Hot USA News

#Breaking Washington Nationals Win 2019 World Series The Washington Nationals, against all odds, won the World Series Wednesday night over the Houston Astros. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Washington Post reporter Chelsea Janes about the victory. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Changing The Game? The NCAA Opens The Door For Athletes To Profit The ruling body has bowed to pressure from several states. Read more on NPR

#Breaking The Nationals' Long Road To Win The World Series The Washington Nationals are World Series champions for the first time in the team's 15-year history. Read more on NPR

#Breaking The NBA And Hong Kong Protests As protests continue to unfold in Hong Kong, the NBA and star LeBron James continue to be drawn into the controversy. NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks to The Ringer's Jordan Ritter Conn. Read more on NPR

#Breaking D.C. Celebrates World Series Win Washington baseball fans crowded into Nationals Park to watch their team win the World Series despite the rain and the game being in Houston. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Nationals Beat Astros 6-2 To Win The 2019 World Series The Nats were handcuffed by Houston starter Zack Greinke who gave up only 2 hits in six innings. Washington scored all six runs in the last three innings. Read more on NPR

#Breaking An Argument For Not Allowing College Athletes To Earn Compensation NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Ekow Yankah, author of The New Yorker essay, "Why N.C.A.A. Athletes Shouldn't Be Paid," about the NCAA's decision to allow college athletes to earn compensation. Read more on NPR

#Breaking What Stats Tell Us About How Much Being The Home Team Matters In Sports NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with statistician Michael Lopez about how for the first time ever in a seven game series the road team has won each of the first six games. Read more on NPR

#Breaking NCAA Athletes And Money The NCAA's board of governors voted to permit student-athletes to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness. Steve Inkseep talks to Kavitha Davidson of The Athletic. Read more on NPR

#Breaking News Brief: Vindman Testifies On Trump Ukraine Call, ISIS, NCAA An Army lieutenant colonel who listened in on the phone call between Trump and the president of Ukraine in July testified behind closed doors Tuesday. Also, an update on ISIS and the NCAA. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Nationals Beat Astros 7-2 In Game 6 Of The World Series The game featured timely home runs, stifling pitching by the Nationals' Stephen Strasburg, and a controversial call by the umpires that could have changed the course of the game. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Nepalese Climber Summits World's 14 Highest Peaks In 6 Months, Smashing Record "I hope to have proven that anything is possible with some determination, self-belief and positivity," said climber Nirmal Purja. The previous record-holder took more than seven years longer. Read more on NPR

#Breaking NCAA 'Starts Process' To Allow Compensation For College Athletes The NCAA says it's only starting to work out the details of how athletes would be compensated. The governing body's decision Tuesday reverses course on its longstanding objection to the idea. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Vlatko Andonovski Is Chosen To Coach U.S. Women's National Team The 43-year-old takes the helm after a successful stint leading the Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League. He replaces Jill Ellis, the winningest coach in USWNT history. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Two More Horses Die At Santa Anita Park As It Prepares To Host Breeders' Cup Two horses sustained severe injuries at the racetrack and were euthanized. Since late December, there have been 36 fatal incidents at the park. Read more on NPR

#Breaking 'Lock Him Up': Trump Greeted With Boos And Jeers At World Series Game Baseball fans greeted President Trump with loud boos and jeers at Nationals Park on Sunday night. Some also put a spin on a refrain Trump supporters have chanted against Hillary Clinton. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Nationals' Fan Doesn't Drop Beer When Astros' Ball Comes At Him Jeff Adams was holding a beer as the ball was flying in his direction. The ball hit by a Houston Astro player smacked the Washington fan in his rib cage, but Adams didn't spill his bear. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Houston Astros Take 3-2 World Series Lead Over Washington Nationals The Houston Astros have taken a 3-2 lead in the World Series, after defeating Washington 7-1 in Game 5 in the nation's capital, pushing the underdog Nationals to the edge of elimination. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Nike's Controversially Fast New Shoes NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with Amby Burfoot, lifelong runner and former editor-in-chief at Runner's World, about the super-fast Nike shoes that might give runners an unfair advantage. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Major In Esports At Ohio State Ohio State is launching an esports and games studies undergraduate major. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Astros Tie World Series 2-2 After Game 4 Win Over Nationals The Houston Astros tied the series 2-2 after beating the Washington Nationals 8-1 in Game 4 of the World Series. Read more on NPR

