Hot USA News

#Breaking #News #USA 'He Broke Boundaries With His Mind': Public Pays Tribute At Stephen Hawking's Funeral About 500 guests honored the physicist at Sunday's private service in Cambridge, his intellectual home for half a century. The procession was met by admirers who lined the streets to share memories. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA The Mormon Church Diversifies The church has named its first Latin-American and Asian-American apostles at a semi-annual conference in Salt Lake City. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Israel, Palestinians Debate Use Of Force Over Deadly Friday Demonstrations The Palestinian Health Ministry said 758 Palestinians were hit by live Israeli fire. Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis said claims of hundreds of injuries was a "complete lie." Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Trump Administration Can't Block Undocumented Immigrants From Seeking Abortions On Friday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C, ruled that undocumented minors under the control of the Department of Health and Human Services can access abortion services they were being denied. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Israel, Palestinians Debate Use Of Force Over Deadly Friday Demonstrations The Palestinian Health Ministry said 758 Palestinians were hit by live Israeli fire. Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis said claims of hundreds of injuries was a "complete lie." Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Texas Woman Sentenced To 5 Years For Illegal Voting Crystal Mason is a convicted felon. "She didn't understand! She was never told she couldn't vote," her lawyer said. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Kentucky Lawmakers Limit Black Lung Claims Reviews Despite Epidemic There's a change in Kentucky law that puts diagnoses of the deadly coal miners' disease black lung mostly in the hands of physicians who typically work for coal companies. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 100 Iranians Remain Stranded In Austria Awaiting Asylum In The U.S. The U.S. acceptance rate of Iranian Christians and other religious minority refugees has gone from nearly 100 percent to zero, leaving many stuck in transit. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Philadephia's New DA Wants Prosecutors To Talk Cost Of Incarceration While In Court Larry Krasner wants prosecutors to announce in open court the taxpayer expense of incarceration before asking for it. His new policy is drawing backlash and discussion. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 'The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind' Returns From Madness Neuroscientist Barbara Lipska describes in a new memoir surviving 20 brain tumors, and what the eight-week nightmare of psychological symptoms taught her about mental illnesses she's long studied. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Coming Out As Transgender Strengthened This Teacher's Commitment To His Students A year into teaching high school, Mario Suarez knew it was time to come out as transgender at his school. His students embraced him and he dedicated his career to them all over again. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Saturday Sports: March Madness, Baseball Begins Howard Bryant of ESPN talks with NPR's Scott Simon about the biggest sports stories of the week: March Madness and baseball's opening day. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Wrestle Like A Girl: How Colleges Are Pushing The NCAA To Recognize Women's Wrestling Women's wrestling has been an Olympic sport since 2004, but isn't recognized by the NCAA. Now Iowa State and other colleges are pushing to get the league to recognize women's wrestling. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Comic Relief Tries To Improve Its Charity Ads. How's It Doing? We asked the experts to weigh in on the U.K. charity's new campaign that promises to put "local heroes" in the spotlight. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA New iPads For Classrooms; College Graduation Gaps; Teachers Lose Grants Plus positive trends in school-related crime, and teacher protests around the county, in our weekly education news roundup. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA How More Meetings Might Be The Secret To Fixing High School The BARR model, for "Building Assets, Reducing Risks," has serious evidence backing it up as a solution for real improvements in student success. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Why Did Sterile Salt Water Become The IV Fluid Of Choice? IV bags filled with what's called normal saline are used to treat problems ranging from vomiting to lightheadedness. But evidence for the use of saline over other intravenous options is scant. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Jon Peede, Trump's Nominee To Lead NEH, Makes His Case On Why Agency Should Exist NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Jon Peede, President Trump's nominee for the National Endowment for the Humanities — an agency he tried to cut from the most recent budget. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Officer Who Killed Alton Sterling Is Fired, The One Who Pinned Him Down Is Suspended Before firing Officer Blane Salamoni for use of force violations and failure to command his temper, Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul cautioned, "Unreasonable fear within an officer is dangerous." Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Irate Teachers Skip Class Across Kentucky To Protest Surprise Pension Overhaul What began as a bill about sewage services quickly became a significant change to state employee benefits Thursday. Now, it is one signature from becoming law — and classrooms are closing in protest. Read more on NPR

