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The Trump administration has finalized a plan to open the coastal plain of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, renewing long-simmering debate over whether to drill in one of the nation's most sensitive wilderness areas.

Scientists have found a way to sample DNA out of the air on a nationwide scale -- making it possible to one day track the health and well being of species around the globe.

Researchers have developed a smartphone app that can help diagnose an ear infection. Parents will be able to use it at home, pending further tests and Food and Drug Administration approval.

From the tiny Baltic nation of Estonia, some 30 nations are participating in mock cyberwar exercises. While the annual NATO-led exercise may be fiction, the threat emanating from Russia is very real.

Some residents are deeply skeptical of the border wall, fearing it will aggravate flooding problems and cut them off culturally from the Rio Grande river that has defined this landscape.

While the poverty rate finally fell to prerecession levels in 2018, the number of people without health insurance increased, and about one in eight Americans still lived below the poverty line.

Babies in Native American and Alaska Native families are at higher risk of sudden unexplained infant death, despite years of effort to reduce the toll. African-American families also face higher risk.

The top U.S. military commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, briefs both the Senate Armed Services and the Senate Foreign Relations committees Tuesday on the military situation in Iraq. Lawmakers will also be updated on political developments by the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker.

Research finds the mind body practice of tai chi can keep people mentally sharp. Adding games, such as spelling words backwards and forwards, even adds to the cognitive boost.

New cases of asthma dropped dramatically in Los Angeles communities where air quality improved the most over 20 years. The results illustrate health benefits from pollution control.

The Trump administration's tariffs are fueling concerns about a potential recession, especially after the economy shrank in the first quarter of 2025. What is recession and who declares one?

The country has beat back the winter surge, and experts credit Americans' improved compliance with precautions like mask-wearing. But we could we still face a resurgence if we let up.

Jones has been working double-time this year. He joins Linda Wertheimer to discuss a new memoir, tracing his life from a Welsh coal town to 20 years of superstardom — as well as a new album.

The singer-songwriter, renowned for his hushed work, looked to his surroundings for inspiration on his new album, Local Valley.

NPR photographer John Poole took a vacation in New Zealand and brought back photographic souvenirs.

A sea squirt's chief claim to fame is that of a pest. It grows on boat hulls and pilings, pumping water in one hole and out the other. But an international team of scientists has recently seized on the squirt as a way to study the evolutionary history of humans and other vertebrates. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

Playlist: Bob Dylan "Things Have Changed" The Wonderboy CD single — Bonnie Raitt "Two Lights in the Nighttime" Souls Alike — Taj Mahal "Corrina Corrina" Best Of Taj Mahal — Special Live on World Cafe: Dar Williams "Two Sides of the River" My Better Self

Meshell Ndegeocello has released five critically acclaimed albums since 1993 that featured socially provocative lyrics driven by a solid groove. On her latest CD, Ndegeocello leaves her husky voice behind and lets her bass guitar take center stage. Felix Contreras reports.

Forty years ago, two astronomers heard noise on a radio telescope that bolstered the Big Bang theory of the universe's origins. Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson recall their Nobel Prize-winning discovery.

The Balustrade Ensemble makes music from another time, but one that never really existed. It's an imaginary world of creaky floors, dusty furniture and sepia-toned landscapes illuminated by distant strings and tinkling music boxes. The music is largely instrumental with the angelic voice of Wendy Allen, drenched in reverb, occasionally drifting in. It's a sometimes spooky world but curious and entirely enchanting.