#Breaking In An Exhausted Washington, The Nationals' World Series Run Brings Positivity NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Andy Shallal, founder of D.C.-based restaurant and bookstore chain Busboys and Poets, about what the Nationals playing in the World Series means to the city. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Saturday Sports: World Series The World Series match up between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros isn't the only drama for the Texas team. Their pitcher was mocked by Yankees fans and their assistant GM was canned. Read more on NPR

#Breaking 70 Years Of The Zamboni 70 years ago, the owner of a California skating rink created a machine to resurface the ice in mere minutes. He gave it his family name and Zambonis have been making ice nice ever since. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Astros Beat Nationals 4-1 In Game 3 Of 2019 World Series Houston got on the board first and led throughout the game as Washington stranded 12 runners. The Nationals lead the best-of-seven series 2-1. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Some Baseball Players Are Entering 'Income Pooling' Agreements To Fix Imbalance A career in baseball is a gamble. A few guys make a ton of money, and most make very little. Some baseball players are taking advantage of that imbalance and entering into "income pooling" agreements. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Animal Shelter Names Dogs After Nationals As Team Prepares For World Series Game 3 Just in time for Game 3 of the World Series between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros, a Washington, D.C., animal shelter is giving away dogs named after Washington players. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Houston Fans Worry World Series Losses Mark Return Of 'Choke City' Nickname The Houston Astros are down two games to none in the World Series. Some fans are worried the losses spell the return of Houston's "Choke City" nickname, but are hanging on and rooting for their team. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Juan Soto Of The Nationals Brings Dominican Zest To The World Series He's one of many Dominican players in the major leagues. In fact, every team has a training academy in the Dominican Republic. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Astros Fire Team Official Over Comments To Reporters The Houston Astros have fired a top team official who taunted female reporters in the team's locker-room during a celebration of the team's pennant-clinching victory over the New York Yankees. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Meet The Nationals' Lifetime Fans The Washington Nationals are playing in their first World Series. For the team's youngest fans, it's a really big deal. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Houston Astros Fire Assistant General Manager After Uproar Over Comments To Reporters The Houston Astros fired assistant general manager Brandon Taubman for inappropriate comments directed at a group of female reporters. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Astros Fire Assistant GM Who Made 'Inappropriate' Comments To Female Reporters The club said it had terminated Brandon Taubman following a fuller investigation. The Astros had previously denied the account of a Sports Illustrated reporter who had written about his outburst. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Pence Chides NBA, Nike For 'Losing Their Voices' On China Vice President Mike Pence accused the NBA and Nike of giving in to China with actions that served to censor expressions of support for the Hong Kong protests. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Nationals' Parra Rocks Shades With Clear Rims And Red Lenses Outfielder Gerardo Parra and some teammates snagged free sunglasses at a sparkling water promotion in Detroit. They decided the shades might be lucky. They're working — the Nats lead the series 2-0. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Nationals And Astros Tied 2-2 In Game 2 Of The 2019 World Series The Houston Astros, playing at home, are looking to tie the Series at a game a piece after losing the opener Tuesday night 5-4. Read more on NPR

#Breaking In Puerto Rico, The Days Of Legal Cockfighting Are Numbered A congressional ban on the sport was a victory for animal rights activists, but on the island, many say that cockfighting is part of their culture — and they're willing to take the sport underground. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Indonesian Woman Breaks Speed Climbing World Record Aries Susanti Rahayu, 24, who's know as Spiderwoman, claimed the new title. The Guardian reports the event is like running a race while doing pull-ups. And, Rahayu did it with an injured hand. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Nationals Lead Astros 5-2 In Game 1 Of World Series Washington's Juan Soto was the star of the first half of the game, hitting a solo home run, then a two-run double that gave his team a 5-2 lead over Houston. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Astros Executive's Rant at Reporters Draws Firestorm On Eve of Series As the Houston Astros prepare for Game 1 of the World Series, the front office grapples with fallout from assistant general manager Brandon Taubman's profane rant targeting female reporters. Read more on NPR

