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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters after a weekly policy luncheon at the Capitol.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters after a weekly policy luncheon at the Capitol. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP hide caption

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ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters after a weekly policy luncheon at the Capitol.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters after a weekly policy luncheon at the Capitol. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP hide caption

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ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP

Politics

A DHS funding deal is on shaky ground as Trump and Democrats both decline to embrace it

After weeks of start and stop negotiations between Congressional Democrats and the White House, there's an emerging proposal to fund the majority of DHS and tackle ICE enforcement funding separately.
Aircraft maintenance workers inspect the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, just off the runway where it collided with a Port Authority fire truck Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport in New York. (

Aircraft maintenance workers inspect the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, just off the runway where it collided with a Port Authority fire truck Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport in New York. ( Yuki Iwamura/AP hide caption

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Yuki Iwamura/AP
Aircraft maintenance workers inspect the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, just off the runway where it collided with a Port Authority fire truck Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport in New York. (

Aircraft maintenance workers inspect the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet, Tuesday, March 24, 2026, just off the runway where it collided with a Port Authority fire truck Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport in New York. ( Yuki Iwamura/AP hide caption

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Yuki Iwamura/AP

National

An air traffic controller was juggling extra roles during the LaGuardia plane crash

The National Transportation Safety Board said it has concerns about air traffic controllers who work the midnight shift taking on extra work in an airspace as busy as LaGuardia's.
ICE are among the government agencies that buy commercial data about Americans in bulk.

ICE are among the government agencies that buy commercial data about Americans in bulk. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
ICE are among the government agencies that buy commercial data about Americans in bulk.

ICE are among the government agencies that buy commercial data about Americans in bulk. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Deep Dive

Technology

Your data is everywhere. The government is buying it without a warrant

Data brokers buy up huge amounts of information from cell phones and browsers to sell for targeted advertising. But the government, including ICE, also buys the data.

WATCH

Mumford & Sons: Tiny Desk Concert

The British folk-rock band shares world-weary anthems to growing older, weathering the innumerable blows of life and coming out on the other side, hopefully a little wiser.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, will continue to also oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while the administration searchers for a permanent director.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, will continue to also oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while the administration searchers for a permanent director. Nathan Howard/AP hide caption

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Nathan Howard/AP
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, will continue to also oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while the administration searchers for a permanent director.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, will continue to also oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while the administration searchers for a permanent director. Nathan Howard/AP hide caption

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Nathan Howard/AP

Health

A leadership vacuum adds to strains on the CDC

Low morale, staff turnover and budget issues have sapped the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The administration is expected to soon name a new director, who will have their hands full.

The search for a new CDC director nears a deadline

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A newborn baby's feet are shown in a close-up photo. A hospital anklet is visible.

Babies under 6 months of age are not able to be vaccinated for COVID, but if their mothers are vaccinated during pregnancy, newborns get some immunity, a large new study shows. The benefits wear off, though, at about 5 months of age. Didier Pallages/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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A newborn baby's feet are shown in a close-up photo. A hospital anklet is visible.

Babies under 6 months of age are not able to be vaccinated for COVID, but if their mothers are vaccinated during pregnancy, newborns get some immunity, a large new study shows. The benefits wear off, though, at about 5 months of age. Didier Pallages/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Didier Pallages/AFP via Getty Images

Health

Yep, a mom's COVID shot during pregnancy protects her baby, a large study finds

A 3-year study published in Pediatrics examined newborns in Norway. It found a clear benefit for the baby when mom gets a COVID vaccination during pregnancy.
A movie poster for the 1944 film, Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. Bergman is holding a knife toward Boyer's face and he's tied to a chair.

A movie poster for the 1944 film, Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

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Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images
A movie poster for the 1944 film, Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. Bergman is holding a knife toward Boyer's face and he's tied to a chair.

A movie poster for the 1944 film, Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

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Herbert Dorfman/Corbis via Getty Images

Word of the week

Are you sure you know what 'gaslighting' is?

Therapists say we're overusing the word. Here's what it actually means — and what the Ingrid Bergman film that helped birth the word can teach us about it.

