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Alone in Tehran, a young Iranian turns to ChatGPT and video games for comfort

Smoke billows from an explosion at the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building in Tehran after an Israeli strike hit the building, cutting off live coverage, on June 16.

A young shop manager living alone in Iran's capital was panicking during the war with Israel. Her family wasn't nearby. Her therapist had fled. So she turned to an AI chat bot.

(Image credit: AFP)

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Deadline nears for Taiwan's Chinese immigrants to prove no China household registration

Chang Chih-yuan as a child, with his mother and Taiwanese father, when they were still living in China.

Amid a wave of national security measures, immigrants from China must prove they've given up their household registration in China by June 30. Many are Chinese women married to men from Taiwan.

(Image credit: Chang Chih-yuan)

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Russia launches record aerial attack on Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow, Russia, Saturday, June 28, 2025.

Russia launched the largest aerial assault on Ukraine overnight since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

(Image credit: Gavriil Grigorov)

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Trump calls for Gaza deal, slams Netanyahu trial

People take part in a protest demanding the end of the war and immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday pleaded for progress in ceasefire talks in the war in Gaza, calling for a deal, and doubled down on his criticism of the legal proceedings against Netanyahu.

(Image credit: Ariel Schalit)

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Who said that? NPR's approach to anonymous sources

NPR uses information from anonymous sources to tell important stories that otherwise would go unreported.

Sometimes people with vital information face serious risks for speaking to a journalist. In those cases, NPR may consider granting the source anonymity. Here's how we think about it.

(Image credit: Richard Drury)

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The Trump administration is building a national citizenship data system

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The Department of Homeland Security, with help from DOGE, has rolled out a tool that purports to be able to check the citizenship status of almost all Americans.

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Say 'maybe' to the dress? Tariffs are crashing the wedding planning party

Claire Landgraf helps a bride try on a dress at her shop Finery Bridal Chic in Rochester, Minn.

How much extra would you pay to see your dream come true? It's always a big question for wedding-planning couples. Now, there's a new twist courtesy of U.S. trade policy.

(Image credit: Becca Haugen/Twelve Ten Photography
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Northern Irish rap group Kneecap plays Glastonbury despite controversy

J. J. O Dochartaigh from the hip hop trio Kneecap performs during the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, Saturday, June 28, 2025.

Irish-language rap group Kneecap gave an impassioned performance for tens of thousands of fans on Saturday at the Glastonbury Festival despite criticism by British politicians and a terror charge for one of the trio.

(Image credit: Scott A Garfitt)

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'Kisses yes, Bezos No,' protesters say, as Bezos wedding stirs controversy in Venice

Activists stage a protest in Venice, Italy, Saturday, June 28, 2025, denouncing the three-day celebrations for the wedding between Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos that took place in Venice.

Protesters denounced the three-day celebrations for the wedding between Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos as a symbol of rising inequality and disregard for the city's residents.

(Image credit: Antonio Calanni/AP)

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Around 100,000 march in Budapest Pride event in defiance of Hungary's ban

Participants in the Pride march cross the Elisabeth Bridge in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday.

Marchers gambled with potential police intervention and fines to participate in the annual Budapest Pride, which was outlawed by a law passed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's right-wing governing party.

(Image credit: Rudolf Karancsi)

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J.M. Smucker plans to remove artificial colors from its jams and other products

A jar of Smucker

Smucker joins a growing number of big food companies that have announced plans to eliminate artificial dyes.

(Image credit: Matt Rourke)

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Man kicked and injured a CBP beagle during airport baggage search

A 5-year-old Customs and Border Protection beagle named Freddie, pictured in a CBP Facebook video in March, was kicked and injured by a traveler this week during a bag search at Washington Dulles International Airport.

An Egyptian traveler who kicked the 25-pound dog was ordered to pay its vet fees and turn himself in for removal from the country.

(Image credit: CBP Office of Field Operations/Facebook)

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Authors petition publishers to curtail their use of AI

Generative AI is transforming the publishing industry. Authors are pushing back on a variety of fronts, most recently with an open letter to publishers asking them to curtail their use of the technology. (Getty stock photo.)

The open letter and accompanying petition asking publishers "to make a pledge that they will never release books that were created by machines" garnered more than 600 signatures within a few hours.

(Image credit: imaginima)

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With a series of wars, Israel's military reshapes the Mideast

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Soroka Hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, after it was hit by a missile fired from Iran on June 19. Israel has scored a series of military successes and reshaped the Middle East since being stunned by a surprise Hamas attack in October 2023.

Israel was stunned by a surprise Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Since that day, Israel has delivered devastating blows to rivals and has reconfigured the Middle East.

(Image credit: Marc Israel Sellem)

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Here's what's in the GOP megabill headed for a vote in the Senate

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., (R) says he hopes to pass the Senate

Senate Republicans released the full text of their massive tax and spending bill that contains many of President Trump's top campaign promises. Here's a look at what's in and what's out.

(Image credit: Kayla Bartkowski)

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Funeral home owner who stashed nearly 190 decaying bodies is sentenced to 20 years

A hearse and van sit outside the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colo., on Oct. 6, 2023.

The owner of the Return to Nature Funeral Home received the maximum possible sentence for cheating customers and defrauding the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 aid.

