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Small drones have a problem — their battery life runs out relatively quickly. A team of roboticists says it has created special landing gear that can help conserve precious battery life.

President Trump stunned lawmakers and guests in the House chamber when he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh in the middle of his prime-time speech.

Recreational fishermen and conservation groups worry overfishing for menhaden threatens the Chesapeake Bay. Industry says current data doesn't support shutting down the more than century-old fishery.

A year ago, New Zealand enacted what are likely the world's toughest anti-smoking laws. The new conservative government plans a repeal — and an end to the Maori Health Authority. Protests have ensued.

Abortion rights advocates are concerned that a conservative-leaning Supreme Court might reverse or substantially erode Roe v. Wade. Under that scenario, states could have free reign to restrict the procedure.

The bill signing comes after months of work on Capitol Hill and years of changed attitudes — even as the threat looms that the conservative Supreme Court could roll back same-sex marriage rights.

The short-term measure passed the House Thursday evening after a key bloc of conservative Republicans said they would support it. Passage in the Senate is still unclear as funding runs out Friday.

NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports that Texas Sen. Phil Gramm announced today that he would end his bid for the Republican presidential nomination after placing fifth in Monday's Iowa caucuses. Gramm's bid for the presidency was marked by an impressive fundraising and organizational effort, but his fiscally and socially conservative message never struck a chord with many voters. The question now is where his supporters will go -- to Pat Buchanan, who is expected to attract many of the social conservatives who backed Gramm, or to Bob Dole, who has a similar committment to balancing the federal budget.

Robert Dornan now looks as if he's lost his bid to return to Congress for a tenth term. Latina challenger Loretta Sanchez is ahead by close to 1,000 votes, a week after the election, with only two or three thousand absentee and provisional votes still to count. NPR's Ina Jaffe reports that it was absentee ballots and a strong Latino vote that overturned the fiery conservative in his equally conservative Orange County, California. Dornan is threatening to challenge the results, claiming that Democrats may have signed up ineligible immigrant voters.

Many judicial nominations remain stalled in the Senate, and it will take more than rhetoric to break the logjam. Conservative groups have traditionally lavished big money on judicial contests. But now Democratic lobbyist Robert Raben is pushing back. He has created a PAC to donate to senators who advance progressive nominees. It has only raised a pittance so far, but the idea is to bundle donations from lawyers all over the country and counteract some of that conservative money.

In India, Hindu nationalists have passed laws making it harder for interfaith couples to marry. The laws have increased a stigma and emboldened extremists to interrupt weddings.

Democrats are playing a weak hand in the battle over Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court. Unlike Republicans, Democrats have not played the long game when it comes to focusing on the judiciary.

When Syria's new leaders shut 60 Damascus bars, drinkers protested, and the government reversed itself. It's an example of the tussle between secular and Islamist values in the new Syria.

It's been nearly two years since Elon Musk bought Twitter and turned it into X. He has turned the platform into a megaphone for himself and, increasingly, for former President Donald Trump.

Commentator Paul Durrenberger muses about our obsession with the weather. The subject often works its way into telphon conversations--especially long distance. Its as if we think if we know what the weather will be wecan do something to change it.

Since her breakout success in the mid-1990s, Sheryl Crow has maintained her status as one of music's most successful and popular artists. She visits the World Cafe for music and conversation about her forthcoming album, Wildflower.

For years, there were rumors that filmmaker Henry Jaglom had taped hours of his conversations with Orson Welles but that the tapes had been lost. They weren't. Now the transcripts have been released in a new book, edited and introduced by Peter Biskind.

Robert Crumb, the iconic cartoonist and illustrator, lives in a small French village and does not often speak to the media. In a conversation with Frank Browning, he talks about his love of music from bygone days and his band, the Cheap Suit Serenaders.

At the end of a year in which pop songs were a constant, provocative part of the national conversation, NPR Music critic Ann Powers sifts through the 100 most popular songs of the year to highlight 10 pure pop pleasures worth remembering.

James Linton tricked many high-profile people into having conversations with him over email by using other people's identities. NPR's Elise Hu speaks with Linton about how relatively easy it was and why he has decided to retire.