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'There is no message': The search for ideological motives in the Minneapolis shooting

A memorial to shooting victims sits in front of Annunciation Catholic Church on Aug. 28 in Minneapolis. A gunman fired through the windows of the church while students were sitting in pews during a Catholic school Mass. The gunman reportedly died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police.

The FBI is calling the attack at a Minnesota Catholic church an act of domestic terrorism driven by "hate-filled ideology." Extremism analysts say the picture may be more complex.

(Image credit: Scott Olson)

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COVID vaccine guidance has changed — again. A doctor tackles your questions

The Food and Drug Administration approved the next round of COVID-19 vaccines Wednesday, but imposed new restrictions on who

The Food and Drug Administration approved the next round of COVID-19 vaccines, but they come with restrictions. NPR wants to know your questions about the new guidance.

(Image credit: Scott Olson)

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A Texas man is reunited with the class ring he lost 56 years ago

Al DiStefano with the ring he received upon graduating from Fordham University in 1969. The ring was found by David Orlowski using a metal detector just a few miles from where DiStefano says he lost it.

When Al DiStefano accidentally dropped his ring into the Long Island Sound, he never thought he'd see it again. More than half a century later, the kindness of a stranger brought the ring back to him.

(Image credit: Al DiStefano)

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SNL's Heidi Gardner and Michael Longfellow are among the stars leaving the show

Michael Longfellow (from left), Heidi Gardner and Devon Walker are among the cast members leaving <!-- raw HTML omitted -->Saturday Night Live<!-- raw HTML omitted --> before its 51st season.

Producer Lorne Michaels has said he is looking to shake things up ahead of SNL's 51st season, which starts in early October.

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It's been a week of chaos at the CDC. Here are 5 things to know

Jim O

Here's your recap of what happened in the leadership shakeup at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week.

(Image credit: Amy Rossetti)

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My son loved his first day of kindergarten. It brings up my own bittersweet memories

Russell Siima, who started his first year of kindergarten at a public school in Montgomery County, Md., this week, waves goodbye to his parents. The milestone gave his dad a flashback to his own start of school in Uganda.

When his son began kindergarten this week, educator James Kassaga Arinaitwe flashed back to his own initiation into school, growing up in Uganda under far humbler circumstances.

(Image credit: Ben de la Cruz/NPR)

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Trump ends Harris' Secret Service detail

Kamala Harris, shown here as vice president in 2022, speaks to the traveling press pool as second gentleman Doug Emhoff looks on, under the wing of Air Force 2 at Buffalo-Niagra International Airport.

It's typical that former vice presidents have Secret Service protection for 6 months after leaving office. In Harris' case, she had received an extension of her detail. Trump is ending the extension.

(Image credit: Kent Nishimura)

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In a first, Kim Jong Un will attend a gathering of leaders with both Putin and Xi

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, Kim Jong Un speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone at an undisclosed location in North Korea, Aug. 12. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image and its content cannot be independently verified.

When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits China next week for a military parade, it will be his debut at a gathering of foreign leaders for a rare meeting of China, Russia and North Korea.

(Image credit: Korean Central News Agency)

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Witnesses describe terror and courage during the Minneapolis school shooting

People gather at a memorial for victims of Wednesday

Parishioner Cathrine Spandel said worshippers at Annunciation Catholic Church in south Minneapolis had just finished a psalm when gunfire erupted. "It seemed like it went on forever," she said.

(Image credit: Scott Olson)

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Father of Minneapolis shooting victim speaks out. And, CDC announces new leadership

Jen Labanowski, her daughter Lucy (R), and her daughter

The father of a boy killed in the Minneapolis church shooting speaks out on how he wants his son to be remembered. And, a new acting CDC director has been announced.

(Image credit: Scott Olson)

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Thai court dismisses prime minister over compromising phone call with Cambodian leader

Thailand

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Friday dismissed Paetongtarn Shinawatra from her position as prime minister, ruling that as the country's leader she violated constitutional rules on ethics.

(Image credit: Sakchai Lalit)

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The Trump administration wants to build more roads through national forests

The Gifford Fire, the largest fire to burn in California so far this year, started near a road. Research shows wildfires are more likely to start within 50 feet of a road than they are farther out.

The Trump administration argues that rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule will help wildland firefighters. Fire researchers warn that more roads could exacerbate the problem.

(Image credit: Benjamin Hanson/Middle East Images)

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Contract breach or banditry? Inside the collapse of the Taliban's oil deal with China

The Taliban

Two years after the oil deal was signed, it collapsed —with the Taliban accusing the Chinese company of breaching the contract and some Chinese employees likening the Taliban's actions to robbery.

(Image credit: Ahmad Sahel Arman)

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College football season is here. Here's what to know ahead of Saturday's kickoff

College football is back! The season kicks off in earnest on Saturday and, for the first time on an opening weekend, it features three top-10 matchups.

This weekend features three top-10 matchups, the most ever for an opening weekend in college football history. And Arch Manning, the most hyped player of a generation, will start for the first time.

(Image credit: Julio Cortez)

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Talking to kids about school shootings. Be truthful and follow their lead

Families depart Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis following a mass shooting there on Aug. 27.

