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What we know about how the U.S. government uses spyware (and what we don't)

Privacy and civil rights advocates are worried the Trump administration could be persuaded to also lift restrictions placed on NSO Group, an Israeli company that makes the powerful spyware Pegasus that researchers say can turn a phone into a recording device in addition to accessing its contents.

Critics of spyware, which can be used to remotely hack into phones, worry the Trump administration is eroding policies that stigmatized the commercial spyware industry.

(Image credit: Menahem Kahana)

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House holds off on prediction market ban despite bipartisan calls for prohibition

FILE - The prediction market app Kalshi is displayed on a mobile phone, April 16, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)

Minority Leader Jeffries is urging Speaker Johnson to "swiftly" hold vote on House prediction market ban.

(Image credit: Erin Hooley/AP)

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The French Open courts are clay, a tricky surface for some. Here's how the pros do it

Hailey Baptiste of United States plays a forehand against Madison Keys of United States during the Women

In tennis, clay has a reputation for being one of the harder surfaces to play on. But a few pros shared some of their tips for staying sharp.

(Image credit: Adam Pretty)

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Steep drop in number of people with Affordable Care Act health coverage, analysis finds

The HealthCare.gov website is the starting place for anyone who needs to buy health insurance on their own.

Enrollment in Healthcare.gov and the other marketplaces is plunging by 5 million, the new paper from KFF finds. Last year, Congress failed to make a deal to keep the coverage more affordable.

(Image credit: Patrick Sison)

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These men voted for President Trump. They have very different views of how he's doing

Wally and Gerald are two Black men who voted for Trump but have different views on Trump

Two Black men from Georgia who voted for President Trump in 2024 have very different views of how the country is doing now, in the first installment of Swing Shift from NPR's Tamara Keith.

(Image credit: Illustrations by Tara Anand)

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NTSB hearing will probe cause of fiery UPS jet crash that killed 15 in Louisville

UPS Flight 2976 crashed shortly after takeoff near Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky.

The nation's top safety investigators will launch a two-day hearing beginning Tuesday into what caused a UPS cargo plane to crash shortly after takeoff in Louisville last year, killing 15 people.

(Image credit: Stephen Cohen)

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In conservative Utah, some communities are ditching fossil fuel power for clean energy

In conservative Utah, a group of communities joined forces to bring more renewable energy to the electric grid. The group ranges from the state

In conservative Utah, a coalition of cities and towns shows other communities how to bring new renewable energy to the electric grid in a unique way.

(Image credit: Kim Raff for NPR)

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'We're not kids anymore': The DACA generation hits their 30s with an unstable future

Marena Guzman, a Ph.D. candidate in molecular biosciences, recently moved back in with her parents to renew her DACA out of concern it could lapse.

Recipients of the Obama-era DACA program are aging, even as the Trump administration moves to weaken the program's protections and benefits.

(Image credit: Ash Ponders for NPR)

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Putin visits China to reaffirm Russia ties

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a walk at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing, China, Sept. 2, 2025.

The Kremlin has said Putin and Xi plan to discuss economic cooperation between the two countries, but also "key international and regional issues."

(Image credit: Alexander Kazakov)

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Mark Fuhrman, ex-detective convicted of lying during OJ Simpson trial, has died

FILE - Los Angeles Police Department Det. Mark Fuhrman, foreground, and Superior Court Judge Lance Ito, rear, crane their heads to look at an overhead monitor during the O.J. Simpson double-murder trial, Friday, March 10, 1995, in Los Angeles.

Fuhrman was one of the first two police detectives sent to investigate the 1994 killings of OJ Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in Los Angeles.

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Trump says he's called off Iran strike at request of Gulf allies

Bakhtiari nomads, wearing traditional dress, hold their guns during a pro-government gathering near the residence where former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown on a banner, was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, May 18, 2026.

President Donald Trump says he is holding off on a military strike on Iran planned for Tuesday because "serious negotiations" are underway to end the war.

(Image credit: Vahid Salemi)

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Why you should care about 2 power companies merging. Hint: affordability

Utility giant NextEra Energy announced plans to acquire Dominion Energy on Monday. The merger comes as electricity demand and rates rises with the AI data center expansion.

NextEra Energy plans to acquire Dominion Energy to create the largest electricity producer in the United States.

(Image credit: Marco Bello)

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Tuesday is a big primary day. Here's what you need to know

A voting sign can be seen on Election Day for Congressional district 14, on March 10, 2026 in Dalton, Georgia.

Six states are holding primaries May 19 that could help to decide the balance of power in Congress and in key state governments.

(Image credit: Megan Varner)

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Is Kennedy heir Jack Schlossberg ready to lead?

NPR's Juana Summers speaks with Jack Schlossberg, Democratic candidate for New York's 12th Congressional District and the grandson of President John F. Kennedy.

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Israeli Navy intercepts activists trying to break Gaza blockade with aid ships

On Monday, the Israeli navy intercepted a flotilla of 54 boats of activists headed to Gaza with humanitarian aid.

