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Investigations

Tuesday

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Donald Trump calls Jan. 6 a "day of love." Here are the facts. 

Donald Trump often misrepresents what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, even referring to convicted rioters as "hostages.

A fact-check about what Trump and Harris are saying about Jan. 6

Listen · 4:19
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Wednesday

This photo shows former President Donald Trump on a camera monitor as he speaks to the press in February outside Manhattan Criminal Court. He's wearing a blue suit jacket, a red tie and a white shirt. Many people in suits and law enforcement uniforms stand behind him.

Former President Donald Trump, on a camera monitor, speaks to the press as he arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court on Feb. 15 for a hearing in his case of paying hush money to cover up extramarital affairs. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

Media

Jailed reporters, silenced networks: What Trump says he'd do to the media if elected

On the campaign trail, former President Donald Trump has threatened to jail reporters who won't give up the sources of leaks and to strip networks of their broadcast licenses for fact-checking him.

media execs say that’s an effort to intimidate press;

Listen · 5:06
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Tuesday

Former President Donald Trump, wearing a suit and a red tie, stands behind a microphone to speak to supporters during a campaign event at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a campaign event at Saginaw Valley State University on Oct. 3 in Saginaw, Mich. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

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Scott Olson/Getty Images

Trump has made more than 100 threats to prosecute or punish perceived enemies

An NPR investigation has found that since 2022, Trump has repeatedly threatened to investigate, prosecute, jail or otherwise punish his political opponents, rivals and even private citizens.

TRUMP'S ENEMIES LIST

Listen · 7:43
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Thursday

Wildlife Services kills hundreds of thousands of noninvasive animals a year. This photo, obtained from the USDA via the Freedom of Information Act, shows a gray wolf in a trap laid by a Wildlife Services employee.

Wildlife Services kills hundreds of thousands of noninvasive animals a year. This photo, obtained from the USDA via the Freedom of Information Act, shows a gray wolf in a trap laid by a Wildlife Services employee. Obtained from the USDA via FOIA/Obtained from the USDA via FOIA hide caption

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Obtained from the USDA via FOIA/Obtained from the USDA via FOIA

'That's a bloodbath': How a federal program kills wildlife for private interests

A federal program kills hundreds of thousands of wild animals a year. Documents obtained by NPR show that many of those animals were killed in places where no damage to livestock was reported.

Wildlife Services Feature

Listen · 7:39
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Wednesday

In an office setting, an Asian American woman smiles at a colleague. The woman has long brown hair. She sits in a wheelchair.

Tabi Haly defied expectations. She's a woman with spinal muscular atrophy — also, a software engineer and a vice president at JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chase hide caption

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JPMorgan Chase

This disabled woman built a career. A federal program that helped now penalizes her

Supplemental Security Income provides the medical care that lets people work. But its rules are complex and out of date. 

The requirements of a disabilities benefits program end up hurting those who need it

Listen · 7:59
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Friday

Mayor Jay Willis stands next to a historical marker for a UFO sighting in Pascagoula, Miss.

Pascagoula Mayor Jay Willis stands next to a historical marker that claims aliens came from outer space and abducted two local men in 1973. Laura Sullivan/NPR hide caption

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Laura Sullivan/NPR

NPR Investigations: Off The Mark

Are UFOs real? Historical markers say yes

Historical markers were once just for American history. But many now claim aliens have visited Earth from outer space — and they aren't hedging.

Off The Mark: Markers for Space Aliens

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Thursday

Littlejohn was sentenced to death for the 1992 murder of a convenience store owner during a robbery.

Littlejohn was sentenced to death for the 1992 murder of a convenience store owner during a robbery. AP/Oklahoma Department of Corrections hide caption

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AP/Oklahoma Department of Corrections

'Governor, don’t kill me for the heck of it': Oklahoma prisoner asks for clemency

Oklahoma’s governor waited until the day of Emmanuel Littlejohn’s execution to announce whether he would grant the prisoner clemency. Littlejohn spoke to NPR.

Oklahoma prisoner Emmanuel Littlejohn asks for clemency

Listen · 3:56
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Wednesday

Taliban fighters celebrate the third anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan on Aug. 14, 2024.

