Consider This from NPR

Quincy Jones, the famed music producer who helped artists dominate popular music for half a century, has died.

NPR's Walter Ray Watson described Jones' talent as one that produced music that hooked ears, warmed hearts and moved feet to dance.

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In these closing days of the presidential election, polling across the board has nearly every swing state in a statistical tie, meaning the election may come down to just a couple thousands votes.

No matter who wins, in the coming days we're going to hear a lot more from Donald Trump and his allies about the results.

And if history is any guide we can expect a mix of misleading information, rumors and outright lies

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When the 2024 presidential campaign began, it looked a lot like the last one.

Former President Donald Trump and sitting President Joe Biden became the presumptive nominees for their parties in March. This year was set to be the first U.S. presidential rematch since 1956.

We all know sequels are rarely more interesting than the original, and it seemed like this election might be downright boring. But the joke was on us, because Americans have just lived through the most dramatic, eventful, unexpected presidential campaign of our lives.

We revisit the key moments that brought us to this point in the race.

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There are plenty of ways to encourage people to vote, as the presidential candidates and their supporters are demonstrating in this final stretch of the campaign.

We dig into each campaign's voter turnout operation.

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On Tuesday night, one week before election day, Vice President Kamala Harris made her closing argument to the American people.

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North Carolina has more rural voters than any other 2024 presidential swing state.

As early voting continues across the state, canvassing groups are working to turn out voters — including in Nash County, a purple county President Biden won in 2020 and former President Trump won in 2016, both by razor-thin margins.

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At a recent Trump rally, many speakers leaned into racist, misogynistic and vulgar rhetoric. So what could it do for his campaign in the final days of election season?

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Evangelical and Pentecostal conservatives are a powerful force in Republican politics.

They've stuck by former President Donald Trump for three presidential elections in a row.

That's despite Trump's long list of criminal charges, sexual harassment and assault allegations, and regular brutal, personal attacks on political opponents — all of which wouldn't fit many people's definition of Christian.

Conservative Christian support for former President Donald Trump seems to be unwavering. A North Carolina pastor says there's a simple reason why.

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Election day is almost here, and we could soon find out who will become our next president.

But winning doesn't only happen at the ballot box, and the results of this election are already being litigated in court.

Trump and his allies filed a slew of lawsuits alleging widespread fraud. These efforts failed. But four years later, they are already trying to employ the same strategies again.

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This week and next, world leaders are gathering in Colombia for the 16th United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to check up on their collective progress in slowing biodiversity loss.

Can they successfully turn those plans into action against what the United Nations is calling "humanity's senseless and suicidal war with nature?"

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If you had any doubts, we can clear them up now. Emo music not only still exists — it's thriving.

A new exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame focuses on Hopeless Records and its history.

The independent record label has had an impressive roster over the last 30 years, featuring some of pop punk and emo music's biggest names from Sum 41 to All Time Low to Avenged Sevenfold.

NPR's Juana Summers travels to Cleveland, Ohio to visit the exhibit and dives into why emo music remains relevant today.

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In his posthumous memoir, Patriot, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny wrote - "If they do finally whack me, the book will be my memorial."

Though his voice has fallen silent, his wife Yulia Navalnaya is sharing his message. She now leads the movement her husband started, fighting Russian President Vladimir Putin's grip on power.

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An NPR investigation has found more than 100 times when former president Donald Trump has said his rivals, critics and even private citizens should be investigated, prosecuted, or put in jail, or otherwise punished.

So, could he act upon those threats if reelected?

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Millions of ballots are tabulated at the Maricopa County Tabulation Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Inside and out, the building is a fortress.

It's the legacy of the 2020 election when armed protestors gathered outside the building on election night. After Arizona was called for Joe Biden there were months of allegations about voter fraud.

At a time when election results are routinely challenged, candidates cry foul and protesters threaten violence...what does it take to run an election?

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Two decades ago, only a third of Latinos believed abortion should be legal in all or most cases. Today, that number has risen to 62 percent. So why are Latino voters in this country changing their minds about abortion?

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Today, Israel announced that they had killed Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas.

Sinwar came to power in the wake of the death of hiss predecessor, as well as the head of Hamas's military wing – leaving him ss the leading figure of the militant group.

