US school enrollment set to plunge by another 2 million children by 2030

Harmeet Dhillon leaves the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division

U.S. school enrollment is set to plunge by another 2 million children by 2030, and education experts say the crisis will be worsened by the deportation of immigrant families with school-age children, according to NPR’s Up First newsletter. Even before the Trump administration’s policy changes, public schools faced a significant decline driven by shrinking family sizes: U.S. Census data show the number of children under 18 nationwide had fallen by about 2.1 million since 2010. The administration’s large-scale deportations began after public schools had already started facing the demographic decline, and a Migration Policy Institute study indicates that 1.9 million people left the United States during Trump’s second term. NPR reported it is the first time in nearly a century that birth rates and immigration levels have been low at the same time.

Harmeet Dhillon has left her position as head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division after 18 tumultuous months, according to NPR’s Up First newsletter. During her tenure, NPR reported, she transformed the unit, saw a significant loss of career staff and aggressively pursued Trump’s agenda. She is the first senior official to depart since Democrats gained control of Congress in the midterms. Dhillon called the role “the honor of a lifetime.”

In health news, NPR’s “Healthy or Hype?” series, which helps readers and listeners sort truth from fiction when it comes to online health claims, examined the growing number of people replacing fluoride dental products with those containing hydroxyapatite, a mineral marketed for cavity protection, whitening and enamel strengthening — all without fluoride. Fluoride has been extensively researched, especially in long-term studies, but early research on hydroxyapatite shows promising results. While health experts widely agree that fluoride is beneficial, interest in fluoride-free alternatives is growing, and a driving force behind the trend is Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. blaming water fluoridation for health issues including arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders.

For patients considering both options, Bennett Amaechi, a professor of dentistry at the University of Texas at San Antonio, recommends using fluoride because there is more evidence supporting its effectiveness. Amaechi was an author of a 2021 study in Scientific Reports that followed 177 children for a year and compared hydroxyapatite and fluoride toothpaste, finding similar outcomes for tooth decay in both groups. The American Dental Association told NPR that it acknowledges more people are using hydroxyapatite products, which may aid in remineralization, but noted that research on their clinical effectiveness is still limited and unclear. The association recommends brushing twice daily for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste, flossing every day and visiting a dentist regularly.

In Washington, a federal judge has temporarily blocked construction of President Trump’s planned 250-foot arch. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan issued the order shortly before midnight, halting work for 14 days at the request of the D.C. and Virginia governments, according to NPR’s Up First newsletter. In a 33-page opinion, Chutkan scrutinized the administration’s justifications for the arch — particularly its focus on national security — and agreed that the local governments are likely to be harmed by its construction. The arch is planned for Memorial Circle, a traffic island on the bridge linking the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery.

The ruling came hours after the National Capital Planning Commission voted to approve the arch at a contentious meeting Thursday night. NPR’s Rachel Treisman reported that the commission, which she described as filled with Trump allies, gave its approval after nearly nine hours despite significant opposition from dozens of people; the approval would have allowed excavation at the site to begin. Several Democratic lawmakers are already talking about blocking the arch. Rep. Jared Huffman of California, who is likely to become head of the House Natural Resources Committee, warned commissioners at Thursday’s meeting that anyone advancing projects not authorized by Congress risks legal repercussions.

On the economy, the Labor Department is set to release its latest jobs report on Friday, three days after Tuesday’s midterm elections. NPR’s Scott Horsley said the report is expected to show that employers added about 60,000 jobs last month — not robust growth, in his assessment, but enough to keep the unemployment rate low. As long as the job market stays stable, Horsley said, the Federal Reserve can focus on fighting stubbornly high inflation, which he noted likely drove the recent election outcomes.

Data published on FRED, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis economic database, showed the unemployment rate standing at 4.2 percent as of Friday (UNRATE). The broader U-6 measure, which counts discouraged workers and people working part time involuntarily, stood at 7.6 percent (U6RATE), and the Atlanta Fed’s Wage Growth Tracker — a three-month moving average of median wage growth for continuously employed workers — stood at 3.9 percent (FRBATLWGT3MMAUMHWGO).

NPR reported that rising prices and stagnant wages fueled frustration among voters in this week’s midterm elections, prompting them to express their discontent at the ballot box. The election results also moved markets: the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell more than 5 percent on Thursday, wiping out more than $2 trillion in market value on concerns that a Democratic Congress will regulate artificial intelligence. The drop followed a Wednesday rally, when shares rose as investors were relieved that the midterms had made Congress’s fate clear. NPR noted that there has been less volatility, in contrast, in the job market.

For the weekend, NPR’s culture desks flagged a handful of releases. John Turturro stars as Harry, a skilled pickpocket and caretaker for his wife, in “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” a film in which Harry’s life changes dramatically when he steals a backpack from a college kid, only to discover the student is the grandson of a crime boss. On television, “VisionQuest” is Marvel’s finale series to the trilogy that started with “WandaVision” and continued through “Agatha All Along,” serving, according to NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, as a timely parable about artificial intelligence while also exploring themes of daddy issues. NPR’s books coverage rounds up six must-read November releases featuring tales of star-crossed romance, hard-won redemption and high-stakes struggles, and All Songs Considered revisits songs from earlier in the year that might have been missed, including Northern Iowa pop artist Kinji and Mexican singer Silvana Estrada. In gaming, NPR’s James Perkins Mastromarino says Nintendo’s “Ocarina of Time” remake secures its legacy in gaming, but that despite its high production values it left him feeling oddly bereft.

Among the other items NPR flagged: new global data suggest only a small minority of children and teenagers get at least one hour a day of exercise that breaks a sweat, the amount recommended by the World Health Organization. A new report finds generational wealth is enabling a record number of first-time homebuyers to pay in cash, increasing the gap between buyers and those priced out, while the median age of first-time buyers remains at a record high of 40. And Herbert Blomstedt, the Swedish conductor whose remarkably long career saw him lead many of the world’s major orchestras, died this week at home. He was 99.