Top Stories of 2017

Branden Camp/AP

FACT CHECK: Have Immigrants Lowered Wages For Blue-Collar American Workers?

White House policy adviser Stephen Miller said the "numbers of low-skilled [immigrant] workers in particular is a major detriment to U.S. workers."

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

politics

After Health Care Collapse, GOP Seeks Redemption With Tax Cuts

the two-way

Senators Introduce 2 Bills To Try To Keep Trump From Firing Mueller

The Two-Way: The Two-Way is the place to come for breaking news, analysis and for stories that are just too interesting – or too entertaining – to pass up.

• Senators Introduce 2 Bills To Try To Keep Trump From Firing Mueller
• Let The Vacations Resume: Power Restored To 2 North Carolina Islands
• The Secret Service No Longer Has A Command Post Inside Trump Tower

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technology

Hyperloop Tests Magnetic Levitation At 192 MPH

August 4, 2017 • David Greene speaks with Hyperloop One co-founder Josh Giegel about the logistical and political challenges involved in building the high speed transportation system in California.

law

What A Grand Jury Means For The Russia Investigation

August 4, 2017 • Rachel Martin talks with Benjamin Wittes, editor-in-chief of the website Lawfare, about what a grand jury could do in the Russia investigation.

around the nation

Whistleblowers Come Forward Over Problems At New Hampshire VA Hospital

NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO

August 4, 2017 • A dozen whistleblowers at the Manchester, N.H., VA hospital have exposed inadequate patient care and incompetence, leading to staff dismissals and an investigation.

C. Leinbach/AP

the two-way

Let The Vacations Resume: Power Restored To 2 North Carolina Islands

August 3, 2017 • Evacuation orders will be lifted noon Friday for Ocracoke and Hatteras, where electricity was cut off by a construction accident July 27. That meant no air conditioning and no restaurants.

Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images

the two-way

The Secret Service No Longer Has A Command Post Inside Trump Tower

August 3, 2017 • The service's move happened in July because the government couldn't reach agreement on lease terms with the Trump Organization. Agents protecting the president will still operate in the building.

STR/AP

the two-way

Pentagon Identifies Service Members Killed In Afghanistan

August 3, 2017 • A Pentagon official says two soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division were killed in Kandahar by a bomb that detonated near their convoy, and the incident is being investigated.

Darron Cummings/AP

politics

West Virginia Governor Announces He'll Switch To GOP At Trump Rally

August 3, 2017 • Appearing with the president Thursday night, Gov. Jim Justice announced he'll flip to the GOP: "I can't help you any more being a Democrat governor," he told the crowd.

Frank Augstein/AP

the two-way

Feds Arrest Man Credited With Helping To Stop Ransomware Attack

August 3, 2017 • The Justice Department alleges Marcus Hutchins, who is said to have short-circuited WannaCry's global attack, created another malware program. His supporters say DOJ couldn't be more wrong.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

politics

Source: Mueller Using D.C. Grand Jury In Russia Probe

August 3, 2017 • A White House lawyer told NPR the administration is "committed to fully cooperating with Mr. Mueller."

Andy Duback/Courtesy of Larner College of Medicine

shots - health news

Vermont Medical School Says Goodbye To Lectures

August 3, 2017 • The University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine is planning to phase out lectures by 2019. The dean behind the effort says lectures aren't good at engaging learners.

politics

Robert Mueller Impanels Grand Jury In Russia Investigation

August 3, 2017 • NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Del Quentin Wilber of The Wall Street Journal about special counsel Mueller's decision to impanel a grand jury in the probe into Russian influence in the 2016 election.

around the nation

After Closing Liquor Stores, Nebraska Town Pushes For Renewal

August 3, 2017 • It's been three months since state officials closed four liquor stores in Whiteclay, Neb. As the small town's primary source of income, that has affects both good and bad. The state-backed Whiteclay Task Force is plotting the town's future as dilapidated buildings are being razed and replaced with green space. Even the regulars who drank openly day and night and passed out on the sidewalks and in the alleys are gone.

