How FEMA helps the rich get richer and leaves the poor ruined

The federal government spends billions of dollars annually helping communities rebuild and prevent future damage. But white people and the wealthy benefit disproportionately from that money.

Janssen Pharmaceutica This nasal spray may save millions of lives In a subset of depression cases, existing medications simply don't work. "It's essentially a deadly disease when you haven't responded to available treatments and you've been suffering for years if not decades," says one doctor. But a new ketamine variant has been shown in trials to help those patients. Because it has some of the same side effects as its party drug cousin, esketamine will only be administered in treatment centers. But it's been shown to work within hours, not the days or weeks other depression drugs can take to be effective. Claire Harbage/NPR NPR investigation: FEMA records show most money flows to the wealthy and whites after disaster strikes The Papadopoulos and Evans families were two of the hundreds of thousands of families who evacuated their Houston during Hurricane Harvey. Both lost their homes in the storm. Today, the white, homeowning family is financially stable, while the black renters are facing bankruptcy. One factor: The Papadopoulos family got more than $130,000 in federal aid. The Evanses got $2,500. It's an increasingly common story in the U.S., where disasters now affect half of counties each year. BSIP/UIG via Getty Images Two studies of nearly 1.2 million Danish kids agree: The measles vaccine doesn't cause autism The latest study, covering data collected from all children born in Denmark to Danish-born mothers between 1999 and 2010, found no link, even when subgroups especially susceptible to autism were studied. "Parents should not avoid vaccinating their children for fear of autism," the lead researcher says. A separate study found that live vaccines have surprising benefits, priming the immune system to fight off infections other than the targeted pathogen. Researchers are still trying to determine exactly how that happens. Mikael Owunna Black light, black beauty: Fluorescent paint turns this photographer's subjects into cosmic canvases Mikael Owunna says he grew weary of the barrage of violent, dehumanizing imagery of black people he saw in the media: "being gunned down by police officers, drowning and washing up on the shores of the Mediterranean, starving and suffering." He set out to instead depict black bodies as founts of magic, embodying the eternal and the infinite. "Every black person deserves to see themselves this way," Owunna says one of his models told him. Season 5 of Invisibilia is your emotional survival guide. At a cultural moment where there seems to be more distance than ever between fact and fiction, friend and foe… Invisibilia, a show about the invisible forces shaping human behavior, offers a survival guide. This season features stories about brave people fighting at the extremes: a weatherman battling a deadly tornado, teenagers dying of Facebook posts, a woman conducting a bizarre dating experiment and a man who cuts off his finger and feels…. nothing. No easy answers, just the right questions. Join hosts, Alix Spiegel, and Hanna Rosin, every Friday through April 12 as they fuse storytelling with science to help you see your own life with a new pair of eyes. Subscribe to Invisibilia What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: bestofnpr@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to our Best of NPR emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002