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Thursday

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, in the Bekaa Valley, on Thursday.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, in the Bekaa Valley, on Thursday. Nidal Solh/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Nidal Solh/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

Israel strikes Lebanon’s ancient city of Baalbek, as tens of thousands of people flee

As Israel intensified attacks in the Lebanese city of Baalbek, residents fled to an ancient Roman temple, hoping the site’s UNESCO status might save them.

People line up to vote on the first day of in-person early voting in Las Vegas on Oct. 19.

People line up to vote on the first day of in-person early voting in Las Vegas on Oct. 19. Ethan Miller/Getty Images hide caption

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Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Elections

There are a lot of nonpartisan voters in Nevada, making the swing state hard to read

Since 2020, voters in Nevada who aren't registered with a party have become the largest voting group in the state. That means it's hard to predict how they'll vote so campaigns are courting them.

NEVADA NONPARTISAN VOTERS

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Former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris focus on different ways to bring down housing costs, but both say America needs to build more housing.

Former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris focus on different ways to bring down housing costs, but both say America needs to build more housing. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

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Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Politics

Housing is expensive. Here's how Harris and Trump promise to bring costs down

Housing costs are a top issue for many voters. Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have proposed different ideas for addressing the country's housing woes.

Trump vs. Harris: Plans to address housing issues

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People look at a billboard in Kinshasa on Oct. 30, 1974, announcing the fight between U.S. boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. That day, Ali knocked out Foreman in a clash of titans known as "the Rumble in the Jungle," watched by 60,000 people in the stadium in Kinshasa and millions elsewhere.

People look at a billboard in Kinshasa on Oct. 30, 1974, announcing the fight between U.S. boxers Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. That day, Ali knocked out Foreman in a clash of titans known as the "Rumble in the Jungle," watched by 60,000 people in the stadium in Kinshasa and millions elsewhere. -/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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-/AFP via Getty Images

World

50 years on, D.R. Congo commemorates boxing's 'Rumble in the Jungle'

The historic fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman is still revered as a cherished moment in the central African country's troubled history and has spurred an enduring love of boxing.

RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE

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Toby, an orphaned four-year-old Alaskan coastal brown bear, stands and looks out over the compound at the Fortress of the Bear Center in Sitka, Alaska, on Aug. 1, 2013.

Toby, an orphaned four-year-old Alaskan coastal brown bear, stands and looks out over the compound at the Fortress of the Bear Center in Sitka, Alaska, on Aug. 1, 2013. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP hide caption

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Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

National

A hunter in Alaska is found dead after being mauled by a bear

The 50-year-old had been reported overdue from a deer hunting trip. At least 30,000 brown bears are estimated to be in Alaska and mainly live along the southern coast.

Pedestrians look at a statue of Donald Trump behind Gerhard Marcks' sculpture Maja, in Maja Park in Philadelphia.

Pedestrians look at a statue of Donald Trump behind Gerhard Marcks' sculpture Maja, in Maja Park in Philadelphia. Caroline Gutman/The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption

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Caroline Gutman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

National

It's not just D.C.: Satirical Trump statues are appearing in cities across the U.S.

Trump statues appeared next to sculptures of nude women in Portland and Philadelphia. The plaques bear the title In Honor of a Lifetime of Sexual Assault and quote Trump's Access Hollywood remarks.

Rosy-faced lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis) are small parrots that are common and colorful household pets. Parrots such as these use unique yellow and red pigments whose expression researchers now show can be modulated through the action of a single enzyme.

Rosy-faced lovebirds (Agapornis roseicollis) are small parrots that are common and colorful household pets. Parrots such as these use unique yellow and red pigments whose expression researchers now show can be modulated through the action of a single enzyme.
Pedro Araujo hide caption

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Pedro Araujo

Science

How parrot plumage gets its dazzling reds and yellows

Parrots are unique among birds in how they produce the pigmentation that makes their vibrant feathering. It turns out a single enzyme calibrates the reds and yellows of a parrot's brilliance.

How the parrot got its colors

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Raneem Hijazi holds her baby, Mariam, on her lap in her wheelchair, as Hijazi's mother-in-law, Soha Sakallah (standing), helps her.