politics

White House Reverses Effort To Delay Obama Ozone Regulations

August 3, 2017 • The Trump administration has reversed its effort to delay implementation of an Environmental Protection Agency regulation lowering acceptable ozone emissions, a major component of smog. The reversal comes after 16 states filed a lawsuit saying the delay was unlawful.

around the nation

Montana Fire Season Reaches Dangerous New Level

August 3, 2017 • Fire season in Montana has reached a dangerous new level. Blazes are growing and now threatening larger towns as the state is running out of money to fight them.

politics

Transcripts Reveal Trump Told Mexican President Border Wall Is 'Least Important Thing'

August 3, 2017 • NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Greg Miller, national security correspondent for The Washington Post, about the transcripts of President Trump's phone calls with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull back in January.

politics

Trump Breaks With Business Lobby On Proposal To Curtail Legal Immigration

August 3, 2017 • When it comes to immigration, what is best for the American workforce and economy? That is the central question that's emerged after President Trump announced Wednesday he's backing a proposal in Congress to dramatically reduce legal immigration.

politics

Trump Adviser Stephen Miller Undermines Poem's Connection To Statue Of Liberty

August 3, 2017 • White House adviser Stephen Miller's contention that the poem "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus was only added later to the Statue of Liberty diminishes the poem's connection to the statue.

around the nation

2 Midwest Towns Locked In Trademark Battle Over Pierogi Festival Name

August 3, 2017 • A Pierogi war has broken out between two communities. A suburban Chicago chamber of commerce wants the Edwardsville Pierogi Festival in Pennsylvania to drop its name like a hot potato, threatening a trademark infringement lawsuit. Lawyers for the Whiting Pierogi Fest in Whiting, Ind., recently sent a letter to the Edwardsville Hometown Committee demanding it stop using the trademarked name or pay royalties for its use.

national security

North Korea Confusion Illustrates Trump Administration's Divide Over Foreign Policy

August 3, 2017 • Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said this week the U.S. is not seeking a regime change in North Korea. That's in contrast to CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who suggested last month that he would like to see Kim Jong-un removed from power. Former diplomats say it's the latest example of a less-than-coherent Trump administration foreign policy, where it's not clear who's in charge.

around the nation

Maine Courts Young Natives To Live And Work In Their Home State

August 3, 2017 • NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Ed McKersie about the Live and Work in Maine program, a campaign to get more young people come back to Maine help fill jobs in the state.

Matt West/AP

the two-way

Woman Who Urged Boyfriend To Commit Suicide Must Serve 15 Months In Prison

August 3, 2017 • Michelle Carter had been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for texts that encouraged her boyfriend to kill himself. She was sentenced to 2 1/2 years, with all but 15 months suspended.

Trump Rips Investigations: 'Are There Any Russians Here?'

WHITE HOUSE

Mueller Convenes Grand Jury in Russia Investigation

POLITICS NEWS

Large Fire Breaks Out at Dubai's 'Torch Tower'

WORLD

Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Cyberattack Arrested by FBI

HACKING OF AMERICA

Super-Colossal Wind Turbines May Be on the Horizon

ENVIRONMENT

Outrage After Trump Calls New Hampshire a 'Drug-Infested Den'

AMERICA'S HEROIN EPIDEMIC

Another Baltimore Body-Cam Video Shows Officers 'Plant' Drugs

U.S. NEWS

Former Olympic Stadium Now a Refugee Shelter

WORLD

Suicides in Teen Girls Hit 40-Year High

NIGHTLY NEWS

Large Fire Breaks Out at Dubai's 'Torch Tower'

WORLD

10 Ways to Generate Income in RetirementFISHER INVESTMENTS

Senior ISIS Commander Directed Plot To Bomb Plane In Australia, Police Say

WORLD

Woman in Texting-Suicide Case Sentenced to 15 Months

U.S. NEWS

Man Allegedly Held Woman, Children Captive in Home for Years

U.S. NEWS