U.S. rock climber Alex Honnold reaches top of Taipei 101 skyscraper without ropes

Rock climber Alex Honnold, of the U.S., performs a free solo climb of the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday, Jan. 25. 2026.

Cheers erupted from a street-level crowd as Alex Honnold reached the top of the spire of the 508-meter (1,667-foot) tower, about 90 minutes after he started.

(Image credit: Chiang Ying-ying)

NPR News2 hours, 8 minutes ago

Here's how 'shared decision making' for childhood vaccines could limit access

A child holds a toy bear with a band-aid after receiving a flu shot during an immunization event in Los Angeles. Flu is one of six vaccines that will no longer be given routinely but now require a consultation with a doctor.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s new approach to six shots that were formerly given routinely will introduce new hurdles for getting kids immunized. And it could have a chilling effect on doctors.

(Image credit: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP)

NPR News3 hours, 7 minutes ago

5 things to know about the latest Minneapolis shooting

A sign for 37-year-old Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol officer earlier in the day, is displayed during a vigil Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis.

Tensions are escalating in Minneapolis after Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a U.S. citizen, was killed during an encounter with immigration officials on Saturday morning. Here is what to know.

(Image credit: Adam Gray)

NPR News3 hours, 8 minutes ago

Thousands of new Americans opt for 'ultimate act of inclusion' despite obstacles

Ashely Lezama (left), of Honduras, stands outside after her first naturalization ceremony at the Albert V. Bryan Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, Va. David Diemert, of Canada, and Zaida Meza, of Guatemala, stand outside after their naturalization ceremony at the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Court House in Washington, D.C.

Three citizenship ceremonies NPR attended in the Washington, D.C. area in January were largely celebratory experiences, despite a year of hurdles and changes to the naturalization process.

(Image credit: Michael McCoy and Maansi Srivastava for NPR)

NPR News4 hours, 3 minutes ago

40 years after Challenger: Lingering guilt and lessons learned

The space shuttle Challenger lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 28, 1986, in a cloud of smoke with a crew of seven aboard. The shuttle exploded shortly after this photo.

Forty years after the Challenger disaster, NPR explores the engineers' last-minute efforts to stop the launch, their decades of guilt and the vital lessons that remain critical for NASA today.

(Image credit: Thom Baur)

NPR News13 hours, 25 minutes ago

Russian strikes knock out heat in freezing Kyiv as peace talks continue

People take shelter in a subway station during Russia

Russian strikes left much of Kyiv without heat, water and power during freezing temperature, even as Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. held talks on ending the nearly four-year war.

(Image credit: Danylo Antoniuk)

NPR News15 hours, 32 minutes ago

Photos: Massive winter storm sweeps across the U.S.

Shannon White, who has been homeless for 30 years, uses a blanket to stay warm while walking to a day shelter in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma January 24, 2026.

A look at the extreme winter storm impacting two-thirds of the U.S.

(Image credit: Nick Oxford)

NPR News19 hours, 6 minutes ago

Man shot dead by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis

Federal agents stand near the site of a shooting Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis.

The incident, which was caught on video, marks the second deadly shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis in less than a month.

(Image credit: Abbie Parr)

NPR News20 hours, 6 minutes ago

A man is fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis

Federal agents have shot and killed another person in Minneapolis, this time a 51-year-old man.

NPR News21 hours, 14 minutes ago

Trump threatens Canada with 100% tariffs over its new trade deal with China

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at the beginning of a Cabinet Planning Forum at the Citadelle in Quebec City, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026.

The announcement is a reversal for Trump, who initially initially praised the agreement with China as something Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney "should be doing."

(Image credit: Jacques Boissinot)

NPR News23 hours, 8 minutes ago

Heavy snow and rainfall kill 61, injure 110 over 3 days in Afghanistan

Snow covers the streets of the town of Ghazni , southwest from Kabul, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2025. Heavy snow and rainfall over the past three days have killed and injured scores of people across Afghanistan, the country

Dozens were killed and hundreds homes destroyed, according to the country's disaster management authority, in storms impacting 15 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces.

(Image credit: Mohammad Amin)

NPR News1 day, 0 hours ago

China's top general under investigation in latest military purge

FILE - Gen. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China

Analysts believe these purges aim to reform the military and ensure loyalty to Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Another commission member, Liu Zhenli, is also under investigation.

(Image credit: Ng Han Guan/AP)

NPR News1 day, 1 hour ago

Opinion: Mark Carney's warning and its echoes from the past

Canada

When he spoke at Davos this week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney referenced a 1978 essay by Vaclav Havel, written when Czechoslovakia was under Soviet control.

(Image credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)

NPR News1 day, 1 hour ago

Why 3 Catholic cardinals released a statement critical of Trump's foreign policy

Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago tells NPR's Scott Simon why he and two other Catholic cardinals released a statement critical of the Trump administration's foreign policy.

NPR News1 day, 3 hours ago

As the winter storm rages, here's what to know in your state

People walk on an ice covered beach along the shore of Lake Michigan, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Chicago.

Reporters across the NPR Network are covering the impact of the storm and how officials are responding. We've also got tips for staying safe once bad weather hits.

(Image credit: Kiichiro Sato)

NPR News1 day, 4 hours ago

A deadly standoff in 1992 changed federal use-of-force rules. Here's why it matters

A makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer on Jan. 7, is seen on Jan. 20, in Minneapolis.

An encounter with white separatists decades ago led to new deadly force policies for some federal law enforcement. Minneapolis is raising questions about whether it's again time to revisit the issue.

(Image credit: Angelina Katsanis)

NPR News1 day, 4 hours ago

Trump administration's defense strategy tells allies to handle their own security

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla.

