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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent checks pedestrians' documentation at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Ysidro, California. Some experts believe the flow of fentanyl from Mexico into the U.S. has been disrupted, leading to a drop in fatal overdose deaths.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent checks pedestrians' documentation at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Ysidro, Calif. Some experts believe the flow of fentanyl from Mexico into the U.S. has been disrupted, leading to a drop in fatal overdose deaths. Sandy Huffaker/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Sandy Huffaker/AFP/Getty Images

Health

The pipeline of deadly fentanyl into the U.S. may be drying up, experts say

Street fentanyl has long been viewed as unstoppable. Now many experts say the supply of the deadly synthetic opioid is suddenly drying up in many parts of the U.S. and fatal overdoses are dropping.

Experts: deadly flow of fentanyl into the U.S. is drying up

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WATCH

Robert Glasper Experiment: Tiny Desk Concert

Robert Glasper begins a month-long residency at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City this week. In 2014, his core band improvised the "NPR Tiny Desk Jam."
Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab pose for a portrait.

Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab pose for a portrait. Kaepernick Media hide caption

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Kaepernick Media

Author Interviews

Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab wrote ‘We Are Free, You and Me’ with daughter in mind

Colin Kaepernick and Nessa Diab wrote a new children’s book inspired by affirmations they share with their daughter and scores of young people they meet through their activism.

EX-NFL QB Colin Kaepernick and broadcast personality Nessa Diab author kid's book

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Shailaja Paik is a historian of modern India exploring the intersection of caste, gender, and sexuality through the lives of Dalit (“Untouchable”) women. Paik provides new insight into the history of caste domination and traces the ways in which gender and sexuality are used to deny Dalit women dignity and personhood. Across her work, Paik centers Dalit perspectives. In addition to English, Marathi, and Hindi-language source materials, she is creating a new archive comprised of her interviews and fieldwork with contemporary Dalit women.

Shailaja Paik is a historian of modern India exploring the intersection of caste, gender, and sexuality through the lives of Dalit (“Untouchable”) women. Paik provides new insight into the history of caste domination and traces the ways in which gender and sexuality are used to deny Dalit women dignity and personhood. Across her work, Paik centers Dalit perspectives. In addition to English, Marathi, and Hindi-language source materials, she is creating a new archive comprised of her interviews and fieldwork with contemporary Dalit women.

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MacArthur Fellows Program

Goats and Soda

This new MacArthur 'genius' says she defied caste prejudice thanks to Dad and Mom

Shailaja Paik faced prejudice because of her family's Dalit caste and her gender. As a historian she's written ground-breaking books on India's Dalits and is now a MacArthur 'genius grant' awardee.
Workers walk the picket line outside Dundalk Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore on October 1, 2024.

Workers walk the picket line outside Dundalk Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore on October 1, 2024. Andrea Hsu/NPR hide caption

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Andrea Hsu/NPR

Business

Dockworkers go on strike, snarling traffic at East and Gulf Coast ports

Union dockworkers at ports across the U.S. began walking picket lines early Tuesday, snarling the movement of billions of dollars' worth of goods.

DOCKWORKERS STRIKE

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President Claudia Sheinbaum wears the presidential sash during her swearing-in ceremony as Mexico's new president in Mexico City, October 1 2024

President Claudia Sheinbaum wears the presidential sash during her swearing-in ceremony as Mexico's new president in Mexico City, October 1 2024 Eduardo Verdugo/AP hide caption

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Eduardo Verdugo/AP

Year of Global Elections

5 things to know about Mexico's first female president

Claudia Sheinbaum is a 62-year-old environmental scientist who left academia on a political trajectory that took her from a local mayor, to running Mexico City, to winning the presidency with nearly 60% of the vote.
Former President Jimmy Carter speaks to the congregation at Maranatha Baptist Church before teaching Sunday school in his hometown of Plains, Ga., in April 2019. He taught Sunday school at the church on a regular basis after leaving the White House in 1981, drawing hundreds of visitors who would arrive hours early to get a seat.

Former President Jimmy Carter speaks to the congregation at Maranatha Baptist Church before teaching Sunday school in his hometown of Plains, Ga., in April 2019. He taught Sunday school at the church on a regular basis after leaving the White House in 1981, drawing hundreds of visitors who would arrive hours early to get a seat. Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

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Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Picture Show

Photos: As Jimmy Carter celebrates his 100th birthday, a look through the decades

Former President Jimmy Carter is turning 100. Here are images from notable events or parts of his life, both during his presidency and after.
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tktk Nydia Blas for NPR hide caption

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Nydia Blas for NPR

We, The Voters

How young Republicans and Democrats are whipping up votes in key districts

As the presidential race ramps up in Georgia, one vital voting demographic is mobilizing and hoping to impact the race: young people.

Georgia's young voters could be decisive this election, so they're mobilizing

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Nancy Chavez Florez and Mauricio Baena, a kitchen worker and food runner, are members of the Culinary Workers Union. They have been knocking on doors in Latino and minority neighborhoods in Las Vegas in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Nancy Chavez Florez and Mauricio Baena, a kitchen worker and food runner, are members of the Culinary Workers Union. They have been knocking on doors in Latino and minority neighborhoods in Las Vegas in support of Vice President Kamala Harris.

