Like Pope Leo, Bishop Ronald Hicks is an Illinois native with deep experience in Latin America.

President Trump's peace plan for Gaza hinges on international troops in Gaza, but Israel is skeptical and no country has yet agreed to send their soldiers.

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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to announce a package of measures that would together ban gender-affirming care for minors. A press conference is set for 11 a.m. Thursday.

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During a nationwide address, President Trump says the U.S. is poised for an economic boom. And, some Republican lawmakers joined Democrats to force a vote on enhanced healthcare subsidies.

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A new drama uses the real, gut-wrenching recordings of a call for help from Gaza to tell a harrowing and profound story.

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NPR's staff traveled a lot in 2025. From a Mardi Gras workshop to a festival celebrating the mythical Mothman, here are some places and events we thought you might want to check out, too.

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Mass firings, buyouts and heightened uncertainty led to an exodus of federal workers in 2025. More than 300,000 employees will be out of the government by the end of December.

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In its push for more immigrant detention space, the Trump administration is reopening shuttered prisons in several states. Many of these facilities, closed amid allegations of abuse and mismanagement.

Hundreds of mourners bearing bright bouquets and clutching each other in grief gathered at a funeral in Sydney on Thursday for a 10-year-old girl who was gunned down in an antisemitic massacre during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.

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The Trump administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, a move that is sure to infuriate China.

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Peter Arnett, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who spent decades dodging bullets and bombs to bring the world eyewitness accounts of war from Vietnam to Iraq, has died. He was 91.

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Bongino's tenure was at times tumultuous, including a clash with Justice Department leadership over the Epstein files. But it also involved the arrest of a suspect in the Jan. 6 pipe bomber case.

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A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. has ruled that National Guard troops can remain in the city for now. That decision comes after a different federal appeals court ruled that troops must leave Los Angeles earlier this week.

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The former Justice Department special counsel told the House Judiciary Committee that his team developed "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" that Trump took part in a criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 election.

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Guan Heng sailed to the U.S. by boat from the Bahamas after publishing footage he filmed of purported detention camps in China. He has been held in immigration detention since August.

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Trump broke little new ground, restating messages his White House has been pushing for months: that economic problems can be blamed on Joe Biden, and that his second term has been a massive success.

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A nature photographer stumbled upon thousands of 210-million-year-old dinosaur tracks in Italy's central Alps, near where some Olympic skiing and snowboarding events will be held in February.

The Senate has given final passage to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which raises troop pay by 3.8%. It also pressures Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide lawmakers with video of strikes on alleged drug boats near Venezuela.

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The U.S. has registered over half a million clinical trials since 2000. Here's a look at the business and ethics of human medical experimentation through the eyes of a volunteer.

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Writer Chris Whipple interviewed Trump's chief of staff 11 times, getting her view on cabinet members, Trump's revenge tour, Venezuela policy, and why she says Trump has an "alcoholic's personality."

NPR is tracking the record number of congressional lawmakers — now more than 1 in 10 current members — who have announced plans to retire or run for a different office in 2026.

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Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

A new NPR poll finds that President Trump's economic approval has hit a new low at 36%. And, Congress has two days to take action on health care subsidies.

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Rep. Mike Lawler says House Speaker Mike Johnson is correct in saying the health care system isn't working, but allowing ACA subsidies to expire without a plan to address rising costs is "idiotic."

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President Trump's lawsuit alleges that the BBC's fall 2024 documentary was "a brazen attempt" to harm his re-election. The BBC has apologized but rejects his claim.

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A decade ago, the self-proclaimed Islamic State group held vast swaths of territory across Iraq and Syria, but President Trump declared it destroyed in 2019.

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A report from the advocacy group Everytown For Gun Safety analyzed data from local police departments on nearly 350,000 guns used in crimes from 2020 to 2024, including where they came from.

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The etymology of mistletoe — a plant with small, oval evergreen leaves and waxy white berries — may strike some as repugnant.

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There's lots of data to show cardiac troubles spike during the holidays amid the mix of merrymaking, travel and stress. But there are ways to spot the signs of trouble before it's too late.

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For restaurants, going viral is appetizing. But at what cost?

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A suspected gunman in Sydney's Bondi Beach massacre was charged with 59 offenses including 15 charges of murder on Wednesday, as hundreds of mourners gathered to begin funerals for the victims.

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The Trump administration announced Tuesday it was expanding travel restrictions to an additional 20 countries and the Palestinian Authority, doubling the number of nations affected by sweeping limits.

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The 32-year-old son of famed director Rob Reiner is being held without bail. Los Angeles authorities say the charges against him carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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FIFA said it would sell $60 tickets to the World Cup, including for the final — but only for supporters of qualified teams. And the actual number of available tickets is limited.

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Throughout the year, Vanity Fair writer Chris Whipple interviewed some of the people closest to President Trump. We speak with Whipple about his talks with White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles.

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People of all ages had been looking forward to celebrating — especially this year, as a ceasefire in Gaza has held since October and all but one of the hostages taken by Hamas-led militants have been returned.

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A survey finds that 56% of psychologists are trying out artificial intelligence tools at work, mainly for administrative tasks. A majority also are concerned about harms of AI on patients and society.

Barbara Rose Johns was 16 when she led a walkout at her high school, credited with helping end school segregation. Her statue replaces Robert E. Lee's, which was removed in 2020.

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This year's Arctic Report Card from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finds that the northernmost part of the Earth is warming faster than the global average, leading to melting glaciers, shifting fish populations, and rivers running orange.

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A storm has battered the Gaza Strip, creating misery for displaced Palestinians and delaying the search for the body of the last Israeli hostage held by militants there.

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Hiring cooled this fall, according to delayed figures released by the Labor Department Tuesday. Employers added 64,000 jobs in November as the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%.

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Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner's son Nick has been arrested in connection with their deaths. And, authorities have released new images to help identify the gunman in the Brown University shooting.

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Warner Bros. has a history of disastrous mergers and acquisitions. Can they avoid another bad sequel as Netflix and Paramount battle to buy it?

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The signs of Republican pushback come as President Trump has pursued a campaign of mass deportations and crackdown on migration from certain countries.

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Inflation, rising food prices and the high cost of living have been top of mind for consumers all year. But then Olive Garden offers an unlimited pasta meal, or a chain steakhouse restaurant sells a steak dinner with two sides for less than 30 bucks. So, how are chains able to keep prices as low as they do in this economy?

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Automotive crash test dummies are born in Ohio, brought to "life" near Detroit, and then sent around the world to make cars safer.

School districts from Utah to Ohio to Alabama are spending thousands of dollars on these tools, despite research showing the technology is far from reliable.

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NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Professor Mahmood Mamdani about his new book, "Slow Poison." The book is a firsthand report on the tragic unraveling of Uganda's struggle for independence.

Rob Reiner's son arrested after his parents' deaths, authorities release images of suspected gunman in Brown University shooting, police say Bondi Beach shooting was inspired by Islamic State group.

A private non-profit operates over 200 cameras with live facial recognition in New Orleans. The system raises questions about privacy, legal authority and who should control surveillance technology.

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