#Breaking New Charges Against Lori Loughlin And 10 Other Parents In Admissions Case New federal charges were filed Tuesday against a total of 18 defendants accused of being part of a conspiracy to cheat their children into top colleges. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Michiganders Get A Late Autumn Surfing Opportunity With Lake Waves As High As 13 Feet Surf's up in one of the most unlikely places today. Unusually high waves are pounding Lake Michigan shore and exciting some end-of-the-season surfers. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Vermont Girls' Soccer Team Protests For Equal Pay In Solidarity With USWNT NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with three co-captains of the Burlington High School girls' soccer team in Vermont about their protest last week in solidarity with the equal pay campaign of the USWNT. Read more on NPR

#Breaking NBA's New Season Opens Tuesday Night With 2 Games This is the first NBA season in years that the Golden State Warriors aren't the favorites. Player trades and maneuvers over the summer have moved several teams into contention. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Astros And Nationals Set To Face Off As World Series Starts Tuesday In Houston The Astros won their second pennant in three years and hope to cement themselves as one of the best teams of the decade. The Nationals are making their first-ever Series appearance. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Horses Have Continued To Die As New Season Begins At Santa Anita Park The Santa Anita race track near Los Angeles is preparing for the high profile Breeders' Cup next month. But horse deaths have continued this season, despite government investigations. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Horses Have Continued To Die As New Season At Santa Anita Park Is Set To Begin The Santa Anita race track near Los Angeles is preparing for the high profile Breeders' Cup next month. But horse deaths have continued this season, despite government investigations. Read more on NPR

#Breaking What To Watch For During This Nationals-Astros World Series Match-Up The World Series starts Tuesday. The Houston Astros will host the Washington Nationals for Game 1. NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Washington Post reporter Dave Sheinin about the match-up. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Saturday Sports: World Series It's all about baseball as NPR's Scott Simon talks with ESPN's Howard Bryant about the World Series matchup, and about Yankees fans behaving badly. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Opinion: For Washington's Nats, A Long And Winding Road To The World Series The complicated history of baseball in Washington, D.C., makes it difficult to pin down the most recent example of a hometown team making it to the World Series. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Heading Out On The Ice With Adam Rippon In his new book, the figure skater opens up about his road to the Olympics and beyond. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Golfer Adds Big Penalties For Standing Caddie Lee Ann Walker had to add penalty strokes for having her caddie stand behind her as she putted in a tournament in French Lick, Ind. She wasn't aware of the rule change. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Washington Nationals Head To The World Series For The 1st Time There's not a lot that folks in Washington, D.C., seem to be able to agree on except one thing: there's plenty of excitement about the Nationals making it to the World Series for the first time. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Not Since 1933 Has Washington Won A Spot In The World Series The Washington Nationals won the National League pennant Tuesday night after sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in four games. The Nats will face the winner of the Astros-Yankees series. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Controversial Referee Call Helped Green Bay Win Monday Night Football The NFL admits a disputed call during Monday night's game between Detroit and Green Bay was a mistake by the officials. The league has been criticized all season for referee blunders. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Back From China, LeBron James Speaks Out On NBA Controversy James said he believed Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey "wasn't educated on the situation at hand" when he expressed support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Simone Biles Becomes Most Decorated Gymnast In History The 22-year-old Simone Biles won her 24th and 25th medals at the world gymnastics championships in Germany over the weekend, surpassing the previous 23 medals won by male gymnast Vitaly Scherbo. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Saints Of Football Welcome Pope's Inadvertent Blessing On Twitter this weekend, Pope Francis celebrated five newly recognized #saints — but that hastag is usually about the New Orleans Saints. The team went on to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 13-6. Read more on NPR

