NPR News

One thing is lagging in the recovery from the Great Recession — jobs. But one demographic group, foreign-born workers, has been gaining jobs back faster than its native-born counterparts.

In 2010 — the year after the recession officially ended — U.S.-born workers lost 1.2 million jobs while foreign-born workers gained more than a half-million jobs.

But why are foreign-born seemingly doing better than others?

'A Tale Of Two Workers'

Mareena Sweat and Luis Valantan live in Phoenix and are both struggling to find work since the recession.

Americans can be awfully generous: The Giving USA foundation estimates that in 2009, more than $300 billion in charitable contributions were made by corporations, individuals and foundations. The money went to a range of nonprofits working in the environment, education, health care and the arts.

Following intense lobbying, eight South American countries have recognized Palestine as an independent state since December, giving the Palestinian Authority momentum in a campaign to win worldwide declarations of support for Palestinian statehood.

Scientists have discovered a group of people in Ecuador with a rare gene mutation that could reveal ways to extend the human life span.

The mutation affects the way the body uses growth hormone. It causes a condition called Laron syndrome.

People with the syndrome are typically less than four feet tall, but they are protected from cancer and diabetes, according to a study in Science Translational Medicine.

The study is the result of a scientific journey that started more than 15 years ago in a lab in Los Angeles.

Part 2 of a two-part series

At the age of 20, Tiibea Baure had never seen a stoplight. She'd never been anywhere where she couldn't walk to the ocean in less than four minutes. She'd never slept in a bed before — just on the floor, with her extended family in the same room.