What will Sinwar's death mean for Hamas and for Israel's war in Gaza ?

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"Israel has a right to defend itself and its people." It's a phrase that's been spoken by Israel's allies – and American presidents – for decades, especially in the days after Israel launched its war in Gaza after the October 7th attack by Hamas.

But what do those words actually mean in a historically, politically and in the midst of Israel's incursions into Gaza and Lebanon.

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Legendary journalist Bob Woodward's new book War, like so many of his books about the American presidency over the last half century, is generating headlines.

But Woodward's work is about a lot more than juicy nuggets that rocket around cable news and social media.

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Vice President Harris' multiracial identity has not been a major focal point during her short campaign. But what do members of her communities think?

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If you eat salmon, there's a good chance that it comes from a salmon farm in Norway. The country has been farming salmon for over 50 years.

The industry is touted as a key producer of sustainable, low carbon footprint protein. But there are still negative environmental impacts. Each year, an average of 200,000 farmed salmon escape from their open net pens and breed with wild salmon.

Interbreeding with these escaped salmon passes on significant genetic changes to wild salmon, changes that make them less likely to survive in the wild.

NPR's Rob Schmitz traveled the country's west coast, visiting fishing villages and fish farms to see how the growth of salmon farming is affecting the wild population.

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For the first time, internal TikTok communications have been made public that show a company unconcerned with the harms the app poses for American teenagers. This is despite its own research validating many child safety concerns.

The confidential material was part of a more than two-year investigation into TikTok by 14 attorneys general that led to state officials suing the company on Tuesday.

The lawsuit against the popular video sharing platform claims it was designed to keep young people hooked on the service. Documents uncovered by Kentucky Public Radio show that the company's internal research may help support this accusation.

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Hurricane Milton tore a path of destruction through Florida late Wednesday, leaving multiple dead and wrenching buildings apart.

Many across the southeastern U.S. were still struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, which hit less than two weeks ago.

Now, residents and officials must again navigate the clean up rescue and recovery efforts.

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As Hurricane Milton approaches Florida's central west coast, residents are preparing for the worst. The storm exploded into a Category 5 hurricane earlier this week, and now threatens to be one of the strongest storms to ever hit the state.

Like Hurricane Helene, which slammed into Florida and the Southeastern United States nearly two weeks ago, Milton is predicted to bring with it massive storm surges, destructive winds, heavy rain and the risk of death for those in its path.

The damage Hurricane Milton could cause is chilling, but maybe not surprising.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with climate reporter Rachel Waldholz about the ways in which climate change is supercharging hurricanes, including Helene and Milton.

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In the span of one day, a Category 1 hurricane headed for western Florida escalated to the highest intensity there is: Category 5.

Since then, the predicted wind intensity for Hurricane Milton has ebbed and flowed ahead of the hurricane's expected landfall in Florida on Wednesday.

But for now, experts are calling it an "extremely life-threatening situation."

NPR spoke to a meteorologist who broke down the triple threat Hurricane Milton poses.

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In a twist that many addiction experts thought impossible, the decades long upward trend of opioid deaths in the United States has finally started to decline. And while there are plenty of theories, there are still very few answers as to why and how.

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The October 7th Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza have changed the course of geopolitics. The events have upended the lives of countless individuals, and they will have far reaching consequences for the world.

Today, we're presenting a special episode of State of the World, NPR's daily global news podcast. Our team of reporters in the region bring us stories of lives changed in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

State of the World brings you vital international stories from NPR reporters around the globe every week day. You can find them on Apple, Spotify or your podcast platform of choice.

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In a state where every vote matters, campaigns are not only trying to win in counties where they're strongest. They're also trying to lose by less in places where votes for their candidate are harder to find. We take a look at volunteers in Wisconsin who are working to make less more.

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The effort to recover from Hurricane Helene is only beginning. But neighbors and volunteers from humanitarian organizations are pitching in to help.

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The war in the Middle East appears to be widening, almost one year after Hamas launched its attack on Israel.

For more on what might unfold from here, Consider This host Ailsa Chang speaks with General Frank McKenzie, the retired Commander of United States Central Command.

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In a race where so much of the polling is within the margin of error — it seems as though any one thing could affect the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

But have vice presidential debates made a difference in past races?

NPR's senior White House Correspondent Tamara Keith dug into that existential, and political question.

