Mountain View, CA

Federal officials have accused Russia of using unwitting right-wing American influencers in its quest to spread Kremlin propaganda ahead of the 2024 presidential election. On Wednesday, the Justice Department charged two employees of RT, the Russian state media broadcaster, in a scheme to secretly fund and direct the production of social media videos that racked up millions of views.

How Russian operatives covertly hired U.S. influencers to create viral videos

Russia is poised to change its nuclear doctrine. Their deputy foreign minister has told state media that an update is in, quote, "an advanced stage." Our co-host A Martínez talked with Sergey Radchenko about this. He teaches Cold War history at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

What will Russia's updated doctrine on use of nuclear weapons mean for the West?

An Iranian writer and activist has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after replying with a single dot, or period, in response to a post on the social platform X by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hossein Shanbehzadeh, a longtime critic of Iran’s leadership, was active on...

An Iranian writer is sentenced to 12 years after tweeting a dot at the supreme leader

Ukrainians received two reminders that they are far from the end of the war. Their president is reshaping his government for the next phase of the conflict, and Russia sent waves of missiles into the country, including some that landed on a military academy. INSKEEP: NPR's Joanna Kakissis is covering...

Morning news brief

New York State

OK, an aide to New York state's Democratic governor is accused of working secretly for China's government. The U.S. Justice Department alleges that she was taking payments from China's Communist Party. Linda Sun and her husband Chris Hu pleaded not guilty late yesterday at a Brooklyn courthouse. INSKEEP: NPR's Brian...

Aide to NY state politicians arrested and charged for working on behalf of China

Maine State

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Sagadahoc County, ME

Lewiston, ME

The Maine Monitor

Editor’s note: This story contains references to suicide. When a bill to strengthen Maine’s yellow flag law went into effect earlier this month, Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry said he felt a sense of relief.

Law enforcement officers can now get a warrant to take someone into protective custody

Washington, DC

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NewsNinja

A woman says she overheard Texas Roadhouse corporate managers plotting to terminate an employee who is in the intensive care unit (ICU) by baiting her husband with a fake benefits package. The story has sparked outrage in a now-viral TikTok.

Woman catches Texas Roadhouse managers allegedly scheming to terminate an injured worker

The fall to-do list is long: There are apples to be picked, Oktoberfest beers to sip, elections to vote in, and of course — so many new books to read! We sorted through the current and upcoming releases to find 16 titles you should watch out for this fall. Dive in!

Here are the new books we're looking forward to this fall

Georgia State

Winder, GA

The Atlanta office of the FBI has released new details about the 14-year-old boy accused of killing two students and two teachers and injuring nine others at Apalachee High School on Wednesday in Winder, Ga. In a post on X, the FBI said in May 2023 it received “several anonymous...

Law enforcement had prior warning about suspect in fatal Georgia high school shooting

Wyoming State

Cheyenne, WY

WyoFile

WHITE MOUNTAIN—“That’s a lot of horses,” lamented Cheyenne resident Robyn Smith from a high-desert ridgeline. It wasn’t her first exasperated exclamation. “Argh, oh crap,” was her immediate reaction to learning a federal judge had given the Bureau of Land Management the OK to proceed with plans to fully remove two wild horse herds from the landscape in southwest Wyoming.

BLM wins two lawsuits, clearing way for elimination of two Wyoming wild horse herds

Kentucky State

Jefferson County, KY

Louisville, KY

Northern Kentucky Tribune

Federal, state and local public health officials have confirmed the first case of the Oropouche virus in Kentucky and Jefferson County in a person who had returned to Louisville after traveling to the Caribbean.

Health officials report first case of Oropouche virus, aka ‘Sloth Fever,’ confirmed in Kentucky

More than a century after the Titanic sank, the wreck is still offering up new discoveries to researchers. This summer, RMS Titanic, Inc. — the salvor-in-possession of the wreck — made its first unmanned dive to the site in 14 years. The expedition was armed with high-resolution cameras and scanning equipment, and took more than two million photos of the Titanic.

Titanic research dive reveals discovery, decay and new photos

Aspen, CO

In a time of widespread suspicion and cynicism, everyone has a role to play in strengthening social trust and building bridges. That big question was central to a conversation at the Aspen Ideas Festival in June. How can individuals and organizations work together to repair the fundamental bonds of a...

Aspen Ideas Festival: The Crisis In Trust

Salem, OH

Every day, 8-year-old Emma sits in a small garden outside her grandmother’s home in Salem, Ohio, writing letters to her mom and sometimes singing songs her mother used to sing to her.

Thousands of parents die of overdoses; advocates say their kids need more help

Arizona State

Arizona Luminaria

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is implementing a new policy meant to safeguard the personal belongings of people seeking asylum in the U.S. in response to ongoing reports of Border Patrol agents tossing religious items, essential medicine and legal documents.

After years of pressure, new Border Patrol policy protects essential items like medicine, IDs, legal documents

Iowa State

Greenfield, IA

Extreme weather events like tornadoes can happen in minutes, but the effect of these disasters have on the community can be long-lasting. It has been an active natural disaster season across the U.S. Floods, wildfires and tornadoes can strike in a matter of minutes, even seconds, and Iowa Public Radio's Natalie Krebs reports they can have long-lasting consequences for community health.

How extreme weather can have long-lasting consequences for community health

Floyd County, GA

Daily Coffee Press

According to officials with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), three former officers from the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC), one GDC investigator, and a former Floyd County deputy have been charged for the aggravated assault of an inmate at the Floyd County Jail.

Five Former Georgia Law Enforcement Officers Charged With Aggravated Assault Against Inmate

Seven years ago, the deadliest fire on British soil since World War II devastated a public housing complex and killed 72 people. Now, a damning report assigns blame. It was the deadliest fire on British soil since World War II. Seven years ago, flames engulfed a public housing complex in one of London's richest neighborhoods - 72 people died that day. Now, a damning report from investigators assigns blame. NPR's Lauren Frayer reports from London.

New report sheds light on devastating U.K. fire

New Jersey State

Jersey City, NJ

Morristown Minute

MORRISTOWN, NJ - Two members of a Jersey City gang associated with the Marion Gardens Housing Complex were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for their involvement in multiple shootings and other gang-related crimes, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Gang Members Sentenced: 31 Years for Violent Crimes

London — A damning report on a deadly London high-rise fire concluded Wednesday that decades of failures by government, regulators and industry turned Grenfell Tower into a "death trap" where 72 people lost their lives. The public inquiry into the 2017 blaze found no "single cause" of the tragedy,...

Decades of failures turned Grenfell Tower into a 'death trap,' report says

NewsBreak

Ex-aide to N.Y. govs accused of working for China. And Russia’s deadly missile attack

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Ex-aide to N.Y. govs accused of working for China. And Russia’s deadly missile attack

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