News

Planetary Society's LightSail experiment.

Science

Planetary Society Set To Launch Solar Sail Experiment

10:44am May 20, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The first of two satellites carrying the sail is set to launch later this month. A second, scheduled for launch next year, will go into higher orbit to fully test the concept.

People exercise along the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.; the metro area was ranked as America's fittest city for the second year in a row.

Wanna Go To Fit City? List Ranks America's 50 Fittest Metro Areas

9:44am May 20, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The new American Fitness Index is out, with some good news and bad news. Five cities fell five or more slots; Washington, D.C., finished first, followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul.

A sick migrant is helped by friends to board a truck that is taking them to a local hospital upon arrival in Simpang Tiga, Indonesia on Wednesday.

Indonesia, Malaysia Agree To Take In Stranded Rohingyas

7:53am May 20, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

The "boat people," as they've been called, have been stranded at sea for weeks with little food or water. Indonesia and Malaysia say they will take them in temporarily.

President Barack Obama speaks at the Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center on Monday in Camden, N.J.

In Speech, Obama Will Cast Climate Change As 'Immediate Risk' To U.S. Security

6:43am May 20, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

President Obama is expected to discuss the dangers of climate change when he delivers the commencement address today at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Rabbis Diversify To Connect To Students; Just Don't Bring Up Israel

10:46pm May 19, 2015

by Monique Parsons

As the number of religious young people declines, Hillel International is trying to build a "big tent" Judaism for secular and religious students alike. But some say that tent may not be big enough.

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Families harvest poppy bulbs in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. To collect the opium, they score the bulbs and let the milky substance ooze out. The dried residue contains about 10 percent morphine.

Home-Brewed Morphine Is Around The Corner

9:09pm May 19, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

What if microbes could ferment sugar into narcotics, like the way yeasts make beer? That day is quickly approaching. This week scientists report all the steps needed to make morphine in yeast.

A Reddit mascot is shown at the company's headquarters in San Francisco. Reddit has published a new policy aimed at harassment on the site.

National

Reddit's New Harassment Policy Aimed At Creating A 'Safe Platform'

8:20pm May 19, 2015

by NPR Staff

Interim CEO Ellen Pao says the site wants to encourage a variety of views, within limits. "It's not our site's goal to be a completely free-speech platform. We want to be a safe platform," she says.

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The National Security Agency campus in Fort Meade, Md.

National

As Congress Haggles Over Patriot Act, We Answer 6 Basic Questions

8:18pm May 19, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

If you haven't been paying attention, here's a primer on the changes Congress is considering making to U.S. surveillance practices.

Beau Biden, Vice President Joe Biden's Son, Hospitalized

7:50pm May 19, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

The former Delaware attorney general is being treated at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. In 2013, he underwent surgery after being diagnosed with a brain lesion.

A man and his drone: Carlos Casteneda of the Amazon Basin Conservation Association prepares to launch one of his plastic foam planes.

Eyes In The Sky: Foam Drones Keep Watch On Rain Forest Trees

7:46pm May 19, 2015

by Jason Beaubien

The autopilot toy planes, equipped with cameras, help conservationists detect illegal logging and mining earlier in the remote parts of the Amazon basin.

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