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Historian Robert Caro's book "The Power Broker" details how urban planner Robert Moses reshaped New York through the roads and bridges he built, and the lives of the communities he destroyed.

It's a definitive account of how power is acquired, how it works and how it's wielded in this country.

That book, along with his four books on President Lyndon Johnson, have made Caro one of the most significant American authors of the last half century.

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When Sean "Diddy" Combs sang about being a bad boy in his 2001 hit, the lyrics were a mission statement and a boast. But today, the lyrics might sound more like a warning, as dozens of allegations of sexual abuse, sex trafficking, racketeering and rape are piling up against the music mogul.

The #MeToo movement quickly gained prominence in the film and media worlds in 2017. Why has it taken the music industry so long to follow suit?

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NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Karim Khan, the lead prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, about the pager explosions and conflict in the Middle East.

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The share of Americans who are in the workforce today is the highest it's been in decades.

But it's still not enough to replace all the baby boomers who are aging out of the workforce. Which is why immigration has been so important for the economy.

The businesses in Dayton, Ohio know this all-too-well.

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The US is trying to broker an end to the war between Israel and Hamas. Ceasefire talks begin and end and begin again. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has traveled to the region 10 times in the past year.

And that's not the only war the US hopes to end. Russia and Ukraine have been fighting since 2014 when Russia first attacked. It launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022, more than two and a half years ago.

The US and NATO have been supporting Ukraine's efforts to hold off Russia in a hope to preserve broader security and stability in Western Europe.

The next occupant of the White House looks certain to inherit two major conflicts.

Why are these wars lasting so long with no end in sight?

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It's been more than two and half years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, the U.S. and its NATO allies have slowly and incrementally provided military assistance to Ukraine.

In recent months, Ukraine has been pressing for American long-range missiles with the ability to strike deep into Russia. But some officials fear that providing such weapons could place the U.S. and its allies in direct conflict with Russia.

Host Scott Detrow speaks with Pentagon reporter Tom Bowman.

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A few months ago, it was looking like Donald Trump had Georgia all but locked up.

Now with Harris in the race, Georgia is once again in play for democrats. But the state has never elected a female Governor or a female U.S. senator.

Will that fact determine who might win their 16 electoral votes?

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The biggest city in the country is in the midst of a major political scandal, and things appear to be unraveling in New York Mayor Eric Adam's administration.

There are federal investigations, top level resignations, and scandals reaching back into his 2021 mayoral campaign. So, what's going on?

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Two unusual attacks against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah come at a time when negotiations over a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas have stalled. What could this mean for the region, and the threat of an all-out war?

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A year ago at this time, members of the United Auto Workers Union were feeling powerful and optimistic. The group's new President Shawn Fain had called a historic strike. For the first time, the Union walked out on ALL three big automakers.

It was a bold move that by most measures worked. It ultimately brought Ford, GM and Stellantis much closer to the union's demands for historic raises and new job protections.

The strike's success had people predicting a bigger and more powerful union.

A year on the union is still staring down some major challenges.

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Former President Donald Trump was targeted in what "appears to be an attempted assassination" on Sunday afternoon, the FBI says.

What do we know about the suspect, his motivations, and what this could mean for the rest of the 2024 election?

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In the new HBO documentary "Stopping the Steal," we hear from Republican officials in Arizona and Georgia who wanted Donald Trump to win the 2020 presidential election but were not willing to break the law for him.

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This time next year, if everything stays on schedule, NASA will send its first crewed mission to the moon, since the end of the Apollo program. Artemis II will be the first flight around the moon in more than 50 years.

Its goal will be to test out the Orion capsule and all the other equipment, so that by 2026, Artemis III can put astronauts back ON the moon.

The Artemis program is aimed to kickstart a new, more enduring era of space travel that leads to Mars.It's also intentionally more representative than Apollo was. The Artemis program will eventually put the first woman on the moon, as well as the first person of color.

It's all as historic and high stakes as it gets, and also pretty daunting.

NPR's Scott Detrow goes behind the scenes at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to see how the team is preparing.

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Getting older has been a punchline for as long as anyone can remember. And while there are plenty of jokes to be made about aging, it can also have some negative implications for how we see ourselves and others.

