Issues
NFL and ESPN reach nonbinding agreement for sale of NFL Network and other media assets
Under the terms, ESPN will acquire NFL Network, NFL Fantasy and the rights to distribute the RedZone channel to cable and satellite operators and the league will get a 10% equity stake in ESPN.
This Tuscan startup sold all its olive oil in the U.S. Then came Trump’s tariffs
Americans love olive oil — and import 95% of it. But tariffs are making it harder for Europeans to sell it to Americans.
Birmingham’s Prince Hall Masonic Temple to be restored as hub of Black-owned businesses
The hall is one of Birmingham’s most significant, but worn, historic buildings. Plans to restore the eight-story, downtown are underway.
Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose
The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.
As Trump’s tariffs take shape, is America really winning?
Trump says his tariffs will spur America into a "golden age" — but that remains far from certain. Here are 5 things to know about how his trade policies could impact the U.S. and the global economy.
Russian volcano erupts days after monster quake shakes region
The volcano may have been primed to erupt before the magnitude 8.8 quake pushed it over the edge.
Pope Leo tells 1 million Catholic youths they are sign ‘different world is possible’
In his closing blessing for the Jubilee of Youth, Leo remembered the young people of Gaza and Ukraine and other countries "bloodied by war" who could not join their celebration.
Opinion: A little league heartbreak
The State Department denied one Venezuelan Little League team entry into the U.S., but allowed another. NPR's Scott Simon questions how the sports exemption to Trump's travel ban is being applied.
Remember running the mile in school? The Presidential Fitness Test is coming back
The Cold War-era test was a staple of school gyms for half a century before the Obama administration replaced it. Trump says his focus on childhood fitness is for both physical and patriotic reasons.
Today is the last day for many Education Department workers. Here’s what they did
Employees across multiple divisions agree: They can't imagine how the department will fulfill its legal obligations with roughly half its staff gone.
The job market is showing signs of weakness as Trump’s tariffs take effect
U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs in July, according to a report from the Labor Department Friday, as the unemployment rate inched up to 4.2%. Job gains for May and June were also revised sharply lower.
Alaska ignored budget crisis signs. Now, it doesn’t have money to fix schools.
Alaska has long ignored warning signs of a budget crisis. Now, it has no money to fix something that is posing serious health and safety risks to students and staff: crumbling rural schools.
The manhunt for Eric Rudolph was the largest in US history: How it began. How it finally ended
Eric Rudolph planted a bomb in 1998 at a Birmingham clinic that performed abortions. A new podcast explores the massive manhunt assembled to find him, and how his words and actions are possibly more accepted now, than they were then.
An MMA fighter Trump hosted at the White House loses appeal in his rape case
Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor used to be the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. President Trump, a UFC fan, hosted him at the White House for St. Patrick's Day this year.
In reversal, Defense Department will continue providing crucial satellite weather data
About a month after announcing that it would stop sharing data that hurricane forecasters and scientists rely on, the Navy now says it will continue distributing it.
What Trump’s threat to tariff Russia’s trade partners means for India
President Trump said India would pay the price for buying Russian oil and military equipment. Here is a look at how India, with one of Asia's largest economies, is responding.
Father James Martin has taken heat for his LGBTQ acceptance
Father James Martin has become one of the most well-known Catholic priests in the U.S. But his journey to the priesthood took him by surprise after a chance encounter with a documentary.
Not enough money for retirement? NPR wants to hear from you
Many adults over age 50 either have no retirement savings or worry they won't be able to support themselves during their post-working years. If that's you, NPR wants to hear your story.
Brown University strikes agreement with White House to restore lost federal funding
Brown University will pay $50 million to Rhode Island workforce development organizations in a deal with the Trump administration that restores lost federal research funding, officials said Wednesday.
What makes a tsunami — and what to do if one comes
Several factors help determine whether a given earthquake will generate a dangerous tsunami, but the process is not yet fully understood.
Capped Alabama coal ash pond still polluting groundwater 7 years after closure, lawsuit claims
Coosa Riverkeeper filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Alabama Power, alleging significant groundwater pollution violations from the utility’s Gadsden coal ash pond that has been capped in place since 2018.
Automakers are eating the cost of tariffs — for now
Last quarter, tariffs cost the auto industry billions of dollars. So far, that's come out of profits instead of being passed along to buyers. But that could change.
The U.S. economy rebounds to 3% growth in second quarter — but tariffs skew picture
The U.S. economy grew this spring after a slowdown earlier this year. A report from the Commerce Department shows the nation's GDP grew at an annual rate of 3% in the second quarter of the year.
Trump keeps pressuring the Fed to cut rates. Here’s why its independence matters
Trump has threatened to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, challenging the Fed's independence. Experts say he's not the first president to target the central bank, but he's the most public and aggressive.
The Fed is likely to hold interest rates steady despite intense pressure from Trump
The Federal Reserve is expected to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged, but a rate cut is possible in September. President Trump has been urging the central bank to lower borrowing costs.
Researchers find that songbirds sometimes get ‘divorced’
A new study from Oxford University finds that a common European songbird sometimes divorces its partner between breeding seasons.
UCLA reaches $6 million settlement with Jewish students over campus protests
The settlement comes after Jewish students and a professor argued their civil rights were violated when pro-Palestinian protesters blocked access to campus buildings during 2024 demonstrations.
Judges weigh preclearance requirement for Alabama congressional plans
Black voters and civil rights organizations, who brought a lawsuit that gave Alabama a new congressional map, are asking a three-judge panel to require any new congressional plans drawn in the next seven years go through federal review. The Alabama attorney general and the U.S. Department of Justice oppose the request.
Trump’s EPA wants to eliminate regulation for greenhouse gases
The Trump administration proposes eliminating a 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger people. That would undermine the EPA's climate change regulations for power plants and cars.
The EPA proposes gutting its greenhouse gas rules. Here’s what it means for cars and pollution
The Trump administration has effectively eliminated two rules designed to promote cleaner cars. Now, as the EPA suggests not considering carbon dioxide to be pollution, the last is poised to fall.
Family with a child facing cancer is divided after father detained by ICE agents
A Birmingham man, whose four-year-old daughter is battling cancer, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a routine immigration check-in two weeks ago. His wife said the father, a construction worker, faces deportation to Guatemala.
Are prices going up because of tariffs? Here’s what we know
Prices have risen a tad on some items especially affected by tariffs. But for the most part, companies are finding ways to delay price increases — for now.
