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Professors Salim Abdool Karim and his wife, Quarraisha Abdool Karim, are ctedited with saving thousands of live through their groundbreaking testing of HIV preventive drugs. Married for more than 40 years, the researchers, are eachage 64, are respected around the world for their research and advocacy on preventing the spread of viruses such as HIV, TB, Coronavirus and mpox. On September 19, 2024 they were announced as winners of the prestigious Lasker Award for public service, a top recognition for medical research described as the U.S. equivalent of a Nobel prize for science.

Professors Salim Abdool Karim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim, married for more than 40 years, are respected around the world for their research on HIV. In September they were named winners of the Lasker Award for public service in recognition for their groundbreaking medical research. Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images

Goats and Soda

'America's Nobel' goes to a power couple who made a startling discovery about HIV

This year's Lasker Prize for public service goes to South African researchers Salim and Quarraisha Abdool-Karim. The married couple made a startling discovery about HIV — and did something about it.

Israel Widens Its Airstrikes in Lebanon, How Will Iran Respond?

People check a damaged building at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Choueifat, south east of Beirut, on September 28. Hussein Malla/AP hide caption

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Hussein Malla/AP

State of the World from NPR

Israel Widens Its Airstrikes in Lebanon, How Will Iran Respond?

Israel began a series of attacks against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah with pagers and walkie talkies that exploded. They then launched airstrikes targeting the group's leadership. One strike killed Hezbollah's leader of over thirty years, Hassan Nasrallah. The attacks are an effort to prevent Hezbollah from continuing to fire rockets at northern Israel, which it has been doing since the war in Gaza began. Israel's airstrikes are continuing to widen and their military is massing at the border, pointing to a possible ground invasion.

Israel Widens Its Airstrikes in Lebanon, How Will Iran Respond?

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Heavy rains from hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage in Asheville, N.C.

Heavy rains from hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage in Asheville, N.C. Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images hide caption

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Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

Climate

FAQ: Your house flooded. Now what?

Experts say the first thing is to make sure it's safe to go back inside. Then you need to dry things out as fast as possible.

FLOODED HOMES

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President Joe Biden speaks about student loan relief at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 8.

President Joe Biden speaks about student loan relief at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 8. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

Education

Two major student loan grace periods are set to expire this week. Here's what to know

Two federal programs that helped federal student loan borrowers ease back into payments are ending. It will have the biggest impact on borrowers with defaulted loans or borrowers who miss payments moving forward.

Hurricane Helene dropped more than 2 feet of rain on Spruce Pine, N.C. The town is home to one of the world's only sources of high purity quartz, which is used to manufacture silicon chips

Hurricane Helene dropped more than 2 feet of rain on Spruce Pine, N.C. The town is home to one of the world's only sources of high-purity quartz, which is used to manufacture silicon chips and solar panels. Spencer Bost hide caption

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Spencer Bost

National

A tiny town just got slammed by Helene. It could massively disrupt the tech industry

Spruce Pine is a major global supplier of high-purity quartz. It's an essential ingredient for microchips and solar panels.

Spruce Pine Flooding

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Perspective view on the upper portions of the Timpanogos rock glacier in north-central Utah.

Perspective view on the upper portions of the Timpanogos rock glacier in north-central Utah. Matthew Morriss hide caption

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Matthew Morriss

Science

Why the most climate-resistant glaciers are hiding in plain sight

In the American West, white glaciers and snow fields are outnumbered by long-overlooked “rock glaciers.” The rock covering these vast hunks of ice makes them far less affected by warming temperatures.

Rock glaciers rock

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This image taken from a video shows Ryan Routh speaking during an interview at a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 27, 2022. Routh is accused of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach, Fla., golf course on Sept. 15.

This image taken from a video shows Ryan Routh speaking during an interview at a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 27, 2022. Routh is accused of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach, Fla., golf course on Sept. 15. AFPTV/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFPTV/AFP/Getty Images

Ryan Routh pleads not guilty to attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump

Shackled and dressed in khaki prison garb at a hearing in West Palm Beach, Fla., Routh also requested a jury trial. He faces four other charges, such as possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Israeli soldiers are deployed in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on Sunday.

Israeli soldiers are deployed in the Upper Galilee region of northern Israel near the border with Lebanon on Sunday. Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

Israel launches a 'limited' ground offensive in southern Lebanon

The Israeli military has launched what it called a "limited, localized" ground offensive in southern Lebanon against the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

San Francisco police officers keep an eye on city workers as they sweep unsanctioned tents and belongings from a street in the Tenderloin

San Francisco police officers keep an eye on city workers as they sweep unsanctioned tents and belongings from a street in the Tenderloin. Martin Kaste/NPR hide caption

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Martin Kaste/NPR

National

San Francisco ramps up policing of homeless camps, with the Supreme Court's blessing

There are fewer tents on San Francisco sidewalks. The city has ramped up enforcement of anti-camping laws, and police are playing a bigger role.

HOMELESSNESS POLICE CRACKDOWNS 

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Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Sunday in Erie, Pennsylvania. Trump continues to campaign in battleground swing states ahead of the final day of voting on November 5, Election Day.

Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Sunday in Erie, Pennsylvania. Trump continues to campaign in battleground swing states ahead of the final day of voting on November 5, Election Day. Jeff Swensen/Getty Images hide caption

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Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Elections

Trump turns to darker rhetoric as voting begins

In a pair of weekend events in key swing states, Trump claimed Harris is "mentally disabled" and went on to suggest police violence could curb crime.

The Maryland State House is shown here, May 11, 2023, in Annapolis, MD.

The Maryland State House on May 11, 2023, in Annapolis, MD. Brian Witte/AP hide caption

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Brian Witte/AP

Shots - Health News

Maryland seemed poised this year to legalize medical aid in dying. What happened?

WYPR

Most Americans support allowing some terminally ill patients to end their own lives. But a Maryland bill’s narrow defeat shows the issue is still religiously fraught and politically delicate.

Aid in Dying Politics

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At an LGBTQ+ shelter in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 7, 2022, a volunteer lights a candle during a vigil for Ahmad Abu Markhiya. This photo shows a framed photo of Abu Markhiya. In front of it is a black tray with white candles arranged in the shape of a heart. A hand holding a long match is lighting one of the candles. A glass bottle holding flowers is to the left of the framed photo.

At an LGBTQ+ shelter in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 7, 2022, a volunteer lights a candle during a vigil for Ahmad Abu Markhiya, a 24-year-old Palestinian man who was found decapitated in the West Bank city of Hebron. Oded Balilty/AP hide caption

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Oded Balilty/AP

World

An NPR investigation: A murder in Hebron

Was the murder of a young Palestinian man in the West Bank an anti-gay hate crime? NPR identifies the accused killer and explores the parallel systems of justice that have yet to resolve this case.

Hebron Murder

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