VPR News

There have been 20 traffic crash fatalities in Vermont so far this year. That's down from 41 at this point last year. While highway safety officials are hopeful that the number remains low this year, they have other important concerns about our driving habits . We'll talk about those on Vermont Edition .

Sen. Bernie Sanders' "Medicare for All" health care plan has become a key issue in the Democratic presidential race. VPR's Bob Kinzel joined Vermont Edition to discuss why some candidates have started to distance themselves from the plan.

Vermont-based author M.T. Anderson is the winner of the 2019 American Library Association's Margaret A. Edwards Award for lasting contribution to young adult literature. In his acceptance speech for the award earlier this month, Anderson addressed the role of YA literature in today's society.

If there's one issue that defines Sen. Bernie Sanders, it's probably his unflinching support for a government-run health care system that's financed through federal taxes. That idea of "Medicare for All" has become a defining issue in the larger Democratic presidential race — and some other candidates are proposing modifications to Sanders' plan.

More Americans than ever have tattoos, with a recent Harris Poll survey finding three in ten adults are inked. Shifting attitudes toward tattoos are leading to changes in hiring practices, like a new Vermont State Police policy giving officer ink the stamp of approval, provided the tattoo is covered when in uniform. We're talking about changing attitudes around tattoos and what they mean today.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services alleges University of Vermont Medical Center illegally coerced a nurse into assisting with what the department described as an elective abortion. This is the first enforcement action of this kind from the department's new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division. The hospital disputes many of the allegations.

People from all over Vermont's Northeast Kingdom have been coming to the Orleans County Fair , in Barton, for more than 150 years. There's an arm-wrestling competition. There's something called the pig scramble — I don't know what that is, but I'm sorry I missed it. There are a few rides, but mostly, the fair is about animals, tractors and the demolition derby.

The federal Title X family planning program provides reproductive health care to low-income and uninsured families. We'll hear about the state's recent decision to fill the $800,000 gap that now exists for Planned Parenthood funding after a recent policy change by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

After more than a month of silence, developers of Burlington's downtown mall still won't say when construction on the project will begin or what specific changes might be coming — and city leaders are growing frustrated by the lack of information.

Speaking in New Hampshire earlier this month, at his first rally after deadly mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, President Donald Trump pointed to mental illness as the source of the violence.

Burlington’s City Hall Park closed in July for a big renovation . The park, which hosted events like the summer farmer’s market, was also a place where many homeless people spent their days. With the park’s closure, they’ve had to relocate, and the displacement has led to an uptick in problems downtown according to some business owners.

The Pownal select board met this month to discuss a proposed junk ordinance to regulate salvage yards, waste disposal and junk vehicles. One person's junk is another's treasure, or so the saying goes. But where do we draw the line when it comes to public displays of those so-called treasures?

Two sisters. Both under age 15. Both talented pianists. And both juggling being kids with becoming master musicians.

State regulators told Gov. Phil Scott Friday afternoon that the future of health care reform is in peril if he doesn’t increase funding for Vermont’s Medicaid program.

Environmentalists opposed to the expansion of a Northeast Kingdom landfill say Vermont is being inconsistent in how it regulates the landfill’s wastewater.