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An after school mountain biking club in Farmington, a town that's trying to diversify away from just oil and gas. Kirk Siegler/NPR hide caption

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Kirk Siegler/NPR

Fossil fuel rules catch Western towns between old economies and new green goals

The Biden administration is trying to dramatically change how and where oil and gas drilling occurs on federal land, which is getting mixed reviews in longtime drilling boom-towns.

Fossil fuel rules catch Western towns between old economies and new green goals

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Connecticut's most wide-ranging gun control measure since the 2013 law enacted after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting takes effect on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. The new law bans the open carrying of firearms and prohibits the sale of more than three handguns within 30 days to any one person, with some exceptions for instructors and others. Jessica Hill/AP file photo hide caption

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Jessica Hill/AP file photo

Connecticut enacts its most sweeping gun control law since the Sandy Hook shooting

The new law, signed by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont in June, bans the open carrying of firearms and prohibits the sale of more than three handguns within 30 days to any one person, with some exceptions.

The presidential flag (center) is hand embroidered. Caroline Gutman for NPR hide caption

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Caroline Gutman for NPR

Inside the workshop where presidential flags are lovingly made, mostly by immigrants

Philadelphia – city of brotherly love, birthplace of American democracy. And the only place in the world where presidential flags are made.

Inside the workshop where presidential flags are lovingly made, mostly by immigrants

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Curfew (Likoni March 27 2020) by Kenyan-British painter Michael Armitage, was inspired by an attack on ferry passengers by paramilitary police in Nairobi. The painting hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Jonathan Muzikar/The Museum of Modern Art, New York hide caption

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Jonathan Muzikar/The Museum of Modern Art, New York

A 'modern masterpiece' paints pandemic chaos on cloth made of fig-tree bark

Kenyan-British artist Michael Armitage painted Curfew after a violent flare-up in Mombasa, Kenya, during the early days of the pandemic. One art critic calls it a "modern masterpiece."

Emergency responders work the scene of semitruck crash in Teutopolis, Ill., on Saturday. Federal regulators confirmed they are reviewing the crash of a semitruck carrying a toxic substance in central Illinois, resulting in "multiple fatalities" and dangerous air conditions that prompted the evacuation of area residents. NewsNation-WTWO via AP hide caption

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NewsNation-WTWO via AP

A truck crash in Illinois kills 5, injures 5 and forces evacuation over ammonia leak

The crash caused a large plume of anhydrous ammonia that caused dangerous air conditions in the northeast area of Teutopolis.

Former Prime Minister Robert Fico arrives to his party's headquarters after polling stations closed for an early parliamentary election, in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Saturday. Darko Bandic/AP hide caption

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Darko Bandic/AP

Pro-Russia ex-PM leads leftist party to win in Slovakia's parliamentary elections

The election was a test for the small eastern European country's support for neighboring Ukraine. The win by Robert Fico could strain a fragile unity in the European Union and NATO.

Striking hotel workers from Unite Here Local 11 join the picketing actors of SAG-AFTRA, and writers of the WGA, outside Netflix studios, July 21, 2023, in Los Angeles. On Saturday, Sept. 30, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have made some striking workers eligible for unemployment benefits. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP hide caption

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Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

California's governor rejects a bill to give unemployment checks to striking workers

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said he vetoed the bill because the fund the state uses to pay unemployment benefits will be nearly $20 billion in debt by the end of the year.

A person rides their e-bike along a flooded Coney Island Avenue amid a coastal storm on Friday in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn borough New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

National

Why it rained so hard in New York City on Friday

Meteorologists explain the weird sequence of weather and climate conditions that led to Friday's deluge, as environmental experts warn the fallout could last for days due to sewage overflows.

U.S. President Joe Biden's dog, Commander, is walked on the south side of the White House before a signing ceremony for the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 on August 9, 2022 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Opinion: Who's a bite-y boy?

The Biden's German shepherd, Commander, is a bit bite-y.

Opinion: Who's a bite-y boy?

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Photo Illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR

'Do I really need to floss?' and other common questions about dental care

We asked experts to answer five questions about how to properly care for your teeth. Here's what they said about finding a dentist, whitening your teeth at home, and whether daily flossing is necessary.

'Do I really need to floss?' and other common questions about dental care

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Pharmacists who work for CVS have staged a walkout in the Kansas City metro area, protesting what they say are unreasonable work conditions. In this file photo, a CVS store is seen in Jackson, Miss. Rogelio V. Solis/AP hide caption

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Rogelio V. Solis/AP

Have a complaint about CVS? So do pharmacists: Many just walked out

After a large walkout forced at least a dozen stores to shut down in the Kansas City area, CVS promises change. But critics say the crisis in staffing and unfair pay extends beyond that market.

