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A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration badge. The DEA issued an alert warning of a "sharp increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine" on Monday. Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

What to know about xylazine, the drug authorities are calling a public safety threat

The veterinary tranquilizer has been linked to a growing number of overdose deaths across the country, especially in the Northeast. It's often combined with fentanyl, but can't be treated with Narcan.

A group of protesters hold photos of Jeffrey Epstein in front of a New York City federal courthouse in July 2019. A Southern District judge ruled this week that three lawsuits against banks that Epstein used can move forward. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images hide caption

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Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Can banks be sued for profiting from Epstein's sex-trafficking? A judge says yes

A trio of lawsuits allege that JP Morgan Chase and Deutsche Bank actively enabled Jeffrey Epstein to run a sex-trafficking ring for underage girls. A judge partially denied a motion to dismiss.

Rohingya children at a refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, southern Bangladesh. Lauren Frayer/NPR hide caption

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Lauren Frayer/NPR

Why nothing is getting better for Rohingya refugees stuck in Bangladesh

With a new refugee crisis in Ukraine, the Rohingya, who fled Myanmar for Bangladesh years ago, feel as if no one pays heed to their plight. Now thousands are risking their lives to flee once more.

Why nothing is getting better for Rohingya refugees stuck in Bangladesh

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After a long-running asylum case kept Anabel apart from her family in El Salvador for 8 years, she finally reunited with them at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport earlier this month. Melissa Golden for NPR hide caption

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Melissa Golden for NPR

Her case ended in a joyful airport reunion, but the future of asylum is uncertain

After years of separation, the woman once known only as Ms. A.B. has reunited with her children. It's the latest twist in a legal case that is deeply intertwined with the asylum debate in the U.S.

Her case ended in a joyful airport reunion, but the future of asylum is uncertain

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Michael, a volunteer pilot with Elevated Access, recently flew a woman back home to the Deep South after an appointment at a Kansas clinic. Rose Conlon/Kansas News Service hide caption

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Rose Conlon/Kansas News Service

With small planes and secrecy, pilots are flying people across state lines for abortions

KMUW | NPR for Wichita

Elevated Access recruits hobby pilots to help patients who are in states where the procedures are banned. They offer a window into the increasingly scrappy tactics of abortion rights groups in a post-Roe America.

At last night's Love Rising event in Nashville, Tenn., artists including Allison Russell, Jason Isbell, Maren Morris, Joy Oladokun and Amanda Shires, along with drag artists, united against new legislation targeting drag performances and transgender people. Jason Kempin/Getty Images hide caption

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Jason Kempin/Getty Images

After Tennessee's drag ban, artists wonder 'where am I going to be free to be who I am?'

WPLN

Due to a new Tennessee law limiting drag performances, many drag artists, as well as trans, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming musicians, worry about their prospects in Nashville and beyond.

Hear WPLN's radio version of this story

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Samuel Camacho, a health insurance navigator with the Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio, assists people in enrolling for or renewing Medicaid. Maddie McGarvey for NPR hide caption

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Maddie McGarvey for NPR

Medicaid renewals are starting. Those who don't reenroll could get kicked off

With a pandemic-era rule expiring this month, people on Medicaid will have to re-qualify to keep their coverage. Language barriers, housing instability and computer literacy could stand in their way.

Medicaid renewals are starting. Those who don't reenroll could get kicked off

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Pastor Moses Borjas of Por La Creación speaks in July 2022 as Castner Range activists deliver over 137,000 petitions calling on President Biden to designate Castner Range the next national monument. On Tuesday, it will be one of three natural areas that Biden will designate for protection. Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Frontera Land Alliance hide caption

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Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Frontera Land Alliance

Biden is creating new national monuments to protect land in Nevada and Texas

The national monument designation effectively preserves the land from new development. President Biden is also starting the process for a vast new marine sanctuary southwest of Hawaii.

Biden is creating new national monuments to protect land in Nevada and Texas

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Vladislav Goldin of the Florida Atlantic Owls dunks in front of Demetre Roberts of the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. FAU dispatched the Cinderella Knights from the 2023 NCAA tournament. Andy Lyons/Getty Images hide caption

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Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Is your March Madness bracket busted? Maybe that's a good thing

The 2023 men's tournament is wide open: to find a recent champion in the Sweet 16 field, you have to go all the way back to 2014 winners UConn.

The shadow of a pedestrian is seen walking past the headquarters of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

LA schools are shuttered as union workers begin a massive 3-day strike

Support staff in the nation's second-largest school district plan a walkout over stalled contract negotiations. Teachers say they'll join them in support.

LA schools are shuttered as union workers begin a massive 3-day strike

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Republican state Rep. Mallerie Stromswold votes on a bill on the house floor of the Montana state Capitol on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. Thom Bridge, Independent Record hide caption

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Thom Bridge, Independent Record

Can moderates survive state politics? In Montana, they may be going extinct

Montana Public Radio

Across the country, parties are consolidating political power in states and squeezing out the moderate middle. In Montana, that squeeze is changing political representation and whose voice counts.

Can moderates survive state politics? In Montana, they may be going extinct

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Billy Crudup plays a salesman marketing timeshares on the moon in the futuristic series Hello Tomorrow! Apple TV hide caption

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Apple TV

From 'Almost Famous' to definitely famous, Billy Crudup is enjoying his new TV roles

Fresh Air

Crudup stars as a fast-talking salesman in the retro-futurist Apple TV+ series Hello Tomorrow! He won an Emmy for his role as a cynical TV executive in the series The Morning Show.

From 'Almost Famous' to definitely famous, Billy Crudup is enjoying his new TV roles

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo on March 17, 2023. Kishida was seen Tuesday, March 21, heading to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Yoshikazu Tsuno/AP hide caption

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Yoshikazu Tsuno/AP

Japan's prime minister arrives in Ukraine for talks with President Zelenskyy

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began a surprise visit to Ukraine early Tuesday, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in neighboring Russia for a three-day visit.

An 'open house' flag is displayed outside a single family home on September 22, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. The U.S. housing market is seeing a slow down in home sales due to the Federal Reserve raising mortgage interest rates to help fight inflation. Allison Dinner/Getty Images hide caption

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Allison Dinner/Getty Images

Are you trying to buy a home? Tell us how you're dealing with variable mortgage rates

Recent high and fluctuating mortgage rates, compounded by bank closures, have created a challenging time in the housing market. NPR wants to know how you are navigating buying or selling a home.

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