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Elaine Korry

Elaine Korry is an NPR contributor based in San Francisco. From August 2004-June 2007 she worked as an NPR senior reporter covering social policy for NPR, with a focus on education, and on the lives of the nation's most vulnerable citizens — the homeless, those living in poverty, working in low wage positions, and trying to find their way to a more stable life.

In 2007, she reported on hospitals struggling to serve chronically homeless people in Los Angeles; the debate over pulling welfare mothers out of school in favor of low-wage jobs; working families with children driven from San Francisco because of the spiraling cost of housing; and proposed budget cuts to literacy programs for immigrant families.

Prior to covering social policy issues, Elaine covered business and economics for NPR for 14 years. She has been awarded numerous reporting fellowships in social policy and education from the Hechinger Institute, Casey Journalism Center, and Wharton School of Business. She attended Rider University in New Jersey, and worked in public radio for 10 years prior to coming to NPR.

  • Two worlds have come together in a rare teaching program at one of the nation's top universities. Students at Stanford University are reaching across a cultural divide to help tutor the Mexican immigrants who clean their classrooms and dorms.
  • A survey conducted by researchers at UCLA finds that this year's college freshmen are working more -- and taking on more debt -- than those in years past. NPR's Elaine Korry reports.
  • A controversy over religion in public schools is raging in Cupertino, Calif. A fifth-grade teacher there claims school officials have muzzled him when he tries to teach his students about the role Christianity played in the American Revolution. Many parents in the community feel he's overstepped his bounds. NPR's Elaine Korry reports.
  • The number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq surpasses 1,000, a figure that includes combat deaths and Americans killed by accidents and other causes. Most of the deaths occurred after President Bush declared an end to major combat operations last year. Hear NPR's Elaine Korry.
  • A federal judge rules that a sex-discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart can become a class-action suit, encompassing 1.6 million current and former female employees. Wal-Mart said it would appeal the decision. The class-action status makes the suit the largest discrimination case ever brought against a private employer in the United States. NPR's Elaine Korry reports.
  • The fifth book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, goes on sale at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday. The U.S. publisher has commissioned a record first run of 8.5 million copies. Thousands of bookstores across the United States plan late-night Potter parties. NPR's Elaine Korry reports.
  • The Bush administration proposes two new types of savings accounts with higher contribution limits than current IRAs. The White House says the plan will help Americans save more, but critics say the plan is just a tax shelter for the rich. NPR's Elaine Korry reports.
  • The nation's biggest public pension fund agrees to pay a record $250 million to settle age-discrimination claims. The case involves 1,700 California public safety workers who were disabled in the line of duty. NPR's Elaine Korry reports.
  • Microsoft's announcement that it will begin paying cash dividends to shareholders receives a lukewarm response from other technology companies, which face increasing pressure to follow Microsoft's lead. NPR's Elaine Korry reports.
  • Californians brace for another blast from El Nino. The weather pattern battered the coast in recent days, and after a two-day lull, more heavy wind and rain are expected. That means flooding, mudslides and power outages. NPR's Elaine Korry reports.