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This Ebola outbreak raises questions about when it all began -- and the U.S. response

To keep Ebola from spreading in this current outbreak, a border health officer at the Busunga crossing between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo checks a traveler

The sheer number of cases and deaths are a sign that the outbreak might have been smoldering before the virus was identified.

(Image credit: Badru Katumba/AFP)

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Jury dismisses all claims in Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

Sam Altman, center, and OpenAI president Greg Brockman, right, arrive at the U.S. District Court in Oakland, Calif., Thursday, April 30, 2026.

Musk had sought to oust Altman from his leadership position over claims that he and others breached their duty to OpenAI's original nonprofit mission and unjustly enriched themselves.

(Image credit: Godofredo A. Vásquez)

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NPR trims jobs in newsroom overhaul as it confronts era without public funding

NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher says the network has a gap of $8 million in its annual budget due to softening corporate sponsorship and the end of federal subsidies for public media stations.<!-- raw HTML omitted -->

NPR is offering buyouts to journalists as it overhauls its newsroom, with the threat of layoffs to follow. Two recent gifts totaling $113 million are primarily dedicated to NPR's tech infrastructure.

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Son of radicals, Zayd Ayers Dohrn details a childhood underground and on the run

Zayd Ayers Dohrn walks with his parents Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn outside the Federal Court Building in New York, May 17, 1982.

Dohrn's parents, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, helped found the the Weather Underground. "I knew that the FBI was chasing us," he says. His memoir is Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young.

(Image credit: David Handschuh)

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The Supreme Court avoids taking up a fight over Voting Rights Act enforcement for now

A demonstrator holds a sign saying "PROTECT MINORITY VOTING RIGHTS" at a March 2025 rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

After recently weakening the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court avoided for now taking up a legal question that may severely limit enforcement of the law's remaining protections for minority voters.

(Image credit: Jemal Countess)

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Trump drops IRS lawsuit, paving the way for a settlement

The Internal Revenue Service building is seen in February 2025 in Washington, D.C.

The president sued the IRS and the Treasury Department in January, demanding $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns years ago.

(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis)

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Sen. Bill Cassidy loses primary. And, WHO declares Ebola outbreak a global emergency

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) speaks to media on the first day of early voting outside of the Louisiana State Archives on May 2, 2026, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump, lost the Republican primary in Louisiana. And, the WHO has declared a global health emergency over a new Ebola outbreak.

(Image credit: Tyler Kaufman)

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Why catching insider trading is so tricky nowadays, and just how helpful is it for kids to sleep in?

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Millions of dollars have been made through eerily well-timed bets on prediction markets like Polymarket. We look at why they're so hard to police. And, a new study that supports kids sleeping in.

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Pop star Shakira is acquitted in a Spanish tax fraud case

FILE - Shakira performs during the Global Citizen Festival in New York on Sept. 27, 2025.

The decision follows years of tax troubles in Spain for the Colombian superstar. Spanish tax authorities did not prove that the singer was a resident of Spain, the court said in its decision.

(Image credit: Charles Sykes)

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Thousands of U.S. countertop workers could have damaged lungs, safety expert says

Wade Hanicker poses for a portrait at his home in Brooksville, Fla., on March 23, 2026. Hanicker was diagnosed with silicosis after years of cutting quartz countertops.

Over 550 men in California have fallen ill after cutting natural or factory-made stone countertops. But epidemiologists say this isn't just a California problem.

(Image credit: Tina Russell for NPR)

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Why the Supreme Court's voting rights ruling could play a big role at the local level

Members of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and other marchers gather in Selma, Ala., in 2025 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march that propelled the passing of the Voting Rights Act.

The Supreme Court's recent ruling threatens the power of racial-minority voters in Voting Rights Act cases about not just Congress, but also at least 17 state and local governments, NPR finds.

(Image credit: Michael M. Santiago)

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The 'fibermaxxing' trend has health benefits worth the hype

Adding more fiber to your meals should be a gradual process, nutrition experts say. Go slowly and drink water.

There are a lot of wellness trends that make health experts roll their eyes in skepticism. But there is one big trend that many experts can get behind – with a few caveats: fibermaxxing.

(Image credit: Natalia Gdovskaia)

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They've got fiber. They're cheap. They're … cool? Behind the 'renaissance' of beans

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The fiber craze is pushing more people into the broad world of beans, as the U.S. bean industry looks to double American consumption of pulses by 2030.

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It takes a village – or a Phoenix suburb – to wrangle a wayward tortoise

Rex, the tortoise, at Brian and Sara Westfall

When a large tortoise named Rex got loose, a Phoenix-area neighborhood went into a tizzy. More than just a fun commotion, Rex's daring getaway shows the challenges of sulcata tortoise ownership.

(Image credit: Adriana Zehbrauskas for NPR)

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Montana tribes combine traditional knowledge and Western science in climate plan

Mike Durglo Jr. has devoted his life to preparing his home and his people for climate change. As the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes climate change coordinator he wrote one of the first tribal climate action plans in the country over 15 years ago.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are moving forward with their climate plan despite the loss of state support and federal funding.

(Image credit: Ryan Kellman)

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