A Los Angeles community theater uses puppets to offer an escape amid wildfires
Communities in Los Angeles are trying to find moments of togetherness and joy. That's included a singing and dancing puppet named Yellow Cat.
Fish Return To A Mining County River
The Cheat River runs through historic mining country in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. Coal has been an economic boost to the area, but often at a cost to the environment. The Cheat was one such casualty.
Authorities Investigate Possible Serial Murders In Cleveland
Police and FBI in East Cleveland are piecing together information after three bodies were found in trash bags over the weekend. Authorities believe the killings are related, and a man is in custody in connection with the case. Officials say they don't know if there are more bodies to be found in the hardscrabble Cleveland suburb.
Royal Baby News Or No? Guardian Lets Web Visitors Decide
The Guardian's U.S. editor in chief, Janine Gibson, discusses how the news organization came up with the idea to let visitors to its website see news about the royal baby or not. You can click on "Royalist" or "Republican." (In the U.S., the choice is "Royalist" or "Not a royalist.") We muse on what this means.
MLB Suspends Brewers Star Ryan Braun
Major League Baseball announced Monday it is suspending Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun for the rest of the season for violating doping policy. Robert Siegel talks with NPR's Tom Goldman about the move.
Lack Of Leaders Puts Strain On Homeland Security Department
Fifteen top posts at the Department of Homeland Security, including retiring Secretary Janet Napolitano's position, are now vacant or soon will be. Many are being filled on a temporary basis, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle want the Obama administration to get busy filling those jobs, too.
Remembering The North's First Black Civil War Unit
The 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry fought a historic battle Civil War battle 150 years ago, historic in part because it was the first all-black regiment from the North to do battle in the war to end slavery. Host Jacki Lyden discusses the assault on Fort Wagner with historian Steven Hill.
The Voting Rights Act: Hard-Won Gains, An Uncertain Future
The Supreme Court overturned a key provision of the civil rights-era legislation in June. Free of past restrictions, some states acted quickly to change their voting laws, and it is now up to Congress to figure out where the act goes from here and how to continue to protect voters from discrimination.