WVIK | Covering news, music, arts, and culture for the Quad Cities.

In 'Beeswing,' Richard Thompson Revisits A Big Life Just Shy Of The Mainstream

By Peter Breslow • 9 minutes ago

Richard Thompson has been making music for a very long time. From his days in the late 1960s as a teenage guitar player and songwriter with the seminal British folk rock group Fairport Convention to his roaring partnership with then-wife Linda Thompson, and his many years as a solo artist beyond.

'Suspicious' Blackout Strikes Iran's Natanz Nuclear Site

By editor • 12 minutes ago

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's underground Natanz nuclear facility lost power Sunday just hours after starting up new advanced centrifuges capable of enriching uranium faster, the latest incident to strike the site amid negotiations over the tattered atomic accord with world powers.

This Top Biden Economist Has A Plan: Create Jobs, Address Inequality, Ignore Trolls

By Ayesha Rascoe • 1 hour ago

The U.S. economy added more than 900,000 jobs last month. For most White House officials, that would be considered a banner number. For Janelle Jones, the top economist at the Labor Department, there is much more work for the Biden administration to do.

Jones, the first Black woman to ever hold her position, says it would take a year of similar jobs reports just to get back to where the economy was before the pandemic. But even then, she says, getting back to the status quo is not enough.

Volcano On St. Vincent Could Experience Larger Eruption

By Dustin Jones • 13 hours ago

La Soufrière, the highest peak on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent, began to explosively erupt Friday morning, forcing thousands to evacuate as ash and smoke filled the sky.

And a larger eruption may be on the way.

Writer Discusses 'The Futility Of Vaccine Passports'

By editor • 14 hours ago

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We've talked about whether so-called vaccine passports are legal and whether they might be necessary for travel. Now we want to ask whether bringing them into widespread use is the right thing to do. Yasmeen Serhan is worried about this. She wrote a piece for The Atlantic titled "The Futility Of Vaccine Passports." In it, she argues that vaccine passports could divide society into two groups, the jabbed and the jab-less. And Yasmeen Serhan is with us now from London.

Welcome. Thanks so much for joining us.

YASMEEN SERHAN: Thanks for having me.

Airlines 'Generally In Favor' Of Embracing 'Vaccine Passports'

By editor • 14 hours ago

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We've talked about whether so-called vaccine passports are legal and whether they might be necessary for travel. Now we want to ask whether bringing them into widespread use is the right thing to do. Yasmeen Serhan is worried about this. She wrote a piece for The Atlantic titled "The Futility Of Vaccine Passports." In it, she argues that vaccine passports could divide society into two groups, the jabbed and the jab-less. And Yasmeen Serhan is with us now from London.

Welcome. Thanks so much for joining us.

YASMEEN SERHAN: Thanks for having me.

Legal Questions Surround 'Vaccine Passports'

By editor • 14 hours ago

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We've talked about whether so-called vaccine passports are legal and whether they might be necessary for travel. Now we want to ask whether bringing them into widespread use is the right thing to do. Yasmeen Serhan is worried about this. She wrote a piece for The Atlantic titled "The Futility Of Vaccine Passports." In it, she argues that vaccine passports could divide society into two groups, the jabbed and the jab-less. And Yasmeen Serhan is with us now from London.

Welcome. Thanks so much for joining us.

YASMEEN SERHAN: Thanks for having me.

China Fines Alibaba $2.8 Billion For Breaking Anti-Monopoly Law

By Elena Moore • 14 hours ago

The Chinese government says it is issuing a $2.8 billion fine on the e-commerce company Alibaba Group for violating its anti-monopoly regulations.

Alibaba is one of the most influential tech giants in China and the world. The company was under investigation by the Chinese government since December for "suspected monopolistic conduct."

In Coney Island, The Wonder Wheel Spins Again

By Camille Petersen • 17 hours ago

Coney Island's eccentric orchestra is back: Roller coaster carts tick up, up, up and then plummet and swerve along winding tracks. Rides hum, buzz and creak to the beat of carnival music.

After a year of being shut down due to the pandemic, Coney Island's two amusement parks, Luna Park and Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, have reopened — at a third of their normal capacity.

At Deno's, kids and adults face off to see who can squirt water into the mouth of a clown fastest — and get a balloon to pop like a firecracker.

U.K. Military Gun Salutes Honor Prince Philip A Day After His Death

By Elena Moore • 19 hours ago

Coordinated gun salutes simultaneously rang throughout the United Kingdom Saturday to honor the late Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II. He died Friday at the age of 99. A small funeral is set for April 17 at Windsor Castle.

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, said his father devoted his life to the Queen, his family, the country and the Commonwealth.