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Epstein files fallout takes down elite figures in Europe, while U.S. reckoning is muted

Peter Mandelson was fired last year from his position as Britain

Unlike in Europe, officials in the U.S. with ties to Epstein have largely held their positions of power.

(Image credit: Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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A London beat framed by colonial history

NPR's Lauren Frayer arrived in London after years in India, and she's been covering Britain with the legacy of empire in view.

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Four people on NASA'S Crew-12 arrive at the International Space Station

In this image from video provided by NASA, a SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying Americans Meir and Jack Hathaway, France

The crew will spend the next eight months conducting experiments to prepare for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit.

(Image credit: NASA)

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American speedskater Jordan Stolz wins second Olympic gold with 500-meter race victory

Jordan Stolz of the U.S. celebrates after competing in the men

With the win, Stolz joins Eric Heiden as the only skaters to take gold in both the 500 and 1,000 at the same Olympics.

(Image credit: Ben Curtis)

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US military reports a series of airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria

FILE - The al-Tanf military outpost in southern Syria is seen on Oct. 22, 2018.

The U.S. military says the strikes were carried out in retaliation of the December ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter.

(Image credit: Lolita Baldor)

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5 European nations say Alexei Navalny was poisoned and blame the Kremlin

FILE - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks to the media in front of security officers standing guard at the Foundation for Fighting Corruption office in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministries of the U.K., France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands say Navalny was poisoned by Russia with a lethal toxin derived from the skin of poison dart frogs.

(Image credit: Alexander Zemlianichenko)

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Opinion: Disqualified but not forgotten

CORTINA D

A Ukrainian athlete was disqualified from competition this week by the International Olympic Committee because his helmet had images of other Ukrainian athletes killed in Russia's war on his country.

(Image credit: Al Bello/Getty Images)

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It's a dangerous complication of pregnancy -- but a new drug holds promise

"For me, a baby is a blessing," says Abigail Hendricks, who benefited from a new drug trial for preeclampsia. Here she is with her almost 9-month-old, Hayden

Researchers celebrate early results of a drug that may become the first treatment for a serious complication of pregnancy called preeclampsia. It's got the potential to save many lives.

(Image credit: Tommy Trenchard for NPR)

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Meet the power couples of the 2026 Winter Games, from rivals to teammates

Oksana Masters and Aaron Pike at the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics. They bonded at a Para Nordic competition in 2013 over their love of coffee.

Some of these power couples span multiple sports, while others compete in the same discipline — or even on the same team.

(Image credit: Michael Steele)

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After a 2-decade ban, kites fill Lahore's skies during a Pakistani springtime festival

People gather on rooftops in Lahore

People gathered on rooftops to enjoy flying kites for the first time in years, celebrating the spring festival of Basant. The activity had been banned due to injuries and deaths during past celebrations.

(Image credit: Betsy Joles for NPR)

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ChatGPT promised to help her find her soulmate. Then it betrayed her

Micky Small is a screenwriter and is one of hundreds of millions of people who regularly use AI chatbots. She spent two months in an AI rabbit hole and is finding her way back out.

ChatGPT sent screenwriter Micky Small down a fantastical rabbit hole. Now, she's finding her way out.

(Image credit: Courtney Theophin)

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Dr. Oz pushes AI avatars as a fix for rural health care. Not so fast, critics say

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz speaks at an Action for Progress event about plans to transform behavioral health, on Feb. 2, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who heads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is advancing a $50 billion plan to modernize rural health care.

(Image credit: Heather Diehl)

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Under oath and unredacted: The top political stories on Epstein this week

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and other Republican members of the committee talk to reporters following a closed-door, remote deposition from convicted child sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell on Capitol Hill on Monday.

Attorney General Pam Bondi faced pointed questions on Capitol Hill, and lawmakers continued to press the Justice Department about its decision to redact certain information.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

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Rubio reassures trans-Atlantic ties with Europe at Munich Security Conference

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves, next to Chairman of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger, as he gets a standing ovation after his speech at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Saturday.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a calm and reassuring message to America's allies in Munich, after more than a year of President Donald Trump's often-hostile rhetoric toward allies.

(Image credit: Alex Brandon)

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5 things to know about the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security

The sprawling agency saw its baseline funding expire after lawmakers left town for a week-long recess, but without a deal to rein in the conduct of federal immigration officers.

(Image credit: Alex Wong)

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Ilia Malinin, figure skater favored for gold, finishes 8th

lia Malinin winces after his free skate on Friday.

Malinin, undefeated since 2023, stumbled and fell multiple times, landing far off the podium. Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won gold in an upset that shocked even himself.

(Image credit: Andreas Rentz)

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DHS says immigration agents appear to have lied about shooting in Minnesota

ICE agents depart the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on Feb. 4, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn.

Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg during the incident. Another Venezuelan man was also accused of attacking an immigration officer.

(Image credit: John Moore)

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Venezuela debates sweeping amnesty for political prisoners

Relatives of political prisoners hoist a banner with the Spanish word for "Democracy" outside the National Assembly emblazoned with images of former President Hugo Chavez and independence hero Simon Bolivar, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.

After the fall of Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan regime promise amnesty and reconciliation — but for hundreds still jailed and thousands facing charges, justice remains uncertain.

(Image credit: Ariana Cubillos)

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It's been five years since catastrophic Texas blackouts. How much has changed?

FORT WORTH, TX - FEBRUARY 16: Pike Electric service trucks line up after a snow storm on February 16, 2021 in Fort Worth, Texas. Winter storm Uri has brought historic cold weather and power outages to Texas as storms have swept across 26 states with a mix of freezing temperatures and precipitation.

Power companies say they're better prepared for extreme weather, but challenges remain to electricity production as the state's demand grows

(Image credit: Ron Jenkins)

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FBI releases description of suspect, increases reward in Nancy Guthrie case

A man is seen on Nancy Guthrie

The FBI describes the armed man caught on Nancy Guthrie's camera as 5-foot-9-inches to 5-foot-10 and of average build. The 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie has been missing since Feb. 1.

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Virginia court allows Democrats' redistricting vote in their plan to counter to Trump

Democrats in the Virginia Senate, from left, Sen. Scott Surovell, Sen. Mamie Locke and Sen. Louise Lucas, speak last month as the legislature considered a redistricting plan aimed at countering Republican redistricting in other states.<!-- raw HTML omitted -->

The ruling allows an April election where voters can let the legislature draw a new congressional map. It could help Democrats win more House seats. Republicans might still fight it in court.

(Image credit: Shaban Athuman)

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A familiar move with a new twist: Trump tries to cut CDC funds he just signed into law

OMB Director Russell Vought (center, behind President Trump) is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit brought by four state attorneys general over more than $600 million in cuts to CDC grants announced this week. Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem and Interior Sec. Doug Burgum are also pictured in the Oval Office in June 2025.

A federal judge in Illinois quickly issued a restraining order after the Trump administration slashed more than $600 million in CDC grants to four blue states.

(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker)

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Kitty cats and cloud hands - how U.S. Olympic snowboarders keep calm in competition

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U.S. snowboarders psych themselves up before competition with heavy metal and pop music, cat photos, and apparently many on the men's halfpipe team now do Qigong.

(Image credit: Abbie Parr)

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Minnesota immigration crackdown will end, border czar says. And, DHS funding to expire

White House border czar Tom Homan holds a news conference at the Bishop Whipple Federal building on Feb. 12, 2026 in Minneapolis.

Border czar Tom Homan announced that the Trump administration will end the immigration crackdown in Minnesota. And, DHS funding is set to expire after lawmakers failed to advance a spending bill.

(Image credit: Steve Karnowski)

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Britain's High Court says government illegally banned Pro-Palestinian group

Protesters demonstrate outside The Old Bailey court in London, where four Palestine Action activists are to appear in court charged over a break-in at RAF Brize Norton on June 20 in which aircraft were damaged with spraypaint, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.

In its ruling, the court said an earlier decision to ban the Pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization was "disproportionate."

(Image credit: Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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On their way! 4 people on NASA Crew-12 mission launch to International Space Station

The four members of NASA

The four people are set to dock with the I.S.S. on Saturday, returning the orbital lab to its full complement of seven. NASA's last mission, Crew-11, left a month early due to an ill crew member.

(Image credit: SpaceX via NASA)

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Who will police Gaza, and how?

Members of the Palestinian special police force show their skills during a training session in the West Bank city of Ramallah on March 16, 2014.

Under President Trump's Gaza ceasefire plan, Arab countries and the European Union are supposed to train a new police force in the Gaza Strip. But U.S. plans have run into serious challenges.

(Image credit: Majdi Mohammed)

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Can you medal in quiz? Go for the gold!

From left: Ilia Malinin, Breezy Johnson, Bad Bunny.

Plus: more Olympics, the Super Bowl and some monks.

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A bipartisan effort to save health subsidies failed. Will ICE reform be different?

The dome of the U.S. Capitol is framed through a tree on Jan. 25.

A bipartisan effort in Congress to restrain immigration enforcement tactics is flailing despite a Friday deadline to fund the Department of Homeland Security. The pattern is increasingly familiar.

(Image credit: Al Drago)

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RFK Jr. made promises to get his job as health secretary. He's broken many of them

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as secretary of health and human services in the Oval Office on Feb. 13, 2025.

In his confirmation hearings, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told U.S. senators that he would not cut funding for vaccine research or change the nation's official vaccine recommendations. He did both.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

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