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Trump administration rolls back fuel economy standards

Motorists drive on Interstate 210 during the morning commute on December 03, 2025 in Pasadena, Calif. President Trump announced new fuel economy standards today which will roll back fuel efficiency standards put in place by former President Joe Biden.

At a White House this afternoon, President Trump said he was terminating "ridiculously burdensome" fuel economy rules. It's part of a series of changes relaxing or eliminating rules promoting cleaner cars.

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CDC's vaccine advisers meet to question long-used vaccines

A child gets immunized at a Florida pediatrician

Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control Prevention will scrutinize the childhood vaccine schedule and may start to upend it.

(Image credit: Joe Raedle)

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Pentagon watchdog finds Hegseth risked the safety of U.S. forces with use of Signal

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet Meeting at the White House on Dec. 2.

A forthcoming inspector general report finds that had intel shared by Hegseth been intercepted by an adversary, it would have endangered servicemembers, according to a source who viewed the findings.

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Trump uses 'Third World' in a social media post. What's up with that term?

"I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover," he wrote on Truth Social. That label raises the issue of how to classify certain nations.

TK

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Check your cheese: Shredded and grated varieties are recalled nationwide

Several varieties of shredded mozzarella and other cheese blends, sold at retailers including Aldi, Target and Walmart, are being recalled over concerns they were contaminated with bits of metal.

The FDA is urging customers to toss certain brands of grated Pecorino Romano; at the same time, it escalated an existing recall of numerous shredded cheeses.

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Did the Trump administration commit a war crime in its attack on a Venezuelan boat?

Washington Post reporter Alex Horton talks about the Sept. 2 U.S. military strike on a boat with alleged "narco terrorists," in which a second strike was ordered to kill two survivors in the water.

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Greetings from Ukraine, where churchgoers seek respite ahead of another winter at war

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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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Your glitchy video calls may make people mistrust you

Brief glitches in video calls may seem like no big deal, but a new study suggests they can have a negative effect on how trustworthy a person is perceived to be. <!-- raw HTML omitted -->

Brief glitches in video calls may seem like no big deal, but new research shows they can have a negative effect on how a person is perceived by the viewer.

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One year on from martial law crisis, South Korea celebrates its democracy's resilience

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung gestures during a news conference to mark the first  anniversary of the Dec. 3 martial law crisis at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea on Wednesday.

One year on from failed presidential power grab, South Korea celebrates its resilient democracy, and tries to heal deep political divisions.

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Dems seek to limit who can be immigration judges. And, the GOP wins House election

A masked federal agent walks in a hallway at New York Federal Plaza Immigration Court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building in New York City on Oct.15, 2025.

Democrats seek to limit who can serve as immigration judges amid layoffs from the administration. And, Republican Matt Van Epps narrowly wins a special House election in Tennessee.

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A Palestinian convicted in bombing plot is now an award-winning novelist, and free

Bassem Khandaqji, 41, poses for a photo at a hotel in Cairo on Oct. 17, 2025, days after Israel freed him and other Palestinian prisoners in the Gaza ceasefire deal. He was imprisoned for helping plan a deadly 2004 bombing in Tel Aviv, and went on to become an award-winning novelist in prison.

Bassem Khandaqji entered prison 21 years ago for plotting a deadly bombing in Israel. He left prison as an award-winning novelist.

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Belgium rejects EU plan to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine

Belgium

Belgium on Wednesday rejected a plan to use frozen Russian assets to help prop up Ukraine's economy and war effort over the next two years, saying that the scheme poses financial and legal risks.

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Democrats seek limits on who can serve as immigration judges amid mass layoffs

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents look over lists of names and their hearing times and locations inside the Federal Plaza courthouse in June 2025 in New York.

The legislation comes after the White House authorized up to 600 military lawyers to be temporary immigration judges and scrapped requirements for them to have immigration law experience.

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The use and misuse of the word 'ideology'

The word "ideology" traces its origins to the French Enlightenment. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to "defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology."

The word "ideology" has become a fixture in American political rhetoric, invoked by leaders to cast opponents' beliefs as dangerous, stupid or unfounded. But it wasn't always this way.

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Missouri's redistricting drama renews focus on direct democracy … and 'Air Bud'

Buddy and Josh in the spotlight in the 1997 Walt Disney movie, <!-- raw HTML omitted -->Air Bud<!-- raw HTML omitted -->.

The road to redistricting in Missouri has been wild and winding, but its tie to a 1997 kids' movie starring a basketball-playing golden retriever might be the most unexpected development of all.

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50 years after the birth of special education, some fear for its future under Trump

<!-- raw HTML omitted -->Left:<!-- raw HTML omitted --> Ed Martin was one of the authors of the law now known as IDEA. Before the law, children with disabilities were often turned away from public schools. "They were invisible," says Martin. <!-- raw HTML omitted -->Right:<!-- raw HTML omitted --> Maggie Heilman and her daughter, Brooklynn, 14, at their home in a Kansas City suburb. Brooklynn has Down syndrome and her own special education plan thanks to IDEA.

