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Trevor Bedford is a computational virologist and professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle who has devoted his professional life to the pandemic for nearly two years.

On February 29, 2020, he used Twitter to report that the genome of a COVID-19 case reported in Washington state showed the first known community transmission in the U.S. "There are some enormous implications here," he wrote. His prior work to track the evolution and spread of other viruses has been critical in understanding this global pandemic.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned lawmakers Tuesday that the federal government could run short of cash to pay its bills by Oct. 18 unless Congress acts quickly to increase the government's borrowing authority.

The warning, at an appearance before the Senate Banking Committee, comes amid a standoff in Congress over the so-called debt ceiling. Senate Republicans blocked a measure to increase or suspend the debt ceiling on Monday.

Attorney Kevin McBride joins Here & Now‘s Tonya Mosley to explain why firefighters in the group he represents, Firefighters 4 Freedom, are suing Los Angeles over its city worker vaccine mandate.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles said that she "should have quit [gymnastics] way before Tokyo" in a new interview that sheds light on what the superstar has endured outside the spotlight.

In 2018, a bipartisan pair of senators introduced legislation that would provide support to individuals placed under guardianships, a legal mechanism set up for people who the court deems unable to manage their affairs. The bill never got a vote.

But on Tuesday, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, are reintroducing the Guardianship Accountability Act with optimism that this time the bill will have the political and public support to advance.

What changed? Simply put: Britney Spears.

More and more employers are ordering workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 without the option of getting tested instead. Now workers are pushing back.

Children born in 2020 will experience extreme climate events at a rate that is two to seven times higher than people born in 1960, according to a new study in the journal Science.

Dozens of workers trapped in a Canadian mine are in the process of making a dramatic escape that involves climbing vertically for up to 10 hours.

Thirty-nine employees at the Totten mine in northern Ontario were trapped underground starting midday Sunday when its elevator system was damaged, according to Brazilian mining company Vale.

SURREY, ENGLAND — The British government is putting up to 150 army drivers on standby to operate gas tanker trucks, as the country's fuel delivery crisis continues and motorists roam greater London in search of open gas stations.

The government insists the U.K. is not facing a fuel shortage, just a shortage of drivers who can deliver it to the pump.

British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said there were tentative signs that the volume of fuel in gas station storage tanks was stabilizing.

Riding support from Poland's right-wing populist Law and Justice Party and the local Roman Catholic clergy, nearly 100 provinces and municipalities in 2019 passed symbolic resolutions declaring themselves "LGBT-free."

It's not delivery, it's a recall. The frozen pizza brand known for its declarative slogan is recalling thousands of pounds of pies due to "misbranding and undeclared allergens," according to federal officials.

Nestlé USA Inc. is recalling some 27,872 pounds of frozen DiGiorno Crispy Pan Crust pepperoni pizza, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced on Sunday.

Many Americans hope to spend their old age at home, rather than moving into a care facility. When the time comes, they rely on the more than 2 million home health aides who provide day-to-day support.

Last week, a panel of scientists and doctors met to discuss the Pfizer booster vaccine. Specifically, the goal was to advise the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about who needs a third shot.

The agency ultimately recommended anyone age 65 and over should get one as well as people who live in long-term care facilities or people ages 50 to 64, who have underlying health conditions.

But several panelists felt there was a more urgent matter at hand than Pfizer boosters.

Retired NBA superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has a message for professional basketball players who are refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine: Get the shot or get off the squad.

"The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team," Abdul-Jabbar said in an article published in Rolling Stone on Saturday.