Hansi Lo Wang

COVID-19 and interference by former President Donald Trump's administration have made it harder to pinpoint the accuracy of the numbers used to redistribute political representation and federal money.

Newly sworn-in Census Bureau Director Robert Santos told NPR it's important to make sure there are policies in place to better protect the agency from any future political interference.

People with Middle Eastern or North African roots must be counted as white in the federal government's data. But a study finds many do not see themselves as white, and neither do many white people.

The accounting firm Mazars USA says it has severed its relationship with former President Donald Trump and his family business.

Some states have been lifting indoor masking requirements and allowing individual businesses to set their own policies. In New York City, that's causing confusion and fatigue with COVID protocols.

Under federal law, the U.S. government must restrict access to people's records for the once-a-decade tally until 72 years after a count's Census Day. The exact origins of that timespan are murky.

The email details the scope of the former administration's attempts to tamper with the count, including pressuring the Census Bureau to alter plans for protecting privacy and producing accurate data.

Officials have released the names of the people who died from the weekend apartment building fire in the Bronx. The deaths of the 17 victims were all caused by smoke inhalation.

The 17 victims of Sunday's blaze ranged from 2 to 50 years old. The dead included 11 people from Gambia. Many families are now struggling to prepare for their loved ones' funerals.

Some local officials are planning to challenge 2020 census results. They're worried their communities were undercounted and won't get their fair share of federal money over the coming decade.

The surge in the number of people testing positive for the coronavirus is making it harder for business owners to staff stores and restaurants during the holidays. Omicron is forcing many to close.

As the holiday weekend approaches, New Yorkers are waiting a long time to get tested for COVID-19. The nation's biggest city is confronting a record high number of cases.

While the Census Bureau's set to have its first director who's Latinx, an NPR analysis finds people of color are underrepresented in the top rank of civil servants at the country's main data producer.

The Trump administration directed many federal agencies to stop collecting payroll taxes last year. The Census Bureau is now trying to get former temporary workers to pay what they owe.

Robert Santos, one of the country's leading statisticians, is set to lead the Census Bureau through 2026 during key preparations for the next head count that forms U.S. democracy's foundations.

After COVID-19 disruptions and Trump administration interference, last year's national head count may have undercounted people of color at higher rates than in 2010, an Urban Institute study finds.

A final round of door knocking for a follow-up survey is now set to last until early 2022, raising concerns about whether the bureau can determine which groups were undercounted in the 2020 census.

Growing numbers of Latinos turned a mysterious census category into the country's second-largest racial group. Researchers say that makes it harder to address racial inequities over the next decade.

A growing number of states have policies for avoiding drawing new voting districts filled with prisoners who can't vote. It's part of an effort to combat what some call "prison gerrymandering."

Investigations into former President Donald Trump's family business by the Manhattan district attorney and the New York state attorney general are still underway, and more indictments may be coming.