Earthquakes Strike Venezuela, Prompting State of Emergency
Supporters of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva cheer as the results of Brazil's presidential runoff election are announced in São Paulo on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. Natacha Pisarenko/AP hide caption
The Americas
Brazil's left-wing President Lula elected for fourth term
October 25, 2026 • Brazil's 80-year-old left-wing leader President Lula defeats Flávio Bolsonaro in a bitterly contested runoff.
Inside the Port Washington data center complex under construction on October 22, 2026. Henry Larson/NPR hide caption
Consider This from NPR
Inside the massive data center tearing a Wisconsin community apart
October 25, 2026 • The backlash in Wisconsin to data center construction has the candidates for governor from both parties quickly adjusting their midterms campaign messaging. NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer visits one data center in Port Washington, Wis., which the mayor says will bring much needed funding to the community - but the neighbors hate it.
A sign is posted outside a Pennsylvania Department of Health measles vaccination clinic located in Lancaster County in Peach Bottom, Pa., Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption
Health
U.S. measles cases more than double what they were last year as outbreak spreads
October 25, 2026 • Pennsylvania is the worst hit state, with at least 1,338 cases of measles confirmed in 44 counties so far this year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
President Donald Trump walks past Attorney General Todd Blanche after speaking at a roundtable event in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption
Politics
Blanche defends DOJ lawsuit blocking Alaska Senate results if Republican loses
October 25, 2026 • Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department's suit over Alaska's Senate race in an interview on CNN.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, center, greets supporters in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. Jesus Hernandez/AP hide caption
The Americas
Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado returns after months in exile
October 25, 2026 • Machado announced her arrival on social media, writing "I am here. With you."
A road sign stands in front of a large billboard featuring Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) of the Likud party and his main center-right opponent, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, in Ramat Gan, Israel. Israel heads to the polls on Oct. 27. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Middle East conflict
Israelis have changed. Will they change their leadership?
October 25, 2026 • Israel is holding a general election this week after years of war. For many Israelis, shaken by the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and years of war, it is the most consequential in decades.
Horror writer Stephen Graham Jones invites readers to graft their own nightmares onto his monsters. Alina Art/Tor Publishing Group hide caption
Fear from Weekend Edition
What makes a good spine-tingler? Stephen Graham Jones says it's all in the ending
October 25, 2026 • Horror writer Stephen Graham Jones says horror's current moment is powered by more than just fear.
Lubelo Mthenjana, who's 11, performs a magic trick involving fire during the annual junior magic contest at the College of Magic in Cape Town, South Africa. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption
Global Health
This College of Magic turns ordinary kids into cool magicians
October 25, 2026 • The students, many from marginalized communities, learn to conjure up candy, do card tricks — and face the world with a confident, creative and resilient mindset.
Technology
When a teen posts a selfie, how much filter is 'too much' filter?
October 25, 2026 • The recent Meta settlement includes a clause banning "cosmetic procedure filters" for teens. But defining what constitutes an extreme makeover isn't easy.
Karlo Campana plays Magnatiles with his daughters Gianna and Giselle, while his 5-month-old son Gianluca watches. Campana is one of the growing number of California men taking advantage of the state's paid bonding leave program. Dania Maxwell for NPR hide caption
Health Reporting in the States
More dads taking paid family leave for a new baby, sometimes as much as moms are
LAist 89.3
October 25, 2026 • The U.S. has no national law for paid parental leave. But in states that do, more dads are using the benefit, sometimes more than moms. The change comes as Americans say having kids is unaffordable.
Pins and bumper stickers supporting Dan Osborn's candidacy for U.S. Senate sit on a campaign table on Sept. 3, 2026 at Pals Brewing Company in North Platte, Neb. Osborn, a 51-year-old Navy veteran, is running as an independent. Austin Johnson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Elections
Independent candidates sense a moment. Some Democrats hope they're right.
October 25, 2026 • As they look to win the Senate, Democrats are hoping that independent candidates in Nebraska and Montana can help them topple Republicans in a part of the country where their own brand is hurting.
Arkansas Democratic Senate nominee Hallie Shoffner speaks with voters at a campaign stop in Hope, Ark. Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. Stephen Fowler/NPR hide caption
Elections
In Arkansas, Democrats see an opening at the edge of the competitive midterms map
October 25, 2026 • In a sign of the potentially dire midterm political environment, Republicans have spent millions of dollars playing defense in Arkansas, one of the most conservative states in the country.
