NPR - Breaking News, Analysis, Music, Arts & Podcasts Top stories in the U.S. and world news, politics, health, science, business, music, arts and culture. Nonprofit journalism with a mission. This is NPR.

Latest Stories

Watch

A Ukrainian woman looks at rescuers as they try to pull her out from under the rubble of a building after a Russian military strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The strike occurred at 1 a.m., when most people were asleep. So far, nine people have been confirmed dead and more than 70 injured. The rescue operation is ongoing. Anton Shtuka for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Anton Shtuka for NPR

Trump calls on Putin to 'STOP' attacks on Ukraine after deadly Kyiv strike

President Trump called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop attacks as the Ukrainian military says Russia launched at least 215 drones and missiles at Ukraine, most aimed at the capital.

Science research at Harvard University. Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images

Colleague of Harvard scientist held by ICE warns that foreign scientists are scared

Harvard scientist Kseniia Petrova has been in ICE custody for about two months. Her colleague and friend Leon Peshkin says her case is causing some scientists to reconsider working in the U.S.

Russian-born Harvard researcher held in immigration detention, fighting deportation

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5372690/nx-s1-5435415-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

President Donald Trump signs an executive order regarding education in the Oval Office April 23, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Alex Brandon/AP

Trump signs executive actions on education, including efforts to rein in DEI

The directives include new efforts to curtail DEI programs at colleges, and discipline guidance for public schools.

Trump signs executive actions on education, including efforts to rein in DEI

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5374365/nx-s1-5436088-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland, pictured in 2023, is putting the brand up for sale two years after announcing plans for a second event. Theo Wargo/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Fyre Festival's embattled founder is selling the brand: 'It's time to pass the torch'

Billy McFarland says he will sell the brand "to an operator that can fully realize its vision." The news comes days after the postponement of Fyre Festival 2, which was scheduled for late May.

Employees at DigiKey's Product Distribution Center fill orders for electronic components using an automated storage and retrieval system in Thief River Falls, Minn. As one of the world's largest marketplaces for electronic components, DigiKey is facing challenges in the current tariff environment. Dan Koeck for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Dan Koeck for NPR

A small U.S. town grew a big company. Can it weather the tariff blizzard?

A rural Minnesota town is home to the biggest tech giant you've never heard of. Now it's riding out an unprecedented kind of storm.

A small U.S. town grew a big company. Can it weather the tariff blizzard?

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5332209/nx-s1-5435702-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A pump jack in New Mexico's San Juan Basin. This is one of the country's oldest federal lands drilling areas. Kirk Siegler/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Kirk Siegler/NPR

Oil companies expected a big business boom under Trump. Now they're worried

Many oil company executives celebrated Donald Trump's return to the White House. But now expectations of higher profits are fading amid fears of a recession.

Oil companies expected a big business boom under Trump. Now they're worried

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5369429/nx-s1-5435760-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Mary West has solar panels installed on her home in Beckley. Curtis Tate/West Virginia Public Broadcasting hide caption

toggle caption
Curtis Tate/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

More use of coal could raise electricity rates for those in coal country

West Virginia Public Broadcasting

The Trump administration is pushing for more coal production, but in West Virginia, where most of the electricity comes from coal, bills are already among the highest in the country, and power generation from renewables and gas is cheaper.

WATCH

Grupo Frontera: Tiny Desk Concert

Grupo Frontera is at the center of a pop-infused reinvigoration of traditional Mexican sounds.

In this screenshot from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Cristiano Ronaldo prepares to attack his opponent. SNK hide caption

toggle caption
SNK

How Saudi funds brought Cristiano Ronaldo into a fighting video game

The newest Fatal Fury fighting game will include a curious choice of playable characters, including soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and Bosnian-Swedish DJ Salvatore Ganacci.

'Fatal Fury' video game to feature curious choice of playable real-world characters

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5246205/nx-s1-5421013-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers stand guard at the India-Pakistan Wagah border post on the outskirts of Amritsar on April 24. At least 26 people were killed April 22 in Indian-administered Kashmir when gunmen opened fire on tourists, in the region's deadliest attack on civilians since 2000. Narinder Nanu/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Narinder Nanu/AFP via Getty Images

India-Pakistan tensions escalate after deadly Kashmir attack

A day after India suspended a water-sharing treaty and downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan, authorities in Islamabad closed airspace to Indian aircraft and suspended all trade with India.

Miami quarterback, Cam Ward, Colorado wide receiver, Travis Hunter, and Penn State defensive end, Abdul Carter. From left: James Gilbert/Getty Images, Christian Petersen/Getty Images, Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
From left: James Gilbert/Getty Images, Christian Petersen/Getty Images, Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Where will Travis Hunter, Cam Ward and other top players be picked in the NFL Draft?

It's been almost 30 years since an NFL player played a true two-way season. Heisman winner Travis Hunter could be the next — but first, he has to be selected in the NFL Draft, which begins Thursday.

Where will Travis Hunter, Cam Ward and other top players be picked in the NFL Draft?

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5372675/nx-s1-5435026-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Stephanie Garber, circa 1994 Stephanie Garber hide caption

toggle caption
Stephanie Garber

A stranger swooped in with tea and compassion after a woman got in a car accident

In the late 1980s, Stephanie Garber was driving through downtown Silver Spring, Md., when a large pickup truck hit her car. A woman swooped in to offer her a cup of tea and compassion.