The Trump administration has fired, or tried to fire, many of the federal staff who manage and enforce federal disability law in schools.

(Image credit: Thomas Simonetti and Katie Currid for NPR)

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Doctors warn delaying hepatitis B shot for newborns could revive a deadly threat

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory panel appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is scheduled to discuss and vote on the hepatitis B birth dose recommendation during its two-day meeting starting Dec. 4, potentially limiting children

As RFK Jr.'s new vaccine panel ponders changing the hepatitis B vaccination schedule, some doctors recall past patients, including children, who died painful deaths before there was a vaccine.

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Belarus weather balloons force repeated closures of Lithuania's main airport

FILE - In this undated photo released by the State Border Guard Service, an officer inspects a balloon used to carry cigarettes into Lithuania, because Belarussian smugglers often use them to ferry the contraband into the European Union.

Lithuanian authorities accused Belarus of deliberate disruption after weather balloons directed at Vilnius Airport's runways forced an 11-hour shutdown on Saturday.

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Trump administration halts immigration applications for migrants from 19 nations

Police officers block a street as demonstrators march at a protest opposing "Operation Midway Blitz" and the presence of ICE, Sept. 9, 2025, in Chicago.

The Trump administration is pausing all immigration applications such as requests for green cards for people from 19 countries banned from travel earlier this year.

(Image credit: Erin Hooley)

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Deep-sea search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 to resume Dec. 30

FILE - Flight officer Rayan Gharazeddine scans the water in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia from a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion during a search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on March 22, 2014.

The Malaysian government says it will pay the robotics firm Ocean Infinity $70 million if it can locate the wreckage from the missing flight within a 55-day period.

(Image credit: Rob Griffith)

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San Francisco sues nation's top food manufacturers over ultraprocessed foods

Bottles of Coca-Cola products sit on a shelf at a store in Dania Beach, Fla., Oct. 20, 2020.

The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against some top food manufacturers on Tuesday, arguing that ultraprocessed food from the likes of Coca-Cola and Nestle are responsible for a health crisis.

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Trump says he doesn't want Somalis in the U.S., urges them to go back to their homeland and fix it

President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in Washington, as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth looks on.

President Trump says he doesn't want Somali immigrants in the U.S., saying residents of the war-ravaged eastern African country are too reliant on U.S. social safety net and add little to the U.S.

(Image credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

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White House justifies strikes on boat survivors, but it's unclear where buck stops

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House on Dec. 2.

In the face of charges that these strikes amount to execution without trial, the White House is sending a confusing message about who exactly gave each order to use deadly force.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

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Michael and Susan Dell commit $6.25 billion for investment accounts for kids

Michael and Susan Dell pose for photographs on Nov. 26 in New York. The couple said they will donate $6.25 billion to fund investment accounts for 25 million U.S. children.

Michael and Susan Dell are donating $6.25 billion to fund "Trump Accounts" for 25 million U.S. children. The gift would put $250 into each eligible child's account.

(Image credit: Frank Franklin II)

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Costco sues the Trump administration over tariffs, joining a refund queue

A shopper pushes a cart toward the entrance of a Costco warehouse in Colorado.

Costco is one of the largest companies to sue for possible refunds if the Supreme Court strikes down the new import duties.

(Image credit: David Zalubowski)

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A major winter storm is pummeling the Northeast with ice and snow

A person walks a dog on a slushy street after a winter snow storm in Pottsville, Pa., on Tuesday.

A system expected to drop 6 inches of snow or more from Pennsylvania to Maine could tie up the Tuesday evening commute, the National Weather Service says.

(Image credit: Matt Rourke)

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Trump pardons Honduran ex-president who was convicted of drug crimes

Then-Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez gives an speech in San Salvador, El Salvador.

President Trump has officially pardoned former Honduran President who US officials said was at the center of one of the largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies in the world.

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'Franklin' publisher slams Hegseth for his post of the turtle firing on drug boats

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, pictured at a late Novermber press conference, is facing scrutiny for U.S. attacks on alleged drug boats — and a parody of a children

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces growing scrutiny over an attack on an alleged drug boat. His response included a parody of the kids' book character Franklin, showing the turtle firing at boats.

(Image credit: Felix Leon)

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Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a technical marvel and game design nightmare

Samus Aran in all her Nintendo Switch 2 glory.

After a decade of development, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is a beautiful but befuddling game full of misguided design decisions and annoying sidekicks.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

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Pope Leo wraps up his visit to Lebanon with prayers at the site of Beirut's port blast

Pope Leo XIV leads a Mass on the waterfront in Beirut on Tuesday.

Pope Leo XIV ended his first overseas papal trip with prayers at Beirut's devastated port and a Mass attended by 150,000 worshippers in a country desperate for signs of hope amid fear of renewed war.

(Image credit: Adri Salido)

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