The Justice Department sues Maine and Oregon, ratcheting up demands for voter data

Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department

The Department of Justice is escalating its demands for sensitive data from voting officials, suing two Democratic-controlled states who have thus far rebuffed the department's requests.

(Image credit: Jose Luis Magana)

NPR News1 day, 8 hours ago

How Charlie Kirk became a leader of the conservative youth movement

New York Times reporter Robert Draper explains Kirk's rise and legacy. He was killed Sept. 10. Draper also discusses conservative commentator Nick Fuentes, a rival of Kirk's with a large following.

NPR News1 day, 8 hours ago

Ousted CDC director testifies she was fired for resisting pressure from RFK Jr.

Former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monarez, testifies before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Wednesday in Washington, DC.

Susan Monarez says RFK Jr. told her to commit to decisions in advance, without reviewing evidence and to dismiss vaccine experts.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

NPR News1 day, 8 hours ago

Tennessee's governor welcomed the National Guard. Illinois' JB Pritzker is a hard no.

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Trump on Monday said he planned to send National Guard troops to Memphis. The news gives fresh relevance to NPR's recent interview with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who declined to ask for the military.

NPR News1 day, 11 hours ago

Greetings from American University of Beirut, where more than 1,000 cats roam

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Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

NPR News1 day, 13 hours ago

Kirk's alleged shooter faces death penalty. And, Pritzker concerned for 2026 elections

A screen shows Tyler Robinson (bottom left), the suspect in the killing of political activist Charlie Kirk, as he attends a court appearance remotely from his jail cell in Provo, Utah, on Sept. 16.

Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of shooting and killing Charlie Kirk, faces the death penalty in Utah. And, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker talks about why he is worried about the 2026 elections

(Image credit: -/POOL/AFP)

NPR News1 day, 13 hours ago

Most American Jews say Trump is using antisemitism as an 'excuse' to silence free speech at universities

Posters for civilians who were abducted from Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, are posted at the Hillel at UCLA in Los Angeles.

Most Jewish Americans disapprove of the Trump administration withholding funds from colleges to address anti-Jewish sentiment, according to a new survey.

(Image credit: Damian Dovarganes)

NPR News1 day, 15 hours ago

Suspect in UK toddler disappearance is released after serving time in unrelated case

Police officers try to stop a British photographer as he takes pictures inside a car leaving a prison, carrying a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann, in Sehnde, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025.

A German national under investigation in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann 18 years ago was freed from prison Wednesday after serving a sentence in an unrelated case, police said.

(Image credit: Markus Schreiber)

NPR News1 day, 15 hours ago

Facing Trump's pressure, the Fed is likely to cut rates for the first time this year

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues are expected to lower interest rates Wednesday, amid fears of a weakening job market.

The Fed is likely to lower interest rates by a quarter percentage point Wednesday in an effort to cushion the sagging job market. The move comes as policymakers face growing pressure from Trump.

(Image credit: Kent Nishimura)

NPR News1 day, 15 hours ago

When her car ran out of gas, help came from a homeless encampment

Juli Cobb in 2024.

When Juli Cobb's car ran out of gas in the middle of the road, three men from a nearby homeless encampment rushed over to push her car to safety.

(Image credit: Juli Cobb)

NPR News1 day, 15 hours ago

Beyond 'draining the swamp': How Trump is knocking down checks on presidential power

Cathy Harris was a member of the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent, quasi-judicial agency that works to ensure federal employees are protected against abuses by agency management, until she was fired earlier this year by the Trump administration.

President Trump wants to be able to fire far more executive branch employees at will — upending checks on presidential power that have existed for more than a century.

(Image credit: Maansi Srivastava)

NPR News1 day, 15 hours ago

What to know about zarfs, the fanciest way to drink coffee

A French zarf and cup, made around 1848 to 1855, made of porcelain. Zarfs are often associated with coffee drinking in the Ottoman Empire, but many were made in Europe.

For NPR's Word of the Week, we're getting hot: During the Ottoman Empire, people used devices called "zarfs" to hold their coffee cups. Here's what to know about this word's history.

(Image credit: The Cleveland Museum of Art)

NPR News1 day, 15 hours ago

After a wave of horrific shootings, gun violence trends put recent attacks in context

Crime scene tape blows in the wind as rain begins to fall outside Evergreen High School in Colorado on Sept. 11.

Mass shootings, political violence and school safety are front of mind for many Americans following a recent spate of high-profile attacks. Experts who study gun violence unpack the data and trends.

(Image credit: RJ Sangosti)

NPR News1 day, 15 hours ago

Horse-drawn carriages and a royal salute for Trump's unprecedented second state visit

President Trump reviews the guard of honor during his state visit on September 17, 2025 in Windsor, England.

President Trump is in the United Kingdom for a rare second state visit that includes pageantry, policy and protests.