A stranger swooped in with tea and compassion after a woman got in car accident

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5369486/nx-s1-5431384-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

This image made from video shows the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court in New Orleans, Monday, April 10, 2023. Across the U.S. there have been steep declines in the number of youth in juvenile detention, but racial disparities are widening. Stephen Smith/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Stephen Smith/AP

Racial disparities in youth incarceration are the widest they've been in decades

The number of American children and teenagers in juvenile detention has sharply declined over the last few decades, but as overall numbers decrease, data shows Black and Native American youth are far more likely to be incarcerated than white children.

Racial disparities in youth incarceration are the widest they've been in decades

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5359110/nx-s1-5435764-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

The Jones Road wildfire, which has impacted Ocean and Lacey townships in Ocean County, burns in New Jersey. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection hide caption

toggle caption
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

A 19-year-old is charged with arson in a big New Jersey wildfire

WHYY

According to officials, Joseph Kling allegedly set wooden pallets on fire and left the area without extinguishing the flame. As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, the wildfire had consumed 13,250 acres and was 50% contained.

In 2001, Microsoft Chief Software Architect Bill Gates comments at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash., on the U.S. Court of Appeals decision to overturn a lower court's ruling that the software giant be broken up. Tim Matsui/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Tim Matsui/Getty Images

Decades later, the Microsoft antitrust case casts a shadow over the Google trial

A nearly 30-year-old legal case looms large over the U.S. government's antitrust case against Google. A judge is hearing arguments to decide the penalties to levy against the search giant.

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Evelyn Farkas testifies during a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee May 6, 2014 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The committee held a hearing on "Ukraine — Countering Russian Intervention and Supporting a Democratic State." Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Alex Wong/Getty Images

A former Pentagon official on the Hegseth turmoil: 'It looks like they actually broke the law'

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Evelyn Farkas about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of private Signal chats and the turmoil inside the Pentagon.

Former Defense Department official discusses Pentagon turmoil, Hegseth Signal chats

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5372612/nx-s1-5434315-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Cardinals look on as the body of Pope Francis is transferred into the Basilica at St Peter's Square in Vatican City on Wednesday. The College of Cardinals is preparing for a conclave to elect the next pontiff, after days of funeral rites and observances conclude. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Who are the cardinals selecting the next pope?

The conclave to select a new pope will be sharply different from the body that chose Francis in 2013. Experts say that could make it harder to predict what the conclave will do.

Pedestrians walk past Stereosound, the record store in Rome that the late Pope Francis used to frequent before his papacy. The pontiff visited the shop in 2022 to bless it following a renovation. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images

Pope Francis, the music nerd: a playlist

The pontiff, who possessed a sizable record collection, was a keen listener. Hear his favorite tracks — from Bach to Piazzolla — and a few more that might have caught his discerning ear.

A person holds a sign with a photo of Kilmar Abrego Garcia at a protest in New York City. Adam Gray/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Adam Gray/Getty Images

After a scathing rebuke, a judge grants the Justice Department an extension in a deportation case

A federal judge gave the Trump administration another week to answer detailed questions about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whose illegal deportation has raised concerns about due process.

Federal judge blasts Trump administration for stonewalling in deportation case

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5373746/nx-s1-5435417-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent detains an immigrant in 2015 in Los Angeles. A new round of detentions this week has triggered complaints from immigrant advocates. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
John Moore/Getty Images

Lawyers warn clients of increased arrest risk at immigration check-ins

Immigration attorneys are advising clients who have deportation orders when they show up at court dates and immigration appointments, there is an increased risk of getting detained.

Jane Remover, a 21-year-old musician whose youthful interest in online gaming transformed in to a music career, is a central figure of digicore, an emerging offshoot of the hyperpop culture that took off in the 2010s. Brendon Burton hide caption

toggle caption
Brendon Burton

Anatomy of a microgenre: hyperpop's next evolution

Raised on EDM and SoundCloud rap, shaped by online gaming and Discord chats, a young generation is tearing the blown-out experimental pop of the 2010s into new shapes.

Federal funding to support collection of new research data for the Women's Health Initiative will end in September 2025. Stefania Pelfini/Getty Images/Moment RF hide caption

toggle caption
Stefania Pelfini/Getty Images/Moment RF

Funding is cut for a landmark study of women's health

The Women's Health Initiative, begun in the 1990s, has made many important discoveries. Now funding to collect more research data will end in September.

Women's Health Initiative research funding gets cut

Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5372892/nx-s1-5435226-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya (right), accompanied by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (left) and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary (center), speaks during a news conference Tuesday at the Health and Human Services Department on in Washington, D.C. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

An NIH autism study will pull from private medical records

The National Institutes of Health plans to pool information from private sources like pharmacies and smartwatches.

There are so many ways to get in touch with friends and family. Why write letters? Among other things, "It's fun," says Rachel Syme, author of Syme's Letter Writer. Illustration © by Joana Avillez, Reprinted with permission from "Syme's Letter Writer," by Rachel Syme, published by Clarkson Potter Publishers hide caption

toggle caption
Illustration © by Joana Avillez, Reprinted with permission from "Syme's Letter Writer," by Rachel Syme, published by Clarkson Potter Publishers

The delightfully analog art of letter-writing

Tired of texting? Send your loved ones some snail mail instead. Rachel Syme, author of "Syme's Letter Writer: A Guide to Modern Correspondence," shares whimsical ways to start a letter-writing habit.

The art and pleasure of writing a letter

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5321366/g-s1-62320" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
more from