Locals rally against Trump's potential redevelopment of East Potomac Park at a protest in early October. Runners, cyclists, birders and more worry they will lose access to the park under Trump's plan to overhaul the municipal golf course. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 23, 2026 • Trump's most recent rendering of East Potomac Park overtakes the D.C. peninsula with a sprawling golf course, without the grassy areas and road beloved by locals. That's prompted grassroots pushback.
Left: Democrat Olaleye Onikuyide, 28, is running for state representative in Connecticut. Right: Republican Lukas Schubert, 21, is campaigning for reelection as a state representative in Montana. Both candidates are focusing on a lack of affordable housing in their states. Raquel C. Zaldívar and Sarah Mosquera for NPR hide caption
October 23, 2026 • Young candidates who rent or live with parents say their generation is "in the thick" of the country's housing affordability crisis. They argue this gives them new energy to solve it for everyone.
A worker fuels a United Airlines plane at Salt Lake City International Airport in April, 2026. The price of jet fuel, one of airlines' biggest expenses, is close to an all-time high in the U.S. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
October 23, 2026 • If you're planning to fly this holiday season, be prepared to pay more than you did last year. The price of jet fuel — one of airlines' biggest expenses — is close to an all-time high in the U.S.
Election workers remove ballots from a drop box outside the polling center at the Silver Spring Civic Building on Oct. 22 in Silver Spring, Md. Finn Gomez/Getty Images hide caption
October 23, 2026 • Nearly 21 million Americans have voted early in the midterms. MIT political scientist Charles Stewart explains what's driving the surge and why it may not mean higher overall turnout.
For-sale signs are posted in front of condominiums for sale in July in Los Angeles. A new analysis from the Center for Responsible Lending finds that the average renter household now needs 16 years to save for a down payment and closing costs. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
October 22, 2026 • A new analysis finds that the average renter household now needs 16 years to save for a down payment and closing costs. Rising rents and other costs have consumed a growing share of household budgets.
The Trump Store in Bensalem, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb, closed early this year amid falling sales. Frank Langfitt/NPR hide caption
October 22, 2026 • At least four Trump merchandise stores have closed this year. Store owners say with President Trump in his final term, there isn't as much to fire up his consumer fan base and sales have softened.
A view of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 14. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 21, 2026 • The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration has to continue providing gender-affirming care to inmates in federal prisons as litigation on efforts to change the policy continues.
Gary Tyler speaks about his work at the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan. Behind Tyler are his quilts Big Toe , (2024) and Enduring , (2025). They feature two individuals who are incarcerated. He hopes his work draws attention to their plight and humanity. Sea Stachura for NPR hide caption
October 21, 2026 • A quilt artist who spent decades on death row now has his first solo exhibit at the Grand Rapids Art Museum.
A screen set up at a hall of the Moscow City Court broadcasts the verdict in the trial of U.S. citizen Stephen Hubbard, accused of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine, in Moscow on Oct. 7, 2024. Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 21, 2026 • The announcement of Hubbard's release came as talks got underway between Putin and White House envoy Steve Witkoff in Saint Petersburg focused on the latest U.S. efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Police arrest a man as the city of Philadelphia begins a clearing of a drug encampment in the Kensington section of Philadelphia on May 8, 2024. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/Getty Images North America hide caption
October 21, 2026 • Arrests for more minor offenses, including vagrancy, rose in the U.S., even as violent crime rates dropped to historic lows, according to an analysis from criminal justice reform advocacy group FWD.us
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, center, reacts while presenting the certification of Boeing's 737 Max 10 aircraft to Jim Williams, Boeing 737 Development Program chief engineer, at left, and Chris Payne, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president and program manager, 737 Development Programs, right, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, at Boeing's factory in Everett, Wash. Lindsey Wasson/AP hide caption
October 21, 2026 • Nearly a decade after Boeing unveiled its largest 737 Max jet, the company has cleared a major hurdle in its effort to bring the plane to airlines.