Raneem Hijazi holds her baby, Mariam, on her lap in her wheelchair, as Hijazi's mother-in-law, Soha Sakallah (standing), helps her. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

A year since Oct. 7

A mother and baby from Gaza are reunited 11 months after being separated at birth

After an Israeli airstrike left mom-to-be Raneem Hizaji badly injured, doctors performed an emergency C-section. It took nearly a year for mom and baby to be reunited.

A year in the life of a mom and baby from Gaza

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Collage showing a pile of gifts with a graduation mortarboard cap sitting on top. The image is on a blue background and is surrounded by a collaged frame of letters, envelopes and stamps.
Photographs by AntonioSolano/Getty Images; malamus-UK; Getty Images; Collage/NPR

Life Kit

Dear Life Kit: Is it a faux pas to create a 'happy graduation' registry for myself?

An NPR listener is graduating soon with her MBA. She wants to know if it's OK celebrate her achievement by asking loved ones to buy her gifts from a registry, similar to what people do for weddings.

Dear Life Kit: I need a gut check for a sticky situation

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People wait in line to cast their votes during in New York on October 26, 2024. Online, social media users are floating unverified and false claims about voting that can quickly go viral.

People wait in line to cast their votes during in New York on October 26, 2024. Online, social media users are floating unverified and false claims about voting that can quickly go viral. KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption

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KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

Up First Newsletter

Debunking voter fraud conspiracy theories. And, presidential power over abortion

Conspiracy theories connected to voter fraud have increased on social media. And, how both presidential candidates, who have different views on abortion access, could implement their plans if elected.

North Gaza Crisis, Election Conspiracies, Presidential Abortion Powers

Dawn Shedrick, left, is one of roughly 106 million unpaid caregivers in the U.S. Over the last 30 years, Shedrick has dealt with loneliness and isolation while caring for her mother, Nathalia Shedrick, right, who has multiple sclerosis.

Dawn Shedrick, left, is one of roughly 106 million unpaid caregivers in the U.S. For 30 years, Shedrick taken care of her mother, Nathalia Shedrick, right, who has multiple sclerosis. Eugene Richards for NPR hide caption

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Eugene Richards for NPR

Shots - Health News

Caregiving can be a tough, lonely mission. One daughter found ways to reconnect

Some 106 million people provide unpaid care for an adult in the U.S. Many feel invisible and profoundly lonely. But some are creating new ways to support each other.

A Good Guy: Under Oath
Luke Medina/NPR

Embedded

A Good Guy: Under Oath

There's a promise that all Marines make to defend the Constitution. After Sgt. Joshua Abate participated in the events on January 6, the Corps has to decide: Did he break his oath when he entered the Capitol that day? And what does his case say about the changing narrative around January 6? To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Listen.

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This combination of file photos shows Vice President Harris speaking during a campaign rally in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Oct. 26, and former President Donald Trump during a rally Oct. 22 in Greensboro, N.C.

This combination of file photos shows Vice President Harris speaking during a campaign rally in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Oct. 26, and former President Donald Trump during a rally Oct. 22 in Greensboro, N.C. AP/AP hide caption

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AP/AP

Politics

Harris and Trump bring their closing arguments to 2 key Southwest swing states

With five days left until Election Day, the candidates made a last-minute pitch to Latino voters in Arizona and Nevada — talking about border security, one of the biggest issues for the campaign.

A crowd chants "Stop the count!" and pounds on the windows and doors after partisan election challengers were told that the capacity for election challengers had been met in the counting facility at what was then Detroit's TCF Center on Nov. 4, 2020.

A crowd chants "Stop the count!" and pounds on the windows and doors after partisan election challengers were told that the capacity for election challengers had been met in the counting facility at what was then Detroit's TCF Center on Nov. 4, 2020. Elaine Cromie/Getty Images hide caption

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Elaine Cromie/Getty Images

Elections

After a chaotic vote count in 2020, here's what Detroit will do differently this year

WDET

Four years ago, Trump supporters, motivated in part by false election fraud claims, loudly protested at a Detroit counting facility. Election officials are determined to avoid a repeat of the chaos.

DETROIT ELECTION SECURITY

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