Around the Nation

A chalkboard "bucket list" stirred imaginations and got people talking at an Indianapolis festival designed to help make conversations about death easier.

Death Talk Is Cool At This Festival

9:54am May 29, 2016

by Jake Harper

How to make thinking about death less somber? Hold a festival! Indianapolis did. Through art, film and book talks, residents explored everything from bucket lists to advance directives and cremation.

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Video shot by a witness shows the 17-year-old gorilla handling the child and standing over him in the enclosure's moat.

National

Gorilla Killed To Save Boy At Cincinnati Zoo

9:50am May 29, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

After a 4-year-old slipped into the gorilla enclosure on a crowded day at the Cincinnati Zoo, a security team killed the gorilla to save the child. A tranquilizer shot was deemed too dicey.

Guns Strike Emotional Chords For People On Both Sides Of The Political Debate

6:00am May 29, 2016

by Sam Sanders

Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have been talking a lot about guns recently. But how much will that issue matter with voters in November?

Ault Mayor Butch White stands on a road dividing two farms, one irrigated and one dried up.

In Colorado, Farmers and Cities Battle Over Water Rights

3:37am May 29, 2016

by Liz Baker

In 1985 the city of Thornton, Colo. bought up nearby farmland and water rights from its farms. Now, some of those farms are drying up.

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National

How To Spell T-I-E

5:34pm May 28, 2016

Two finalists in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Jairam Hathwar and Nihar Janga, battled for 25 rounds to a stalemate. The co-champions talk about their winning strategies.

Could Thinking Positively About Aging Be The Secret Of Health?

8:36am May 28, 2016

by Ina Jaffe

People who have positive images of aging and have a purpose in life live years longer than those who are negative, studies find. They also have less risk of stroke and Alzheimer's disease.

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A gender neutral sign is posted outside a bathrooms at Oval Park Grill in Durham, North Carolina.

Politics & Government

Before North Carolina, There Were Other Contentious 'Bathroom Bill' Fights

8:34am May 28, 2016

by Brady Carlson

New Hampshire was the site of one of the first legislative battle grounds over transgender rights.

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Hands joining graduate jigsaw puzzle pieces

How To Fix A Graduation Rate Of 1 In 10? Ask The Dropouts

8:33am May 28, 2016

by Gabrielle Emanuel

Across the country, public universities are struggling with abysmal graduation rates. Here's one campus — San Jose State University — that's trying to do something about it.

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As Democratic Convention Nears, The Battle To Unite Under One Candidate

8:16am May 28, 2016

Ed Rendell, chairman of this year's Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, talks to NPR's Scott Simon about his expectations for the convention, and how to unify the party under one candidate.

At Century Mark, Indy 500 Sells Out For First Time In Decades

8:16am May 28, 2016

by Quinn Klinefelter

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500. Even though it remains the most famous auto race in the world, it's sold out this year for the first time in decades.