The Jeffrey Energy Center coal-fired power plant as seen in January 2026 in Topeka, Kan. Burning coal contributed to a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions by the United States last year, according to a new United Nations report. Charlie Riedel/AP hide caption
October 21, 2026 • The U.S. is the only major economy where planet-warming pollution dramatically increased last year. The United Nations warns the planet is on track for catastrophic warming.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., embraces Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms at a campaign event Oct. 17 in Marietta, Ga. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images hide caption
October 20, 2026 • From doorsteps to a used book sale, NPR's Steve Inskeep talks with voters in suburban Atlanta about why some of them want change now while others are willing to give Republicans more time.
Golfers make their way around the course at East Potomac Golf Links on October. The National Park Service confirmed in a filing had marked over 500 trees for removal as the Trump Administration mulls over a renovation for the golf course. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images hide caption
October 19, 2026 • The Trump administration wants to turn a historic public golf course into championship links. Despite a judge's order, hundreds of trees were cut down to make way for the renovation.
Coastally trapped Kelvin waves moving along the West Coast. The dark red represents higher than normal sea levels. Dillon J. Amaya/North Carolina State University hide caption
October 19, 2026 • A large underwater wave moved up the West Coast, raising sea levels. Scientists say it's driven by El Niño and it's going to happen again.
A golfer walks near log sections cut from trees at the East Potomac Golf Links, in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption
October 18, 2026 • President Trump continues his efforts to remake Washington, D.C. He wants to turn an area used by the public into a world-class golf course.
A photo taken on January 2, 2025 shows the letters AI for Artificial Intelligence on a laptop screen next to the logo of the Chat AI application on a smartphone screen in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 17, 2026 • Brett Neely, one of NPR’s editors who oversees coverage of artificial intelligence, talks about how the topic is now part of every reporter's beat - and how the pace of transformation impacts coverage choices.
President Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport in Bullhead City, Ariz., on Oct. 14. Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 17, 2026 • President Trump's midterm travel blitz ahead of Election Day includes several red states he won easily 2 years ago, showing the electoral landscape is more challenging for Republicans.
A flight of wedding cake samples at a Publix supermarket in Vestavia Hills, Ala., on Sept. 23. Cake flavors from left to right are red velvet, carrot cake, chocolate and vanilla. Filling flavors from left to right are raspberry, vanilla custard, cookies-and-cream mousse and strawberry. Stephan Bisaha hide caption
October 17, 2026 • About a third of couples are willing to save money on cake and dessert, according to the wedding-planning site Zola.
Demonstrators take part in a "No Kings: Vote Early" rally near Memorial Circle in Arlington, Va., on Oct. 17. The national day of action is taking place in cities across the country focusing on voter turnout, early voting and election protection, ahead of the midterm elections. Amid Farahi/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 17, 2026 • The coalition behind nationwide anti-Trump protests shifted its strategies this weekend to focus on voter turnout. Thousands of people attended rallies, marches and community gatherings all concentrated on early voting in the midterms.
A roof engulfed in flames is seen during the Norte Fire on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Jae C. Hong/AP hide caption
October 17, 2026 • High winds are fueling a fast-moving fire that has burned homes in Southern California. Flames engulfed expensive coastal properties and prompted thousands to evacuate.
Chip Thomas, a retired physician on the Navajo Reservation, is well known for his large photographic murals. Now, he's been recognized with a MacArthur "genius" grant. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation hide caption
October 17, 2026 • Chip Thomas, a retired physician on the Navajo Reservation, is well known for his large photograhpic murals. Now, he's been recognized with a MacArthur "genius" grant.
Flowers lay against the entry sign of Silver Rail Elementary School on October 16, 2026 in Bend, Oregon. At least four victims were killed at the school in a mass shooting Thursday. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images hide caption
October 16, 2026 • After yet another school shooting, investigators are trying to piece together a senseless act. NPR speaks with the mayor of Bend, Ore. to learn more about how the community is reacting.
A candlelight memorial is seen out front of Silver Rail Elementary School on Oct. 15, 2026, in Bend, Oregon. Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images hide caption
October 16, 2026 • A teen opened fire at an Oregon elementary school, leaving three kids and one teacher dead. And, the Justice Department is suing California over alleged noncitizen voters.