The Pentagon released a priority-shifting National Defense Strategy late Friday that chastised U.S. allies to take control of their own security and reasserted the Trump administration's focus on dominance in the Western Hemisphere above a longtime goal of countering China.

(Image credit: Alex Brandon)

NPR News1 day, 15 hours ago

Minnesotans turn out in the frigid cold to protest Trump's immigration crackdown

People march during an "ICE Out" day of protest on January 23, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minnesota residents took to the streets of downtown Minneapolis to protest the federal government's immigration campaign in the state, after weeks of sustained resistance in their communities. Businesses across the region closed in solidarity.

(Image credit: Erin Trieb for NPR)

NPR News1 day, 16 hours ago

Trump expands policy banning aid to groups abroad that discuss or provide abortions

A 19-year-old woman talks with nurse Valeria Zafisoa at a traveling contraception clinic in eastern Madagascar run by the British nonprofit group MSI Reproductive Choices. That group lost $15 million in funding the last time Trump enforced the Mexico City policy.

In addition to adding to the list of groups that will lose funding for providing or discussing abortion, the policy now also calls for ending aid to groups that embrace DEI.

(Image credit: Samantha Reinders for NPR)

NPR News1 day, 18 hours ago

At Davos, U.S. allies question a fraying world order

President Trump speaks during a reception for business leaders at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday.

It was a volatile week for trans-Atlantic relations, marked by President Trump statements that unsettled global markets and strained ties with U.S. allies — on topics ranging from Greenland to Gaza.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

NPR News1 day, 18 hours ago

'Get warm, get safe and stay there,' officials warn as massive storm bears down on U.S.

This graphic from the National Weather Service shows the minimum wind chill temperatures expected from Jan. 22 through Jan. 26 across much of the U.S.

Forecasters say the storm will dump heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain from the Southern Rockies into New England through Monday.

NPR News1 day, 19 hours ago

Gladys West, mathematician whose work paved the way for GPS, dies at 95

Gladys West went from a one-room schoolhouse in rural Virginia to college and to working on planetary motions and modeling. "I really did like geometry," she said of her high school years. "I fell in love with that."

A self-described "little farm girl" in the Jim Crow Era, Gladys West's complex and pioneering work for the U.S. Navy helped to improve billions of lives — and keep us from getting lost.

NPR News1 day, 19 hours ago

A Canadian Olympic snowboarder turned alleged drug kingpin is arrested in Mexico

An image of former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, who was a fugitive and had been charged with allegedly running and participating in a transnational drug trafficking operation, is displayed on a video monitor along with bricks of cocaine, foreground, during an October 2024 news conference at the FBI offices in Los Angeles.

Ryan Wedding was among the FBI's top fugitives and faces charges related to drug trafficking and the killing of a federal witness. He reportedly turned himself in at the U.S. embassy in Mexico

(Image credit: Damian Dovarganes)

NPR News1 day, 20 hours ago

Weather influencers are going viral. How much should we trust them?

Snow falls on an empty parking lot outside a supermarket in December in Northvale, N.J. Social media weather forecasters span a wide range of reliability — from amateurs with no science background to accredited meteorologists.

The weather genre online spans a wide range of sources. Experts say that while weather influencers can help fill an information gap, social media platforms tend to prioritize likes over accuracy.

(Image credit: Kena Betancur)

NPR News1 day, 23 hours ago

Vietnam leader To Lam consolidates power as country targets 10% growth

Vietnam

Lam, 68, pledged to accelerate economic growth and was reappointed unanimously by the 180-member Central Committee at the conclusion of the National Party Congress.

(Image credit: Hoang Thong Nhat/AP)

NPR NewsJan 23, 2026, 11:59 AM

Millions of Americans brace for winter storm. And, Zelenskyy's warning for Europe

A customer shops at Walmart on January 22 in Little Rock, Ark. A massive winter storm is expected to bring frigid temperatures, ice, and snow to millions of Americans across the nation.

Millions of Americans are bracing for a massive, life-threatening winter storm this weekend. And, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy delivers a stark message to Europe at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

(Image credit: Will Newton)

NPR NewsJan 23, 2026, 10:12 AM

How cuts to federal climate funds could threaten polar vortex research

A Nashville Department of Transportation truck applies salt brine to a roadway Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. ahead of a winter storm expected to hit the central and eastern United States over the weekend.

Tens of millions of people are in the path of a major winter storm. Federal cuts threaten efforts to understand the causes of such weather.

(Image credit: George Walker IV)

NPR NewsJan 23, 2026, 10:01 AM

Who's Board of Peace and who's bored of peace? The quiz knows — do you?

From left: A Beckham scion, a second lady and a first-time Oscar nominee.

Plus: The Oscars, tool-using animals, Nobel drama and more.

NPR NewsJan 23, 2026, 10:00 AM

Trump administration admits even more ways DOGE accessed sensitive personal data

A sign in front of the entrance of the Security Administration

New court documents reveal even more ways DOGE improperly accessed and shared sensitive personal data last year — and how that data appears to have been used to advance dubious fraud claims.

(Image credit: Kayla Bartkowski)

NPR NewsJan 23, 2026, 10:00 AM

How Minnesota became the center of a political crisis

Vice President JD Vance gave remarks while standing in front of ICE agents following a roundtable discussion with local leaders and community members amid a surge of federal immigration authorities in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In the days leading up to Renee Macklin Good's death, the political situation in Minneapolis had turned combustible. Her shooting has exposed how colliding forces set the stage for the ongoing crisis.

(Image credit: Pool)