Author: Reporter

It is the season of giving thanks. And it turns out humans have been doing it for a long, long time. As more researchers dig into the science of gratitude, they have found the feeling likely played a key role in helping our ancestors band together and survive. That legacy continues today, as being in the mood for gratitude shapes who we are as a species and how we connect with the people around us. “This is something that is part of our human DNA,” said Sarah Schnitker, a psychologist at Baylor University. “It is a glue, in a...

The late crush of holiday travelers is picking up steam, with about 2.7 million people expected to board flights on November 22 and millions more planning to drive or take the train to Thanksgiving celebrations. Airline officials say they are confident they can avoid the kind of massive disruptions that have marred past holiday seasons, such as the meltdown at Southwest Airlines over last Christmas. And as of mid-day on November 22 that appeared to be the case. U.S. airports were reporting only five flight cancellations and 364 flight delays, according to FlightAware, a tracking service. But snow showers...

The Biden administration proposed new regulations in late July to make state and local government websites and apps for services like libraries, parking, transit, and court records more accessible for people with disabilities. The new Justice Department rule would establish certain accessibility standards for websites and app-based services maintained by state and local governments, the White House announced. Those could include providing text descriptions for photos for the visually impaired who use screen readers, and captioning for government videos. Administration officials say such websites and government services have not been as accessible as they should be for people with...

Senior Hamas officials said on November 21 that an agreement could be reached soon in which the militant group would release hostages and Israel would free Palestinian prisoners. Israel, the United States, and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, have been negotiating for weeks over a hostage release that would be paired with a temporary cease-fire in Gaza and the entry of more humanitarian aid. Similar predictions of a hostage agreement in recent weeks have proven premature. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced meetings of three key decision-making bodies to discuss “the issue of the release of hostages.” “On...

A recent poll of Americans found that nearly half of those who stopped giving to charity over the past five years said they did so because they thought wealthier people could afford to give more, and should. Others said they simply could not afford to give. The survey of more than 2,100 adults across the United States, released by the Better Business Bureau’s Give.org, adds to research on the shrinking number of households that contribute to charity each year, dropping from 66% in 2000 to 49.6% in 2018. The impact of the decline became even more clear when a...

A generation ago nonprofit organizations regularly lobbied for legislation and served as advocates on issues. But according to a recent survey, charities are now far more reluctant to seek to influence lawmakers and other policymakers. The survey, conducted for Independent Sector, a membership organization of nonprofits and grantmakers, found that less than one-third of nonprofits have actively advocated for policy issues or lobbied on specific legislation over the past five years, down from nearly three-quarters of nonprofits in 2000. And even though nonprofits work on a range of issues that are affected by policy choices, such as funding for...