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Franco Ordonez/NPR

2024 Election

In Nevada, Latinos could pick the next president. They aren't sold on either candidate

In Nevada, 1 in 5 potential voters are Latino. That is a voting bloc with a lot of political power in a state where elections are won by a few percentage points. And campaigns are paying attention.
There are 22 MacArthur fellows this year. They include (clockwise from left) filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, disability justice activist Alice Wong, scholar and writer Ruha Benjamin, poet and educator Juan Felipe Herrera, artist and performer Justin Vivian Bond, and poet Jericho Brown.

There are 22 MacArthur fellows this year. They include (clockwise from left) filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, disability justice activist Alice Wong, scholar and writer Ruha Benjamin, poet and educator Juan Felipe Herrera, artist and performer Justin Vivian Bond, and poet Jericho Brown. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Peabody Awards, Eddie Hernandez Photography, Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Unfinished Live, Beck Harlan/NPR, Jason Mendez/Getty Images, Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images hide caption

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Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Peabody Awards, Eddie Hernandez Photography, Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Unfinished Live, Beck Harlan/NPR, Jason Mendez/Getty Images, Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Culture

Here's who made the 2024 MacArthur Fellows list

This year, filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, poet Jericho Brown and disability rights activist Alice Wong are among the recipients of the so-called "genius grants." Each fellow receives $800,000.
Ta-Nehisi Coates teaches at Howard University, where he's the Sterling Brown Endowed Chair in the English department.

Ta-Nehisi Coates teaches at Howard University, where he's the Sterling Brown Endowed Chair in the English department. Carol Lee Rose/Getty Images hide caption

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Carol Lee Rose/Getty Images

Author Interviews

Ta-Nehisi Coates explores how oppression can breed oppression in 'The Message'

In his first nonfiction book in a decade, Coates reflects on what he learned while visiting three different places: Senegal, South Carolina and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Ta-Nehisi Coates explores how oppression can breed oppression in ‘The Message’

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John Amos poses for a portrait on May 11, 2016, in New York.

John Amos poses for a portrait on May 11, 2016, in New York. Amos, who starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom “Good Times” and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries “Roots,” has died. He was 84. Amy Sussman/Invision/AP hide caption

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Amy Sussman/Invision/AP

Obituaries

John Amos, star of TV's 'Good Times' and 'Roots,' dies at 84

Amos starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom “Good Times" and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries “Roots."
Janice Whitley wipes her face while working to find valuables from her 93-year-old mother's bedroom in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Old Fort, North Carolina.

Janice Whitley wipes her face while working to find valuables from her 93-year-old mother's bedroom in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Old Fort, North Carolina. Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images/Getty Images North America hide caption

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Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

Climate

FAQ: Your house flooded. Now what?

Experts say the first thing is to make sure it’s safe to go back inside. Then you need to dry things out as fast as possible.

FLOODED HOMES

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Carrie Proffitt protests in 2023 across from the Georgia Governor's Mansion with photos of her son who took his own life in a Georgia Department of Corrections prison.

Carrie Proffitt protests in 2023 across from the Georgia Governor's Mansion with photos of her son who took his own life in a Georgia Department of Corrections prison. Grant Blankenship/GPB News hide caption

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Grant Blankenship/GPB News

Justice Department finds 'deliberate indifference' to violence in Georgia prisons

 Georgia Public Broadcasting

After a yearlong investigation, the U.S. Justice Department says Georgia prisons allow unchecked deadly violence, drug use, extortion and sexual abuse. The department threatened to sue the state if it doesn’t make changes.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta fields questions during a press conference on Aug. 28, 2023, in Los Angeles. On Monday, Bonta alleged that Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, California, violated state law by denying life-saving emergency services.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta fields questions during a press conference on Aug. 28, 2023, in Los Angeles. On Monday, Bonta alleged that Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, California, violated state law by denying life-saving emergency services. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP hide caption

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Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

California sues a hospital for denying patient an emergency abortion

 KQED

California's Attorney General says the hospital violated multiple laws which mandate that hospitals provide care “necessary to relieve or eliminate the emergency medical condition.”
A Jeep logo is displayed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Jan. 14, 2019.

A Jeep logo is displayed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Jan. 14, 2019. Jeep is recalling more than 194,000 plug-in hybrid SUVs worldwide because they can catch fire with the ignition turned off. Paul Sancya/AP hide caption

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Paul Sancya/AP

Business

Jeep recalls 194,000 plug-in hybrid SUVs over fire risk

Jeep is recalling more than 194,000 plug-in hybrid SUVs because they can catch fire with the ignition turned off. The automaker says the risk of fire is reduced when the battery charge is depleted.
Benjamin Mizer, with Attorney General Merrick Garland (L), speaks during a press conference announcing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in March 2024.

Benjamin Mizer, with Attorney General Merrick Garland (L), speaks during a press conference announcing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in March 2024. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

National Security

Justice Department No. 3 official pledges to fight hate crimes, fueled by personal story

The Justice Department's third-in-command talked about the department's pledge to fight hate crimes, and shared he was close in age to Matthew Shepard, whose death inspired a federal law helping to prosecute people fueled by hate.
The cover art for the new Legends of Zelda game on Switch.

"The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom" casts Zelda in the starring role. Nintendo hide caption

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Nintendo

Games

Zelda is the hero in this one. ‘Echoes of Wisdom’ flips roles in iconic franchise

Link has always been the protagonist of the main Legend of Zelda series. Now Zelda takes the starring role for the first time. Why now?

Zelda is her own hero in the series' latest: 'The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom'

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