Are you sure you know what ‘gaslighting’ is?

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Image

A picture taken on February 4, 2025 shows ship's commander Captain Thomas Zimmerman as he gives the order to hoist the NATO flag for the first time on the patrol ship HMS Carlskrona on open water near Karlskrona, Sweden, as part of the NATO Baltic Sea patrol mission, the Baltic Sentry, aimed to secure critical underwater infrastructure. Johan Nilsson/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Johan Nilsson/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images
Image

A picture taken on February 4, 2025 shows ship's commander Captain Thomas Zimmerman as he gives the order to hoist the NATO flag for the first time on the patrol ship HMS Carlskrona on open water near Karlskrona, Sweden, as part of the NATO Baltic Sea patrol mission, the Baltic Sentry, aimed to secure critical underwater infrastructure. Johan Nilsson/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Johan Nilsson/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images

Sources & Methods

Listen: Sweden's defense chief says NATO has 'heeded the call' amid its new reality

Europe has come to grips with a new reality, ushered in by the Trump administration: Europe needs to commit more resources to its own security. That's according to Sweden's chief of defense, Gen. Michael Claesson.

Top Swedish General on NATO's new reality, 'heeding the call' on spending

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Bryan Stevenson (photo credit_ Equal Justice Initiative).jpg
Equal Justice Initiative

Race

At the Legacy Museum, facing America's racist past is a path, not a punishment

"There is an America that is more free — where there's more equality, where there is more justice, where there is less bigotry — and I think it's waiting for us," says lawyer Bryan Stevenson.

FA: Bryan Stevenson

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A courtroom sketch of U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein at the Manhattan Federal Court hearing over Donald Trump's push to move his criminal case to federal court, in New York City, on June 27, 2023.

A courtroom sketch of U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein at the Manhattan Federal Court hearing over Donald Trump's push to move his criminal case to federal court, in New York City, on June 27, 2023. Jane Rosenberg/Reuters hide caption

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Jane Rosenberg/Reuters
A courtroom sketch of U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein at the Manhattan Federal Court hearing over Donald Trump's push to move his criminal case to federal court, in New York City, on June 27, 2023.

A courtroom sketch of U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein at the Manhattan Federal Court hearing over Donald Trump's push to move his criminal case to federal court, in New York City, on June 27, 2023. Jane Rosenberg/Reuters hide caption

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Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

Law

A 92-year-old judge will take on the Maduro case. What do we know about him?

Former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro heads to court again this week. The judge overseeing this case is longtime federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein. At 92 years old, Hellerstein is older than the average age of a federal judge by more than 20 years.
Protesters gather Jan. 28 outside the South Texas Family Residential Center detention facility where Liam Ramos and his father were being detained in Dilley, Texas.

Protesters gather Jan. 28 outside the South Texas Family Residential Center detention facility where Liam Ramos and his father were being detained in Dilley, Texas. Eric Gay/AP hide caption

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Eric Gay/AP
Protesters gather Jan. 28 outside the South Texas Family Residential Center detention facility where Liam Ramos and his father were being detained in Dilley, Texas.

Protesters gather Jan. 28 outside the South Texas Family Residential Center detention facility where Liam Ramos and his father were being detained in Dilley, Texas. Eric Gay/AP hide caption

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Eric Gay/AP

Lawyers say detained migrant children are being used as 'bait' to arrest and deport their parents

 LAist 89.3

A federal document reveals the arrests are required by a formal government policy. Attorneys say it runs afoul of the government's legal obligation.
Seventh- and eighth-graders at Duquesne City School District participate in a cup stacking competition on Feb. 3. The district's house system is now in its second year. According to the district, disciplinary incidents dropped by 74% in the first year of the program.

Seventh- and eighth-graders at Duquesne City School District participate in a cup stacking competition on Feb. 3. The district's house system is now in its second year. According to the district, disciplinary incidents dropped by 74% in the first year of the program. Jillian Forstadt/90.5 WESA hide caption

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Jillian Forstadt/90.5 WESA
Seventh- and eighth-graders at Duquesne City School District participate in a cup stacking competition on Feb. 3. The district's house system is now in its second year. According to the district, disciplinary incidents dropped by 74% in the first year of the program.

