U.S.

Almost 8 Years After 'Reset,' U.S.-Russia Tensions Ratchet Back Up

4:59pm December 18, 2016

President Obama promised to "reset" relations with Russia when he took office. But after allegations of Russia interfering in the U.S. election, many say relations are at a low point.

Queue Listen Now

U.S. Kids Now Less Likely To Earn More Than Their Parents

4:59pm December 18, 2016

Stanford University professor of economics Raj Chetty discusses the idea of American upward mobility and why kids are increasingly less likely to earn more money than their parents.

Dishing On Next Year's Food Trends

4:59pm December 18, 2016

Food writer Mimi Sheraton talks about what she expects to see on people's plates in 2017.

Geologists studied these scraps of diamond leftover from the shaping of big jewels.

Big Diamonds Bring Scientists A Message From Superdeep Earth

4:59pm December 18, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

When scientists got their hands on a collection of the world's biggest gem diamonds, they found something surprising inside — clues about what sits hundreds of miles beneath our feet.

Queue Listen Now

Janet (left) and Jackie Carter's wedding in August 2015. They set up a crowdfunding site to help defray the considerable costs of IVF.

Please, Baby, Please: Some Couples Turn To Crowdfunding For IVF

4:30pm December 18, 2016

by Stephanie O'Neill

Infertility is often a private struggle. But some couples are going public — via crowdfunding sites — to help subsidize in vitro fertilization treatments that can cost as much as $20,000 each time.

Queue Listen Now

Men check pipes on Dec. 17, where Corpus Christi's city-owned water main connects with the asphalt plant where a suspected chemical leak led to a citywide ban on tap water use. The ban was lifted Sunday, Dec. 18.

Tap Water In Corpus Christi Is Safe, Authorities Say

3:30pm December 18, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

Water tests by the state environmental agency did not find dangerous levels of a corrosive chemical, after a leak from an asphalt plant led to a citywide drinking water ban beginning Dec. 14.

Colin Ozeki, a high school student with autism, is on track to graduate this year from Millennium Brooklyn High School with an advanced diploma.

Getting Students With Autism Through High School, To College And Beyond

3:07pm December 18, 2016

by Yasmeen Khan

Nationwide, students with autism are enrolling in college in relatively low numbers, even compared to students with other disabilities. One program in New York City is trying to change that.

National

Toddler Dies After Road-Rage Gunfire Hits Car, Little Rock Police Say

2:07pm December 18, 2016

by Bill Chappell

The boy is the second toddler to die in a car-related shooting in the city in the past month. He had been on a shopping trip with his grandmother, police say.

Cali is the 9-year-old miniature dachshund of Republican Rep. Ken Calvert of California. Love of dogs is a rare source of bipartisan agreement.

Despite Partisan Rancor, Democrats And Republicans Can Agree On Dogs

1:22pm December 18, 2016

by Ailsa Chang

The tunnels and offices of Capitol Hill bustle with lawmakers, lobbyists, reporters — and dogs. NPR's Ailsa Chang takes her dog Mickey to meet some congressional canines.

Queue Listen Now

A Lego figure in a wheelchair was introduced at the 67th International Toy Fair in January 2016. He comes in the "City" set, a community of figures shown playing and working in an urban park setting.

Dolls With Disabilities Escape The Toy Hospital, Go Mainstream

11:08am December 18, 2016

by Neda Ulaby

Longtime toymakers are broadening their horizons — offering dolls and other figures with hearing aids, wheelchairs and insulin pumps in city scenes, not just hospitals. That's a start, activists say.

Queue Listen Now