NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage about the moments the U.S. could have withdrawn from Afghanistan, and the cost of its 20-year military presence there.
Big wildfires create their own weather, and can even spawn tornadoes swirling with smoke and flame. Researchers are trying to determine how often they occur.
Flooding in rural areas took out roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines, leaving families uncertain about whether their loved ones survived the unprecedented deluge.
The first-ever shortage declaration on the Colorado River forces arid Western states to re-examine their relationship with resources many take for granted, drinking water and cheap hydroelectricity.
The white population is still the largest racial group in the U.S. Whether it is declining depends on how you define "white." Narrow definitions, researchers warn, can be misleading and dangerous.