For writer Anne Lamott, aging has been a challenge, and a gift. "There is grace in not being able to see everything so clearly with all of its faults and annoying tendencies."

Lamott has been reflecting on growing older in her latest column for the Washington Post, and shares some of those insights with Consider This host Mary Louise Kelly.

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Vice President Kamala Harris was dominant during Tuesday's presidential debate in Philadelphia. Former President Donald Trump struggled to stay on topic and a times sounded incoherent. With the race to the White House neck and neck will this debate make a difference?

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There's an old line: "Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you who you are?" Well if it's true, then Cristeta Comerford knows the last five Presidents better than almost anyone.

She just retired after nearly 30 years as White House chef. Comerford cooked for Presidents from Clinton to Biden...making everything from family snacks to state dinners.

She is the first woman and the first person of color to hold the serve in that job.

She reflects on her groundbreaking role, and what she's learned from cooking for some of the most powerful people in the world.

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After days of back and forth, both presidential campaigns finally agreed on the rules for Tuesday night's debate. But what are the rules for moderators? Just ask questions? Fact check in real time? A Colorado newscaster went viral for his moderation style. He wishes more journalists would try it.

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Ahead of the presidential debate, host Scott Detrow talks to comedians Matt Friend and Allison Reese. They're two of the most prominent political impressionists out there, who are trying to channel the candidates.

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We're in a moment where DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) hiring practices mean many different things to many people. Over the past four years, many of the companies that publicly embraced DEI policies in the wake of George Floyd's murder have been backing away. What are the politics behind the anti-DEI backlash and what happens when workplace diversity initiatives are lost?

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Project 2025 - you've probably heard about it. It's a roadmap from the conservative Heritage Foundation for the next Republican president.

It's also been a major talking point for Democrats on the campaign trail. Donald Trump, meanwhile, has tried to disavow it and distance himself.

That's because the plan has attracted negative attention over the ultra conservative policies it endorses like overhauling and eliminating some government agencies, firing thousands of civil servants and a mass deportation campaign.

Project 2025 was created to help the next Republican President execute an extreme conservative agenda. Now it's also become an attack line for Democrats.

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It was a night of mourning on Tuesday, when Doug Emhoff, second gentlemen and the first Jewish spouse to a US president or Vice president, spoke at the Adas Israel Congregation in Washington DC.

Emhoff was one of more than a thousand people attending a prayer vigil dedicated to six hostages recently killed by Hamas. Their bodies were recovered over the weekend.

The deaths of the six hostages comes as it's been more than 300 days since Hamas took more than 240 people hostage after it attacked Israel on October 7th. As the days in captivity drag on, many have been killed, and their families live in agony.

One of those family members is LeElle Slifer, who's cousin Carmel Gat was one of the six hostages killed. She shares what her cousin meant to her and what her family wants from the Israeli government.

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When Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson entered the national spotlight, she found praise and also criticism.

In her new book, Lovely One,Jackson describes how she endured her confirmation hearing, along with her multi-generational path to becoming the first Black woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court — a branch which she tells NPR remains ready to offer credible opinions on the most contentious issues facing the nation, even in the face of waning public confidence.

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For about three weeks in 2000, there were zero measles cases in the United States. It was declared eradicated.

Fast forward to 2024, and measles cases are surging, especially in Oregon where the state is facing the worst outbreak since the early 1990s.

This is happening as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the vaccination rate among kindergartners is dropping, and more and more parents are seeking exemptions to school vaccine requirements.

People are vaccinating their children at lower and lower rates. What does that mean for kids as they head back to school, and for infectious and deadly diseases like measles?

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Labor Day is considered the beginning of the end of the Presidential election, but as history shows, things can change a lot by election day.

Host Scott Detrow speaks with his colleagues Senior Political Editor and Correspondent Domenico Montanaro and White House Correspondent Franco Ordoñez about where things are, and where they could go.

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Raunchy sex comedies had a moment at the end of the 20th century. And perhaps the king of them all, was American Pie. Even people who have never seen the movie probably know the most memorable scene has something to do with a sex-obsessed teenage boy doing something unseemly with a homemade apple pie.

Flash forward a quarter century and Hollywood is making fewer teen comedies than it used to. For the 25th anniversary of American Pie, Scott Detrowspeaks with one of the film's stars Alyson Hannigan about its legacy.