#Breaking How Loyola Chicago's Last Final Four Appearance Changed College Basketball In a true Cinderella story, Loyola Chicago is in the NCAA Men's basketball Final Four. The last time they were here, 1963, it wasn't nearly as shocking, but it did help change the face of college basketball. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA A Visit To Topeka: Reflecting On Linda Brown's Legacy Linda Brown, the 9-year-old old whose name was enshrined in the landmark 1954 Supremem Court ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, died this past Sunday. She was 75. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA "I Failed To Protect Her," Congresswoman Apologizes For Alleged Abuse Within Office Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn., vowed to do better following reports she allowed her chief of staff to keep his position for months after being informed he had abused another staffer. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA In Denmark's Plan To Rid Country Of 'Ghettos,' Some Immigrants Hear 'Go Home' Officially designated as "ghettos," 25 areas with a high percentage of immigrant residents will be abolished. The government's goal is integration. "What they mean is 'go home,'" one immigrant says. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Arizona Teachers Threatening To Strike If They Don't Get A Pay Raise A group of Arizona educators rallied at the state capitol on Wednesday, demanding a 20 percent pay raise. Republican Gov. Doug Ducey says that's a no-go. Noah Karvelis, an organizer and music teacher, tells NPR's Ailsa Chang about their next steps. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Attorneys Will Factor In Impact Of #MeToo Movement In New Bill Cosby Trial Nearly a year after jurors failed to reach a verdict on sexual assault charges against Bill Cosby, the comedian is about to be tried again. This time attorneys will be factoring in the impact of the #MeToo movement on the jury. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Atlanta Paralyzed For More Than A Week By Cyber Attack The city of Atlanta has entered its eighth day crippled by a cyber attack. NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with WABE's Tasnim Shamma about how the city is coping. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 14 Palestinians Killed, Hundreds More Wounded In Violence Near Gaza Border Several Palestinians were killed and hundreds injured by Israeli forces in protests near the border fence between Gaza and Israel. The region awaits to see if the violence will spiral. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA As Syrian War Continues, Only 1 Rebel Group Remains In Eastern Ghouta It's been a dramatic, pivotal week in the Syrian war. Just one rebel group is left in Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus. Some have fled their homes while others say they haven't given up yet. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Wife Of Orlando Nightclub Gunman Acquitted Of All Charges A jury has acquitted the only person charged in connection with the 2016 Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando, Fla. Prosecutors had accused the gunman's widow, Noor Salman, of obstructing justice and helping her husband plan the attack. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin Weighs In On Tensions Between U.S. And Russia NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, about the tensions between Russia and the U.S after a tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats from their countries. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Family Of Stephon Clark Releases Findings Of Independent Autopsy The family of Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man shot and killed by Sacramento police officers, released the results of an independent autopsy at a news conference. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Week In Politics: Turnover In Trump's Cabinet Continues As Tensions With Russia Escalate Tensions are escalating between the U.S. and Russia and there's another shakeup in the president's cabinet. David Brooks of the New York Times and E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post and the Brookings Institution join NPR's Ari Shapiro to discuss the week in politics. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA The Economy Is Soaring, But President Trump's Approval Rating Remains Low Nearly all financial indicators show American optimism about the economy is soaring. But, it's not clear that it's benefitting Donald Trump. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Putin Fends Off Fire And Fury, At Home And Abroad Russia's government has used the Siberian mall fire and diplomatic expulsions to help portray Putin is the only man who can protect and lead Russia through tough times. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Pope To World: Hell Does Exist An article by an avowed atheist quoted the Pontiff allegedly saying, "Hell does not exist." That set social media aflame and now the Vatican is reminding believers that bad people go to a bad place. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 6 Of 8 Shots Hit Stephon Clark's Back, Independent Family Autopsy Finds The city has experienced nearly two weeks of protests since 22-year-old Clark was killed by two police officers. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 30 Dogs Feared Dead Following Michigan Kennel Fire The fire broke out early Friday, reportedly engulfing the kennel by the time firefighters arrived, leaving them unable to make a rescue. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 'Times' Column Is Slammed For Its Portrayal Of Central African Republic New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote the op-ed to draw attention to the country's conflict and suffering. It was criticized on social media for its "shallow" reporting. What's his response? Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Seth Rich's Brother Files Lawsuit Alleging Baseless Claims On DNC Hack Dallas investor Ed Butowsky is sued a third time over conspiracy theories linking a DNC staffer's death to the leak of party emails. The suit also names an online activist and The Washington Times. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 36-Year-Old Accountant Called In As Emergency NHL Goalie — And He Crushed It "The initial shock happened when I had to dress," Foster said after the Hawks' 6-2 victory. "You just kind of black out after that." Read more on NPR

#Breaking 36-Year-Old Accountant Called In As Emergency NHL Goalie — And He Crushed It "The initial shock happened when I had to dress," Foster said after the Hawks' 6-2 victory. "You just kind of black out after that." Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 'Beer Girls' Break Up Global Fund/Heineken Party A controversial partnership to "fight infectious diseases in Africa' has been put on hold. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Orlando Nightclub Gunman's Widow Acquitted Noor Salman, widow of Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, was charged with obstruction of justice and supporting a terrorist organization. Host David Greene talks to Amy Green of member station WMFE. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Taj Mahal: You Don't Have To Go Home, But You've Got To Get Out Of Here (In 3 Hours) A new rule set to go into effect this weekend limits the amount of time guests may linger at the Indian site, as officials seek to regulate the movement of visitors. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA The Fall Of Harriet Miers: A Cautionary Tale For Dr. Ronny Jackson? Both Miers, picked as a justice, and Jackson, chosen for the VA, were known for strong praise of the presidents they served and resumes with questionable alignment to the jobs they were picked for. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Wife Of Orlando Nightclub Shooter Cleared Of All Charges Prosecutors had accused Salman of obstructing justice and helping her husband, Omar Mateen, plan the 2016 attack that left 50 people dead, including Mateen. On Friday she was acquitted of both counts. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Seven Palestinians Killed By Israeli Troops In Demonstrations Along Gaza Border Tensions are high as Palestinians are staging big "March of Return" rallies along the border for the next six weeks, in advance of the 70th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Israeli Troops, Palestinian Protesters Clash; At Least 7 Dead Protests along the border of the Gaza strip turned violent Friday; Palestinian officials say at least seven Palestinians have been killed. Host Noel King talks to NPR's Daniel Estrin in Jerusalem. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA For Passover, These Orthodox Jews Are Cooking On Live TV Chabad-Lubavitch Jews don't watch TV, but they'll often appear on on local news across the U.S. during holidays. Their goal: to share recipes, promote Jewish observance and educate the general public. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 2 Coalition Personnel Killed In Syria Two people were killed and five wounded by an improvised explosive device in Syria, the U.S.-led coalition said Friday. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Advertisers Ditch Laura Ingraham After She Mocks Parkland Activist Ingraham tweeted that Parkland shooting survivor and gun-control activist David Hogg whined about being rejected from four colleges. She later apologized after Hogg called for a boycott of her show. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Democrats Call For Senate Hearing Over 2020 Census And Citizenship Question Four Democrats on the Senate oversight committee for the Census Bureau say they're worried the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census is "tainted by improper political considerations." Read more on NPR

#Breaking Accountant Gets His Big Break As Blackhawks Emergency Goalie A series of injuries caused the Chicago Blackhawks to call on an unexpected emergency goalie, 36-year-old Chicago accountant Scott Foster. Read more on NPR

#Breaking A Little League Of Her Own: The First Girl In Little League Baseball At 13, Kay Johnston pretended to be a boy and played first base for her Little League team in upstate N.Y. That was in the 1950s. Now 81, Kay Johnston Massar says "I just wanted to play the game." Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Using Pentagon Money To Pay For A Border Wall Is Harder Than It Seems President Trump spoke to Defense Secretary James Mattis about using military money to build the wall. But Congress — and the Constitution — might get in the way. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA K-Pop Stars Red Velvet Set To Perform In Pyongyang This Weekend One of the genre's hottest acts is performing a two-song set, illustrating how the cultural export has been used strategically as a carrot and a stick. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Time's Running Out For Many Frail, Older People In Puerto Rico Ausberto Maldonado picked corn and asparagus for years on the U.S. mainland, before retiring in Puerto Rico. He has diabetes, and as the island's safety net wears thin, he's struggling to survive. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA As Atlanta Seeks To Restore Services, Ransomware Attacks Are On The Rise The FBI says the practice of locking computer systems in exchange for money has become increasingly common, and that cities, schools and hospitals are especially vulnerable to hackers. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Turning Kids Into Readers, One Barbershop At A Time Alvin Irby is on a mission to get kids reading in the barbershop. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Sacramento Still Dealing With Unrest And Anger As Stephon Clark's Funeral Takes Place The funeral for Stephon Clark took place on Thursday, with Rev. Al Sharpton offering the eulogy for the 22-year-old man killed by police in Sacramento last week. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Sessions Says 'No' To Republican Requests For A Second Special Counsel Sessions said a special counsel is reserved for extraordinary circumstances, and argues that the GOP allegations do not rise to that level. Instead, Sessions has assigned the U.S. attorney for Utah. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Austin Police Chief On Bomber: 'He Was A Domestic Terrorist' On Thursday, Interim Chief Brian Manley said he's now "very comfortable" calling Mark Conditt a terrorist. Conditt killed two people and injured four others before blowing himself up. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Chinese Dissident Discusses Life And Identity In America After Immigrating Lauren Hilgers's new book Patriot Number One: American Dreams in Chinatown charts the journey of one Chinese dissident, Zhuang Liehong, who immigrates to Queens, N.Y. from his village in Wukan, China. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Tech Stocks Have Lost Some Of Their Luster, Dragging The Stock Market Lower Technology stocks ranging from Amazon to Facebook to Apple have been hammered in recent days, driving broader declines in the market. There are growing calls to regulate big tech companies. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Opening Day: Baseball Is Longer Than Ever, But MLB Is Trying To Change That Winter is over, and the game is going to look slightly different than last year. The league is trying to speed up the pace of play with rule changes. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Opening Day: Baseball Is Longer Than Ever, But MLB Is Trying To Change That Winter is over, and the game is going to look slightly different than last year. The league is trying to speed up the pace of play with rule changes. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA What If A Drug Could Make Your Blood Deadly To Mosquitoes? That's what researchers wondered as they look at new ways to stop the spread of malaria. A new study reports on the impact of ivermectin on skeeters. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Baseball's Back And So Are The Yankees. Here Are This Season's Super Teams NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with ESPN reporter Marly Rivera about what to expect as another season of Major League Baseball starts up. She says the Yankees aren't the only talented team to watch. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Nobel Peace Laureate Malala Yousafzai Visits Pakistan For First Time Since Leaving Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai is in Pakistan — her first trip back since she was shot in the head by the Taliban five years ago. She was given a dignitary's welcome. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Federal Judge Allows Emoluments Lawsuit Against President Trump To Proceed Last year, Maine Gov. Paul LePage stayed at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, a federal judge cited the visit as evidence in an emoluments case against President Trump. NPR's Audie Cornish talks to Portland Press Herald reporter Scott Thistle, who broke the story last year. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Funeral Held For Stephon Clark As Unrest Continues In Sacramento At Stephon Clark's funeral Thursday, Rev. Al Sharpton gave a eulogy to the man shot by police in Sacramento last week. Hundreds of residents went to City Hall Tuesday to express their anger about the shooting. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Republican Sen. Jerry Moran Weighs In On Firing Of VA Secretary Shulkin There's more turnover in President Trump's cabinet — this time at the Department of Veterans Affairs. NPR's Ailsa Chang talks to Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, about oversight of the department and the confirmation process of the person picked to lead it. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Johan van Hulst, Who Saved Hundreds Of Jewish Children During The Holocaust, Dies At 107 Dutch schoolteacher Johan van Hulst saved hundreds of Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during WWII. He died last week at 107. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 1 Year Later: What People In The U.K. Think About Brexit Progress Britain triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty one year ago, which began the official Brexit process. NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Bloomberg reporter Charlotte Ryan, who was on the team that traveled around the U.K. talking to people about how they think Brexit is going. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA How Veteran Groups Are Reacting To The Departure Of VA Secretary Shulkin Garry Augustine, executive director of Disabled American Veterans, speaks with NPR's Audie Cornish about how veteran groups are responding to the the news of VA Secretary David Shulkin's firing. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Why The Number Of Independent Bookstores Increased During The 'Retail Apocalypse' Between 2009 and 2015, the number of independent bookstores grew by 35 percent. This happened during the so-called "retail apocalypse," which has pitted Amazon against every retail outlet in America. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA A Comparison Of How The Government Responded To Hurricanes Harvey And Maria Politico reporter Danny Vinik found some striking differences in the way the federal government responded to Hurricanes Harvey and Maria. NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Vinik about the findings. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Departure Of VA Secretary Shulkin Doesn't End Debate Of Privatization The departure of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin does not end the debate over how far the agency should privatize. Neither the president nor his nominee have given their views on the subject. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Baseball's Back And So Are The Yankees. Here Are This Season's Super Teams NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with ESPN reporter Marly Rivera about what to expect as another season of Major League Baseball starts up. She says the Yankees aren't the only talented team to watch. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Yazidis Remain In Fear On Iraq's Mount Sinjar After Attempted Genocide When ISIS invaded their villages in northern Iraq in 2014, tens of thousands of Yazidis fled for safety. Now their community leader says over 4,000 remain up on a mountain. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Why 300,000 Volkswagens Are Being Stored In These Massive Auto Boneyards Dramatic photos show thousands of the cars awaiting their fate. Volkswagen says it has paid more than $7.4 billion to buy back diesel cars in the U.S. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 'Serial' Subject Adnan Syed Deserves A New Trial, Appeals Court Rules Maryland's second-highest court has upheld a ruling vacating Syed's murder conviction, which the hit podcast covered. Syed will be re-tried in a lower court, provided Thursday's ruling isn't appealed. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA How One Group Is Seeding Victims' Rights Laws Across The Country Methodically moving state by state, a group funded by a California billionaire is working its way toward adding a victims' rights amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA VIDEO: What Would You Do If A Cheetah Jumped Into Your Car For 10 Minutes? Wildlife photographer Peter Heistein kept calm and shot video as a cheetah checked out the interior of his vehicle on a safari in Tanzania. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Russia Retaliates, Expels 60 American Diplomats After U.S. Action Russia's foreign minister announced the expulsion of the officials and the closure of the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg on Thursday. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Gonorrhea Strain Thwarts 2 Main Drugs, Raising Concerns It's Becoming Untreatable This is the latest in a long history of gonorrhea developing resistance to antibiotics. It's the first global report of gonorrhea that is resistant to the two main drugs used to treat it. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Boy From Viral Police Photo Missing After Fatal Family Car Crash Police want to know why the family's vehicle crashed into the Pacific Ocean at the bottom of a California cliff. Five members of the Hart family died, Devonte and two of his sisters remain missing. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 'Aggressive' Advance Directive Permits Halting Food And Water In Severe Dementia Supporters call this right-to-die proposal the strongest move yet to document a person's advance wishes in cases of severe dementia. Critics say it would deny basic care to society's most vulnerable. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Daughter Of Ex-Russian Spy 'Improving Rapidly,' U.K. Health Officials Say Yulia Skripal was poisoned with her father, Sergei, in an alleged nerve agent attack. While an international dispute has raged, Yulia has been progressing — but Sergei is still in critical condition. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Move Over, Brisket. There Are Fresher Foods 'Too Good To Passover' If the idea of the same-old brisket is giving you the Passover blues this year, author Jennifer Abadi will inspire a lighter, brighter table with Jewish recipes from all over the world. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Why The Iconic Marlboro Man Image Is Fading In The West A lot of cowboys built up a their stock on U.S. public lands. But today the number of actual independent cattlemen working on these lands is dropping. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Record Company Executive Out Following Sexual Misconduct Investigation Charlie Walk, former president of Republic Records, is leaving the company. Republic tells NPR Music that they "have mutually agreed to part ways." Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA With Cupcakes And Courage, Myanmar Stages 'Vagina Monologues' Right up to the opening curtain, organizers of the performance weren't sure that the play would be welcome in their very conservative country. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA 'Aggressive' Advance Directive Permits Halting Food And Water In Severe Dementia Supporters call this right-to-die proposal the strongest move yet to document a person's advance wishes in cases of severe dementia. Critics say it would deny basic care to society's most vulnerable. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Report: Michigan State Spent $500,000 To Keep Tabs On Nassar Victims, Journalists The Lansing State Journal reports that emails show public relations firm Weber Shandwick charged more than $500,000 for monitoring the social media activity of Larry Nassar's victims and journalists. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Fired VA Secretary Says White House Muzzled Him David Shulkin, the ousted Veterans Affairs chief, tells NPR political forces in the Trump administration want to privatize the VA. And during an ethics controversy, he was not allowed to respond. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Sessions Pushes To Speed Up Immigration Courts, Deportations Attorney General Jeff Sessions is moving to reshape the immigration courts by clearing a massive backlog of cases. Critics say he's considering unprecedented changes in order to speed up deportations. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Hot Agnostic Buns: A Proposal For A Pagan-Christian-Secular Easter Treat Hot cross buns have been an Easter treat for centuries. But before that, pagans exchanged them as part of a spring ritual celebrating the four seasons or the phases of the moon. Can they morph again? Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Funeral For Stephon Clark To Begin As Sacramento Unrest Continues More protests are expected Thursday in a city that has experienced nearly two weeks of continuous unrest after the shooting of a 22-year-old unarmed black man by two police officers. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Will Trump And Guns Be Enough To Unseat An Endangered House Republican? Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman is one of the GOP's most battle-tested incumbents. In 2018, President Trump's unpopularity and an energized Democratic base present his toughest hurdles to re-election yet. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Fentanyl-Laced Cocaine Becoming A Deadly Problem Among Drug Users The powerful opioid fentanyl is showing up in batches of cocaine, threatening a new wave of opioid overdoses. Some doctors, drug users and law enforcement wonder if the contamination is deliberate. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Fire Breaks Out During Riot At Venezuelan Jail, Leaving 68 Dead Venezuela's prisons are notoriously overcrowded. Relatives of detainees clashed with police in riot gear outside the facility. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Uber Reaches Settlement With Family Of Arizona Woman Killed By Driverless Car An attorney representing the daughter and husband of 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, says a settlement with the ride-hailing company has been reached, but provided no specifics. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Malala Yousafzai Returns To Pakistan For First Time Since 2012 Attack The education advocate and human rights campaigner became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate after being shot in the head at age 15 by a Taliban gunman. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Ex-Russian Spy Attacked By Nerve Agent Likely Poisoned At Home The Metropolitan Police says the highest concentration of the rare chemical was found on Sergei Skripal's front door in Salisbury, England. Investigators assure neighbors that they are safe. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Time Is Running Out For Atlanta In Ransomware Attack The deadline to pay off the hackers who have crippled many of the city's online services is fast approaching. It's uncertain whether the city will pay to save its data and it may even be too late. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Trump To Replace VA Secretary David Shulkin With Personal WH Doctor President Trump has named his personal White House doctor, Ronny Jackson, to take control over the sprawling Department of Veterans Affairs. Jackson will replace David Shulkin, who's been under scrutiny for ethical lapses. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Justice Department's Internal Watchdog To Review Alleged Surveillance Abuses The decision comes after Republicans and Democrats on the House intelligence committee released dueling memos in February about surveillance of a onetime Trump campaign foreign policy adviser. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Trump To Replace VA Secretary David Shulkin Shulkin began his tenure in the Trump administration with a few strikes against him. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Ecuador Disconnects Julian Assange From The Internet The government of Ecuador said Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living inside its London embassy, was jeopardizing its relationships with other countries in his social media posts. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Congress Takes A Brush To The Budget, Barring Federal Funds For Portraits President Trump signed the Eliminating Government-funded Oil-painting Act, or EGO Act, into law Tuesday, permanently banning the use of federal funds for painted images of government officials. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA A Look At The State Of School Integration 64 Years After Brown v. Board Of Education Linda Brown Thompson of Brown v. Board of Education died this week. In 1954, the decision was supposed to desegregate schools. Now, 64 years later, NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Georgetown University law professor Sheryll Cashin about the effects. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA President Trump Seems To Be Struggling To Find Replacements For His Legal Team President Trump's legal team has been in flux for more than a week and several top name attorneys have turned down the chance to work for him. This come as Robert Mueller's special counsel team is intact and moving forward amid that chaos. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA What Extreme Partisan Gerrymandering Could Mean For 2018 Midterms The Brennan Center for Justice has released a report on gerrymandering that says a Democratic takeover of the House is almost out of reach. Michael Li, the report's co-author, explains the findings. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Democrats See Opportunity In Dallas Suburb Thanks To Once Reliably GOP Voters Texas Republican Pete Sessions is running for reelection in a district that is an island of blue in a sea of red. But Democrats are sensing an opportunity in the area that Hillary Clinton won in 2016. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Former Disney Star Caroline Sunshine Joins The Trump White House Caroline Sunshine, 22, is one of several recent Trump administration hires to hold backgrounds in television. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Russia Has Yet To Formally Respond To Expulsion Of Its Diplomats Russian journalist Konstantin von Eggert speaks with NPR's Audie Cornish about how Russia is viewing the expulsion of its diplomats. So far, the Kremlin has not offered a formal response. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA What Kim Jong Un's Trip To China Means For Negotiations With North Korea North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to China this week on his first trip to another country since taking power. NPR's Audie Cornish talks with David Kang of the University of Southern California about the summit and what it means for ongoing negotiations with North Korea. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Why Teachers In High-Need Areas Are Now Saddled With Debt A new government study obtained by NPR finds that thousands of teachers have had their federal grants taken away and converted to loans, often for minor paperwork errors. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Emoluments Lawsuit Against President Trump Allowed To Proceed A federal judge ruled that Maryland and the District of Columbia can sue Trump. The states allege that he wrongly profits when foreign officials do business at the Trump hotel near the White House. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Facebook Down $80 Billion In Market Value, Playboy, SpaceX, Tesla Exit Facebook's stock has plunged 18 percent, and companies with large Facebook followings are pulling the drain on the platform's ad-revenue by deleting their official pages. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Mindful Eating Authors' Secret Recipe For Cooking And Living? There Is None Gurus Geneen Roth and Ed Espe Brown championed the idea that how we relate to food affects other aspects of our lives. In new personal essay collections, they reassess their past self-help advice. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Judge Dismisses Most Serious Charges In Penn State Hazing Death Charges of involuntary manslaughter against fraternity brothers were cast aside, but hazing charges are allowed to proceed. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA No Need To Sign On Dotted Line: Credit Cards Are Phasing Out Signatures Mastercard, Discover, American Express and Visa have all announced that they are limiting policies requiring you to make your mark. They say advances in technology make fraud less likely. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Opioid Treatment Program Helps Keep Families Together A mentoring program in Kentucky expedites treatment for some parents who lose custody of their children. The goal is to help parents get and stay sober, and reunite them with their kids within a year. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA All 22 Women Senators Call For Senate To Address Sexual Harassment Democratic and Republican women have come together to ask that their chamber take up legislation overhauling how harassment claims are handled on Capitol Hill. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Criticism Prompts Facebook To Change Privacy Controls Under intense public and regulatory scrutiny for recent debacles over how it allowed unauthorized access to millions of its users' data, Facebook changed privacy controls. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Deadline Nears For Elections Scott Walker Doesn't Want To Hold Judges want Scott Walker to hold special elections for two Wisconsin state legislative seats the governor says he doesn't need to hold. Democrats say Republicans fear losing the seats. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA Ohio Fertility Clinic Says 4,000 Eggs And Embryos Destroyed When Freezer Failed The hospital said its investigation suggested that the problems may have been caused by human error, mechanical failure, or both. "We failed our fertility clinic patients," said its CEO. Read more on NPR

#Breaking #News #USA U.S. Economy Grew At A Faster Pace Than Earlier Thought The Commerce Department revised its growth estimate upward to 2.9 percent for the fourth quarter. Consumer spending helped fuel the faster pace, but import purchases subtracted from growth. Read more on NPR