| | Leonardo Santamaria for NPR |
An investigation by NPR and its member stations found many school districts are underreporting how often they restrain or seclude students, most often those with developmental disabilities. A woman in a Virginia district that for years told the government it never used the tactics has 437 documented instances of her autistic son being restrained or secluded. "I just trusted the school ... we were at our wits' end with the behaviors and stuff. But it actually just made it worse."
The "Great Dying," the biggest extinction the planet has ever seen, happened some 250 million years ago and was largely caused by greenhouse gases. Scientists say they're beginning to see alarming similarities between the Great Dying and what we're doing to our atmosphere.
Robocalls now make up nearly a quarter of all phone calls in the U.S., and only about a third of Americans still answer calls from numbers they don't recognize. The FCC tried to chart a way forward this week, encouraging phone companies to block spam calls by default, rather than making customers ask or pay for the service. But with spoofed phone numbers and ever-changing tactics by scammers, this is a fight that's far from over.
The U.S. and China have been brawling for months over trade and technology issues, with the leaders of the two countries seeming to pull them further and further apart. But on a reporting trip around China, NPR's Steve Inskeep found many people with close ties to both nations. Here are some of their stories.
This week marked the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of coastal France in World War II. Dozens of U.S. veterans of the operation attended ceremonies, and other Americans participated in re-creations, including parachute jumps out of vintage planes. Leslie P. Cruise, 95, was one of the original paratroopers and survived 33 days of severe fighting after landing in the French countryside. He told NPR that Americans should "appreciate what history has done for them and what it has done for this country" and find ways to live up to his generation's sacrifices.
In February 1995, country singer Ty Herndon released "What Mattered Most," and it went to the top of the charts. "I thought I knew the girl so well," he sings at the top of the track. "If she was sad, I couldn't tell." Herndon came out as gay in 2014 and this year, to coincide with Pride Month, he is re-releasing his hit, with the lyrics changed to be about a boy.
Thirty years ago, a popular uprising in China was answered by a bloody crackdown. The government has all but erased awareness of Tiananmen Square within China, but survivors of the bloodshed hope to keep its memory alive and released never-before-seen images of the events this week. Veteran NPR correspondent Deb Amos explains how she covered Tiananmen Square at a time when Western outlets' coverage was being used by the Communist Party to target people for arrest.
If you have an anxious dog, there's a good chance you're an anxious owner. New research based on hormones found in hair samples suggests that not only do dogs mirror their owners' emotions, but also that the owners' personalities appear to override the dogs'. |
How an improbable politician became one of the most powerful people in America |
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is one of the most powerful people in the country — even though he is not a charismatic politician.
Whether you hate him, and you want to beat him in 2020, or if you love him, and you want him to stay in power, knowing where he comes from tells you a lot about how he operates — and how that affects our country.
We'll look at McConnell's earliest races, his time in the Senate and his most recent iteration, as a leading lieutenant to President Trump. And we're going to hear from the man himself. |
For her Future You series, Elise Hu is testing the science exploring the farthest capabilities of human biology. For this episode, she spent six weeks zapping her brain with an Olympic-athlete-tested brain-boosting device, with a goal of increasing her vertical leap.
When Quinn Christopherson found out he won NPR's 2019 Tiny Desk Contest, his first thought was, "Dang, I should buy a guitar." Even on some borrowed gear, he and his bandmate's confidence shone through. Check out Christopherson's intricate story songs. |
Puget Sound Regional Archives |
Meet Linda Taylor, the woman for whom the phrase "welfare queen" was coined. Thing is, she doesn't fit the lazy stereotype. Linda Taylor was a hustler and scammer who did fraudulently get some money out of the government, but also convinced marks she was a heart surgeon, their future wife, a member of every race under the sun. Code Switch digs into her story and how she was turned into a symbol.
It's an old trope: Women are always cold and want the house or office to be warmer, and men are always overheated and want the house or office to be cooler. But new research shows the battle for the thermostat has a real impact on cognitive capabilities and productivity.
In Episode 4 of White Lies, NPR finds an eyewitness to the deadly attack on civil rights activist the Rev. James Reeb who says that who and what she saw on that night has been kept secret for more than 50 years — until now.
Reporter Jim DeRogatis has been chasing the story of R&B singer R. Kelly's alleged relationships with teenage girls for nearly 20 years. He talks with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the rumors that had been around since 1991 and about the music industry that he says enabled Kelly: "It all happened as everybody watched and nobody did anything." |
Monday: Come And Play, Everything's A-OK |
As part of the show's 50th anniversary, the muppets of Sesame Street stormed the NPR newsroom and Tiny Desk, drawing big crowds of ogling journalists everywhere they went. "The mutual admiration — and, if I'm being honest, full-blown nerding out — was apparent on both sides," said Matt Vogel, Sesame Street's puppet captain and performer. Watch the most magical show in Tiny Desk history on Monday at NPR.org.
— Jill Hudson, NPR newsletters editor
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