News

Trump's Relationship With NATO, 1 Year Into His Presidency

5:28pm December 28, 2017

by Frank Langfitt

President Trump criticized NATO once again in his National Security Strategy speech, but NATO ambassadors say the U.S. continues to be very supportive where it counts: on the ground.

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IRS Warns Strategy Of Prepaying Property Taxes May Not Be Allowed

5:28pm December 28, 2017

by Scott Horsley

Homeowners in high-tax areas have been racing to prepay their 2018 property taxes in an effort to beat the new deduction limits that take effect next year. But the IRS warns in many cases that strategy may not be allowed.

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Federal Appeals Court Gives EPA 90 Days To Propose Long-Awaited Lead Standards

5:28pm December 28, 2017

A federal appeals court has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to propose a new standard for lead inside homes within 90 days. NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Eve Gartner, who litigated on behalf of groups suing the EPA to update the standards.

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Lawyers say the city of Flint is violating the terms of a major settlement agreement reached in March to improve the quality of the city's water.

Flint Accused Of Violating Agreement To Replace Lead Service Lines

5:08pm December 28, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

Advocacy groups say Flint isn't sharing information about efforts to remove lead service lines. They're asking a judge to force the city to comply.

World News

More Than 40 Dead And Dozens Injured After Bombing In Kabul

4:39pm December 28, 2017

On Thursday, more than 40 people were killed and dozens wounded in a suicide bombing at a cultural center in Kabul, Afghanistan. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Reuters' Kabul bureau chief James Mackenzie for an update on the details of the attack.

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World News

France Ends State Of Emergency After Nearly 2 Years

4:39pm December 28, 2017

by Eleanor Beardsley

France has just lifted a nearly two year state of emergency that was put in place in Nov. 2015 and extended six times. To replace it, the government has passed an anti-terrorism law. But critics say the new law compromises the protection of individual liberties.

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World News

Violent Crackdowns In Venezuela Severely Impacted Maduro's Opposition

4:39pm December 28, 2017

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Carlos, an actor and tour guide in Caracas, Venezuela. Carlos used to protest daily against President Nicholas Maduro's government. Now, those protests have dissipated, opposition leaders have been imprisoned, and Carlos, who earlier said that he did not want to leave Venezuela, is looking for a job abroad.

National

Harvard Student Cracks Incan Code

4:39pm December 28, 2017

The Incas did not have a written language. Instead, they communicated using a system of knots in colored strings — called khipus. NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Harvard student Manny Medrano about his groundbreaking work analyzing the code.

Tropicalia Music Still Speaks To Young Marginalized Urban Brazilians

4:39pm December 28, 2017

by Philip Reeves

In Brazil, there's been a resurgence of Tropicalia — the anti-authoritarian, anarchic music that emerged under the military junta of the 1960s. It's back and fused with rap and lyrics fighting for Brazil's poor and marginalized.

Thomas Fire Evacuees Return Home To Find What's Left

4:39pm December 28, 2017

by Stephanie O'Neill

The massive Thomas Fire in Southern California is now 89 percent contained and evacuees are starting to return home. The Upper Ojai Valley was especially hard-hit. About a quarter of the homes there were destroyed.