Born in South Lebanon, Grandmothers Recall Repeated Displacements
Mariam Allawiya, 60 (left), and Kafa Wehbe, 67, sit together in a vacant apartment building in central Beirut after they were displaced from southern Lebanon by Israel's current invasion. They both grew up in southern Lebanon, and Allawiya's son married Wehbe's daughter. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption toggle caption Claire Harbage/NPR BEIRUT, Lebanon — Mariam Allawiya
She invited her friends to come together to make her casket
MaddyChristine Hope Brokopp weaves the bottom of a burial tray. Brokopp enlisted her friends to weave her tray after a cancer diagnosis. Nic Neves hide caption toggle caption Nic Neves When MaddyChristine Hope Brokopp received her terminal cancer diagnosis, one thing she was sure about was that she wanted to make her own casket. Brokopp
Caracas’ iconic macaws threatened by vanishing palm trees
A pair of blue and gold macaws visit Mabel Carnago's apartment in Caracas. Manuel Rueda/NPR hide caption toggle caption Manuel Rueda/NPR CARACAS, Venezuela - Every day as the sun comes down, about a dozen blue and gold macaws fly up to Karem Guevara's apartment. The comical birds perch on a window sill, squawk loudly, and stretch
Uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz as ceasefire nears end
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press aboard Air Force One on April 17, 2026 just prior to landing at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Win McNamee/Getty Images North America hide caption toggle caption Win McNamee/Getty Images North America Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps joint military command issued a statement on Saturday morning
Negotiating With Iran: Lessons from Experienced Diplomats
A Pakistani Ranger walks past a billboard for the U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad on April 12, 2026. The talks, led by Vice President JD Vance, produced no concrete movement toward a peace deal. Farooq Naeem/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Farooq Naeem/AFP via Getty Images Despite stalled talks with Iran and a
Redistricting Battles Turn on State Leaders’ Choices
Clockwise from top left: Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, Virginia state Sen. Louise Lucas, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, Indiana Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray and Utah District Judge Dianna Gibson. Stephanie Scarbrough/AP; David A. Lieb/AP; Ryan M. Kelly/AP; Stephen Spillman/AP; George Hale/WFIU; Chris Samuels/Pool/The Salt Lake Tribune hide
Alone in a jail cell, a man’s life is suddenly changed
Jay (not pictured) found himself alone and hopeless in a jail cell when a fellow inmate's unexpected words of comfort changed his life. Irkham Khalid/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Irkham Khalid/Getty Images When Jay was 22 years old, he was a self-described loner. In this story, he is being identified by his nickname to
Judge halts local TV giant Nexstar’s takeover of rival Tegna until trial
Columbus, Ohio is one of the cities where Nexstar owns and operates two major television stations following its acquisition of rival TV group Tegna. Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group Editorial hide caption toggle caption Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group Editorial A federal judge has blocked local TV giant Nexstar's takeover of a leading
Deaths of migrants in ICE custody hit record high under Trump
Entrance to Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán/NPR hide caption toggle caption Sergio Martínez-Beltrán/NPR The number of immigrants who have died while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody has reached an all-time high this fiscal year. Twenty-nine people have died in ICE custody since October, the start of the federal government's fiscal
Iran has learned that the Strait of Hormuz is its strongest deterrent
Quotable Donald Heflin, a senior fellow of Diplomatic Practice at Tufts University, says Iran has shown it doesn’t need nuclear weapons as a deterrent. Published On 18 Apr 2026