Around the Nation

National

Elizabeth Laird, Who Gave Hugs To Soldiers At Fort Hood, Dies At 83

4:12pm December 25, 2015

by Ina Jaffe

Elizabeth Laird was known as the hug lady because she met every deployment — coming or going — from Fort Hood and gave each soldier a hug. She died Thursday on Christmas Eve.

Rural Wyoming Town's First Mosque Sparks Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

4:12pm December 25, 2015

by Miles Bryan

The first mosque recently opened its doors in the rural town of Gillette, Wyo. It didn't get much attention at first, but then a group of locals started a Facebook group called "Stop Islam in Gillette." This has been hard for a Muslim family with deep roots in the area.

Sergio Cervetti (left) and Ken Rinker have been together for 50 years. They were legally father and son for 15 years before annulling the adoption to get married in July.

National

On Paper As Parent And Child, Gay Couples Annul Adoptions To Marry

3:23pm December 25, 2015

by Laura Benshoff

Before same-sex marriage became legal across the U.S., some couples would become father and son to get rights they were otherwise denied. Adoptions were the best option at the time.

National

N.C. Shoppers Dive For Cover; Off-Duty Officer Kills Gunman

7:34am December 25, 2015

by Doreen McCallister

At a crowded mall in Charlotte, Christmas Eve shoppers scattered after shots were fired, and an off-duty officer fatally shot a man who pointed a gun in his direction.

Politics & Government

Marco Rubio's Political Roots Began Where He Grew Up, West Miami

7:11am December 25, 2015

by Greg Allen

One way to get to know the presidential candidates is to look at the people and places that helped shape them. (This piece initially aired on June 22, 2015 on All Things Considered.)

Queue Listen Now

Bottled Canadian Air Sells Well In China

7:04am December 25, 2015

Vitality Air reports sales are brisk in China for cans of air from Banff or from Lake Louise — both high up in the Canadian Rockies. The Chinese are dealing with a major pollution problem.

Feds To Open Shelters For Unaccompanied Minors From Latin America

6:20am December 25, 2015

by John Burnett

Several centers for migrant children have opened in Texas. Authorities expect more children and families escaping violence from Central America to make their way north to the U.S. this coming year.

World News

U.S. Hostages Held In Iran For 444 Days Finally To Get Compensated

6:11am December 25, 2015

When former U.S. Marine Rocky Sickmann found out about the compensation, he pulled over to the side of the road and sobbed. He talked to David Greene about his experience 30 years ago.

Artist Rogan Brown's paper sculptures are many times larger than the organisms that inspire them. Magic Circle Variation 5 is approximately 39 inches wide by 39 inches tall in its entirety. Brown has created multiple versions of Magic Circle, the shape of

Is This Snowy Wonderland Or The World Inside A Petri Dish?

5:26am December 25, 2015

by Meredith Rizzo

Artist Rogan Brown peers into the invisible worlds of microbes, then uses their forms as the inspiration for large paper sculptures that seem at once familiar and profoundly alien.

Capt. Kermit Travers is one of the last African-American skipjack captains. The nearly 60 years he has spent on the water have been without a life jacket — even though he can't swim.

National

A Captain On The Chesapeake Bay, 'Lost' Without A Skipjack

5:10am December 25, 2015

by NPR Staff

Kermit Travers, 78, one of the last African-American skipjack captains, reflects on his nearly 60 years harvesting oysters on the Chesapeake Bay.