America: The land of the lonely

Nearly half of respondents told a national survey they feel alone or left out. Younger people especially reported feeling lonely.

Tanya Habjouqa/Noor Images for NPR The Samaritans are still here, and someone stole their Torahs A thief — or a band of thieves — nabbed two handwritten copies of the Five Books of Moses in 1995. They were, perhaps, the most ancient Torahs stolen in the Holy Land since the Crusaders pillaged Jerusalem. Amid religious tensions over the Samaritans' claims to be the true keepers of the biblical faith as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, NPR's Daniel Estrin follows the hunt to find the Torahs. Carol Guzy/ZUMA Press How Puerto Rico's debt created a perfect storm before the storm The island's government borrowed billions of dollars to pay its bills, a practice the current governor now calls "a big Ponzi scheme." But the U.S. territory didn't fall into financial ruin on its own: Wall Street kept pushing the loans even as Puerto Rico teetered on default. Beneath the devastation from Hurricane Maria, NPR and the PBS series Frontline found the damage that had been created by the economic situation. Gunter Lenz/imageBROKER RF/Getty Images A landowner wants to bring wolves back to the Scottish Highlands The proposal is a limited version of one that reintroduced wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, and similar to that project, the Scottish plan is running into strong opposition. One lawmaker says the canines would return "over my dead body." The Scottish Highlands' last wolf may have been hunted as far back as the early 1700s or earlier. Tara Moore/Getty Images Americans have a lot of company in feeling alone A survey found that loneliness is a widespread feeling in the U.S., with nearly 50 percent of respondents reporting they feel alone or left out always or sometimes. Millennials and Generation Z scored higher on the loneliness scale than baby boomers did. That solo feeling can have health consequences, with research pointing to a link with a higher risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Pedro Cruz/AP Surf's way up Rodrigo Koxa tackled the goliath last November, but it wasn't until late April, upon winning biggest wave of the year, that his record was confirmed. Check out the ride and other Big Wave Award winners. You received this message because you're subscribed to our Best of NPR emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002