Parents are struggling to figure out what to say to their children after another school shooting. We talked to some experts, who offered these guidelines.

(Image credit: Stephen Maturen)

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The long recovery on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, 'ground zero' for Hurricane Katrina

An aerial view of rebuilt elevated homes earlier this month along Waveland Beach in Mississippi, an area hard-hit by Hurricane Katrina 20 years ago. The catastrophic storm sent an approximately 30-foot-high storm surge into Waveland and destroyed or damaged nearly every home in the town. Nearly 1,400 people died across the Gulf Coast, and it remains the costliest storm in U.S. history at around $200 billion in today

While much of the focus marking 20 years since Hurricane Katrina is on New Orleans, where federal levees failed and flooded the city, the historic storm also decimated the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

(Image credit: Mario Tama)

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What is a haboob and which U.S. city did it engulf this week? Find out in the quiz

From left: Taylor Swift, some Kelce, a demon hunter.

This week, Taylor Swift debuted her engagement ring and the parasite world brought us something gross to worry about.

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New CDC head chosen after week of turmoil at the agency

It's been a week of turmoil at the CDC, and now there's a new person tapped to be acting director of the agency.

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As Trump tariffs hit companies, they are finding ways to minimize the impact

Businesses are scrambling for ways to minimize the impact of the Trump administration's global tariff policy. NPR's Planet Money team explores tricks and legal loopholes companies are using.

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The Baltimore Orioles vendor who steals the show

While the Baltimore Orioles compete on the field, another battle takes place in the stands: the fight to be top vendor. StoryCorps brings a conversation with "Fancy Clancy," a vendor who's been selling beer at Baltimore Orioles games since 1974.

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New trial ordered for 3 Memphis ex-officers in connection with death of Tyre Nichols

This combination of images provided by the Memphis, Tenn., Police Department shows, from left top, Police Officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, bottom row from left, Desmond Mills, Jr. and Justin Smith.

The ruling marks the latest setback for prosecutors in a case that shocked the country when videos were released showing officers violently kicking and punching Nichols during a traffic stop.

(Image credit: AP)

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From devastation to determination: Hurricane Katrina's legacy in pictures

Water surrounds homes in the devastated 9th Ward in this aerial view of damage from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans on Aug. 30, 2005.

Hurricane Katrina resulted in nearly 1,400 deaths, according to revised statistics from the National Hurricane Center, and remains the costliest storm in U.S. history at around $200 billion in today's dollars.

(Image credit: Smiley N. Pool)

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Middle schoolers are lauded for protecting younger kids during church shooting

Officials have commended the actions of older children and adults during a mass shooting at the Annuncation Church in Minneapolis.

Two children were killed, and 18 children between the ages 6 and 15 were injured by a shooter. Middle schoolers acted heroically to protect others, a parent said.

(Image credit: Stephen Maturen)

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Federal judge says Kari Lake can't fire Voice of America director

A federal judge in Washington, D.C. ruled on Thursday that administration official Kari Lake had overstepped in firing the director of Voice of America. In this photo, Lake speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, in February in Oxon Hill, Md.

A federal judge has ruled that Trump administration official Kari Lake can't unilaterally fire the director of Voice of America.

(Image credit: Jose Luis Magana/AP)

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Public media stations in rural America say emergency-alert funding is in jeopardy

This photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows the aftermath of a landslide in Wrangell, Alaska in November 2023.

Without Congressionally-approved funding, public media stations say communities will be left with aging infrastructure amid growing risks from extreme weather.

(Image credit: U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

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New train connects Mississippi towns 20 years after Katrina

Amtrak just reopened a route from Mobile, Ala., to New Orleans that's connecting communities along the Gulf Coast for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. It's called the Mardi Gras line.

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Video: Echoes of Katrina - Two decades of struggle and strength

Dre

NPR station photographer and New Orleans native Tyrone Turner travelled back to Louisiana to document the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

(Image credit: Tyrone Turner)

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The federal government is taking over D.C.'s Union Station. What does that mean?

Members of the South Carolina National Guard stand outside Union Station in Washington, D.C. last week.

The Department of Transportation says it will be "reclaiming management" of the transportation hub, which it has owned since the 1980s. D.C.'s mayor says that would be an "amazing initiative."

(Image credit: Valerie Plesch)

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Whatever happened to the women in the 'No Sex for Fish' group?

Alice Akinyi (left, hand on hip) and Justine Adhiambo Obura, members of the No Sex For Fish group, stand next to Alice

NPR first wrote about the group "No Sex for Fish" in 2019 — Kenyan women out to end the practice of trading sex to a fisherman in exchange for his catch to sell. Since then they're faced tribulations.

(Image credit: Julia Gunther for NPR)

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Water, water, everywhere! Why can't billions of folks get a drink or flush a toilet?

In La Paz, a low-income neighborhood on the outskirts of Santa Marta, Colombia, water service from the local utility can be erratic or nonexistent. Pictured: Neighborhood kids stand next to a rain barrel positioned under a corrugated roof to collect water for household use.

A report from the World Health Organization says 1 in 4 people lack access to safe water to drink. Even more don't have water for sanitation. We asked someone who grew up that way to share childhood memories.

(Image credit: Ben de la Cruz/NPR)

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