History

A new dinosaur species, with blade-like spiked armor, has been identified

5:51am June 19, 2023

The fossilized remains were found on the Isle of Wight in the English Channel. The new dinosaur's name is Vectipelta barretti — after Professor Paul Barrett from the Natural History Museum in London.

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On this Juneteenth: A reading of the Emancipation Proclamation

5:14am June 19, 2023

For the observation of the federal Juneteenth holiday, NPR examines and reads the Emancipation Proclamation.

Virginia Del. Sally Hudson's campaign for state Senate has held informal house parties, including this one in Charlottesville, Va. on June 12. Hudson, a 35-year-old economist, says she'd lead on progressive issues in a state Senate she argues is dominated by older white men.

For Democrats trying to retake Virginia legislature, fiery primaries are first hurdle

5:00am June 19, 2023

by Ben Paviour

It's nearly been two years since Virginia Democrats lost the governor's office and the House to the GOP. Before attempting a comeback this fall, they must first survive Tuesday's expensive primaries.

A young boy walks past a painting depicting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a Juneteenth celebration in Los Angeles in 2020. Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control of the state and ensure all enslaved people be freed, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

National

Juneteenth, the newest federal holiday, is gaining awareness

5:00am June 19, 2023

by Alana Wise

Monday marks the Juneteenth holiday — a date commemorating the fall of slavery in the United States. While it's a new federal holiday, it's been celebrated since the 1860s.

National

A cemetery in Sugar Land, Texas, forces city to confront its history

5:19pm June 18, 2023

A new podcast from The Texas Newsroom explores the discovery of a cemetery in Sugar Land, Texas.

Britain's Boris Johnson, pictured in 2021, resigned as prime minister last year, but his policies are still felt. He resigned his seat in the House of Commons last week after receiving a draft of a report excoriating his behavior as prime minister.

As the U.S. and democracies worldwide face threats, Britain shows how to fight back

5:00am June 16, 2023

by Frank Langfitt

With democracy under siege around the world, the U.K. offers a glimmer of hope. Despite attacks from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Britain's institutions resisted.

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In this 2020 photo, survivors walk below a gate with the inscription "Work sets you free" after a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial site of the former German Nazi death camp Auschwitz during ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the camp's liberation in Oswiecim, Poland.

World News

Germany will pay more than $1.4 billion next year to survivors of Nazi atrocities

1:51pm June 15, 2023

by Bill Chappell

Nearly $890 million will go toward home care services — an increasingly vital aspect of the reparation effort, as Holocaust victims advance in age.

New York Army National Guard Sgt. William Henry Johnson, circa 1919.

National

The U.S. Army renames a base in honor of Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black WWI hero

1:47pm June 14, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Louisiana's Fort Polk became Fort Johnson, the latest Army base to replace its Confederate name. It now honors a soldier who earned a Medal of Honor a century after the night that made him a hero.

State courts in every state highlighted on this map have cited cases involving enslaved people in the 1980s or later.

National

Slave cases are still cited as good law across the U.S. This team aims to change that

6:36am June 14, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Michigan State law professor Justin Simard says 18% of all published American cases are within two steps of a slave case. His team has spent years documenting them, hoping to force a legal reckoning.

Arizona state Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, a Democrat and Presbyterian minister, speaks at a news conference in San Pedro Garza García, Mexico on May 27, 2022.

Arizona Republicans try and fail to expel Democratic lawmaker over Bible prank

7:25pm June 13, 2023

by Ben Giles

Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, who is a minister, was investigated after hiding Bibles in the Arizona House lounge. Republicans narrowly voted to censure – but could not expel – her.