#Breaking An Emotional First For Some Iranian Women Allowed To Enter Soccer Stadium For the first time in decades, Iranian women were allowed to attend a soccer match in Tehran's Azadi Stadium. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Kenyan Brigid Kosgei Smashes Women's World Record At Chicago Marathon The 25-year-old runner finished in a time of 2:14:04 on Sunday, beating the previous record set by Britain's Paula Radcliffe in 2003 by 81 seconds. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Simone Biles Becomes The Most Decorated Gymnast In World Championship History Combining skills of unprecedented difficulty with flawless execution, the 22-year-old surpassed Vitaly Scherbo's record 23 world medals won in the 1990s. Biles copped five golds at the championships. Read more on NPR

#Breaking 'Exalting The Banal To The Monumental' Through California Skate Parks The state that gave birth to modern skateboarding is home to concrete playgrounds that are works of art in the eyes of photographer Amir Zaki: "They become more imaginative and open as spaces." Read more on NPR

#Breaking Eliud Kipchoge Dashes Past 2-Hour Marathon Barrier In Assisted Event Accompanied by pacemakers and an electric car, the Kenyan runner set a record Saturday that was long considered not humanly possible. He clocked in at 1:59:40 on crossing the finish line in Austria. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Saturday Sports: China And The NBA, Washington Mystics, Simone Biles The China-NBA spat heats up, the Washington Mystics are WNBA champs and American gymnast Simone Biles wins her fifth all-around world title. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Michael Leighton On His Life In Hockey Michael Leighton played professional hockey for 21 teams in 18 years. He just retired at age 38 and tells NPR's Scott Simon about his career as a journeyman goalie. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Opinion: NBA Sidelines Free Speech In Favor Of China Scott Simon says the NBA has been handling China with kid gloves, in contrast with how outspoken coaches and players have been with their thoughts on America. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Blizzard Entertainment Faces Public Backlash Following Esports Player Ban In the days after the company banned a Hong Kong player from competing, people across the world have denounced Blizzard and shown their support for pro-democracy protests. Read more on NPR

#Breaking The News Roundup - International We unpack the NBA vs. China, U.S. troops moving out of northern Syria as Turkey moves in, trade negotiations and more. Read more on NPR

#Breaking NBA Calls Off News Conferences For Players In China As Controversy Lingers The NBA says it made the move after conferring with players. A league source tells NPR that the Lakers and Nets — who are playing Saturday — can hold their own media gatherings if they want to. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Before The Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey Was A Numbers Whiz In Boston Before Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey was thrust into international spotlight this week for supporting Hong Kong protesters, he first built his reputation as a numbers whiz in Boston. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Simone Biles Wins Another World Championship Medal Biles got closer to surpassing Vitaly Scherbo with a dominant performance Thursday. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Simone Biles Becomes Most Decorated Gymnast In World Championship History Biles surpassed Vitaly Scherbo with a dominant performance Thursday. She now stands alone with 26 medals on the world championship stage. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Thousands Of Women Will At Last Be Allowed To Attend A Soccer Match In Iran "After all these years watching every match on TV, I'm going to be able to experience everything in person," said Raha Purbakhsh, one of 3,500 women who bought tickets to Thursday's game. Read more on NPR

#Breaking A WAG Drama Unfolds In Britain NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Elizabeth Paton of The New York Times about a revelation from Coleen Rooney, wife of footballer Wayne Rooney, about a friend leaking personal stories to tabloids. Read more on NPR

#Breaking FIFA Disciplines Hong Kong Football Association After Chinese National Anthem Protest Fans at the Hong Kong vs. Iran World Cup qualifier game in September faced backward and booed as the Chinese national anthem played before kickoff. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Simone Biles Breaks Medals Record As Team USA Wins Gymnastic World Championship The 22-year-old gymnast led Team USA to their fifth consecutive world championship. She is now just three medals away from becoming the all-time world leader. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Analysis: The Long Arm Of China And Free Speech Doing business in China comes with major strings attached. This week, with the response to an NBA manager's tweet, it became evident that a few provocative words can cause those strings to tighten. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Stuffed With Sockeye Salmon, 'Holly' Wins 'Fat Bear Week' Heavyweight Title The annual competition is put on by Alaska's Katmai National Park & Preserve to choose the fattest bear. This year, Holly beat out Lefty in the championship round, winning 80 percent of the votes. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Blizzard Entertainment Bans Esports Player After Pro-Hong Kong Comments The developer of World of Warcraft and Hearthstone said a player known as Blitzchung went over the line when he said, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times!" Read more on NPR

