NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts NPR delivers breaking national and world news. Also top stories from business, politics, health, science, technology, music, arts and culture. Subscribe to podcasts and RSS feeds.

Latest Newscast

The core of the RBT-3 reactor at the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Dimitrovgrad, Russia. Some scientists suspect the institute's work on medical isotopes might explain radioactivity detected over Europe. Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images

Clues In That Mysterious Radioactive Cloud Point Toward Russia

Western scientists say they may never know the source of the cloud of ruthenium-106 that hovered over Europe last month. But what little data there is suggests a research facility inside Russia.

A Bangladeshi child works in a brick-breaking yard in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on June 3, 2017. The broken bricks are mixed in with concrete. Typically working barefoot and with rough utensils, a child worker earns less than $2 a day. Mehedi Hasan/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mehedi Hasan/NurPhoto via Getty Images

New Numbers On Child Labor Are Not Encouraging

A report from the U.N.'s International Labour Organization looks at how many children work, what kind of jobs they perform — and how to stop it.

Chef Erin French, who is self-taught, opened the Lost Kitchen in her hometown of Freedom, Maine. This year, when the restaurant began taking reservations on April 1, it sold out all seatings for the entire year within hours. Courtesy of Nicole Franzen hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Nicole Franzen

Lost Kitchen Restaurant Made Chef's Small Hometown A Dining Destination

One of the most coveted dinner experiences in America is a 40-seat restaurant in rural Maine where the chef prides herself in serving local food that diners recognize on the plate.

Lost Kitchen Restaurant Made Chef's Small Hometown A Dining Destination

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/564828392/564936632" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Distracted driving is a growing problem, accounting for at least 12 percent of road crashes worldwide. Young men are more likely to be distracted, a study finds. Kathleen Finlay/Cultura RF/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Kathleen Finlay/Cultura RF/Getty Images

Young Men, Frequent Drivers Most Likely To Get Distracted While Driving

Distracted driving is a growing problem, accounting for at least 12 percent of road crashes worldwide. Phones don't help. But personality and gender may play a role, too, researchers say.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has brought the Foreign Agents Registrations Act into the spotlight with indictments last month of Paul Manafort and his longtime business associate Rick Gates. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Win McNamee/Getty Images

A 'Toothless' Old Law Could Have New Fangs, Thanks To Robert Mueller

The Foreign Agents Registration Act has been ignored in lobbying circles for decades and called "a complete joke." Mueller may bring the laughter to an end.

A technician examines the mirror on the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. Scientists at two national laboratories are currently building the components for an enormous digital camera that will capture images from the telescope. Joe McNally/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Joe McNally/Getty Images

The Largest Digital Camera In The World Takes Shape

A two-story tall, digital camera is taking shape in California. It will ultimately go on a telescope in Chile where it will survey the sky, looking for things that appear suddenly or change over time.

The Largest Digital Camera In The World Takes Shape

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/562365248/564752481" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives at her Berlin party headquarters Friday for talks with members of potential coalition parties to form a new government. Kay Nietfeld/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Kay Nietfeld/AFP/Getty Images

Germany's Merkel, Weakened After Poor Election Showing, Struggles To Form Government

The unprecedented prospect of a repeat election looms as Merkel and her diverse would-be coalition partners try to surmount differences. "This could be the end of Angela Merkel," warns a commentator.

A laptop in the Netherlands was one of hundreds of thousands infected by ransomware in May. The malware reportedly originated with the NSA. Rob Engelaar/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Rob Engelaar/AFP/Getty Images

Government Outlines When It Will Disclose Or Exploit Software Vulnerabilities

The Trump administration put out guidelines for how the government will decide what software vulnerabilities it will share with tech companies to fix, and which ones it will keep to itself for spying.

In a monologue on her Hulu show I Love You, America, comedian Sarah Silverman described the sadness and anger she feels about her friend Louis C.K., following his admission of sexual misconduct. Screengrab by NPR/I Love You America on YouTube hide caption

toggle caption
Screengrab by NPR/I Love You America on YouTube

Sarah Silverman Asks: 'Can You Love Someone Who Did Bad Things?'

In an emotional monologue, Silverman addressed "the elephant masturbating in the room" and plumbed the anger and sadness she feels about her friend Louis C.K.'s actions.

A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a group allied with the United States, walks through debris in Raqqa, formerly the de facto capital of Islamic State. Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images

Pentagon Says It's Staying In Syria, Even Though ISIS Appears Defeated

The U.S. is keeping its troops in Syria and continues to press for a political settlement to that country's civil war. It's far from clear whether the U.S. has sufficient leverage to achieve that.

Pentagon Says It's Staying In Syria, Even Though ISIS Appears Defeated

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/564620907/564752469" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — and its controversial center for innovation — is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and has its headquarters outside D.C., in Woodlawn, Md. Jay Mallin/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Jay Mallin/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Canadians Root For An Underdog Health Policy Idea From The U.S.

Kaiser Health News

A center created by the Affordable Care Act to foster innovations in health care is at risk in Donald Trump's U.S. But some Canadian health analysts see it as a model for curbing health care's cost.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe looks on as he attends the 2nd Session of the South Africa-Zimbabwe binational Commission (BNC) last month. Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images

Defiant Mugabe Refuses To Step Down As Zimbabwe's President

The 93-year-old ruler, who has been under house arrest since the military staged a takeover on Wednesday, is insisting that he be allowed to serve out his term until elections next year.

It's great when generations get together to pass down family traditions, especially if the little ones might need a little extra time to get on board. Raquel Zaldivar/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Raquel Zaldivar/NPR

Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish Takes Heat From One Of The Family's Own

It's the Friday before Thanksgiving. That means it's time for NPR's Susan Stamberg's traditional recipe that "sounds terrible but tastes terrific" — though her granddaughter begs to differ.

Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish Takes Heat From One Of The Family's Own

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/564320714/564752487" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript