HOLIDAYS WEEKENDS

When he was about 11 years old, Braxton Moral started Harvard University’s extension program. “I’m not any different; I just do a little thing on the side,” he says.

The deaths of two migrant children raise new questions about the quality of medical care at Border Patrol facilities. But pediatricians at the border have been raising these concerns for years.

U.S. law enforcement says China is racing to become a world leader in the most advanced technologies, and that’s driving intellectual property theft directed at a broad range of U.S. industries.

The novelist and peace advocate died Friday. He once called the language in which he wrote, modern Hebrew, his “musical instrument” and compared it to “an erupting lava, an earthquake in action.”

Some state governments and tourism boards have been using their own funds to keep the parks open. Elsewhere, open but unstaffed parks have become something of a free-for-all.

The EPA says it will keep limits on toxic mercury emissions from coal plants but now deems them not cost-effective. Environmental groups worry the move could hinder future regulations.

Richard Overton enlisted in an all-black battalion, serving in Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He loved ice cream, whiskey and cigars. “Today we mourn not just a hero, but a legend,” the U.S. Army said.

There is cause for optimism — and for despair. One statistic is so distressing that the Red Cross calls it “a hideous milestone for the 21st century.”

Weeks ago, Turkey threatened to send its military over the border if Kurdish militants didn’t leave Manbij. Now the U.S.-backed Kurds seem to be making a deal with the Syrian regime.

With their city in ruins and little international help, a group of teenagers decided to take matters into their own hands. They recruited teachers, found a building and set up classes for themselves.

Utility company Con Edison says the light emanated from “a sustained electrical arc flash that was visible across a wide area.” Witnesses had many other ideas.

Ma Jian, who served as vice minister of state security from 2006 until he was dismissed in 2015, was convicted on charges of accepting bribes and insider trading.

Federal government employees are still being paid for work they did before the shutdown, but the checks will soon end. Among those affected are many who struggle to make ends meet even in good times.

A substantial share of Americans are feeling hopeful about the new year, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll. And some of us, especially young people, plan to make resolutions.

Even as public distaste for gerrymandering led to a wave of successful ballot initiatives this fall, plenty of lawmakers are still trying to make sure they control how political boundaries are drawn.

After three hurricanes, a big snow storm and an ice storm, residents and staff of a retirement community in Charleston are starting to view evacuations as the reality of growing old on the coast.

The 12-year-old was alive and conscious when he was rescued on Wednesday, defying bleak statistics for avalanche victims trapped over 15 minutes. “We can call it a miracle,” a rescue captain said.

“There’s no getting around it,” says Linda St. Thomas, chief spokeswoman for the Smithsonian. About two-thirds of the institution’s staff are federal employees and will be furloughed effective Jan. 2.

2018 saw a string of more precise — and dire — assessments that a warming climate is affecting the weather. That didn’t keep President Trump and others from questioning those scientific conclusions.

Trump has only a few more days to advance any spending agreement with the help of full GOP control in Washington. But a leading House Republican said no votes in that chamber are expected this week.

NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith was one of 13 reporters to go with President Trump to Iraq, an assignment that meant keeping a big secret — even from family.

In a video that has been viewed millions of times, the young black man has his hair cut by a team trainer so he can compete. The referee, who is white, has been accused of racist conduct before.

America is rejecting more legal immigrants than ever before. Refugee advocates warn that President Trump’s aim is to dismantle the U.S. refugee resettlement program.

The Avangard weapon system is built around a hypersonic glide vehicle that takes an elusive path toward its target — even as it reportedly travels at more than 20 times the speed of sound.

A Maine medical school and nearby hospice center are trying out a VR program aimed at fostering more empathy for dying patients among health workers-in-training. Not everyone is sold on the idea.

“Firearms-related fatalities were the leading cause of officer deaths, with 52 officers shot and killed in 2018,” the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund says.

“There’s some risk that people will look at 2018 and say, ‘Well, nothing happened; that means we’re OK,’ ” said one computer security expert. “Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

Anak Krakatau, whose partial collapse is blamed for triggering Saturday’s tsunami that killed at least 430 people, remains active — spewing ash over a large area around the Sunda Strait.

Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen promises new “extraordinary protective measures” in the wake of the death of a second migrant child this month. They will require assistance from multiple federal agencies.

The volcano erupted two days ago, triggering 1,000 mostly small tremors. At least 10 people were injured and a number of buildings were damaged in Wednesday’s quake.

In the 1940s, the U.S. government used census data to locate and wrongfully incarcerate Japanese-Americans. Some are now speaking out against plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

The president visited U.S. forces who are part of the fight against ISIS, amid criticism of a sudden decision to pull troops from Syria. It’s his first such trip since taking office.

Ginsburg underwent surgery last Friday for early stage lung cancer. At 85, she is the oldest justice on the Supreme Court and a stalwart of the court’s liberal wing.

The president caused a stir when he asked a 7-year-old caller to the Santa tracker hotline whether she still believed in Saint Nick.

More than 14,000 donors were tricked into paying for a couple’s vacations and handbags by a heartwarming story featuring a homeless veteran. Now GoFundMe has returned their money.

Japanese prosecutors say three top TEPCO executives didn’t do enough to protect the nuclear plant, despite being told in 2002 that the Fukushima facility was vulnerable to a tsunami.