Accessibility links
U.S. News and National Top Stories NPR coverage of national news, U.S. politics, elections, business, arts, culture, health and science, and technology. Subscribe to the NPR Nation RSS feed.

National

Wednesday

States Struggle To Find An Execution Method That Works

The gurney in the execution chamber at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary is pictured in McAlester, Okla., in 2008. Legal pressures and concerns from European manufacturers have made traditional execution drugs unavailable to states. AP hide caption

toggle caption
AP

States Struggle To Find An Execution Method That Works

For a generation, nearly all death penalty states followed the same lethal injection protocol. Now they're forced to improvise — some say experiment — which has led to several botched executions.

Nino's No-No: Justice Scalia Flubs Dissent In Pollution Case

Whether the error in Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's recent dissent was originally his fault or a clerk's doesn't make it less cringeworthy. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Alex Wong/Getty Images

It's All Politics

Nino's No-No: Justice Scalia Flubs Dissent In Pollution Case

It's more than embarrassing when a Supreme Court justice makes his decision based on facts that he's gotten wrong. The court has corrected the record, but the slip has stuck among legal cognoscenti.

Campus Rape Reports Are Up, And Assaults Aren't The Only Reason

After the University of Michigan increased its efforts to prevent sexual assaults on campus, reports increased by 113 percent. Erin/Flickr hide caption

toggle caption
Erin/Flickr

Investigations

Campus Rape Reports Are Up, And Assaults Aren't The Only Reason

Data from the Department of Education show an increase in sexual assault reports, but college officials say new federal guidelines are helping more students come forward.

Campus Rape Reports Are Up, And Assaults Aren't The Only Reason

Listen · 5:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/308276181/308377846" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
High-Tech Maker Spaces: Helping Little Startups Make It Big

Andy Leer of maker space chain TechShop calibrates a 3-D printer at a GE-sponsored pop-up workshop in Washington, D.C. Maker spaces, which offer access to industrial-grade tools, are attracting support from governments and big companies like Ford and Lowe's. Gary Cameron/Reuters/Landov hide caption

toggle caption
Gary Cameron/Reuters/Landov

All Tech Considered

High-Tech Maker Spaces: Helping Little Startups Make It Big

Inventing a new product is hard if you can't afford to build a prototype. Enter maker spaces, workshops boasting shared high-tech tools. Entrepreneurs love them, and big backers are taking notice.

High-Tech Maker Spaces: Helping Little Startups Make It Big

Listen · 4:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/306235442/308395998" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Renegade Cider Makers Get Funky To Cope With Apple Shortage

Nat West, owner of Reverend Nat's Hard Cider in Portland, Ore., uses sweet apples to make cider, and gives it an extra kick with ginger juice, herbal tonics, coffee and hops. Courtesy of Reverend Nat's Hard Cider hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Reverend Nat's Hard Cider

The Salt

Renegade Cider Makers Get Funky To Cope With Apple Shortage

Few U.S. farmers grow the tannic apples traditionally used to make hard cider. So craft cider makers are using eating apples and adding chili, chocolate and tropical juices to boost their flavor.

Politics

Minimum Wage Raise: Blocked For Now, May Live Again In Campaigns

A bill to increase the federal minimum wage was blocked in the Senate on Wednesday, as Democrats failed to muster the 60 votes necessary to bypass a filibuster.

Minimum Wage Raise: Blocked For Now, May Live Again In Campaigns

Listen · 4:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/308377799/308377800" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Science

Facing Execution Drug Shortage, States Struggle To Get Cocktail Right

A botched execution in Oklahoma is only the latest issue since states started having trouble obtaining the drugs used to execute inmates. They've been trying new combinations and new drugs, which often had never been used before for that purpose.

Facing Execution Drug Shortage, States Struggle To Get Cocktail Right

Listen · 4:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/308377792/308377793" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Energy

Widening Sanctions On Russia Rattle Some In Western Oil Industry

The latest round of sanctions against Russia has created a lot of uncertainty for U.S. and European oil and gas companies. They're growing concerned that another round of sanctions could target Russia's energy sector, jeopardizing Western oil companies' activities there.

Widening Sanctions On Russia Rattle Some In Western Oil Industry

Listen · 4:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/308377757/308377758" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Education

As Testing Season Opens In Schools, Some Ask: How Much Is Too Much?

Students, parents and teachers often argue that American students take too many standardized tests — but how many do they really take? A visit to one high school in Rockville, Md., offers an answer.

As Testing Season Opens In Schools, Some Ask: How Much Is Too Much?

Listen · 3:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/308377806/308377807" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Politics

Against 'Dark Money,' A Star Witness Speaks In Congress

Congress held its first hearing on "dark money," the donations to tax-exempt political groups that can keep donors' names secret. The star witness at the Senate committee was former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, a vocal critic of the rulings that opened the door for the secret spending.

Against 'Dark Money,' A Star Witness Speaks In Congress

Listen · 3:22
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/308377778/308377779" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

News

Botched Oklahoma Execution Mobilizes Death Penalty Opponents

Oklahoma death row inmate Clayton Lockett's execution was botched on Tuesday, when a relatively new combination of drugs failed to work as expected.

Botched Oklahoma Execution Mobilizes Death Penalty Opponents

Listen · 3:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/308377785/308377786" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
What About Donald Sterling's Right To Privacy?

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling (center) has been banned by the NBA; he is seen here watching a Clippers game with V. Stiviano in 2011. Danny Moloshok/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Danny Moloshok/AP

Sports

What About Donald Sterling's Right To Privacy?

The racist comments made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling led to a lifelong ban from the NBA. But they were made in what appears to have been a private setting. Should that matter?

What About Donald Sterling's Right To Privacy?

Listen · 4:01
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/308377827/308377828" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
U.S. Tests Teens A Lot, But Worldwide, Exam Stakes Are Higher

Students in Manchester, England, celebrate the results of their college entrance exams. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Education

U.S. Tests Teens A Lot, But Worldwide, Exam Stakes Are Higher

American students take an alphabet soup of mandatory and voluntary exams: SAT, PISA, AP. Sure it's a lot, but in places like Japan and England, tests are incredibly high-stress and life-defining.

U.S. Tests Teens A Lot, But Worldwide, Exam Stakes Are Higher

Listen · 4:04
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/308057862/308377864" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Smiting The Mite To Save The Bees (And The Crops They Pollinate)

Wild bees, such as this Andrena bee visiting highbush blueberry flowers, play a key role in boosting crop yields. Left photo by Rufus Isaac/AAAS; Right photo courtesy of Daniel M.N. Turner hide caption

toggle caption
Left photo by Rufus Isaac/AAAS; Right photo courtesy of Daniel M.N. Turner

The Salt

Smiting The Mite To Save The Bees (And The Crops They Pollinate)

A government scientist says that to help keep more bees from dying we need to focus on helping beekeepers fight the varroa mite. But some groups say pesticides are just as problematic.