Members of right-wing student groups march through the streets of Rome, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, during a demonstration called "Unlock Everything," organized in opposition to recent left-wing student protests and one of several demonstrations held by groups across the political spectrum. Gregorio Borgia/AP hide caption
Europe
Soldiers guard center of Milan as thousands of protesters march in cities across Europe
October 25, 2026 • While protests in France have claimed most international attention, large demonstrations also rocked many European cities Saturday from Milan to Rome to Madrid, Lisbon and Tirana.
Katie Baltzor rides her side-by-side among the black angus cattle she raises near her home outside of Hines, Oregon. Anna King/NWPB hide caption
Drought, fire and high diesel prices 'addin' up tough' for Oregon ranchers
October 25, 2026 • Record diesel prices are kicking Western ranchers while they're down. Drought means they have to buy extra hay, and pay truckers extra to deliver it because of fuel price hikes.
St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, the seat of the Archdiocese of New York, holds mass on April 21, 2025, in New York. Yuki Iwamura/AP hide caption
National
Archdiocese of New York agrees to $800 million settlement over sexual abuse claims
October 24, 2026 • The 1,300 survivors of sexual abuse by clergy members and lay workers have all agreed to the settlement, according to an attorney for some of the plaintiffs.
Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Oct. 8, 2026, in Washington. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP hide caption
Ukraine invasion — explained
Musk says SpaceX did restrict Starlink, as Ukraine says the tech has been restored
October 24, 2026 • Musk said Ukraine had been violating Starlink's terms by using it for military activity, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said normal operating speeds have returned.
Scottish actor Sean Connery on location in Amsterdam for James Bond film 'Diamonds are Forever.' Jack Kay/Getty Images/Hulton Archive hide caption
Perspective
Simon Says
Perspective: The next James Bond
October 24, 2026 • A new James Bond is nigh, to replace the last actor in the 64 year-old movie franchise. What evil forces will the new 007 face? Killer Drones? Killer AI? Killer lettuce?
A man looks through a gap in a stone wall toward a Greek Orthodox church where gunmen opened fire during a funeral hours earlier in Hamoud village, in Jordan's Karak governorate on Friday. AP Photo/AP hide caption
Middle East
Gunmen open fire at a church during a funeral in Jordan, killing 7 and wounding 40
October 24, 2026 • Footage broadcast on Jordanian state television showed three gunmen firing shots at a Greek Orthodox church in the city of Karak on Friday.
Medicare chief Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks at an event announcing the artificial intelligence website, America.gov in Washington, D.C., last month. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Health Policy
Is your Medicare Advantage plan ending next year? Here's what to know
October 24, 2026 • Medicare open enrollment runs through Dec. 7, and for as many as 5 million seniors, it will be important to log on and pick a new plan.
Fewer women in their 20s are choosing to become mothers, leading to an overall birthrate decline in the U.S. But the birth rate among U.S. women age 30-45 is rising according to the latest federal data. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP hide caption
National
U.S. birth rate drops to record low, but older women are having more babies
October 24, 2026 • The U.S. birth rate fell to its lowest level ever recorded, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The drop would have been greater, but women over age 30 are having more children.
New speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., holds the gavel during the opening session of the 116th Congress at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 3, 2019. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Elections
This decade has been missing its big-impact midterm
October 24, 2026 • Every other decade over the past hundred years has produced at least one midterm that made a big difference in Congress and in national politics more broadly.
FILE - Smoke rises after an attack by Houthi rebels on the city of Taiz, Yemen, on Oct. 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik, File) Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP hide caption
World
Drinking water supplies dwindle in Yemeni city besieged by Houthi rebels
October 24, 2026 • Taiz, a city in southwestern Yemen, faces a severe water crisis as Houthi rebels backed by Iran tighten their encirclement. The city has struggled with water issues for over a decade, but the situation has worsened in recent weeks.
Aaron Schenk rafted down the flooded Animas River in southwestern Colorado on Friday. He passed by an inundated event space. Aaron Schenk/Aaron Schenk hide caption
Extreme Weather
Flooding in Four Corners region displaces residents, as storms move southeast
October 23, 2026 • Intense rainfall slammed the Four Corners region late this week. As rivers flooded, towns declared evacuations and emergencies and made rescues.
A pedestrian looks at his smartphone on an embankment with the Kremlin in the background in central Moscow on Oct. 8, 2026. Researchers who track online influence operations say Kremlin-backed groups are renewing tactics they've used to sow distrust and discord in previous elections in the U.S. and around the world. Igor Ivanko/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Elections
Russia steps up election influence efforts in final stretch of midterms
October 23, 2026 • Researchers who track online influence operations say Kremlin-backed groups are renewing tactics they've used to sow distrust and discord in previous elections in the U.S. and around the world.
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