National

Many GOP Senators Stay Out Of Public View On July 4th

5:52pm July 05, 2017

U.S. senators usually take advantage of holiday breaks to return home and connect with constituents. But this July 4th, many Republican senators stayed out of the public eye. NPR's Kelly McEvers talks with Michael Tackett, a political editor for The New York Times.

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National

U.S. Laptop Ban Lifted On Emirates And Turkish Airlines

5:52pm July 05, 2017

by Brian Naylor

After the Trump administration banned laptops on flights to the U.S. from 10 airports in the Middle East, it says two of those airports met new security standards. It means carriers using those airports will be able to allow their passengers to bring laptops on board.

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Eugene Kaspersky, founder and chief executive officer of Kaspersky Lab, at his office in Moscow last December. Kaspersky and his firm have ties to the Russian government but say that should not be cause for concern in the West, where the company's cyberse

Congress Casts A Suspicious Eye On Russia's Kaspersky Lab

5:25pm July 05, 2017

by David Welna

The renowned Russian cybersecurity firm's anti-virus software is used by millions of Americans. Congress does not want military service members to be among them.

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A GAO report questions the quality of a number of Medicare Advantage plans after large numbers of sicker enrollees dropped them.

As Seniors Get Sicker, They're More Likely To Drop Medicare Advantage Plans

5:10pm July 05, 2017

by Fred Schulte

Medicare Advantage plans say they offer good value and aim to keep patients healthy, but sicker people are far more likely than others to drop out because of lack of access to specific doctors.

In Afghanistan, U.S. Senators Urge Trump To Define Policy

4:29pm July 05, 2017

A bipartisan delegation of senators are in Afghanistan, calling for a new strategy from the Trump administration to address Taliban insurgency and define the U.S. role in the country. NPR's Kelly McEvers talks with Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, about what the strategy should be and what action he believes the administration should do next.

National

Volvo Moves To Phase Out Combustion Engine For Electric Motors Starting In 2019

4:29pm July 05, 2017

by Sonari Glinton

With a pledge to move on from the internal combustion engine, Volvo announced Wednesday that it's going all electric. The company says all the vehicles it makes will be electric or hybrid starting in 2019. The development comes as Tesla prepares to sell its first mass market electric car later this month.

U.S. Military Planners Consider Game Theory In Possible North Korea Response

4:29pm July 05, 2017

NPR's Kelly McEvers talks with Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies about the options for a military strike on North Korea and how military planners might be applying game theory to new tensions with the regime.

Greta Elliott, who manages a health clinic in Canby, Calif., says she didn't buy health insurance for herself because she thinks it's too expensive.

In A Conservative Corner Of California, A Push To Preserve Obamacare

4:29pm July 05, 2017

by April Dembosky

A coalition of health clinics in northeast California is asking local officials to defend the Affordable Care Act. And some are, despite the area's conservative politics.

The Frederick Douglass Statue in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol in 2013. On July 3, the National Archives hosted a reading of Douglass' essay about the Fourth of July.

'What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July?' Frederick Douglass, Revisited

3:23pm July 05, 2017

by Abigail Censky

Two readings, 165 years apart, addressed to a nation at a precarious political moment. Why Frederick Douglass' famous 1852 anti-slavery speech is still read — and still resonates — in 2017.

Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Jerome Adams is President Trump's nominee for U.S. Surgeon General.

Trump's Surgeon General Pick Built Reputation Fighting HIV And Opioids In Indiana

2:41pm July 05, 2017

by Emily Forman

Dr. Jerome Adams is credited with persuading then-Gov. Mike Pence to authorize syringe exchanges in the state. If confirmed, public health advocates are hopeful he'll have sway in Washington.