Around the Nation

American student Otto Warmbier speaks as he is presented to reporters in Pyongyang, North Korea in Feb. 2016.

National

Family Says Otto Warmbier, American Released By North Korea, Has Died

6:52pm June 19, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

The 22-year-old student, who was freed last week after more than a year in North Korean detention, died Monday. Doctors said last week that he had "extensive loss of tissue" in all parts of his brain.

The Phoenix Mercury's Diana Taurasi set the WNBA's all-time scoring record on Sunday. Above, Taurasi drives past the Connecticut Sun in a May 2016 game.

Diana Taurasi Breaks WNBA All-Time Scoring Record

5:25pm June 19, 2017

by Laurel Wamsley

Taurasi now stands alone atop the league's all-time scoring table, with 7,494 points, an average of 19.9 points per game. "It's a pretty cool, special moment," she said.

National

Death Valley National Park Prepares Tourists For Summer Heat Wave

4:33pm June 19, 2017

NPR's Kelly McEvers talks to Abby Wines, management assistant at Death Valley Park in California, about how tourists at national parks can prepare for the heat wave in the West.

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In Oklahoma, GOP Lawmakers Support Tax Increases To Solve Budget Crisis

4:33pm June 19, 2017

by Joe Wertz

Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma and other states plagued by budget shortfalls are doing something they swore they would never do: voting to raise taxes.

Alaska Governor Raises Concerns About Republican Health Care Efforts

4:33pm June 19, 2017

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Alaska Gov. Bill Walker about his concerns with the American Health Care Act. With its remote rural communities, Alaska has some of the highest insurance costs in the country.

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Bookstore Owner Sues California Over Law Regulating Autographed Items

4:33pm June 19, 2017

by Mandalit del Barco

A new California law regulates how autographed items may be sold. Originally intended to cover sports memorabilia and an apparently thriving market in fake autographs, bookstores are worried it will shut down popular author book signings. Now one of them has filed suit.

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National

Man Charged In Killing Of Muslim Teenager In Virginia

3:02pm June 19, 2017

by Laurel Wamsley

Darwin A. Martinez Torres, 22, is accused of killing Nabra Hassanen of Reston, Va., who was reportedly walking with her friends back to a mosque after getting breakfast early Sunday.

Kamni Vallabh helps her daughter Sonia get ready for her wedding, a few months before Kamni started showing symptoms of the prion disease that would kill her.

A Mother's Early Death Drives Her Daughter To Find A Treatment

2:27pm June 19, 2017

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Sonia Vallabh knows that by the time she's middle-aged, a rare inherited disease will likely start killing off her brain cells. She and her husband have become scientists to try to stop the disease.

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The Supreme Court has not ruled on "purely partisan gerrymanders," which means drawing voting districts with the aim of strengthening one political party, since 2004.

Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Wisconsin Gerrymandering Case

12:35pm June 19, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

It offers the court a chance to formally determine a metric on what constitutes unlawful gerrymandering, which could have major implications for the way voting districts are drawn in other states.

The Wyoming toad population in 1985 totaled 16. Today, there are 1,500 and it remains as one of 12 endangered species in the state.

Wyoming Toads Begin To Recover As States Seek Endangered Species Act Reforms

12:01pm June 19, 2017

by Cooper McKim

Western lawmakers and members of Congress are pushing to change the Endangered Species Act. They want states to have more control over which animals and plants the act protects.