Apr 1, 2024

Ultimately, the joke’s on Gmail rivals

Photo illustration by Chesnot/Getty Images

On its 20th birthday, Google celebrates 3 billion Gmail users — and a privacy lawsuit settlement.

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Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Maryland legislators hope to help port workers and others affected by the bridge collapse

by Nancy Marshall-Genzer

Apr 1, 2024

More than 15,000 people work directly at the port, and more than 140,000 additional jobs are connected to it.

With the port's main shipping channel closed, small business owners as well as restaurant and hotel staff working near the port could soon find themselves out of work.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Job security and hiring in tech have plummeted. How much is AI to blame?

by Kristin Schwab and Sarah Leeson

Apr 1, 2024

Tech companies may have over hired in the pandemic. Now, AI and other economic forces are creating a shrink in the tech sector.

While the IT sector added more than 260,000 jobs in 2022, last year it grew by a mere 700 jobs, and that number is expected to shrink even more in 2024.

David Paul Morris/Getty Images

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Gmail was launched 20 April Fools' Days ago. The joke's been on its rivals.

by Matt Levin

Apr 1, 2024

For better or worse, the email service has become a personal archive for many millions of users.

Google Workspace, which includes Gmail, has 3 billion users.

S3studio/Getty Images

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Some states consider slashing payments to parents who care for disabled kids

by Elizabeth Gabriel

Apr 1, 2024

At least 12 states have proposed cutting payments that thousands of families rely on. The Dewitt family in Indiana is one of them.

Jackson Dewitt is one of around 1,600 children who receive services through the Attendant Care Program. The stipend his mother, Jennifer, gets for providing around-the-clock care for him helps the family stay afloat.

Elizabeth Gabriel/Side Effects Public Media

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RV sales could be an indicator of a smoother ride for the economy

by Meghan McCarty Carino

Apr 1, 2024

Sales of these expensive vehicles peaked in 2021, decelerated by more than 50% last year, and are starting to turn up again. That can tell us something about the economy overall.

"RVs do extraordinarily well in predicting business cycles because they’re such a big, volatile consumption piece for most American consumers," says economist Michael Hicks.

Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

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Across the path of totality, people are cashing in on 2024’s total solar eclipse

by Maria Hollenhorst

Apr 1, 2024

From fully booked hotels to eclipse-themed weddings, the celestial event spreads economic opportunity along its path.

Students in London observe a partial solar eclipse in the U.K. on March 20, 2015. On April 8th this year, a total solar eclipse will pass through the United States.

Rob Stothard/Getty Images

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Music from the episode

"Teenage Birdsong" Four Tet

"Offcut #1" Little People

"Uncle ACE" Blood Orange

"Seconds Into Months" MNDLSS

"Dig This" Hocus Pocus

The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer

Maria Hollenhorst Producer II

Andie Corban Producer I

Sarah Leeson Producer I

Sean McHenry Director & Associate Producer II

Sofia Terenzio Assistant Producer

Jordan Mangi Assistant Digital Producer

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