A warning for listeners, this episode contains language and references to scenes not suitable for younger audiences.

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In 1988, Ben Spencer was sentenced to life in prison for a brutal robbery and murder he has always insisted he did not commit.

Spencer spent the next 34 years in prison, dashing off letters almost every day to his wife, his friends, lawyers, to anyone who would listen, claiming his innocence.

In 2021, he was officially released from prison. But on Thursday, he was officially exonerated.

We hear about his life after decades behind bars — and his faith that one day, the truth would prevail.

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Earlier this month, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, and the former head of Google, Eric Schmidt, wrote a piece for Foreign Affairs arguing that the future of warfare is here. They say that the U.S. is not ready for it.

The two authors argue recent technological developments have changed warfare more in the past several years than the decades spanning from the introduction of the airplane, radio, and mechanization to the battlefield. And while this new tech has only been shown in small snippets in current conflicts, it is only the beginning.

So, can the U.S. catch up? And what will this warfare look like?

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When Tim Walz accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president, his son stole the show.

In a viral moment, the cameras panned to 17-year-old Gus Walz, who, with tears in his eyes, stood up, clapped loudly, pointed to the stage and appeared to repeatedly yell out: "That's my dad!"

Some cheered the new visibility of neurodivergent people.

But what do advocates and parents of neurodiverse children actually want from government officials, like Tim Walz, in terms of policy?

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It's been more than three weeks since the U.S. and Russia completed the largest prisoner swap since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Speaking from the White House shortly after news broke that three American prisoners were headed home, President Biden described the release as an "incredible relief."

Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was one of those prisoners, and she's sharing what life was like in a Russian prison and how she's adjusting to life at home.

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Both major party presidential nominees Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are on the same side of one issue. Getting rid of taxes on tips. But what would that really look like in practice?

Wailin Wong and Darian Woods from NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator, dive into the potential guardrails for a policy that many economists believe could easily go off track.

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What happens when political ambition collides with a #MeToo allegation in the Democratic party?

Episode 2 of our two-part investigation.

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Did Eric Garcetti, a powerful Democrat, lie under oath about a #MeToo scandal in his office?

That's the question at the center of a new investigation from NPR.

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College students are trickling back onto campuses for the fall semester, just months after protests exploded across the U.S. over Israel's war in Gaza.

University leaders are bracing for more protests and counter-protests this semester. And on some campuses, new rules have already taken effect.

We hear from Vanderbilt University chancellor Daniel Diermeier about the academic year ahead.

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Before she became vice president, Kamala Harris had only ever won elections in California — a solid blue state.

To win the White House, the Harris-Walz ticket will need to compete in purple and even red areas.

At the Democratic National Convention, delegates and other attendees from conservative parts of the country offer what they think their party needs to do to reach voters in swing states and Republican strongholds.

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Olivia Julianna, 21, is one of more than 200 digital content creators who has been given media credentials to the Democratic National Convention this week.

She has over a million followers across TikTok, Instagram and other accounts, in an age where more young people are learning the news through social media.

But she never imagined that her "very working-class" upbringing would lead her not only to the DNC — but in front of it.

We hear from the Texas native ahead of her speech to the convention.

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Earlier this month, student protestors filled the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in opposition to a controversial quota system for government jobs.

Authorities then cracked down on demonstrators, blocking internet access, imposing a curfew and issuing police officers a shoot-on-sight order. In just over a month, more than 600 people have been killed.

And as the protests escalated, the demonstrations started to become about much more than just the quota system.

Eventually, students were able to force Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign.

The students who ousted Hasina are now helping to lead Bangladesh.

"We youth are not only the generation of Facebook, YouTube and Instagram," says 19-year-old protestor Mumtahana Munir Mitti.

"We also love our country. And we also love to participate in [the] rebuilding of our country."

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They've been called "Hollywood's worst-kept secret."

Medications like Ozempic or Mounjaro, which are commonly used to treat diabetes, are part of the zeitgeist these days. More and more celebrities are opening up about taking them to lose weight.

So when you imagine where these drugs are prescribed most for weight loss around the U.S., maybe you're thinking Los Angeles or New York.

Turns out, the capital of the weight loss drug boom is in Kentucky — in a small city called Bowling Green, where at least four percent of the population got a prescription in the last year.

