas like climate change, health care and child care. And now another high-profile voice has entered the conversation. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, penned an open letter to House Democratic leaders on Wednesday asking them not to "compromise or negotiate" when it comes paid family leave. "Paid leave should be a national right, rather than a patchwork option limited to those whose employers have policies in place, or those who live in ..read more

YouTube Following two thematically heavy and introspective singles, anaiis' new track "chuu" carries a message of calmness and relief. "After having spent so much energy dwelling on the heavier themes that inspired this body of work, I just needed to offer myself this catharsis," the London-based artist says of "chuu," one of the many highlights of her debut record this is no longer a dream . Joining her on the track is New Jersey rapper Topaz Jones, whose verse fits perfectly over the same mellow beat that carries anaiis' ethereal vocals. Copyright 2021 North Carolina Public Radio – WUNC. To ..read more

YouTube Tender falsetto singing has always been a hallmark of the sound of Tall Heights, the folk duo of Tim Harrington and Paul Wright. On Tall Heights' new single "The Mountain," from the upcoming album Juniors , the duo ratchets up the heartache with a poignant sentiment we've all experienced: "If your body leaves me before mine leavеs you / I'll be lookin' out at the mountain, honey / I'll bе makin' eyes at you." Inspired by a picture of a friend's grandfather on his last day looking out at the Green Mountains of Vermont, "The Mountain" beautifully captures the notion of love transcending ..read more