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The State Department seal is seen on the briefing room lectern at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 31, 2022. Mandel Ngan/AP hide caption

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Mandel Ngan/AP

The State Department slashes its annual reports on human rights

Required by Congress, the reports no longer single out things like rigged elections or sexual violence against children as human rights violations.

State Department slashes its annual reports on human rights

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South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee, wife of impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review her arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors, in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday. Jung Yeon-je/AP via AFP hide caption

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Jung Yeon-je/AP via AFP

Wife of South Korea's jailed ex-President Yoon arrested over corruption allegations

Investigators say the former president and first lady exerted undue influence on the conservative People Power Party to nominate a specific candidate during a 2022 election.

Martha Wilson, of Chapel Hill, gets a COVID-19 vaccine Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 in Pittsboro, N.C at Piedmont Health Senior Care, a federally qualified health center where PACE patients (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) and underserved populations can receive the vaccine. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) Amr Bo Shanab/Getty Images hide caption

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The hidden costs of cutting Medicaid

Cutting Medicaid can seem like an easy way to slash the budget. But, the costs can spread to all of us.

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Mekons: Tiny Desk Concert

The world is doomed, but at least we've got the Mekons. The British punk band rumbles through its down-but-not-defeated songs with rowdy defiance.

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In Alabama, a dredging project in Mobile Bay brings together unlikely allies

Dredging waterways for navigation is a centuries-old practice, but this project is controversial because the mud being dug out of the channel is put into other parts of Mobile Bay.

In Alabama, a dredging project in Mobile Bay brings together unlikely allies

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Marchers rally for home rule in front of the White House in April 1965. At that point, D.C. had been run by presidentially appointed commissioners for nearly a century. National Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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D.C. has been under tighter federal control before. Here's what it looked like

Trump's expansion of federal authority over Washington, D.C., is in many ways unprecedented, but calls to mind other times the city has been under tighter federal control.

D.C. has been under tighter federal control before. Here's what it looked like

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The price of home furnishings rose in July, thanks in part to President Trump's tariffs. The overall cost of living rose _____% from a year ago, according to a report Tuesday from the Labor Department. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Inflation remains elevated as Trump's tariffs take hold

Inflation remained elevated last month as President Trump's tariffs continued to make their way into the prices that consumers pay. The average cost of living in July was up 2.7%.

Inflation remains elevated as Trump's tariffs take hold

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In this combination of file photos, President Donald Trump, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, are seen at the Elysee Palace, Dec. 7, 2024 in Paris, and President Vladimir Putin, right, addresses a Technology Forum in Moscow on Feb. 21, 2025. Aurelien Morissard, left and center, Pavel Bednyakov, right/AP hide caption

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Aurelien Morissard, left and center, Pavel Bednyakov, right/AP

What's at stake as Trump prepares to meet Putin in Alaska?

Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was unlikely to be included in talks he described as a "feel-out meeting" to better understand Russia's demands for ending its war in Ukraine.

A Russian Orthodox Church in the Alaska village of Tatitlek. Alaska was a Russian colony from 1799 until it was sold to the U.S. in 1867 for $7.2 million. President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are holding a summit in Alaska on Friday. David McNew/Getty Images hide caption

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David McNew/Getty Images

Alaska was once a full-fledged Russian colony. Now it's hosting a U.S.-Russia summit

Russia lost a war in Crimea in the 1850s. To pay off war debts, Russia sold Alaska to the U.S. Now, Presidents Trump and Putin will meet Friday in Alaska to discuss another war involving Crimea.

Alaska was once a full-fledged Russian colony. Now it will host a U.S.-Russia summit

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Birth control pills pack. Female contraception concept for sex and reproduction, population control, feminism, or women's rights to choose. These contraceptive pills are prescription medicine that contain female hormones like estrogen and progestin to prevent pregnancy during family planning choice or to control PMS / PMDD medical condition during mensuration. Conceptual symbol of human fertility concept. Full unused, monthly pill pack on pink background, no people. Part of a series. Jena Ardell/Moment RF/Getty Images hide caption

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Jena Ardell/Moment RF/Getty Images

Influencers criticize birth control and push 'natural' methods. Here's what to know

Social media is full of videos saying hormonal contraception can hurt you and promoting natural alternatives. How did the treatments get such a bad reputation and do alternatives work?

What’s the deal with claims that birth control is dangerous?

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Family and friends of Awdah Hathaleen carry his body to the cemetery during his funeral on Aug. 7, 2025 in Umm al-Kheir, West Bank. The 31-year-old Palestinian activist and father of three was killed on July 28 when Israeli settler Yinon Levi allegedly opened fire during a confrontation in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Kheir (or Umm al-Khair), in the Masafer Yatta region of the occupied West Bank. Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images hide caption

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Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images

A Palestinian activist was killed by the violence he sought to stop

Awdah Al Hathaleen was shot during a clash with an Israeli settler. His West Bank village hoped No Other Land, the Oscar-winning film about settler violence that he worked on, might help protect them.

Palestinian activist who helped make Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land" killed in the West Bank

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Actor Jeff Hiller has a new book called Actress of a Certain Age: My Twenty-Year Trail to Overnight Success. He's pictured above in Savannah, Ga., in November 2024. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SCAD hide caption

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Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for SCAD

A big break after age 40 is possible. Just ask Jeff Hiller of 'Somebody Somewhere'

Hiller spent years scraping by in Hollywood by taking on various small roles. Then he landed the role of Joel on Somebody Somewhere and everything changed. His new memoir is Actress of a Certain Age.

A big break after age 40 is possible. Just ask Jeff Hiller of 'Somebody Somewhere'

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Ford CEO Jim Farley speaks at the Louisville Assembly Plant, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. Darron Cummings/AP hide caption

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Darron Cummings/AP

Ford says it will roll out a cheaper electric pickup truck

Ford announced that it will retool its Louisville Assembly plant in Kentucky to focus on electric trucks. Their goal: To bring down prices for US buyers and compete with Chinese EV makers on the global market.

Ford says it will roll out a cheaper electric pickup truck

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An Israeli airstrike kills a prominent Al Jazeera journalist and his colleagues in Gaza

Al Jazeera's Anas al-Sharif and five of his colleagues at the network were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting Gaza's most recognized television journalist.

Israeli airstrike kills a prominent Al Jazeera journalist and colleagues

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Emergency and media vehicles line a road leading to the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works after an explosion and fire there on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. Julia Maruca/90. 5 WESA hide caption

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Julia Maruca/90. 5 WESA

A second worker is found dead after an explosion at U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works

90.5 WESA

Searchers on Monday night recovered the body of a second worker who died earlier in the day in an explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works. Ten workers required hospital treatment for injuries.

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