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He's one reason why aid cuts weren't as dire for the HIV population as predicted

Harerimana Ismail is a community health care worker in Kabale District, Uganda, who supports children and teens living with HIV. He lost his salary as part of the U.S. aid cuts but continues doing his job.

Harerimana Ismail of Uganda is a community health worker who checks on kids with HIV. He lost his salary after the Trump administration's aid cuts but he keeps doing his job.

(Image credit: Ben de la Cruz/NPR)

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Trump is dismantling democracy, reports find. And, Treasury to take over student loans

President Trump speaks during a meeting with Japan

Recent studies show the U.S. is slipping further from democracy. And, the Trump administration plans to transfer federal student loans from the Education Department to the Treasury Department.

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Israel launches more strikes on Tehran as Iran continues attacks on Gulf oil facilities

Two women and a child holding an Iranian flag walk toward the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque to attend Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, on Friday.

The latest strikes come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel would "hold off on future attacks" on Iran's energy infrastructure, following Trump's request.

(Image credit: Vahid Salemi)

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From mall to torture site: The debate over El Helicoide's future in Venezuela

Venezuela

Once a futuristic shopping mall, El Helicoide became one of Venezuela's most feared prisons. Now, as the country changes, so does its fate — erase it, rebuild it, or remember what happened inside.

(Image credit: Ariana Cubillos)

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Sorry, the quiz is SO GROSS this week. You'll see

From left: Lionel Messi, Michael B. Jordan, Kari Lake.

What could be more delightful than cannibal invertebrates and food-related weather events? A lot of things!

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10 tried-and-true methods to stay off your phone, according to our readers

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We asked our audience to share the creative ways they limit their own phone use. They range from the practical (keep your phone in another room) to the creative (pair your phone with a fun paperback).

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An immigration court few have heard of is quietly shaping policy behind the scenes

Cases in immigration courts nationwide can be appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals. Here, federal agents stand outside an immigration court in New York on March 6, 2026.

President Trump has slashed the number of people on the Board of Immigration Appeals and stacked it with his appointees, tightening the due process available for immigrants, an NPR analysis shows.

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Why it's so hard for world leaders to bring down oil and gasoline prices

Gas and diesel prices are displayed at a Pilot Travel Center on March 17, 2026 in Pyote, Texas.

From waiving the Jones Act to rerouting oil through the Red Sea, governments are doing their best to make up for the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, but prices are still rising.

(Image credit: Brandon Bell)

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FCC approves the merger of local television owners Nexstar and Tegna

The FCC has approved the sale of Tegna television stations to rival Nexstar Media Group Thursday. The deal would create a company that owns 259 television stations in 44 states.

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Pittsburgh synagogue attack survivors talk about their friendship and healing journey

For StoryCorps, two survivors of the 2018 Synagogue attack in Pittsburgh talk about their friendship.

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A Mexican teen migrant dies in a Florida jail holding ICE detainees

FILE - A federal agent wears an Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge in New York, June 10, 2025.

Royer Perez-Jimenez is the second person to die in ICE custody this week.

(Image credit: Yuki Iwamura)

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Cuba readies for first Russian oil shipment of the year as energy crisis deepens

Street vendors chat on the Malecón during a blackout in Havana, Monday, March 16, 2026.

Cuba is preparing to receive its first shipment of Russian oil this year, just days after the government announced it was operating on natural gas, solar power and thermoelectric plants as severe power outages continue to hit it.

(Image credit: Ramon Espinosa)

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FCC approves merger of local television owners Nexstar and Tegna as two lawsuits seek to block it

FILE - New York Attorney General Letitia James attends a news conference Dec. 15, 2025, in New York.

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday said it had approved the merger of local television giants Nexstar Media Group and rival Tegna, the same day that two lawsuits trying to block the deal were announced.

(Image credit: Yuki Iwamura)

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U.S. Mint can begin to produce Trump commemorative gold coin

A federal arts commission on Thursday approved the final design for a 24-karat gold commemorative coin bearing President Donald Trump

The vote by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members are supporters of the Republican president, clears the way for the U.S. Mint to begin production on the coin, whose size and denomination are still under discussion.

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Trump is dismantling democracy at 'unprecedented' speed, global report finds

Before he was elected to a second term, former President Donald Trump hugged and kissed the U.S. flag as he spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference at National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., in 2024.

Three major new studies on democracy and freedom all find the U.S. is slipping further away from democracy. Leaders of two of those studies say President Trump's goal is to rule as an autocrat.

