Home Page Top Stories

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and other members of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus could force a federal government shutdown Oct. 1. The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and prevention would be affected.

What happens to health programs if the federal government shuts down?

10:26pm September 27, 2023

by Julie Rovner

Medicare and Medicaid are mandatory spending programs and that keeps them relatively safe in the early days of the shutdown, but 42% of the Department of Health's staff will be furloughed.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters following a House Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.

Politics & Government

McCarthy revives immigration battles in bid to shift shutdown blame from GOP feuds

10:22pm September 27, 2023

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy still faces a bloc of conservatives who oppose any short-term funding bill to avoid a shutdown. He's trying to muscle through a partisan stopgap bill with border security.

President Biden's dog Commander takes a walk outside the West Wing on April 29, 2023.

Politics & Government

Commander bites again: Biden's dog has nipped another Secret Service officer

6:58pm September 27, 2023

by Tamara Keith

President Biden's dog bit several Secret Service agents a total of 10 times between October 2022 and January 2023. On Monday, he bit another officer at the White House.

A TV screen shows a file image of U.S. soldier Travis King during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday. North Korea said Wednesday that it was expelling King, who crossed into the country through the heavily armed border between the Koreas in July.

Travis King, U.S. soldier who ran to North Korea, is headed to Texas

4:38pm September 27, 2023

by Anthony Kuhn

U.S. officials thanked Sweden and China for help securing the release of the 23-year-old Army private, who went to North Korea in July.

Queue Listen Now

Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife Nadine Menendez arrive to the federal courthouse in New York on Wednesday.

Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife plead not guilty in bribery case

4:19pm September 27, 2023

by Jaclyn Diaz

Menendez has refused to step down as New Jersey's senior senator even amid growing calls from his fellow Democratic senators.

A collage of our audience members' beloved pets and their memorials to their animal companions. Clockwise from top left: Mena Bingham's sunflower garden for her cat Sara; a statue to honor Beth Fadely's dog, Bella; Linda Smith's cat Holly; Sheryl Bauerschmidt's dog Birdie; a glass cat figurine in the bay window where Marie Hernandez's cat, Fina, used to sit.

Arts

8 loving ways to honor a pet's memory: Write an obit, grow a garden, dedicate a day

2:48pm September 27, 2023

by Malaka Gharib

How do you deal with the heartbreak of losing a beloved pet? Our audience shares creative and inspiring ways to process grief — and celebrate the lives of our animal companions.

Queue Listen Now

U.S. Army soldiers march in a parade as part of the 75th South Korea Armed Forces Day ceremony in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday.

What a government shutdown would mean for the U.S. military — and national security

2:06pm September 27, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Service members would work without pay, and many civil servants are likely to be furloughed. Congress has yet to pass a separate bill to guarantee military pay as it did in previous shutdowns.

Queue Listen Now

Passengers at the check-in desks in the departures hall at Ben Gurion International airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Nov. 30, 2021.

World News

U.S. allows Israelis visa-free entry as Israel opens travel to Palestinian Americans

1:09pm September 27, 2023

by Daniel Estrin

The decision is part of a deal that requires Israel to end bans and restrictions on Palestinian Americans and other Arab Americans traveling to Israel.

Queue Listen Now

Former President Donald Trump arrives at a rally on April 2, 2022, near Washington, Mich.

Trump bets big on Michigan with rally on GOP debate night as UAW strike continues

9:48am September 27, 2023

by Franco Ordoñez

Seven Republicans will join the second GOP debate Wednesday but the front-runner, former President Donald Trump won't be one of them. Instead, Trump will head to Michigan to court autoworkers.

Queue Listen Now

DannyLux performs a Tiny Desk concert at NPR Music in Washington, D.C.

Music & Culture

DannyLux: Tiny Desk Concert

9:36am September 27, 2023

by Stefanie Fernández

The Chicano singer brings a grounded sense of reflection to the Tiny Desk.