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Mary Klein had just moved to a new city when she got lost. A couple stopped to help and guided her home. They returned the next day with Christmas dinner.

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Crime rates dropped across much of the U.S. in 2025. That was true for both property and violent crime. And it declined nearly everywhere: In big cities and small towns, and in red and blue states.

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AN NPR survey finds that people with disability still find hotels unaccommodating, even 35 years after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

(Image credit: Richard Beaven for NPR, via Cory Lee, Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR and via Karen Lohr)

At the Plum Island Museum of Lost Toys and Curiosities, one-time treasures bring back memories and are a reminder of the eternal life of plastic waste.

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DHS's handling of the incident raises questions about the department's oversight mechanisms to investigate employee misconduct.

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Today, people consider "Yule" synonymous with "Christmas." But centuries ago, Yule meant something different — a pagan mid-winter festival, dating back to pre-Christian Germanic people.

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Still looking for a last-minute Christmas gift? A new poll finds that most people find cash or gift cards an acceptable holiday gift.

Morning Edition about marking Christmas this year with the church's first in-person Christmas Eve service since the fire,'/>

NPR's Michel Martin checks in with Middle Collegiate Church in Manhattan as it celebrates its first Christmas service since a devastating fire in 2020.

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A Christmas Eve Powerball drawing could add new meaning to holiday cheer as millions of players hope to cash in on the $1.7 billion prize.

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The State Department announced Tuesday it was barring five Europeans it accused of leading efforts to pressure U.S. tech firms to censor or suppress American viewpoints.

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A coalition of 19 states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday sued the Department of Health and Human Services over a declaration that could complicate access to gender-affirming care for young people.

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The explosion collapsed a part of the building and happened just as a utility crew had been on site looking for a gas leak at Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township, just outside Philadelphia.

(Image credit: Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer)

Despite tensions between the Vatican and Israel's government over the Gaza war, some Jews and Christians living in Israel are trying to build trust between their communities.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Trump on Tuesday, refusing to reinstate, for now, Trump's ability to send National Guard troops into the state of Illinois over the objections of the governor.

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Our most popular global health and development stories in 2025 covered the human impact of the upheaval in U.S. foreign aid, surprising news about familiar diseases and the beauty of earth captured by drone cameras.

(Image credit: Clockwise from top left: U.S. Embassy Zambia; Mohammad Ataei Mohammadi; Claire Harbage/NPR; Tommy Trenchard for NPR)

About 5.5 million borrowers are currently in default. They haven't risked wage garnishment since the beginning of the pandemic, when policymakers paused the practice.

The Department of Justice has been publicly posting files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation since Friday.

(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker)

One of Vince Zampella's crowning achievements was the creation of the Call of Duty franchise, which has sold more than half a billion games worldwide.

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Scientists have developed an experimental way to study how human embryos implant in a uterus, which may provide new insights into why miscarriages occur and how they can be prevented.

(Image credit: Matteo Molè at the Babraham Institute.)

Photographs help us look back on the moments that defined the year. Taken by NPR photojournalists nationwide, this collection goes beyond the headlines to reveal quietly powerful human stories.

(Image credit: Tyler Russell)