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The Department of Justice is suing Alabama and its top election official, Secretary of State Wes Allen, alleging the state removed voters from rolls too close to this year’s general election.

The Department of Justice is suing Alabama and its top election official, Secretary of State Wes Allen, alleging the state removed voters from rolls too close to this year’s general election. Butch Dill/AP hide caption

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Butch Dill/AP

2024 Election

Justice Department sues Alabama, claiming it purged voters too close to the election

In a new lawsuit, the Justice Department claims Alabama violated federal law by systematically removing voters fewer than 90 days before a federal election.
Maggie Smith poses for a photo on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015 in London. Smith turns 87 on Dec. 28.

Maggie Smith poses for a photo on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015 in London. Smith turns 87 on Dec. 28. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP hide caption

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Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Obituaries

Sharp-tongued, indomitable, and beloved actress Dame Maggie Smith dies at 89

Oscar, Emmy, and Tony-winning actress Maggie Smith played everything from wistful ingenues in Shakespeare to Harry Potter's Prof. McGonagall and the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey.

Remembering Maggie Smith

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 18: Sean “Diddy” Combs appears before students at his Capital Preparatory School in the Bronx on October 18, 2022 in New York City.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 18: Sean “Diddy” Combs appears before students at his Capital Preparatory School in the Bronx on October 18, 2022 in New York City. Mike Coppola/Getty Images hide caption

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Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Music

Sean Combs accused of impregnating, threatening woman in new assault lawsuit

In the 12th lawsuit filed against the hip-hop mogul since last November, an unnamed victim alleges that Sean Combs coerced her into sex, impregnated her, then threatened her into silence.
Veronica, 17, drove with her mother nearly four hours from her home in Iowa to visit a doctor in Minneapolis in September. She is a teen with long, straight red hair, wearing a camisole top, jeans and necklaces.

Veronica, 17, drove with her mother nearly four hours from her home in Iowa to visit a doctor in Minneapolis in September. Iowa banned gender-affirming care for youth in March 2023.

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Selena Simmons-Duffin/NPR

Policy-ish

Her state bans gender-affirming care for teenagers. So she travels 450 miles for it

An estimated 110,000 trans teenagers live in states that ban gender-affirming care for minors. Some travel huge distances every few months to keep getting their treatment out-of-state.

Trans Youth Road Trip

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A blurry photograph of a family walking and holding hands, as seen from a high angle. Two parents walk, holding the hands of their child who walks between them. The photo has a dreamy quality.
Yasuhide Fumoto/Getty Images

Perspective

Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: My wife wants to use the last of our savings for a 4th round of IVF

An NPR listener says they are ready to adopt a child and move on from in vitro fertilization. But their wife is focused on getting pregnant.

Dear Life Kit: I'm at my breaking point

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani hit his 50th homerun of the season during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19 in Miami.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani hit his 50th homerun of the season during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19 in Miami. Marta Lavandier/AP hide caption

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Marta Lavandier/AP

Sports

Auction for Shohei Ohtani's 50/50 ball goes live as fans fight over who owns it

An 18-year-old filed a lawsuit against another baseball fan after the two tussled over Ohtani's historic 50th homerun ball. Now, an online auction for the ball may add another fan into the mix.

WATCH

Sleater-Kinney: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

Carrie Brownstein turns 50 today. In 2021, the guitarist, singer and actor played a Tiny Desk (home) concert with Sleater-Kinney, featuring old favorite "One Beat."
Mayor Jay Willis stands next to a historical marker for a UFO sighting in Pascagoula, Miss.

Mayor Jay Willis stands next to a historical marker for a UFO sighting in Pascagoula, Miss. Laura Sullivan/NPR hide caption

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Laura Sullivan/NPR

NPR Investigations: Off The Mark

Are UFOs real? Historical markers say yes

Historical markers were once just for American history. But many now claim aliens have visited Earth from outer space — and they aren't hedging.

Off The Mark: Markers for Space Aliens

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Shipping containers sit piled at the Port of Baltimore on September 21, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. Dockworkers on the East Coast and Gulf Coast have threatened to strike as early as October 1, 2024, if a new contract deal is not reached.

Shipping containers sit piled at the Port of Baltimore on September 21, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. Dockworkers on the East Coast and Gulf Coast have threatened to strike as early as October 1, 2024, if a new contract deal is not reached. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Business

Dockworkers are on the verge of a strike. Here's what you need to know

Some 25,000 dockworkers at East and Gulf Coast ports may strike as early as October 1 if their union doesn't reach a contract deal with shipping companies and port operators.
Patients line up for remote health consultation sessions near Rangpur, Bangladesh.

Patients line up for remote health consultation sessions on a char near Rangpur, Bangladesh. Allison Joyce/Allison Joyce for NPR/2019 Allison Joyce hide caption

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Allison Joyce/Allison Joyce for NPR/2019 Allison Joyce

Opinion

Goats and Soda

Bangladesh defies stereotypes when it comes to health care. Let's keep it that way

Bangladesh defies the stereotypes. It was born in poverty but has risen up the income ladder and is a model of health progress. Will the current political upheaval take a toll on its impressive achievements?
News anchors work at Newsmax's booth during the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The network has settled with voting-tech company Smartmatic on the eve of trial.

News anchors work at Newsmax's booth during the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The network has settled with voting-tech company Smartmatic, which accused it of defamation following the 2020 presidential election. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty hide caption

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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty

Media

Voting-tech company settles with right-wing network over false election claims

Smartmatic sued Newsmax for defamation over false claims related to the 2020 presidential election. The trial was supposed to begin next week.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, seen here in June 2024, has sought to return the Justice Department to normal order.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, seen here in June 2024, has sought to return the Justice Department to normal order. Samuel Corum/Getty Images hide caption

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Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Law

Biden's attorney general wanted to return to normal order; it hasn't been easy

The attorney general pledged to restore the Justice Department to normal order. It hasn't been easy, and may not last.

MERRICK GARLAND PROFILE

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Following her death, SOPHIE's family says she left behind a collection of hundreds of unreleased songs, as well as a follow-up album to her debut. But the album wasn’t finished.

Following her death, SOPHIE's family says she left behind a collection of hundreds of unreleased songs, as well as a follow-up album to her debut. But the album wasn’t finished. James Bentley for NPR hide caption

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James Bentley for NPR

Music News

How do you finish a visionary artist’s final album?

The electronic music producer’s family and collaborators spent three years completing the album SOPHIE with the pieces she left behind after her death.

The album SOPHIE left behind has been finished

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Immigrants from Haiti, who crossed through a gap in the U.S.-Mexico border barrier, wait in line to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol on May 20, 2022 in Yuma, Arizona.

Immigrants from Haiti, who crossed through a gap in the U.S.-Mexico border barrier, wait in line to be processed by the U.S. Border Patrol on May 20, 2022 in Yuma, Arizona. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

World

Migrants from around the world are trying to reach the U.S. via charter planes

The Biden administration accuses charter companies of collaborating with global smuggling networks.

CHARTER FLIGHTS NICARAGUA

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Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., speaks during the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., speaks during the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. Erin Hooley/AP hide caption

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Erin Hooley/AP

We, The Voters

Q&A: Nevada Sen. Cortez Masto on teaming up with VP Harris as attorneys general

Morning Edition spoke to Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who worked with VP Harris when the two were state attorneys general, on why that experience is relevant to being Commander in Chief.

HARRIS AND THE NEVADA SENATOR

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From left: Lumi the panda, Link (not Zelda), New York City Mayor Eric Adams

From left: Lumi the panda, Link (not Zelda), New York City Mayor Eric Adams Roni Rekomaa/AFP via Getty Images; Nintendo; John Lamparski/Getty Images for Concordia Summit hide caption

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Roni Rekomaa/AFP via Getty Images; Nintendo; John Lamparski/Getty Images for Concordia Summit

The NPR news quiz

Do you know your indicted mayors from your deported pandas? Take our news quiz

This week, a zoo said it would send its pandas packing, a fabled game character finally got her chance to shine, and a mayor was indicted. Were you paying attention?
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