Here and Now

This month in Washington, D.C., a group of Kennedy-era staffers met for a reunion, including some women who worked for Kennedy the White House.

While Kennedy’s womanizing is well documented, not much is known about his policies on women’s issues or the women who worked for him.

From the Here & Now Contributors Network, Deborah Becker of WBUR has the story of some of these trailblazers.

At the time of John F. Kennedy’s death in November 1963, an employment boom was beginning.

Stocks were soaring, swept up in the emerging “go-go” era on Wall Street. It was a time when investors were falling in love with mutual funds and conglomerates.

So, what exactly did Kennedy do? As the nation marks the 50th anniversary of his assassination, do the experts credit him with having a lasting economic legacy?

Dozens of tornadoes struck the Midwest on Sunday, leaving hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed. Now starts the long cleanup process, as families sift through the debris of what used to be their homes.

The American Red Cross and other aid groups are moving in, to provide shelters for displaced residents. NPR’s David Schaper joins Here & Now’s Robin Young with details.

They say a dog is man’s best friend, but don’t tell that to Jermaine. Jermaine’s best friend is his blind brother Jeffrey. The two are inseparable.

Here & Now’s Robin Young takes a couple of minutes to draw attention to the huge problem of abandoned animals, and the attention that these two 8-month-old pit bull mix dogs have drawn, because of a picture that’s gone viral.

What may be the final film from acclaimed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki is a departure from his earlier fantasies.

“The Wind Rises” tells the story of a real-life airplane designer who created what some say was the best fighter plane of WWII. The film has proved controversial in Japan, and opens briefly in the U.S. this month to qualify for an Oscar nomination.

Allen Yu, KROC Fellowship winner for NPR, has our story.

The Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to further reduce trans fats in processed foods — a move that would require food companies to prove hydrogenated oils harmless before using them in products.

These days, most consumers consider this a good thing, but trans fats have historically been championed as a healthier alternative to butter and lard. It wasn’t until the 1990s that studies began to link trans fats to heart attacks and disease.

Miles Scott, 5, who in remission from leukemia, is having his wish to be “Batkid” granted by Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area and the city of San Francisco. If you’re on Twitter, you can follow the the hashtag #SFBatKid to see the updates, or you can watch the live stream.

Miami Beach’s South Beach neighborhood is a popular destination for tourists who head to Florida as temperatures start to plummet up north. And when they get there, the first thing many of these “snow birds” notice are the colors: A palette of pastels.

From the Here & Now Contributors Network, Julia Duba of WLRN has the story of Leonard Horowitz, the man who forever changed the color of South Beach.

All kinds of online marketplaces offer ways to sell your stuff: eBay, Craigslist, Etsy. But what about a place to sell your skills and expertise?

Now sites like Udemy, Skillshare and Lynda.com are in a race to become the “School of Everything.” As more courses appear, the competition among teachers is intensifying.

Transgendered inmates in Houston’s Harris County will now be housed based on the gender with which they identify, instead of their biological sex.

The sweeping new policy, designed to protect and guarantee equal treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender inmates, is being implemented by the sheriff of Houston’s Harris County.

The policy is believed to be one of the most comprehensive in the country. Houston has the third-largest county jail in the United States and processes around 125,000 individuals annually.

Dr. Deborah Cohan recently had a double mastectomy. But moments before, in the operating room, the mother of two turned up Beyonce’s “Get Me Bodied,” and she and the entire masked and scrubbed surgical team danced.