Around the Nation

A close-up of soldiers in a diorama called "Desperation at Skull Camp Bridge." Here, Union cavalry tries to stem a Confederate breakthrough.

National

A Mew-seum? Civil War Stories, Told With Tiny Tails

5:05am August 18, 2016

by NPR Staff

The stars of the exhibits at Civil War Tails are the nearly 2,000 tiny clay soldiers. Their blue and gray uniforms are meticulously detailed, down to piping and patches. Look closely: They are cats.

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The condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, is inherited and can be a killer. But some of the genetic mutations once thought linked to the illness are actually harmless, geneticists say.

Study Of Sudden Cardiac Death Exposes Limits Of Genetic Testing

8:57pm August 17, 2016

by Richard Harris

Some genetic tests for a common cause of sudden heart failure can be wrong, researchers say, because the underlying science didn't take into account racial diversity.

National

Target Announces Expansion Of Bathroom Options In U.S. Stores

8:53pm August 17, 2016

by Richard Gonzales

The retail giant denies that a backlash to its policy of opening bathrooms to transgender choice has caused a slide in sales.

An air tanker fights California's Bluecut wildfire with flame retardant. Fire experts say Bluecut has burned and spread with a ferocity they've never seen before.

Explosive Bluecut Wildfire Challenges California Crews

8:39pm August 17, 2016

by Kirk Siegler

"It hit hard, it hit fast, it hit with an intensity that we haven't seen before," San Bernardino County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig says. "There will be a lot of families that come home to nothing."

National

Louisiana Flooding Damage Reports, Still Preliminary, Are Sobering

7:47pm August 17, 2016

by Richard Gonzales

Early damage reports don't yet reveal the full extent of the damage caused by flooding in Louisiana, but at least 11 people have been killed and 30,000 evacuated. Some 40,000 homes have been damaged.

Containers hold genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes before being released in Panama City, Panama, in September 2014.

Florida Keys Opposition Stalls Tests Of Genetically Altered Mosquitoes

6:47pm August 17, 2016

by Greg Allen

The Food and Drug Administration has approved release of genetically engineered mosquitoes in an effort to halt the spread of Zika virus. But residents of the Florida Keys aren't keen on the concept.

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A firestorm engulfs the Mormon Rocks area in the San Bernardino National Forest off State Highway 138 in Phelan, Calif., as the Bluecut Fire rages out of control Tuesday afternoon.

National

Out-Of-Control Southern California Brush Fire Forces 80,000 To Evacuate

5:40pm August 17, 2016

by Kirk Siegler

The Bluecut Fire east of Los Angeles has burned 15,000 acres and shut down Interstate 15, which links Los Angeles with Las Vegas and points north.

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Scientists Engineer An Opioid That May Reduce Pain With Less Risk

5:20pm August 17, 2016

by Angus Chen

Opioids lock to a receptor in the brain that controls pain relief, pleasure and need. A new compound may offer relief without as much risk of addiction or overdose. But it's only been tested in mice.

Wilkinsburg High School's class of 2016, its last graduating class after over a century in operation.

Episode 13: Struggling School, Or Sanctuary?

5:08pm August 17, 2016

by Shereen Marisol Meraji

Black kids are disproportionately affected by school closures. Shereen Marisol Meraji reports on what it's like when a predominantly black neighborhood loses its only public high school.

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Manhattan Beach: The Spiritual Home Of American Beach Volleyball

4:32pm August 17, 2016

by Becky Sullivan

Manhattan Beach in California is the home court of several Olympic beach volleyball players, including Kerri Walsh-Jennings who is playing for a bronze medal Wednesday night.