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Pope Leo XIV embarks on first foreign trip, visiting Turkey and Lebanon

Pope Leo XIV greets reporters aboard a flight on his way to Ankara, Turkey, for a six-day trip to Turkey and Lebanon, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025.

One journalist gifted Pope Leo XIV a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie as he began his first foreign tour to Turkey and Lebanon, accompanied by the world's press.

(Image credit: Domenico Stinellis)

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At least 65 killed, hundreds missing after Hong Kong high-rise blaze

A massive fire tore through a high-rise housing complex in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Authorities say at least 65 people have died and hundreds are still missing.

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At least 55 killed, hundreds missing after Hong Kong high-rise blaze

A massive fire tore through a high-rise housing complex in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Authorities say at least 55 people have died in the fire and 279 people are still missing.

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Dozens killed, hundreds missing after Hong Kong high-rise blaze

A massive fire tore through a high-rise housing complex in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Authorities say dozens of people have died and hundreds are missing.

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Trump defends key negotiator after leaked phone call appears to show him coaching Russia

Steve Witkoff, flanked by President Trump, speaks at the White House on May 28.

A transcript of the call appears to show Steve Witkoff coaching his Russian counterpart on how they could get a better deal to end the war in Ukraine

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

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Two West Virginia National Guard members killed in D.C. shooting, authorities say

Members of the National Guard stand by at Union Station on August 14, 2025 in Washington, DC.

In a statement, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey said two members of the West Virginia National Guard died from injuries following a shooting in Washington, D.C.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

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4 marketing tricks to not fall for this holiday season

<eAct fast! This is your sign! Last chance! If marketing messages like these are making money fly out of your wallet, they're doing their job. These tips can help you guard against artificial offers.'/>

Retailers use marketing techniques to get you to spend more, like creating a false sense of urgency or creating artificial discounts. Outsmart the gimmicks with these tips.

(Image credit: Mininyx Doodle)

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Medicare negotiated lower prices for 15 drugs, including 71% off Ozempic and Wegovy

A box of Ozempic at a pharmacy in Los Angeles on Aug. 6, 2025.

Medicare announced 15 lower drugs after a second round of negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. The drugs include Ozempic and also drugs to treat asthma, breast cancer and leukemia.

(Image credit: Eric Thayer)

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How to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Tom Turkey opens the 98th Macy

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is back this year and promises to be bigger than ever. Here's a preview of what to expect and how to watch.

(Image credit: Eugene Gologursky)

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Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau announce their government takeover on state TV

Cars drive on the street in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Wednesday.

Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau appeared on state TV saying they have seized power in the country, following reports of gunshots near the presidential palace.

(Image credit: Darcicio Barbosa)

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The Georgia election interference case against Trump and others has been dropped

President Trump speaks to the media aboard Air Force One on Tuesday.

The historic Georgia election interference case against President Trump and allies for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election is no more.

(Image credit: Pete Marovich)

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At long last, the mystery of lightning on Mars is solved

On Earth, lightning can occur in turbulent clouds of volcanic ash. Now researchers have found evidence of sparks in Martian dust devils.

A chance discovery by a NASA rover on Mars shows that the red planet has a form of lightning, which researchers had suspected for decades but never seen.

(Image credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech/University of Arizona)

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13 people killed in fire engulfing Hong Kong high-rise residential buildings, fire services say

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire which broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong

Thirteen people were killed in a fire that spread across seven high-rise apartment buildings in a Hong Kong housing complex. About 700 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters.

(Image credit: Chan Long Hei)

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Our readers' tales of kindness will surprise you, warm your heart and make you smile

The smallest gesture can be imbued with kindness. In Puno, Peru, Maria adjusts her friend Rosa

We invited you to share acts of kindness. The topics include new shoes, a basket of berries that aren't very tasty and an unexpected twist for someone treating the person behind them in line.

(Image credit: Ana Caroline de Lima)

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Greetings from Amman, Jordan, where history lent a colossal hand

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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.

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Trump backs Witkoff after leaked call with Russian aide. And, Thanksgiving air travel

U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff looks on during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Trump and members of his Cabinet at the White House on Oct. 17, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

Leaked call transcripts between special envoy Steve Witkoff and a Putin advisor could derail Trump's progress on peace in Ukraine. And, air travel is back to normal just in time for Thanksgiving.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

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The origins of your dog's unique look may be older than you think

Modern dogs come in all shapes and sizes. A new study finds they started evolving much of that physical diversity thousands of years ago.

A new study finds that about half of the physical variation seen in modern dogs existed during the Stone Age.

(Image credit: Stephanie Keith)

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The U.S. produces a lot of food waste. This place wants to address it

A compost facility in Staten Island, New York aims to repurpose the city

Even amid rising grocery prices and increased sensitivity to environmental issues, Americans still trash once-edible food at alarming rates.

(Image credit: Keren Carrion)

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How the turkey trotted its way onto our Thanksgiving tables — and into our lexicon

One of the two national Thanksgiving turkeys, Waddle and Gobble, which were presented to journalists in the Willard Room of the Willard InterContinental on November 24, 2025 in Washington, DC., for the 78th annual Turkey Pardoning at the White House.

Much of the turkey's early history is shrouded in uncertainty, historians and etymologists say — which is particularly true of how the bird got its name.

(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker)

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Pope Leo XIV to visit Turkey and Lebanon on first foreign trip

Pope Leo XIV leaves after a Mass for the Jubilee of the Choirs in St. Peter

Pope Leo XIV is embarking on his first foreign trip, a pilgrimage to Turkey and Lebanon, amid Mideast tensions and the media glare that will document history's first American pope on the road.

(Image credit: Alessandra Tarantino)

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Italy now recognizes the crime of femicide and punishes it with life in prison

Activists perform on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, in Rome, on Tuesday.

Italy's parliament on Tuesday approved a law that punishes femicide with life in prison. The vote coincided with the international day for the elimination of violence against women.

(Image credit: Roberto Monaldo)

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National Parks to raise fees by $100 for international tourists to popular U.S. parks

Tourists flock to Mather Point at Grand Canyon National Park, Oct. 1, 2025, in Grand Canyon, Ariz.

The National Park Service says it is going to start charging international tourists an extra $100 to enter popular parks. They will be left out of fee-free days, reserved for American residents.

(Image credit: Ross D. Franklin)

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Trump spares turkeys — but not his political opponents — at annual pardoning ceremony

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, stand next to national Thanksgiving turkey Gobble during a pardoning ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House, on Tuesday, in Washington.

President Trump brought grievances to the Thanksgiving pardoning ceremony on Tuesday. He joked about sending the turkeys to a prison in El Salvador, and claimed that last year's turkey pardons were invalid.

(Image credit: Evan Vucci)

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Louisiana's top health official, a critic of the COVID vaccine, will be CDC deputy

Dr. Ralph Abraham spoke at a Trump re-election rally in Lake Charles, La., on Oct. 11, 2019. At the time, Abraham was a Republican congressman running for governor of Louisiana. He lost that race, but was named the state

Louisiana's surgeon general Dr. Ralph Abraham, who has praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s tenure as health secretary and called COVID vaccines "dangerous," will become the second-highest ranking official at the CDC.

(Image credit: Gerald Herbert)

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New limits for rent algorithm that prosecutors say lets landlords drive up prices

The logo for the Justice Department is seen before a news conference at the Department of Justice on Aug. 23, 2024, in Washington.

Landlords could no longer rely on rent-pricing software to quietly track each other's moves and push rents higher using confidential data, under a settlement between RealPage Inc. and federal prosecutors.

(Image credit: Mark Schiefelbein)

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How a 'sweet and shy' tortoise outlived empires and survived two world wars

Gramma

No one knows exactly when Gramma was born. But if the estimated birth year of 1884 is accurate, Chester Arthur occupied the Oval Office and there were only 39 states at the time.

(Image credit: San Diego Zoo/YouTube)

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Sen. Mark Kelly responds to Pentagon investigation

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly during a visit to NPR headquarters on Nov. 18, 2025.

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and other house Democrats released a video last week letting service members know they can refuse illegal orders. Kelly is now being investigated for misconduct.

(Image credit: Zayrha Rodriguez)

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When private equity invests in youth sports facilities

NPR's Juana Summers speaks with Luke Goldstein of The Lever, who wrote about the rise of private equity control of youth hockey facilities.

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The case against Comey failed because of Trump's prosecutor. Who is she?

Lindsey Halligan pictured outside of the White House in August, a month before she was appointed acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department's cases against James Comey and Letitia James, saying the prosecutor who led them was unlawfully appointed. Here's what to know about her.

(Image credit: Jacquelyn Martin)

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A former U.S. attorney offers 'A Manual for Keeping a Democracy'

Joyce Vance, author of Giving Up Is Unforgivable, discusses recent impactful decisions by courts and the Justice Department, and how her son helped her understand Gen Z's view of defending democracy.

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