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The state flag of Tennessee stands outside the office of Tennessee's 7th Congressional District in Washington, Sept. 2, 2025, which has a seat that became vacant following the resignation of Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn. on July 20.

The state flag of Tennessee stands outside the office of Tennessee's 7th Congressional District in Washington, Sept. 2, 2025, which has a seat that became vacant following the resignation of Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn. on July 20. Robert Yoon/AP hide caption

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Robert Yoon/AP

Trump pick Van Epps to face Rep. Behn in fight for open Tennessee congressional seat

 WPLN News

Former Tennessee commissioner Matt Van Epps will face off against state Rep. Aftyn Behn in December's general election.
Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 7.

Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 7. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

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Win McNamee/Getty Images

Law

Democrats press Bondi over concerns DOJ is being weaponized to target Trump's foes

Bondi defended her work as attorney general, rejecting allegations that DOJ investigations and prosecutions, including the recent indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, are driven by politics.

Attorney General Bondi talks at Senate Judiciary

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In this photo taken Oct. 4, 2025 and released by Lingsuiye, villagers with their oxen and horses ascend the mountain during rescue efforts to reach hundreds of hikers trapped by heavy snow at tourist campsites on a slope of Mount Everest in Tibet on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025.

In this photo taken Oct. 4, 2025 and released by Lingsuiye, villagers with their oxen and horses ascend the mountain during rescue efforts to reach hundreds of hikers trapped by heavy snow at tourist campsites on a slope of Mount Everest in Tibet on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. Lingsuiye/AP/Xinhua hide caption

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Lingsuiye/AP/Xinhua

Asia

Hundreds of hikers rescued from Mount Everest after severe snowstorm

About 900 hikers, guides and other staff who were stranded by a weekend snowstorm on the Chinese side of Mount Everest have reached safety, state media said late Tuesday.
Faten Mreish holds her son's body at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Aug. 28, 2024, after he and others were killed in an Israeli bombardment.

Faten Mreish holds her son's body at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Aug. 28, 2024, after he and others were killed in an Israeli bombardment. Abdel Kareem Hana/AP hide caption

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Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

Middle East conflict

These numbers show how 2 years of war have devastated Palestinian lives in Gaza

It's been two years since Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israeli leaders promised a punishing offensive. Here are some numbers showing the war's toll.

WATCH

Rising Appalachia: Tiny Desk Concert

Rising Appalachia's Tiny Desk is charged with the roots music that sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith learned in fiddle camps as kids.
Jenna Norton is currently on furlough due to the ongoing government shutdown. She serves as Program Director at National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases within the National Institutes of Health, where she supports efforts to implement health disparities research.

Jenna Norton is currently on furlough due to the ongoing government shutdown. She serves as Program Director at National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases within the National Institutes of Health, where she supports efforts to implement health disparities research. Maansi Srivastava/NPR hide caption

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Maansi Srivastava/NPR

2025 government shutdown

Why some federal workers aren't scared by the threat of shutdown layoffs

Some federal workers support the government shutdown, even as President Trump threatens to use this moment to lay off employees and cut funding to programs.

A federal worker explains why she’s not afraid of Trump’s layoff threat

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From left, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics Chair Olle Eriksson, Secretary General of the Swedish Academy of Sciences Hans Ellegren and Member of the Nobel Committee for Physics Goran Johansson announce Tuesday that John Clarke, Michel H Devoret and John M. Martinis, on screen behind, are the recipients the Nobel Prize in Physics.

From left, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics Chair Olle Eriksson, Secretary General of the Swedish Academy of Sciences Hans Ellegren and Member of the Nobel Committee for Physics Goran Johansson announce Tuesday that John Clarke, Michel H Devoret and John M. Martinis, on screen behind, are the recipients the Nobel Prize in Physics. Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP hide caption

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Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP

Science

The Nobel Prize for physics is awarded for discoveries in quantum mechanical tunneling

The Nobel committee said that the laureates' work provides opportunities to develop "the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors."
President Donald Trump shakes hands with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen as he announces a trade deal with the EU at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 27, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen as he announces a trade deal with the EU at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 27, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/Getty Images Europe hide caption

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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/Getty Images Europe

Opinion

World, reordering

With U.S. leadership in doubt, can its allies chart their own course?

U.S. allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are showing willingness to coordinate and cooperate across a wide range of shared interests, from trade to defense and alliance management to China.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., speaks to reporters as she walks through the Senate subway in the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 30 in Washington.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., speaks to reporters as she walks through the Senate subway in the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 30 in Washington. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

2025 government shutdown

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen: Lawmakers must find 'common ground' to end the government shutdown

On the seventh day of the shutdown, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen tells NPR she's working with colleagues from both parties to find common ground and reopen the government.

