NPR News: Posts

NPR News

With a win over Sweden, the U.S. men's hockey team will play for an Olympic medal

Sweden

A thrilling overtime goal by defenseman Quinn Hughes puts Team USA through to a semifinal game against Slovakia. On the other side of the bracket, Canada had its own close call, but moves on to face Finland.

(Image credit: Hassan Ammar/AP)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Zuckerberg grilled about Meta's strategy to target 'teens' and 'tweens'

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg arrives at the Los Angeles Superior Court ahead of the social media trial tasked to determine whether social media giants deliberately designed their platforms to be addictive to children on Feb. 18, 2026. Zuckerberg is scheduled to testify Wednesday.

The billionaire tech mogul's testimony was part of a landmark social media addiction trial in Los Angeles. The jury's verdict in the case could shape how some 1,600 other pending cases from families and school districts are resolved.

(Image credit: Frederic J. Brown)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

The Trump administration is increasingly trying to criminalize observing ICE

Federal immigration agents confront observers monitoring their activity from inside their cars while patrolling a neighborhood in Minneapolis on Jan. 29.

ICE officers often tell people tracking and watching them that they are breaking federal law in doing so, but legal experts say the vast majority of observers are exercising their constitutional rights.

(Image credit: Octavio Jones)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

8 backcountry skiers found dead and 1 still missing after California avalanche

This image provided by the Nevada County Sheriff

Authorities say the bodies of eight backcountry skiers have been found and one remains missing after an avalanche near Lake Tahoe in California. Six others were found alive.

(Image credit: AP)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Wrapping snow in blankets. Can it save the ski season?

Bogus Basin employees unpack the snow blankets. They

Warming temperatures and snow droughts in the West threatens a billion-dollar industry. One ski area is experimenting with insulated blankets to keep snow from melting.

(Image credit: Logan Brown)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

FDA reverses course on Moderna flu shot

The Food and Drug Administration said it would review vaccine maker Moderna

The Food and Drug Administration's about-face comes a little more than a week after the agency refused to consider the company's application to market the new kind of influenza vaccine.

(Image credit: Bill Sikes)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Trump would like the government he leads to pay him billions

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks alongside President Trump in the briefing room at the White House in June 2025 in Washington, D.C.

President Trump is asking the federal government for billions of dollars in damages, putting his own Justice Department on the spot and creating an unprecedented ethical morass.

(Image credit: Joe Raedle)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Australia bans a citizen with alleged IS links from returning from Syria

Family members of suspected Islamic State militants who are Australian nationals board a van heading to the airport in Damascus during the first repatriation operation of the year, at Roj Camp in eastern Syria, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. Thirty-four Australian citizens from 11 families departed the camp.

The Australian is among a group of 34 women and children who had planned to fly from Damascus to Australia on Monday but were turned back by Syrian authorities to the Roj detention camp due to procedural problems.

(Image credit: Baderkhan Ahmad/AP)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Do the people building the AI chatbot Claude understand what they've created?

Anthropic is one of the world's most powerful AI firms. New Yorker writer Gideon Lewis-Kraus explains how they're trying to make chatbot Claude more ethical, and the implications of AI's widening use.

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Russia's hybrid warfare rattles Poland and NATO

Investigators examine a rail line damaged in an explosion in Mika, next to Garwolin, central Poland, on Nov. 17, 2025. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the explosion that damaged a railway line to its close ally Ukraine was an "act of sabotage."

Russia is stepping up covert attacks across Europe — rail sabotage, drones, cyber strikes — testing NATO. Polish officials warn "disposable agents" are sowing fear and weaken support for Ukraine.

(Image credit: Wojtek Radwanski)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

'Let them shower in hotels': Johannesburg Premier faces backlash amid water crisis

Residents hold placards and chant as they gather during a protest over water cuts in Johannesburg.

In South Africa, as taps run dry in Johannesburg, Africa's richest city, a tone deaf remark by a senior politician there unleashes fury.

(Image credit: Emmanuel Croset)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Greetings from Cairo, where lights and decorations transform the city during Ramadan

undefined

As Ramadan begins, traditional lanterns called fawanees brighten Cairo. They have become a symbol of Ramadan and are an almost-mandatory home decoration for the holy month in Egypt.

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Sweet redemption for Mikaela Shiffrin, who wins Olympic gold

Mikaela Shiffrin of Team United States competes during the Women

Third race is the charm for Shiffrin, who won gold today after failing to podium in her first two races of the 2026 Olympic games.

(Image credit: Christophe Pallot)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Mark Zuckerberg faces a jury today. And, the top DHS spokesperson resigns her post

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attends a dinner hosted by President Trump with tech leaders for a dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 4, 2025.

Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand today in a trial over whether social media companies are fueling the teen mental health crisis. And, Tricia McLaughlin is leaving the Department of Homeland Security.

(Image credit: Saul Loeb)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Ogden, Schumacher grab silver for U.S. in Olympic cross-country team sprint, Diggins falls short

Gus Schumacher, left, and Ben Ogden, of the United States, celebrating a historic win for Team USA in Tesero, Italy, today.