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The state of the presidential race is a far cry from what it was just a few months ago. Vice President Kamala Harris's rise to the top of the Democratic ticket has sparked waves of excitement, and some tension, among democratic leaders and voters across the country.

Thousands of delegates now head to Chicago for the party's convention this week, where Harris is expected to deliver the biggest speech of her political career to date.

NPR's Adrian Ma speaker with co-host Ari Shapiro, about how this moment couple shape her campaign to the nation.

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Twenty-five years ago this month, one film, and one filmmaker, became synonymous with the big plot twist.

So what was it aboutThe Sixth Sensethat made it such a cultural phenomenon at the time of its release? And how did that shape the rest of controversial director M. Night M. Night Shyamalan career?

Haley Joel Osment joins Scott Detrow in conversation to reflect on the impact it had on his work, and how he used that success to propel his career forward.

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Donald Trump is pledging to go further on immigration than he did in his first term as president, if he is re-elected in November.

Internal emails and documents from Trump's time in office — obtained by NPR through the Freedom of Information Act — shed light on how realistic his plan is to radically expand the United States' deportation system.

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So often, telling the story of the Israel-Hamas war is reduced to a catalog of numbers.

But this war is much more than all of that. It is the daily life of the people living in the midst of the war that has now been raging for 10 months.

The war has also come to encompass a sense of insecurity that permeates, as the humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza through famine, unclean water and dwindling resources. Pair that with the prospect of a wider regional conflict with Iran that looms nearby.

On Thursday, U.S. and Arab mediators will launch new talks to attempt a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. But hopes for tensions to be diffused are not high.

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This week, the Biden administration announced it is taking on more of what it calls "everyday headaches and hassles that waste Americans' time and money."

And it's doing that by having federal agencies make new business rules.

There are actions to simplify health insurance paperwork, crack down on fake product reviews, streamline parent-teacher communications in schools and circumvent those automated customer service calls that the White House labels "doom loops."

It's all part of a wider economic mission to eliminate modern business practices that the Biden administration believes exploit Americans.

Neera Tanden, the director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, breaks down why this is happening and how it will work in reality.

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By most measures, the new Democratic ticket has had an impressively smooth launch.

But there is one caveat to that — controversy over how vice presidential nominee Tim Walz described his military service.

A spokeswoman for the Harris-Walz campaign has said in a statement that the Democratic vice-presidential nominee "misspoke" when talking about his military service.

Walz, who served for 24 years in the National Guard, had made a comment that sounded like he had been to war.

Walz's Republican opponent, JD Vance, pounced on that comment to accuse Walz of what's called "stolen valor," a serious charge among veterans.

But there's also a history of playing politics with military service – one that's been used in past elections.

Is Tim Walz guilty of deliberately misrepresenting his military record or the victim of a familiar political smear tactic?

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Overdose death rates have spiked dramatically for young adults, rising 34 percent between 2018 and 2022, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Yet, there are ways to mitigate the risk of overdose, and even ways to reverse it.

Notably there's Narcan.

It's a brand of the medication naloxone, and it's often used in the form of nasal spray. If administered quickly, it can fully reverse an opioid overdose.

Are college campuses and their students prepared?

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Three Taylor Swift concerts were canceled in Austria this week, after authorities foiled planned attacks on the venue.

Three young men are now in custody, and at least two of them recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State — specifically an affiliate group known as ISIS-K.

This isn't the first time Islamic State-related groups have been tied to attacks in Europe — over 140 people were killed in an attack on a Moscow concert hall earlier this year, and an explosion at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017 killed 22 and injured more than a thousand.

So - what exactly is ISIS-K, and how should we think about their presence in Europe?

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Ever since women began competing in weightlifting in the Olympics, in the year 2000, only one American woman has won a gold medal.

This year, there are hopes that might change.

And many of those hopes rest on the (very strong) shoulders of a 21-year-old college student in Chattanooga, Tenn. named Olivia Reeves.

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Speaker of the House Emerita Nancy Pelosi once told Washington Post Columnist Karen Tumulty quote "Nobody ever gives away power. If you want to achieve that, you go for it. But when you get it, you must use it."

That was in 2020, and Nancy Pelosi used her power then. She's still using it. Most recently to influence President Joe Biden's decision to end his presidential campaign.