Seventh- and eighth-graders at Duquesne City School District participate in a cup stacking competition on Feb. 3. The district's house system is now in its second year. According to the district, disciplinary incidents dropped by 74% in the first year of the program. Jillian Forstadt/90.5 WESA hide caption

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Jillian Forstadt/90.5 WESA

These Pittsburgh middle schools adopted a Hogwarts-inspired house system to foster community

 90.5 WESA

Educators say it's all part of an effort to build a sense of community and belonging inside the school — one that's resulted in improved attendance, discipline rates and classroom engagement.
Tiny, colorful cabins in Home Sweet Home Ministries’ shelter village, The Bridge, while the complex was under construction. The shelter village is in Bloomington, Illinois and houses up to 56 adults.

Tiny, colorful cabins in Home Sweet Home Ministries' shelter village, The Bridge, while the complex was under construction. The shelter village is in Bloomington, Illinois and houses up to 56 adults. Emily Bollinger hide caption

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Emily Bollinger
Tiny, colorful cabins in Home Sweet Home Ministries’ shelter village, The Bridge, while the complex was under construction. The shelter village is in Bloomington, Illinois and houses up to 56 adults.

Tiny, colorful cabins in Home Sweet Home Ministries' shelter village, The Bridge, while the complex was under construction. The shelter village is in Bloomington, Illinois and houses up to 56 adults. Emily Bollinger hide caption

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Emily Bollinger

National

A shelter village provides a bridge to permanent housing

Shelter villages offer temporary and private places for the unhoused to sleep and store belongings. One of the newest, The Bridge, opened recently in central Illinois.

A shelter village provides a bridge to permanent housing

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Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks at the state Capitol in Madison in early 2025. Evers, who won't seek another term in office, is seeking a constitutional amendment that would ban partisan gerrymandering in the state.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks at the state Capitol in Madison in early 2025. Evers, who won't seek another term in office, is seeking a constitutional amendment that would ban partisan gerrymandering in the state. Morry Gash/AP hide caption

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Morry Gash/AP
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks at the state Capitol in Madison in early 2025. Evers, who won't seek another term in office, is seeking a constitutional amendment that would ban partisan gerrymandering in the state.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks at the state Capitol in Madison in early 2025. Evers, who won't seek another term in office, is seeking a constitutional amendment that would ban partisan gerrymandering in the state. Morry Gash/AP hide caption

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Morry Gash/AP

Elections

As other states rush to gerrymander, Wisconsin's outgoing governor wants to ban it

 WPR News

The major political parties' redistricting battle has spread across the United States. But Wisconsin may go the other direction. That's if the outgoing governor gets his way.

Wisconsin's outgoing Democratic governor pushes for a ban on gerrymandering

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Gas prices are rising as the war in Iran continutes, adding to pressure on gig workers who drive for food delivery apps. Here, a gas station in Los Angeles, Calif., displays prices of more than $5 per gallon on Monday.

Gas prices are rising as the war in Iran continutes, adding to pressure on gig workers who drive for food delivery apps. Here, a gas station in Los Angeles, Calif., displays prices of more than $5 per gallon on Monday. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Gas prices are rising as the war in Iran continutes, adding to pressure on gig workers who drive for food delivery apps. Here, a gas station in Los Angeles, Calif., displays prices of more than $5 per gallon on Monday.

Gas prices are rising as the war in Iran continutes, adding to pressure on gig workers who drive for food delivery apps. Here, a gas station in Los Angeles, Calif., displays prices of more than $5 per gallon on Monday. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Your Money

Higher gas prices put the squeeze on the people who deliver your food

The effects of the war in Iran are far-reaching, extending to drivers for DoorDash and Uber Eats. They're paying more for gas — and being squeezed by competition. DoorDash is rolling out some relief.

