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To avoid some of the worst impacts of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions need to be eliminated or offset by midcentury, according to the United Nations. To get there, activist investors say banks and insurance companies need to account for the emissions they contribute to by underwriting and investing in fossil fuel infrastructure like this natural gas plant in California. David McNew/Getty Images hide caption

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David McNew/Getty Images

Businesses face more and more pressure from investors to act on climate change

At annual meetings this spring, shareholders will be pushing publicly-traded companies for information about how they're contributing to climate change, and what they're doing about the problem.

Businesses face more and more pressure from investors to act on climate change

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President Biden is pictured in the Oval Office on St. Patrick's Day. Biden, who is Irish Catholic, is traveling to Ireland on Tuesday. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Poetry-loving Biden heads to Ireland, home of the 'best poets in the world'

President Biden's penchant for Irish poetry is likely to come through during his upcoming visit to the Emerald Isle, where he'll mark the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Containers of mifepristone and misoprostol — medications used to end a pregnancy — sit on a table inside of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Fairview Heights, Ill. Jeff Roberson/AP hide caption

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Jeff Roberson/AP

Access to a key abortion drug is in legal limbo. Here's how medication abortion works

More people seeking abortions are turning to abortion pills rather than surgical abortion. Here's what to know about the pills, which have been at the center of legal battles since Roe was overturned.

Former President Donald Trump in court for his arraignment in New York Tuesday. The judge overseeing the case did not issue a gag order. Instead he warned against saying or doing anything that could incite violence, create civil unrest or jeopardize the safety or well-being of any individuals. Steven Hirsch/AP hide caption

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Steven Hirsch/AP

Trump wasn't put under a gag order, but he was told to watch his words

Gag orders ride a fine line between balancing the right to free speech and the right to a fair trial. They restrict what trial participants can and cannot say outside of court.

Pope Francis bestows the plenary 'Urbi et Orbi' (to the city and to the world) blessing from the central lodge of the St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican at the end of 2023'S Easter Sunday mass. Alessandra Tarantino/AP hide caption

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Alessandra Tarantino/AP

In the pope's Easter address, a call to pray for Ukrainians, Russians and refugees

Pope Francis, along with dozens of prelates and tens of thousands of faithful, celebrated Easter Mass in a flower-adorned St. Peter's Square.

Officials at the Pentagon attend a virtual meeting of more than 50 nations on the war in Ukraine, on March 15. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The Pentagon and DOJ investigate as secret military documents appear online

Dozens of classified U.S. documents detailing the war in Ukraine have appeared on multiple social media sites. There's no word on who might be responsible for leaking or stealing the material.

Union leaders address thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District teachers and Service Employees International Union 99 members during a rally outside the LAUSD headquarters in Los Angeles on March 21, 2023. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption

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Damian Dovarganes/AP

L.A. school district workers have approved a labor deal following a 3-day strike

The agreement would increase wages by 30% for workers who are paid an average of $25,000 a year, SEIU Local 99 said. The contract still needs approval from the school district's Board of Education.

Israeli police escort Jewish visitors marking the holiday of Passover to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, in the Old City of Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Sunday, April 9, 2023. Mahmoud Illean/AP hide caption

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Mahmoud Illean/AP

The Israeli military has retaliated after rockets were fired from Syria

The Israeli military said its forces attacked targets in Syria after six rockets were launched from Syrian territory in two batches toward Israel in a rare attack from Israel's northeastern neighbor.

Photographs by Fabrizio Frigeni/Unsplash; Markus Winkler/Unsplash; Collage by NPR

My boyfriend's parents pay for everything. It makes me uncomfortable

She loves her boyfriend's parents, but their generosity feels inappropriate. Maya Lau, host of the podcast Other People's Pockets, weighs in on how to move forward.

Dear LK: My boyfriend's parents pay for everything. It makes me uncomfortable

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A freeway sign over Interstate 5 in Los Angeles flashes a message about a child abduction as part of the statewide Amber Alert program in August 2002. California state Sen. Steven Bradford has proposed a bill to create a special "Ebony Alert" system for missing Black women, girls and youth in the state. David McNew/Getty Images hide caption

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David McNew/Getty Images

An 'Ebony Alert' system could help find missing Black women and youth

In California, a proposed "Ebony Alert" system, similar to an Amber or Silver alert, would inform people of missing Black children and young women. The plan aims to bring attention to these often overlooked groups.

Israeli police gather next to an overturned car at the site of an attack Friday in Tel Aviv in which an Italian tourist was killed and several other people were injured. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images

An Israeli police raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque triggers a spate of violence

The escalating conflict in Israel and the occupied territories has played out against a backdrop of religious celebrations — Ramadan for Muslims, Passover for Jews and Easter for Christians.

The iconic cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., reached their peak bloom on March 28 this season, earlier than most years. Mild winters lead to a longer pollen season and that is bad news for allergy sufferers. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images

More pollen, more allergies: Exposure therapy in several forms treats symptoms

Some doctors prescribe sublingual immunotherapy, a serum taken as drops under the tongue. Patients like it, but it is not FDA-approved, so insurance usually doesn't cover it.

Ryan Speedo Green as Young Emile Griffith in Terence Blanchard's Champion. Zenith Richards/Met Opera hide caption

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Zenith Richards/Met Opera

'Champion' is not your grandmother's Metropolitan Opera

Terence Blanchard made history last season when his opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones was the first work by a Black composer staged by the Metropolitan Opera. And the Met has asked for more.

'Champion' is not your grandmother's Metropolitan Opera

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The snow-covered soya fields at the Belfontaine Holstein farm are pictured in Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, on Dec. 9, 2021. Canadian Super Pigs were bred to survive the winter. Andrej Ivanov/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Andrej Ivanov/AFP via Getty Images

Watch out for Super Pigs!

Canadian Super Pigs are on the rise and entering the United States. NPR's Scott Simon laments.

Opinion: Watch out for Super Pigs!

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Chinook Salmon swim up a fish ladder at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Feather River Hatchery just below the Lake Oroville dam during the California drought emergency in 2021. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

California salmon fishing slated to shut down this year due to low stock

Federal researchers expect a near-record-low stock of Chinook salmon, one of the largest and most highly prized fish in the Pacific Ocean.

People hold candles during a Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) torchlight procession on Good Friday in Rome on Friday, April 7, 2023. Alessandra Tarantino/AP hide caption

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Alessandra Tarantino/AP

Pope Francis skips traditional Good Friday procession at the Colosseum in chilly Rome

Francis, who was hospitalized recently with bronchitis, skipped the procession because of cold weather. It was the first time a pope was a no-show at the Colosseum Way of the Cross procession since 2005.

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpls. Chris Covington (left) and Carlos Gomez Perez recover from shrapnel and bullet wounds on April 27, 2004, after Iraqi insurgents attacked near Fallujah, Iraq. Just two weeks earlier, Covington and Gomez Perez helped evacuate wounded Marines and soldiers after a deadly explosion rocked a schoolhouse in Fallujah. Scott Peterson/Getty Images hide caption

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Scott Peterson/Getty Images

A fatal mistake: The truth behind a Marine Corps lie and broken promises

A mortar blast killed two Marines in Iraq almost 20 years ago. But families weren't told for years it was "friendly fire," a tragic accident, despite regulations. Some of the wounded were never told.

A fatal mistake: The truth behind a Marine Corps lie and broken promises

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