New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on where negotiations to end the shutdown stand

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Mayci Neeley at an event with the cast of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" at SiriusXM Studios in May.

Mayci Neeley at an event with the cast of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" at SiriusXM Studios in May. Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for SiriusXM hide caption

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Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Interview highlights

'Mormon Wives' star Mayci Neeley shares her complex life in a new memoir

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Mayci Neeley of Hulu's The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives about how her traumatic college days have shaped her relationship with her religion.

'Mormon Wives' star Mayci Neeley shares her complex life in new memoir

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Illustration of a group of people putting together a large scale puzzle on the floor. The image on the puzzle is the health care cross. Medications surround the people putting the puzzle together.
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Subin Yang for NPR
Illustration of a group of people putting together a large scale puzzle on the floor. The image on the puzzle is the health care cross. Medications surround the people putting the puzzle together.
Subin Yang for NPR

Life Kit

The key to choosing the right health insurance? Demystifying the lingo

Open enrollment is back again and with it, its confusing health insurance jargon. Here are some of those terms defined to help you choose the best plan for you.

Perplexed by health insurance terms? This guide can help

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, is shown in a close up photograph.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, in the Oval Office on Sept. 30. Psychiatrists say recent gains in substance abuse treatment are in jeopardy under his leadership. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

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Win McNamee/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Psychiatrists call for RFK Jr. to be replaced as health secretary

Two groups are calling for new leadership at HHS after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s actions on substance abuse treatment and mental health medications, among other issues.
A person enters a CVS store in Monterey Park, California, where flu and COVID-19 vaccines are offered.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new recommendations for COVID vaccination that require a consultation with a health professional first. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Living Better

The CDC says people must consult a health professional before COVID shot

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention accepted a controversial recommendation from outside vaccine advisers to tighten guidelines for the COVID vaccine.
U.S Border Patrol agents push protestors out of the street Saturday near West 39th St and South Kedzie Avenue in Chicago.

U.S Border Patrol agents push protestors out of the street Saturday near West 39th St and South Kedzie Avenue in Chicago. Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times hide caption

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Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times

Attorney for a woman shot by a border agent claims he said, 'Do something, b----,' then fired

 WBEZ

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her Saturday morning in Chicago, her attorney alleged.
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) holds a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Building on October 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. The federal government shut down early Wednesday after Congress and the White House failed to reach a funding deal.

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) holds a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Building on October 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. The federal government shut down early Wednesday after Congress and the White House failed to reach a funding deal. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

2025 government shutdown

Why Democrats are casting the government shutdown as a health care showdown

 KFF Health News

Democrats are pressuring Republicans to extend billions of dollars in federal tax credits that have dramatically lowered premiums and contributed to record-low rates of uninsured Americans.
Brothers Hudson and Brandon Porter watch for rocks and rotten potatoes on a conveyor belt. Both boys have worked during harvest break since before they were teenagers.

Brothers Hudson and Brandon Porter watch for rocks and rotten potatoes on a conveyor belt. Both boys have worked during harvest break since before they were teenagers. Michael Livingston/Maine Public hide caption

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Michael Livingston/Maine Public

'They're feeding America' : These Maine teens get a break from school to harvest potatoes

 Maine Public News

It's a time-honored tradition in Northern Maine dating back to the 1940s: Every fall, schools in Aroostook County give students time off classes so some can help out .
Bari Weiss interviews Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in January 2025.

The Free Press' Bari Weiss, pictured interviewing Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas., at an event in January 2025, has been named the new editor-in-chief of CBS News. Leigh Vogel/Getty Images hide caption

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Leigh Vogel/Getty Images

Media

Who is Bari Weiss? CBS News' new editor-in-chief is a vocal critic of legacy media

Provocative columnist Bari Weiss publicly quit the New York Times in 2020, then cofounded The Free Press as an alternative to legacy media. Here's what to know as she takes the helm of CBS News.
Research suggests men could narrow the longevity gap, by mimicking some of the habits that women have, like more regular doctor visits and attention to diet and exercise.

Research suggests men could narrow the longevity gap, by mimicking some of the habits that women have, like more regular doctor visits and attention to diet and exercise. shapecharge/E+/Getty Images hide caption

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shapecharge/E+/Getty Images

Living Better

Why do women live longer than men? A study offers clues to close the gap

Women have an evolutionary advantage when it comes to living longer. They outlive men by about five years. This gender gap is true for many mammals, but a new study shows how human males could narrow it.

Women are more likely to outlive men, but a new study says men can close the gap

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