"Every day, you can see an increase in the Taliban's presence," an Afghan who worked with the U.S. tells NPR. "What am I going to do after September? ... Am I going to even be alive by December?"

Researchers know how to curb the risks of overdose and disease among drug users, but policymakers are reluctant to allow public health measures that include needle exchanges and access to safer drugs.

From the Great Plains to the California coast, a powerful "heat dome" is setting records. This one is stronger and bigger and is appearing earlier than normal.

There is a growing discontent in the African American community with symbolic gestures that are presented as progress without any accompanying economic or structural change.