Ryan McKinny and Joyce DiDonato star in the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Dead Man Walking, which opened Tuesday at the Met in New York. Karen Almond/Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera hide caption

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Karen Almond/Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera

North Carolina radio station plans to reject broadcasts of 'inappropriate' Met operas

WCPE says that six contemporary operas being presented this season by the Metropolitan Opera — including ones dealing with violence, race and LGBTQ issues — are "unsuitable" for broadcast.

Michael Oher speaks to the media during the first day of the Carolina Panthers' offseason conditioning program in Charlotte, N.C., April 20, 2015. Oher, the former NFL tackle known for the movie "The Blind Side," filed a petition Aug. 14, 2023, in a Tennessee court accusing Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy of having him sign papers making them his conservators rather than his adoptive parents. Chuck Burton/AP hide caption

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Chuck Burton/AP

A judge orders the end of the conservatorship between Michael Oher and the Tuohys

Tennessee Judge Kathleen Gomes said she'd never seen such a conservatorship for someone who isn't disabled. She isn't dismissing Oher's case to receive accounts of his finances from the Tuohys.

Rapper Tupac Shakur attends a voter registration event in South Central Los Angeles, Aug. 15, 1996. Las Vegas police said they have made an arrest, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, for the first time in the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur. Frank Wiese/AP hide caption

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Frank Wiese/AP

Nevada grand jury indicts witness in killing of Tupac Shakur

A Nevada grand jury indicted Duane "Keffe D" Davis, one of the last living witnesses to the fatal drive-by shooting of the rapper in Las Vegas, prosecutors announced in court Friday

A judge's ruling that Donald Trump committed fraud as he built his real-estate empire could strip the former president of his authority to make major decisions about the future of his marquee properties in New York. Artie Walker Jr./AP hide caption

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Artie Walker Jr./AP

Trump's N.Y. business empire is 'greatly at risk' from a judge's fraud ruling

Legal and business experts say the ruling in New York state threatens assets such as Trump Tower and also empowers state Attorney General Letitia James, one of Donald Trump's main legal critics.

Joie Henney and his emotional support alligator, Wally, were denied entry to a Phillies' game at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday — but hope to be invited back soon. Joie Henney hide caption

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Joie Henney

Wally the emotional support alligator went to see the Phillies. Then he went viral

Wally doesn't bite, loves hugs and has a sizeable social media following. He made headlines (again) for being denied entry to a baseball stadium — but his owner tells NPR that's not the full story.

Migrants are seen standing in Lampedusa's migrant reception center on Sept. 14. The reception center in Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa has been overwhelmed in recent weeks with transferring to the mainland thousands of migrants arriving on small, flimsy boats. Valeria Ferraro/AP hide caption

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Valeria Ferraro/AP

More than 2,500 migrants crossing the Mediterranean died or went missing this year

The staggering toll increased more than 60% from last year, when fewer migrants attempted the dangerous journey to Europe. This year so far, the majority of migrants are arriving in Italy.

PEPFAR, the U.S. multibillion dollar effort to fight HIV/AIDS, funds organizations such as the Coptic hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. PEPFAR, in the cross-hairs of abortion opponents, will likely not be reauthorized, though partners would continue to receive funding. Brent Stirton/Getty Images hide caption

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Brent Stirton/Getty Images

What would it mean if PEPFAR — the widely hailed anti-HIV effort — isn't reauthorized?

President George W. Bush's program is credited with saving 25 million lives. Republican objections linked to the abortion debate make reauthorization unlikely before the Sept. 30 deadline.

Labor supporters and UAW members walk along a picket line during a strike outside of the Stellantis Chrysler Los Angeles Parts Distribution Center in Ontario, Calif., on Sept. 26, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

UAW once again expands its historic strike, hitting two of the Big 3 automakers

The United Auto Workers will expand its strike against Ford and GM, but not Stellantis after the company formerly known as Chrysler made last-minute concessions.

An aerial view of the historic Tuskegee VA hospital campus. It was established in 1923 specifically to treat Black veterans on land donated by nearby Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University. National Archives hide caption

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National Archives

A century ago, Black WWI vets demanded better care. They got their own VA hospital

This is the centennial of the first Veterans Affairs hospital established to treat Black veterans. It opened in Tuskegee, Ala., after veterans were denied equitable health care after World War I.

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