First as a volunteer and democratic fundraiser, then as a member of Congress, and finally as the most powerful woman in political history, Nancy Pelosi has spent the better part of four decades amassing power and using it to achieve her legislative goals.

Now she's put pen to paper about HOW she did that.

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Kamala Harris has tapped Minnesota governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. Democrats hope he can secure Midwestern swing states.

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There are some 43 million refugees in the world, according to the U.N.'s refugee agency.

The 37 of them competing in Paris as the Refugee Olympic Team are fighting for something more than just athletic excellence.

We hear from judoka Muna Dahouk and kayaker Saman Soltani.

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Over the last decade, calls to tax the rich have grown louder around the world — but the needle hasn't exactly moved.

Now, the Brazilian government has a new proposal: a 2 percent global wealth tax on the uber-rich. It would impact the 3,000 wealthiest people around the world.

Economists say this 2 percent hike would unlock an extra $250 billion per year. That money could go toward addressing a number of issues, like climate change and global poverty.

G20 nations would have to agree on this proposal before it goes anywhere — and so far, that's not happening. France, Spain, South Africa and several other nations have voiced support, but the U.S. and Germany aren't on board.

Is a global wealth tax a feasible solution?

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Sport Climbing kicks off at the Olympics in Paris next week.

It's a strength-to-weight ratio sport. Meaning, aside from your technique or mental game, the lighter you are relative to your strength, the easier it'll be to get up a wall.

That's led some climbers to fall into the mindset that losing weight is the path to better performance.

One recent study of 50 elite climbers found that more than a third intentionally lost weight before a competition — primarily by fasting and skipping meals, and occasionally by using laxatives, or vomiting.

The mindset that lighter is better is what led one young climber, Jake Scharfman, to develop an unhealthy relationship with his weight.

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If you're not entrenched in the world of video games, you might not realize how much realactors have to do with modern gaming.

They provide everything from lines of dialogue, to portraying heroes and villains, to performing stunts – all of this bringing video games characters to life.

Some of the biggest game studios rely on voice and performance capture artists, and all this adds up to big bucks. The video game industry made close to $185 billion last year.

But video game performers whose human performances become computer data, are especially vulnerable to being replaced by generative AI.

Which is why they're now on strike.

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On Wednesday in Paris, the U.S. women's water polo team faced off against Italy and proved once again what a dominant force they are in the pool, cruising to a 10-3 win.

For the team's star goalkeeper Ashleigh Johnson, these games have been something of a reunion. She has played professionally on both Greek and Italian teams. Now that she's in Paris, she's competing against some of her former teammates.

She's the first Black woman to play on the U.S. women's water polo team. She made 80 saves at the Tokyo Olympics alone — more than any other goalkeeper in the women's and men's tournaments. She's considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

So how far will Johnson go in these Olympics?

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In the Middle East, two assassinations in less than 24 hours could transform the region. Israel claimed responsibility for one. It has no comment on the other.

First, an Israeli attack in Lebanon killed a leader of the militant group Hezbollah. Just hours later, the political leader of Hamas was killed in Iran.

The Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was attending the swearing-in for Iran's new reformist president. Hamas says Haniyeh was killed by a rocket fired into his room at an official residency. Hamas and Iran both blame Israel for the attack.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke after the two killings, he did not claim responsibility for the attack in Tehran. He did describe the Israeli strike in Beirut as a crushing blow.

In Washington, White House spokesman John Kirby expressed concern the assassinations could result in an escalation of the conflicts already playing out.

Two assassinations in the Middle East have the potential to start a violent chain of retaliations. Will they?

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In her childhood in Berkeley, Calif., you can find the seeds of the political leader that Vice President Kamala Harris grew up to become.

Her childhood friend Carole Porter, who lived a few houses away, paints a picture of a working-class, multicultural neighborhood.

And she pointed to two women who had a huge effect on the vice president's life.

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For a brief moment, people in the Venezuelan diaspora felt a surge of hope as reports indicated the opposition party was polling way ahead of Nicolas Maduro's party. Then, Venezuela's electoral authority declared Maduro the winner.

Members of the opposition have cried foul. And the US and other international observers have questioned the integrity of the election.