Food delivery drivers are being squeezed by higher gas prices

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A United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane passes a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 while taking off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

A United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane passes a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 while taking off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images
A United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane passes a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 while taking off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

A United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane passes a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 while taking off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Listen: Your next flight doesn't have to be so expensive. Here's why

Airlines used to do some financial magic to help keep airfare down as oil prices increased, a strategy called "fuel hedging." But they stopped, and now fliers are on the hook for a lot of the difference. Here's how it worked, plus why airlines stopped doing it.

Your next flight doesn't have to be so expensive. Here's why

Listen · 9:25
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An action shot from the 1950s of girls playing an intramural soccer game at what's today called Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan.

An action shot from the 1950s of girls playing an intramural soccer game at what's today called Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan. The Kansas City Star Archives/Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library/Crysta Henthorne, KCUR 89.3 hide caption

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The Kansas City Star Archives/Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library/Crysta Henthorne, KCUR 89.3
An action shot from the 1950s of girls playing an intramural soccer game at what's today called Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan.

An action shot from the 1950s of girls playing an intramural soccer game at what's today called Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan. The Kansas City Star Archives/Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library/Crysta Henthorne, KCUR 89.3 hide caption

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The Kansas City Star Archives/Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library/Crysta Henthorne, KCUR 89.3

Women's soccer made the U.S. a world powerhouse — and one city its star player

 KCUR

With the trailblazing Current stadium, women's soccer staked its claim as a vital part of Kansas City's identity. It's a central reason why the city will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and why the United States gets taken seriously in soccer at all.
FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cellphone with an image on a computer monitor generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston.

FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cellphone with an image on a computer monitor generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. Michael Dwyer/AP hide caption

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Michael Dwyer/AP
FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cellphone with an image on a computer monitor generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston.

FILE - The OpenAI logo is displayed on a cellphone with an image on a computer monitor generated by ChatGPT's Dall-E text-to-image model, Dec. 8, 2023, in Boston. Michael Dwyer/AP hide caption

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Michael Dwyer/AP

Technology

OpenAI pulls the plug on Sora, the viral AI video app that sparked deepfake concerns

OpenAI said Tuesday that it was "saying goodbye to the Sora app" and that it would share more soon about how to preserve what users already created on the app.
A green tractor that's planting corn moves across a brown dirt field in 2007 near Rochelle, Ill.

A green tractor that's planting corn moves across a brown dirt field in 2007 near Rochelle, Ill. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

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Scott Olson/Getty Images

Politics

Trump delivers farmers another financial blow with Iran war

Some of President Trump's policies, the latest being the war in Iran, are testing his support among farmers who are being burdened with higher costs.

Trump delivers farmers another financial blow with Iran war

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Dayton Webber, then 18, pictured at a baseball game in 2016.

Dayton Webber, then 18, pictured at a baseball game in 2016. In the years before his arrest, he shared his experience playing sports — and turning pro in one of them — as a quadruple amputee. Kevin Sullivan/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Sullivan/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images
Dayton Webber, then 18, pictured at a baseball game in 2016.

Dayton Webber, then 18, pictured at a baseball game in 2016. In the years before his arrest, he shared his experience playing sports — and turning pro in one of them — as a quadruple amputee. Kevin Sullivan/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Sullivan/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images

National

A professional cornhole player and quadruple amputee is arrested for murder

Dayton Webber, 27, is accused of shooting a man in his car during an argument. He has shared his story of becoming a pro athlete after losing his arms and legs to a childhood bacterial infection.
Jacqueline Hamilton (left) and her mother Jan Stubbs at Hamilton's home in West St. Paul, Minn.

Jacqueline Hamilton (left) and her mother Jan Stubbs at Hamilton's home in West St. Paul, Minn. Joel Rose/NPR hide caption

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Joel Rose/NPR

National

As parents age, their children face hard choices about when to take the car keys

States have many policies to stop risky older drivers from renewing their licenses. But in practice, it's often adult children who must decide when to take the car keys away from an aging parent.

As parents age, their children face hard choices about when to take the car keys

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