U.S. cross-country skiers Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher power to a silver medal in the men's team sprint. U.S. women led by Jessie Diggins finish off the podium.

(Image credit: Lars Baron)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

This form of mental exercise may cut dementia risk for decades

A new study suggests that engaging in a particular form of brain training may cut dementia risk for decades.

A study finds that people who did one specific form of brain training in the 1990s were less likely to be diagnosed with dementia over the next 20 years.

(Image credit: spawns)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

The Justice Department is not acting like it used to, criminal defense lawyers note

Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 11. Bondi has defended the Justice Department

Criminal defense lawyers are tracking when the Justice Department appears to rely on irregular charging practices, including aggressive legal theories and possible political retribution.

(Image credit: Win McNamee)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Surprise four-legged Olympic competitor wows cross-country fans

A dog wanders on the ski trail during the women

Nazgul sprints on course at cross-country ski race, crossing finish line in unsanctioned quest for glory

(Image credit: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

8 creative ways to build your village, according to our listeners

undefined

NPR listeners share how they've made relationships with their neighbors and community. Many of them, through parties, potlucks and coffees, say they've made the first move.

Continue Reading…

NPR News

State public-option health plans expand but can't fill gaps left by federal changes

The Nevada State Capitol is seen on January 17, 2021, in Carson City, Nevada during a nationwide protest called by anti-government and far-right groups supporting US President Donald Trump and his claim of electoral fraud in the November 3 presidential election. - The FBI warned authorities in all 50 states to prepare for armed protests at state capitals in the days leading up to the January 20 presidential inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. (Photo by Ronda Churchill / AFP) (Photo by RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)

Nevada recently became the third state to offer one of the plans on the ACA marketplaces. They're intended to be a cheaper insurance option but so far they make only a marginal difference in price.

(Image credit: RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Where the word 'Olympics' comes from and what it means to someone who competed there

Adeliia Petrosian of Individual Neutral Athletes competes during the women

It's a word that evokes national pride and rare talent, and one that has been around for thousands of years.

(Image credit: Ashley Landis)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to face jury in landmark social media addiction trial

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify Wednesday in a major lawsuit against social media companies that claims their products are defective and harmful to children.

The case is seen as a test of social media's legal responsibility for platform design features that plaintiffs' lawyers say exacerbated mental health issues in young people.

(Image credit: Nic Coury)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Surprise shark caught on camera for first time in Antarctica's near-freezing deep

In this image made from video and released by the University of Western Australia, a sleeper shark swims into the spotlight of a video camera in Antarctica in January 2025.

Many experts had thought sharks didn't exist in the frigid waters of Antarctica.

(Image credit: University of Western Australia)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Trump administration is erasing history and science at national parks, lawsuit argues

Demonstrators gather to protest removal of explanatory panels that were part of an exhibit on slavery at the President

Conservation and historical organizations sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over National Park Service policies that the groups say erase history and science from America's national parks.

(Image credit: Matt Rourke)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

The U.S. falters again in figure skating, but the women still have time to make it up

Amber Glenn reacts to her score in the Olympic women

Alysa Liu finished the night in third place, Isabeau Levito finished in eighth and Amber Glenn is in 13th place after a popped jump. That puts extra pressure on all of them for Thursday's medal event.

(Image credit: Wang Zhao)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Meet Yolanda the wax truck, Team USA's unsung cross-country ski hero

U.S. cross-country ski team coach Matt Whitcomb with Yolanda the wax truck and some of the 600 pairs of skis it holds at a World Cup race in Goms, Switzerland Jan. 23, 2026

Fast skiers require fast skis. They rely on a team of technicians to wax and prep them for each day's conditions. The U.S. cross-country team has a mobile ski shop that is an unsung hero of their success: Yolanda the wax truck.

(Image credit: Eric Whitney)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

A safe space for girls who've faced sexual violence

undefined

The Democratic Republic of Congo is seeing a significant increase in acts of sexual violence against girls and young women. A support center offers a sanctuary for treatment — and to be heard.

Continue Reading…

NPR News

U.S. releases new details on alleged secret Chinese nuclear test

Nuclear capable DF-31BJ ballistic missiles are shown on transporters during a military parade in Beijing, China on September 3, 2025. China is undergoing a massive expansion of its nuclear arsenal.

At a event in Washington D.C., A U.S. official said a remote earthquake in 2020 was caused by a Chinese nuclear test.

(Image credit: Kevin Frayer)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

The very polite, unheated rivalry between Jordan Stolz and Jenning de Boo

Milan, Italy, Saturday, February 14, 2026 - US skater Jordan Stolz, right, and Netherlands skater Jenning de Boo race in the first lap of the Men

The two top speedskating sprinters in the world are a cut above the competition. They battle fiercely on the ice, but refuse to trash talk

(Image credit: Robert Gauthier)

Continue Reading…

NPR News

Top Trump administration immigration spokesperson is leaving

DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin speaks during a news conference at ICE Headquarters, in May 2025.

Tricia McLaughlin has become the public face defending the Trump administration's mass deportation policy and immigration tactics over the past year.

(Image credit: Jose Luis Magana)

Continue Reading…