HOLIDAYS WEEKENDS

NPR’s Ron Elving explains the history of the pardon, where it comes from and what the Constitution allows.

FEMA is now auctioning off trailers sent to Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. But that’s just one way to deal with a surplus.

The war of words started early as the president’s ex-lawyer gets rolling on a three-day marathon with members of Congress. But Michael Cohen intends to deliver documents, one person close to him said.

Claims of massive illegal voting by noncitizens have routinely been disproved, but some noncitizens end up on the voter rolls, often by accident. Now, states are trying to fix that.

For the first time, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has said that she’s open to the possibility of postponing Britain’s exit from the European Union.

“We’ll try to bring joy, positivity, beauty, drag, culture to whatever this is,” Beatrix Lestrange said, pointing to the section of the border fence directly behind her.

Senator Elizabeth Warren proposes a new kind of U.S. tax policy: a wealth tax. But the policy faces serious hurdles, including lessons from a failed experiment in Europe and a constitutional challenge

The city announced that more than 9,000 marijuana-related convictions will be cleared. California voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2016.

Ann Leckie’s new fantasy novel is packed with family intrigue, throne-room maneuvering and nods to Hamlet in its story of a son who comes home to find his father missing and his uncle in power.

A recent study found that Dr. Seuss books can be pretty racist. It’s highlighted a growing debate: Should schools teach classic books that may be problematic or trade them for socially conscious ones?

India says its fighter jets crossed into Pakistan early Tuesday morning and bombed a militant training camp there. Pakistan says there was no damage and no casualties.

An animal lover stopped to feed a hungry-looking stray cat outside Everglades National Park in Florida. The cat bit her finger; then treatment for a possible rabies infection bit her pocketbook.

The onetime attorney and fixer has closed meetings scheduled with the House and Senate intelligence panels and an open one set for the House oversight committee. It could be a doozy.

Some officials and mental health experts say the suicides are a sign of deeper problems with the mental health and well-being of Chicago police officers.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy against the United States. His lawyers argue that at his age, a long imprisonment would amount to a “life sentence.”

Once a top adviser to Pope Francis, Pell’s conviction had been under seal in Australia pending a separate trial on other abuse charges. There will be no second trial, so the gag order has been lifted.

Musk is required to get his statements about Tesla approved by company officials before he publishes. A recent tweet misstated the company’s production rate.

The TV network says Ramos has been released. Earlier it said Ramos and his crew were detained while interviewing President Nicolás Maduro. The State Department called for them to be let go.

“There is simply not ample evidence to support the president’s contention of a national security crisis at our southwestern border,” Evers said after issuing the order Monday.

The recent partial government shutdown delayed preparations for the 2020 head count, including for a field test of the controversial citizenship question, internal Census Bureau documents suggest.

The U.K. expelled the residents of the Indian Ocean islands and allowed the U.S. to build a military base. The U.N. Court says it must cede control of the islands “as rapidly as possibly.”

NPR has found that Walmart is changing the job requirements for front-door greeters in a way that appears to disproportionately affect workers with disabilities.

The woman flew some 9,000 miles from Australia to Scotland to find her shoe was packed with a live spotted python inside, according to the Scottish SPCA.

Mohammad Javad Zarif was an architect of the Iran nuclear deal. His announcement provides no explanation for his immediate departure.

The new publisher and editor of The Democrat-Reporter, Elecia R. Dexter, took the reins on Thursday, after Goodloe Sutton doubled down on his incendiary comments.

The heads of four U.S. companies are lobbying for a law requiring background checks on all gun purchases. One of them, the founder of TOMS shoes, concedes his company will lose business as a result.

Responders are zeroing in on an important source of new infections in the towns of Katwa and Butembo.

“The struggle in Venezuela is between dictatorship and democracy,” U.S. Vice President Pence said in Colombia. He was there to support Juan Guaidó, who has declared himself Venezuela’s interim leader.

More people are using mobile money apps to pay each other without cash. With Venmo, its social network is a key part of the payment process, and it’s changing people’s behavior in unexpected ways.

Research suggests the more of your childhood that is spent surrounded by green spaces, the lower your risk of developing mental illness in adulthood, whether in the city or the country.

The Florida state attorney’s office in Palm Beach says New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution.

While some officials urge expansion of the Medicare system, several states are mulling a different way to ensure residents have affordable coverage: help them buy into a Medicaid-like plan.

The R&B singer appeared in court in Chicago on Monday morning. He has been charged with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.