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Federal student loans will move to Treasury, further shrinking Education Department

The Trump administration announced a plan to move significant management of and responsibility for the nation

The Trump administration announced a three-phase transition that will eventually include management of most federal student loans as well as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

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Planned Parenthood chapter settles with EEOC over treatment of white employees

A sign hangs over the front of a Planned Parenthood clinic on May 18, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says Planned Parenthood of Illinois will pay $500,000 to end an investigation that found the organization's DEI practices violated federal civil rights laws

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FDA backs off stricter tanning bed rules with RFK Jr.'s support

The Food and Drug Administration is backtracking on stricter regulation of tanning beds.

Health officials with the Trump administration have backed away from an effort to more heavily regulate indoor tanning — despite protests from medical groups that warn of the dangers of skin cancer.

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Trump's mediators offer Hamas formal proposal to give up its weapons in Gaza

A Palestinian militant wearing the uniform of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas,  Oct. 15, 2025.

NPR has learned that mediators have quietly given Hamas a proposal to hand over all its weapons to ensure Gaza's reconstruction.

(Image credit: Ahmad Salem)

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Afroman prevails in cops' music video defamation suit after a brief but viral trial

A jury sided with apper Afroman, whose legal name is Joseph Foreman, in a defamation lawsuit brought by Ohio police who raided his home.

The "Because I Got High" rapper made waves in 2023 with the album and song "Lemon Pound Cake," using home video to mock a police raid on his Ohio home. The deputies lost their civil suit against him.

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'Movement never lies': 100 years of the Martha Graham Dance Company

Dancer and choreographer Martha Graham poses during rehearsal and photo session at her New York studio in March 1973.

Graham was a creative force in the performing arts. She wanted dance to express authentic, human emotions — a revolutionary idea in the late 1920s.

(Image credit: Marty Lederhandler)

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The SAVE Act faces long odds in the Senate. GOP-led states are picking up the cause

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, seen here on Aug. 12, 2025, said he plans to sign into law new proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration.

Several Republican-led states are passing their own versions of the SAVE America Act, Trump-backed legislation that would introduce new proof-of-citizenship requirements to register to vote.

(Image credit: Chris O'Meara)

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Fear, defiance, and anger: Iranians describe life under bombardment

Iranians clear the debris from damaged homes following a military strike in Tehran on March 15.

In messages to NPR, Tehran residents describe largely deserted streets roamed by paramilitary officials and vigilantes. They say security forces are banning gatherings for Nowruz, the Persian new year, this week.

(Image credit: Atta Kenare)

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As Pakistan and Afghanistan declare truce, civilians in Kabul count the cost of war

A crowd gathers outside Kabul

At the Emergency Hospital, dozens crowded around a thick book to check the names of the victims killed in an airstrike on a rehabilitation center. The UN says over a hundred people were killed.

(Image credit: Fazelminallah Qazizai)

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Israel and Iran attack gas facilities. And, Cesar Chavez accused of sexual abuse, rape

President Trump walks to the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., as he returns from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware after attending a dignified transfer solemn event on March 18, 2026. Trump traveled to Dover Air Force Base to pay his respects to six U.S. military members who were killed during a crash of a refueling aircraft in western Iraq last week.

Attacks on gas facilities by Israel and Iran have escalated the war and impacted global markets. And, renowned union leader and labor rights advocate Cesar Chavez is accused of sexual abuse and rape.

(Image credit: Oliver Contreras)

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Sen. Blumenthal discusses reforming DHS and his concerns about the war in Iran

Sen. Richard Blumenthal speaks to reporters in the Senate subway of the U.S. Capitol during a vote on March 4, 2026, in Washington, DC. <!-- raw HTML omitted -->

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a panelist in Sen. Markwayne Mullin's Department of Homeland Security confirmation hearing, discusses the reforms he wants for the agency and shares his views on the Iran war with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

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Japan's prime minister visits the White House under shadow of Iran war

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (R) listens as U.S. President Donald Trump (L) speaks to troops aboard USS George Washington on October 28, 2025 in Yokosuka, Japan.

Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will be the first U.S. ally to visit the White House since President Trump asked for help in sending ships to patrol the Strait of Hormuz.

(Image credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

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New autism group meets to counter MAHA's 'ideological agenda'

In an effort to challenge the Trump administration

Autism experts plan to convene in Washington Thursday to propose a research agenda at odds with the one endorsed by the Trump Administration.

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Cursive is back. But should students be learning the skill?

Teacher Sherisse Kenerson helps a student during after-school cursive club at Holmes Middle School in Alexandria, Va.

A Virginia after-school cursive club went viral. More than two dozen states require cursive in their curriculums. Is it an effective learning tool or just nostalgia?

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Trump started a war with no clear end in sight. They rarely end well for presidents

Demonstrators outside City Hall in Los Angeles on March 2 protest against the U.S. and Israel

President Trump started a war with no clear end in sight. If his predecessors' experiences are an indication, conflicts don't bode well for presidential approval ratings.

(Image credit: Mario Tama)

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