#Breaking NBA Defends 'Freedom Of Speech' For Employees As China Moves To Block Games "The long-held values of the NBA are to support the freedom of expression," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says, after the league is criticized for its response to a tweet about Hong Kong. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Houston Rockets, NBA Face Backlash After Tweet Supporting Hong Kong Protesters The Houston Rockets' general manager deleted his tweet, but the team immediately faced backlash from China, where the NBA has a big following. Ben Cohen, a Wall Street Journal reporter, explains. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Virtual Reality Goes To Work, Helping Train Employees In the virtual world, cashiers are taught to show greater empathy, mechanics learn to repair planes, and retail workers experience how to deal with armed robbery. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Houston Rockets Face Backlash After Manager Tweets Support For Hong Kong Protests The NBA's Houston Rockets are facing backlash in China after the team's general manager tweeted out support for protests in Hong Kong. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Houston Rockets GM Apologizes For Tweet Supporting Hong Kong Protesters On Friday, Daryl Morey tweeted: "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong." But he issued an apology after receiving backlash from the Chinese Basketball Association and others. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Simone Biles Has 2 More Signature Moves Under Her Name After World Championships The 22-year-old star gymnast landed a double-double dismount from the balance beam that will now be known as the "Biles," and a triple-double that is being dubbed the "Biles II." Read more on NPR

#Breaking Activist On California NCAA Law A new California law allows college athletes to profit from their own name, image and likeness. NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks about it with Harry Edwards, an activist and former NCAA athlete. Read more on NPR

#Breaking It's Fat Bear Week In Alaska's Katmai National Park — Time To Fill Out Your Bracket Bears preparing for hibernation need to eat as much as they can for the winter. In Alaska, it's turned into an Ursine March Madness with bears going head to head to see who is the fattest. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Hoop Dreams Come True For South Sudanese Wheelchair Player After contracting polio, Malat Lueth Wei used to play soccer with his hands. Now he's a top wheelchair basketball player — and has even introduced the sport to players in his homeland. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Saturday Sports: Baseball Playoffs Major League Baseball playoffs are underway. Additionally, one-game wild card playoffs can rob the season of drama. Scott Simon talks with ESPN's Howard Bryant. Read more on NPR

#Breaking New Owners Of 'Sports Illustrated' Set Massive Layoffs, Journalists Rebel In meetings Thursday afternoon, managers told staff members of the 65-year-old magazine that about half the newsroom would be laid off, according to two people present at the meetings. Read more on NPR

#Breaking The Lineup Is Set For Major League Baseball's Playoffs The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Oakland Athletics to advance in post-season baseball. The night before, the Washington Nationals won their wild card game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Are The Miami Dolphins Losing In Order To Get A Better Draft Pick? The NFL's Miami Dolphins have lost their first four games by staggering margins. Sports commentator Mike Pesca speculates on why the team is losing. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Will A Season Of Extremes Lead To An Extremely Entertaining MLB Postseason? Does having four 100-win teams in the playoffs for the first time make for an epic Major League Baseball postseason? NPR's Mary Louise Kelly gets a preview from The Ringer's Michael Baumann. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Nike Coach Alberto Salazar Is Hit With 4-Year Doping Ban Alberto Salazar is the head coach for long-distance running at the Nike Oregon Project, an elite program where he has worked with track stars such as Mo Farah. Read more on NPR

#Breaking Minnesota Boy Enters 5K Race But Accidently Finishes 10K Somewhere along the 5K race, Kade Lovell, 9, was told by a volunteer to "go straight." His mom didn't see him along the 5K route because his was running the 10K by mistake. He came in first place. Read more on NPR

#Breaking New California Law Allows College Athletes To Profit From Endorsements A new California law allows student athletes to make money from advertising that uses their name and image. The measure won't just benefit star athletes at elite universities. Read more on NPR