Taliban fighters celebrate the third anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan on Aug. 14, 2024. Abdul Khaliq/AP hide caption

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Abdul Khaliq/AP

Three years after the U.S. withdrawal, former Afghan forces are hunted by the Taliban

The Taliban have been targeting thousands of Afghan National Army soldiers and police officers, accusing them of being American spies.

Three years after the U.S. withdrawal, former Afghan forces are hunted by the Taliban

Listen · 5:07
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Thursday

In court papers, prosecutors described Timothy Hale-Cusanelli as a "Nazi sympathizer" who went to work at a Naval Weapons Station with a "Hitler mustache."

In court papers, prosecutors described Timothy Hale-Cusanelli as a "Nazi sympathizer" who went to work at a Naval Weapons Station with a "Hitler mustache." Department of Justice hide caption

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Department of Justice

Trump’s Bedminster club hosted an alleged Nazi sympathizer who stormed the Capitol

At two events, Donald Trump’s New Jersey golf club hosted a convicted Jan. 6 rioter known for extreme antisemitic and racist comments, whom prosecutors described as a ‘white supremacist.’

Extremist at Trump Bedminster

Listen · 4:27
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Saturday

Tuesday

This photo shows Eric Garcetti, then the mayor of Los Angeles, during an interview in his office at City Hall in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2015. He's wearing a dark blue suit and a dark patterned tie and is seated in an armchair with his legs crossed and his hands over his top knee.

Eric Garcetti, then the mayor of Los Angeles, during an interview in his office at City Hall in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2015. Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Did a powerful Democrat lie about #MeToo allegations to save his career?

Former LA Mayor Eric Garcetti denies he knew about a top adviser's alleged abuse at City Hall. An NPR investigation raises new questions about whether the now U.S. ambassador to India lied under oath.

Thursday

Wrongfully imprisoned for decades, Ben Spencer is exonerated

Riverhead books NPR hide caption

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NPR

Consider This from NPR

Wrongfully imprisoned for decades, Ben Spencer is exonerated

In 1988, Ben Spencer was sentenced to life in prison for a brutal robbery and murder he has always insisted he did not commit.

Wrongfully imprisoned for decades, Ben Spencer is exonerated

Listen · 10:26
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Sunday

The Sunday Story: Uncovering Abuse in a Juvenile Detention Center

The Sununu Youth Services Center, or Youth Development Center (YDC), in Manchester, N.H., on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. Raquel C. Zaldívar/New England News Collaborative hide caption

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Raquel C. Zaldívar/New England News Collaborative

Up First from NPR

The Sunday Story: Uncovering Abuse in a Juvenile Detention Center

In the U.S., many kids in trouble with the law are sentenced to juvenile detention facilities. In New Hampshire, the largest such facility is a place commonly known as the Youth Detention Center, or YDC (recently renamed the Sununu Youth Services Center). YDC was founded with good intentions: keep kids out of adult jails and prisons and care for them. But now, nearly 1,300 former residents of YDC have come forward, filing lawsuits over alleged abuse at the facility. The allegations include hundreds of cases of assault and rape that span over six decades. It's become one of the biggest youth detention scandals in American history.

The Sunday Story: Uncovering Abuse in a Juvenile Detention Center

Listen · 34:19
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Sunday

Is a high-profile critic of the Chinese Communist Party a con man?

Is a high-profile critic of the Chinese Communist Party a con man?

A young political dissident in Europe made his name in the news media as a defiant critic of the Chinese Communist Party. His former housemate and alleged victim says he's a grifter.

The Sunday Story: The Invisible Hand of Fear

Listen · 50:34
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Sunday

Melinda Mattocks-Ushry holds a photo of her brother Kelvin “Chuck” Mattocks at her home in New Bern, N.C., on Dec. 5, 2023. Mattocks was killed in 2016 at a construction site when a trench he was working in collapsed in Boston.

Melinda Mattocks-Ushry holds a photo of her brother Kelvin “Chuck” Mattocks at her home in New Bern, N.C., on Dec. 5, 2023. Madeline Gray/for NPR hide caption

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Madeline Gray/for NPR

Trench collapses have killed hundreds of workers in the U.S. over the last decade

More than 250 people have died since 2013 when trenches they were working in caved in. In most cases, the employers failed to follow basic government regulations for making trenches safe.

NPR teams investigate a dangerous problem for construction workers: trench cave-ins

Listen · 6:42
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