(Image credit: David Zalubowski)

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Opinion: Remembering Bill Moyers

Journalist Bill Moyers moderates the "All Hands on Deck: Perspectives from Higher Education, Government, Philanthropy and Business" panel during the TIME Summit On Higher Education on October 18, 2012 in New York City.

NPR's Scott Simon remembers the astonishing career of former White House press secretary and long-time public broadcasting journalist Bill Moyers, who died this week at the age of 91.

(Image credit: Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

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Hard to imagine a worse time to deport Afghan refugees, human rights advocates say

Afghan refugees who had been living in Pakistan return to their homeland in Kandahar Province on May 7. Tens of thousands of refugees in Pakistan and Iran as well are being forced to return to Afghanistan.

There were 71,000 deportations in the first half of June alone, according to U.N. estimates. These Afghan refugees are returning to a country in the throes of a humanitarian crisis.

(Image credit: Sanaullah Seiam/AFP)

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Defense Department will stop providing crucial satellite weather data

Hurricane Erick hit Oaxaca, Mexico, in June. Hurricane forecasters used data collected by Department of Defense satellites to monitor the storm as it intensified more rapidly than computer models had suggested it would. Such DoD data will no longer be shared with forecasters.

Hurricane forecasters rely on weather data collected and processed by Department of Defense satellites. That data will no longer be available as of Monday, June 30.

(Image credit: Luis Alberto Cruz)

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'Where's our money?' CDC grant funding is moving so slowly layoffs are happening

Protesters gather outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on Wednesday, during a controversial vaccine advisory committee meeting.

The state and local health departments that rely on CDC funding say the money is not coming in on time and no one can tell them why. Some are laying off staff.

(Image credit: Elijah Nouvelage)

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Israel's leaders slam a news report on a Gaza 'killing field' near food sites

Palestinians carry food packages near a distribution site operated by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday.

Israel's prime minister denounced a report in Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoting Israeli soldiers saying commanders ordered them to fire at unarmed crowds near food distribution sites.

(Image credit: Abdel Kareem Hana)

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In an about-face, Germany plans to build Europe's biggest military

German soldiers participate in a ceremonial roll call on May 22 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Germany, which leads a multinational NATO task force in Lithuania, is in the process of deploying a 5,000-strong brigade to Lithuania on a permanent basis. NATO is strengthening its eastern flank as a deterrent to what it sees as an aggressive Russia.

A new Trump presidency and the Ukraine war have pushed Germany to change its constitution to spend more on its military. "Building up our military is our top priority," said Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

(Image credit: Paulius Peleckis)

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Slain Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman to be laid to rest in private funeral service

Karin Cotter lays a note on a memorial for Melissa and Mark Hortman during a candlelight vigil outside the state Capitol building on June 18 in St. Paul, Minn.

The Minnesota lawmaker was killed during a string of attacks against Democratic elected officials in the state.

(Image credit: Stephen Maturen)

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Looking forward to July 4 fireworks? Tariffs may take the spark out of your fun

Most fireworks sold in the U.S. are made in China, and they now face tariffs of at least 30%. Pictured are the Fourth of July fireworks in New York City in 2022.

Fans of fireworks may face higher prices this Fourth of July. That's because most fireworks are made in China and importers now have to pay tariffs of at least 30%.

(Image credit: Timothy A. Clary)

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Big beautiful bottleneck: Trump's high-stakes week at home and abroad

President Trump takes part in a news conference on Friday

From trade talks to the fate of his legislative agenda, what happens over the next 10 days or so, domestically and abroad, could come to define Trump's presidency.

(Image credit: Joe Raedle)

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Where the Voting Rights Act stands after the Supreme Court punts on a Louisiana case

Demonstrators walk in Selma, Ala., in March with a sign saying "UNITE TO FIGHT FOR VOTING RIGHTS" to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march that galvanized the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Supreme Court delayed ruling on a Louisiana congressional redistricting case that some legal experts say could end up further weakening protections against maps that dilute minority voters' power.

(Image credit: Michael M. Santiago)

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What is birthright citizenship and what happens after the Supreme Court ruling?

Demonstrators hold a sign reading "Hands Off Birthright Citizenship!" outside the Supreme Court on June 27, 2025. The Supreme Court did not rule on President Trump

Within two hours of a Supreme Court ruling that limits the ability of federal courts to impose universal injunctions, lawyers for immigrant rights groups filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of their clients.

(Image credit: Alex Wroblewski)

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A fourth judge has blocked a Trump executive order targeting elite law firms

President Trump announces that his administration has reached a deal with elite law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office in March 2025.

The ruling, involving the firm Susman Godfrey, marks the fourth time out of four that a federal judge has permanently blocked one of Trump's executive orders seeking to punish an elite law firm.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

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Pilgrims and clergy gather in remote Alaska village to canonize first Yup'ik saint

The Orthodox Christian tradition is strong in the tiny village of Kwethluk, Alaska. It recently welcomed clergy and pilgrims from around the world to canonize a local midwife and healer as a saint.

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How Russia Sees Itself in the World

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum June 20, 2025

Ever since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the majority of western countries have been working to marginalize Russia by imposing sanctions and moving away from dependence on Russian oil. This week NATO announced most member countries would dramatically increase defense spending, a move they said was meant to counter threats posed by Russia.

But Russia is eager to show it still has many partners around the globe and quash talk of a possible economic recession at home. Our correspondent takes us to an international conference in Saint Petersburg where the Russian government is putting it's best face forward.

(Image credit: Charles Maynes)

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