(Image credit: Jonathan Brady)

NPR News1 day, 20 hours ago

NPR to trim $5 million this year as public radio stations struggle to pay bills

View of the sign outside National Public Radio headquarters on July 22, 2025 in Washington, DC.

NPR plans to make trims totaling more than $5 million over the course of the coming fiscal year to bring its annual budget into balance. Meanwhile, local stations are asking for more help.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 8:10 PM

Trump extends TikTok reprieve as deal nears

President Trump speaks to members of the media as he departs the White House en route to London on Sept. 16, 2025.

While legally questionable, the extension comes just as it appears China and the U.S. may finally have a deal on TikTok's fate.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 8:02 PM

'People are scared': Congress grapples with increasing political violence

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 4: The Dome of the U.S. Capitol Building is visible as U.S. Capitol Police bicycle along the East Front of the U.S. Capitol Building on March 4, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

House Republicans put forth a proposal to fund the government that includes $30 million for lawmaker security, as Congress grapples with increasing political violence.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 7:57 PM

The U.S. says it will burn $9.7 million of birth control. Its fate is still unclear

A view of a warehouse of Kuehne+Nagel in Geel, Belgium, which houses U.S.-funded contraceptives worth nearly $10 million. The U.S. State Department has stated that the stocks would be sent to France to be destroyed.

Questions about their fate swirled after the government's July deadline for destruction came and went. Then came a false report they'd been incinerated. Aid groups say it's not too late to save them.

(Image credit: Marta Fiorin)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 7:08 PM

RFK Jr. wants to end mental health screenings in schools. Experts say it's a bad idea

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Education Secretary Linda McMahon generally sit next to each other during President Trump

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and Education Secretary Linda McMahon are against schools giving kids standardized questionnaires about their mental well-being. But experts say they are wrong.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 6:59 PM

From heart to skin to hair, 'Replaceable You' dives into the science of transplant

Mary Roach

Science writer Mary Roach chronicles both the history and the latest science of body part replacement in her new book. She also answers the question: Is it kosher to receive an organ donation from a pig?

(Image credit: Jen Siska)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 6:56 PM

Utah files murder charges against Tyler Robinson

This photo released by the Utah Governor

Utah prosecutors charged Tyler Robinson, 22, with the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Officials say they are seeking the death penalty.

(Image credit: Utah Governor's Office)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 4:27 PM

Republicans release 7-week spending bill as Democrats warn of a potential shutdown

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol on September 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.

House Republicans released a short-term spending bill to fund the government until late November but Democrats are calling for further changes.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 3:16 PM

Has everyday life changed due to increased ICE activity in your area? We want to know

An ICE officer

NPR wants to hear from listeners whose lives have changed due to an increase in ICE operations, throughout the country.

(Image credit: Michael M. Santiago)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 2:26 PM

A UN inquiry accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza, joining a rising chorus

Palestinians run for cover during a Sept. 5 Israeli airstrike on a high-rise building in Gaza City after the Israeli army issued a warning.

The report issued Tuesday by experts commissioned by the United Nations' Human Rights Council calls on the international community to end the genocide and take steps to punish those responsible.

(Image credit: Yousef Al Zanoun)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 1:14 PM

Movie star and visionary Robert Redford has died at age 89

Robert Redford, in London for a lecture in 1973.

A movie star to his core, Robert Redford has died after a visionary career in cinema, including founding the Sundance Institute that transformed the market for independent films.

(Image credit: Victor Blackman)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 12:26 PM

For first time in decades, U.S. says Colombia is falling short in drug war

Police rappel from a helicopter to destroy a cocaine processing lab in Puerto Concordia in Colombia

For the first time in decades, the U.S. has decertified Colombia as a drug control partner — a symbolic blow to one of Washington's closest allies in Latin America.

(Image credit: Fernando Vergara)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 10:03 AM

JD Vance vows to carry on Kirk's legacy. And, the Fed meets to decide interest rates.

Vic The Charlie Kirk Show following the assassination of the show's namesake at the White House on September 15 in Washington, D.C.'/>

Vice President Vance hosted Charlie Kirk's podcast yesterday and vowed to carry on his friend's political legacy. And, the Federal Reserve meets to decide interest rates.

(Image credit: Pool)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 10:00 AM

Donald Trump files $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times

A police officer stands guard outside The New York Times building in New York, on June 28, 2018.

President Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and four of its journalists on Monday, according to court documents.

(Image credit: Mary Altaffer)

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 10:00 AM

Is telehealth a good idea, or should I see my regular doctor?

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Social media is full of their colorful ads, but are online doctors legit? Here's the lowdown on the pros and cons of online medicine.

NPR NewsSep 16, 2025, 10:00 AM

On 9/16/25, celebrate a date of mathematical beauty

The date 9/16/25 represents a Pythagorean triple — that is, 32 +42 = 52.

Pythagorean Triple Square Day, as one man affectionately calls 9/16/25, is a day like no other this century.

(Image credit: marekuliasz/iStockphoto)