Uri Berliner

An NPR/Marist poll shows 65 percent of contract workers are men and 62 percent are under 45. Contract workers gain flexibility, but when business goes down, they're often the first to be fired.

Americans spent freely over the holidays, making it the best Christmas shopping season in years. Sales picked up as the economy continues to recover, with unemployment down and consumer confidence up. Weather and a favorable shopping calendar also boosted the fortunes of retailers.

Corporations and the wealthy are the largest beneficiaries of the tax cuts passed by Republicans. But big changes are in store for regular people, too.

The Senate has passed the Republican tax plan, which goes back to the House Wednesday after a procedural snag. We look at what it means for average Americans. Also, an update on Puerto Rico.

We look at how the tax overhaul bill that was passed by Senate Republicans is different from what Republicans have promised over the past several years.

The price of Bitcoin has skyrocketed more than 1,200 percent this year. That's got people talking about the digital currency and wondering why it has climbed so high and whether its rise is a bubble which will burst.

Kalanick reportedly agreed to resign after a shareholder revolt and scandals involving the workplace environment. An ex-Uber engineer had blogged about how her sexual harassment case was mishandled.

After adding more than 200,000 jobs in each of the first two months of 2017, the number of jobs added last month was about half what analysts had expected. The unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent.

Donald Trump won the backing of the NRA and many gun owners by opposing limits to the Second Amendment's right to bear arms, but his election hasn't been good for the gun business.

A long-shot idea has received recent attention: a plan that would set a price on carbon to encourage energy efficiency and limit the impact of climate change. Even the new CEO of Exxon Mobil backs it.

The Dow Jones industrial average passed another milestone today. Here's a little explainer as to why stocks have done so well in recent years — and why it doesn't affect the wallets of most Americans.

Technology was front and center in many of 2016's biggest stories; 2017 is likely to hold more of the same. NPR's tech reporters discuss Facebook, data hacks and automation, and other top issues.

The fledgling legal market for marijuana is around $7 billion, and the recent passage of legalization measures in eight states has sparked a surge of interest from investors in an expanding industry.

Despite being self-driving, big rigs will still need truckers to ride along and take control of in case of emergency situations. But some say they may be the last generation to do their jobs.

As it transitions away from manufacturing, Springfield relies more on lower-paying service jobs. For many, a middle-class life is out of reach. But some see signs of hope for the local economy.

Nick Minnerath was an unlikely NBA hopeful. He failed off his high school team twice and lost two years to drugs. But a family friend and a coach who gave him a shot renewed his basketball ambitions.

John Holland made six figures playing pro basketball in Europe. He traded that for $19,000 and Canton, Ohio, playing on the Cleveland Cavaliers' farm team for a chance to play in the NBA.

The odds are stacked against any minor league basketball player trying to make the NBA. But one remarkable, contested shot helped pave the way for a player named John Holland.

Brenda Newport is an unwavering fan of the minor league basketball team: Canton Charge. She says rooting for the home team and heckling the opposition give her life as she battles cancer.

Some financial experts want to bring back tontines, a retirement planning tool. People pool their cash to buy a bond that makes regular payments. The catch: You have to be alive to collect the payout.