So where does Sunday's election leave Venezuelans, who are living in the midst of a humanitarian emergency?

And where does it leave the nearly 8 million people who have left Venezuela during President Maduro's time in office?

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Vice President Kamala Harris has a little over a week to pick a running mate to join her on the presidential ticket.

The list of possibilities is long, but many have a couple of things in common — the represent swing states and are white, straight men — qualities that might help make a winning ticket.

Who should the current Vice President pick to be her running mate, and what will make that a winning choice?

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Among the many Democratic Party insiders who publicly or privately urged President Joe Biden to reconsider running for reelection, one played an outsized role: Nancy Pelosi.

Pelosi is 84 years old — older than Biden — and no longer in House leadership.

But her part in the pressure campaign that led to a change in the Democratic ticket shows: she is still very much a leader, and her political pull remains strong.

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Clayton Young and Conner Mantz are longtime training partners and friends. They're also the two fastest men's marathoners representing the U.S. at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The pair met on a run at Brigham Young University in 2017. They've been friends, training partners and competitors ever since.

With years of friendship and thousands of miles binding them together, can Young and Mantz break away from the pack and take home the gold at the Olympic games?

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Vice President Kamala Harris is barreling towards the Democratic nomination for president.

Her Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has a record of personally attacking women of color who stand in his way.

Sexist and racist attacks on Harris have already started. How might they impact her bid for office?

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If Kamala Harris officially becomes the Democratic presidential nominee next month, she'll be the first woman of color to lead a major party's ticket.

Of course, that would not be her first, first.

Harris's entire career is a list of jobs that nobody who looks quite like her had held before, including California's attorney general, Senator, and Vice President of the United States.

Harris often stresses that while she may be a first, others paved the way.

Kamala Harris has had a career full of firsts – could she also be the first woman to become President of the United States?

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In just a matter of hours, a Kamala Harris for President campaign has gone from a far-flung possibility, to all but certain likelihood.

It puts the Vice President in a tricky spot. She's got to run on President Biden's achievements, while avoiding the more challenging aspects of his record.

Biden entrusted Harris with some of the most challenging parts of his portfolio, including voting rights, the rollback of reproductive rights and immigration.

Harris has struggled to find her footing on immigration. Early on, she faced criticism for having not visited the southern border.

As Republicans like Texas Governor Greg Abbott started bussing migrants to northern cities, the Vice President's mansion in Washington DC became a drop-off point.

Even though Kamala Harris isn't yet the official nominee, both voters and the republican party will force her to answer for the Biden administration's immigration policies in this year's election.

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President Biden has made a historic decision to endorse his vice president, Kamala Harris, to take his spot at the top of the Democratic ticket.

The move comes after weeks of calls for Biden to step aside after concerns about his fitness for the job.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Senior White House Correspondent Tamara Keith and National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson about what this means for the Democratic Party in the months ahead to the election.

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A plucky meteorology heroine; a male rival with no shortage of hubris; and some very, very big storms: that's the basic formula behind the new disaster action movie Twisters, which follows storm chasers around Oklahoma amid a tornado outbreak.

It's a standalone sequel to the 1996 film Twister, a box-office hit in its day which also spurred a lot of real-life research into severe storms.

We've since learned a lot about how tornadoes behave, and the technology of storm chasing has improved dramatically.

But behind these summer blockbusters is a mystery that scientists are still trying to solve: why do tornadoes form at all?

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In 2017, the Larry Nassar scandal rocked the Olympic community.

Hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse against the former USA Gymnastics doctor underscored how vulnerable athletes are — particularly when they're minors.

That year, Congress and the U.S. Olympic Committee had a solution.

The U.S. Center for SafeSport was founded to investigate and respond to allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct. The goal was for predators like Larry Nassar to never harm young athletes again.

Now, seven years later, SafeSport is facing scrutiny of its own — over whether it's made good on that promise.

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A warming planet is making storms and wildfires more intense, and more destructive. That's making homeowners insurance more expensive and harder to find.

Insurance companies are raising their rates because, they say, they need to cover increasing losses from extreme-weather-related property damage.

This week the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is holding a summit to address this spike in premiums. HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman explains what the federal government is looking to learn.

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Donald Trump's message for America has long been one of grievance and retribution.

What will he say at the Republican National Convention this week, after an attempt on his life?

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