National

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Thomas Fuller, San Francisco bureau chief for The New York Times, about his reporting on the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland that left 36 dead, many of them young.

After the death of Trayvon Martin, President Obama said America needs to do more to show young black and brown men that their country cares about them. That was the motivation for the president's My Brother's Keeper initiative, one he has vowed to continue long after he leaves the White House.

This was a tumultuous year for the U.S. Supreme Court because of the unexpected death of justice Antonin Scalia. In 2017, a new president will likely mean the court will finally get a new justice.

Officers were targeted and killed by gunmen, while police shootings spurred protests nationwide and prompted law enforcement agencies to take a hard look at use-of-force policies.

It has been a violent year in Chicago, and Christmas weekend offered no respite. "We have a traumatized city," one woman who works with victims' families tells NPR.

From state-sponsored hacking of government systems to criminal enterprises stealing credit card numbers, strengthening the nation's cyberdefenses is taking on growing importance.

About 100 migrants die every year trying to sneak around Border Patrol checkpoints in South Texas. Now, a searchable database lets relatives find photos of their missing loved ones' personal items.

Gratitude is linked to better physical and mental health. But some people are wired in a way that they place less value on it. And quickie exercises to boost gratefulness may not pay off.

Water and sewage problems at an Idaho mobile home park illustrate how manufactured housing communities owned by outsiders are often kept in a state of disrepair.