npr

▶

▶ 32.9K ❤ 0 💬 0

This week Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth delivered a "State of the Force" address to hundreds of junior military leaders at a Virginia military base. Hegseth touted what he sees as the successes of his first year and a half in office. NPR Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman has been reporting on the speech, and how U.S. forces have been affected by the changes and Hegseth's leadership, and shared what he's found with “Sources & Methods” host Mary Louise Kelly. Listen to the full episode at the link in our bio. #NPR

▶

▶ 6.5K ❤ 0 💬 0

A FEMA-backed program that's helped hundreds of survivors of last year’s Los Angeles fires navigate the rebuilding process is running out of money — and California's leaders are accusing the Trump administration of playing politics. Last year, as is typical after bad wildfires, FEMA approved $13 million in funding for its disaster case management program, which pairs a case manager with a fire survivor helping them with insurance, to file grant applications and secure building permits. But some 1,300 survivors are now losing their case managers, as only $3 million of the promised $13 million in aid has actually been distributed in LA's burn zones. FEMA also recently denied an aid request for an additional $6 million, which state leaders say is further delaying a slow recovery. Find “NPR News Now” wherever you listen to podcasts. Host: Korva Coleman/NPR Reporter: Kirk Siegler/NPR Producer: Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR

▶

▶ 2.5K ❤ 0 💬 0

Is a search for romantic love possible without being a little cringe? Can we be earnest about our feelings with others while still maintaining a carefully curated online presence? To find out, It’s Been a Minute Host Brittany Luse chats with culture critic Bobbi Miller about how we're coming up short. #NPR

▶

▶ 15.3K ❤ 0 💬 0

Doing drag taught Trixie Mattel (@trixie) that she can do anything. On this week’s Wild Card with Rachel Martin, she talks about life's impermanence, and learning to read people by working at an ice cream shop. Watch the full interview at the link in bio. #NPR

▶

▶ 66.8K ❤ 0 💬 0

RM, the K-pop idol and leader of the globetrotting boy band BTS, has turned museum curator — a new exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is the first ever to feature the South Korean superstar’s art collection.   At a press briefing for the show Tuesday, the self-deprecating musician said he loves collecting art — but also feels guilty about it: "Do I really need to carry so many unnecessary things that I don't even need? Have I ended up becoming just a boring, rich snore? Well, maybe."   RM started collecting art in 2019. The exhibit, "RM x SFMOMA: Between You and Me," runs through Feb. 7, 2027.   Find “NPR News Now” wherever you listen to podcasts.   Host: Korva Coleman/NPR Reporter: Chloe Veltman/NPR Producers: Irene Kim/NPR, Michael Zamora/NPR

▶

▶ 12.3K ❤ 0 💬 0

In 2022, Fox News war correspondent Benjamin Hall nearly died when a Russian artillery strike in Ukraine left him gravely injured. The attack killed four people traveling with him– two Ukrainian soldiers, veteran videographer Pierre Zakrzewski, and Sasha Kuvshynova — a 24-year-old Ukrainian producer.   Now, lawsuits from Kuvshynova’s parents and Zakrzewski’s widow accuse Fox of failing to keep them safe, and Benjamin Hall of letting his ambition make him reckless.   #OnlyOnNPR   Host: David Folkenflik/NPR Producers: Nickolai Hammar/NPR, Abi Inman/NPR

▶

▶ 22.4K ❤ 0 💬 0

Huge new data centers have many people wondering who pays for the upgrades to the electrical grid needed to power the facilities. Connor Waldoch is chief strategy officer at Grid Status, a company that focuses providing electricity-market data. He says the costs to upgrade the grid for AI are being shouldered by everyone who buys electricity. “We are talking tens or hundreds of millions of dollars that are being built by these local utilities that are ultimately going to end up in customers’ bills.” He says no one has quite figured out the fairest way to divvy up those costs. A 2024 forecast in Maryland found that AI would add as much as $216 a year to the average customer’s bill. Find “NPR News Now” wherever you listen to podcasts. Host: Korva Coleman/NPR Reporter: Scott Neuman/NPR Producer: Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR

▶

▶ 39.4K ❤ 0 💬 0

Two new contenders have joined the ranks for world’s loudest bird: the bare-throated bellbird and the red-legged seriema. Researchers have long studied the pitch and rhythm of bird vocalizations, but technology now allows the measurement of volume. While a Ph.D. student at UMass Amherst, João Menezes and his advisor managed to record the volume of 123 bird species across Western Massachusetts and Brazil, many for the first time. The range was staggering: an 800-fold difference between the softest species, a kind of hummingbird, all the way up to a very loud trio of species that were "comparable to the level of a jackhammer," Menezes says. Larger species and those with wider mouth openings tend to sing louder, but it’s still not clear what’s driving all the variety. Find “NPR News Now” wherever you listen to podcasts. Host: Korva Coleman/NPR Reporter: Ari Daniel/NPR Producer: Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR

▶

▶ 1.1K ❤ 0 💬 0

"Avengers: Endgame" reclaimed the No. 1 spot on Hollywood’s all-time worldwide box office chart this weekend.   Marvel’s superhero epic first became the highest grossing film in history back in 2019, passing "Avatar," which had held that title for 10 years. Then the original "Avatar" was re-released in 2022 to promote a sequel and earned enough to reclaim the top spot. Now, it’s "Avengers" that has a sequel coming, so, following the same playbook, "Endgame" has been re-released and retaken the title.   It’s a friendly competition — both films are Disney releases. And their jockeying reflects rising ticket prices more than attendance.   In terms of tickets sold, neither film comes close to "Titanic."   Find “NPR News Now” wherever you listen to podcasts.   Host: Korva Coleman/NPR Reporter: Bob Mondello/NPR Producer: Michael Zamora/NPR

▶

▶ 2.2K ❤ 0 💬 0

The Supreme Court is set to hear a blockbuster climate change case that could affect more than just climate issues. Swipe to read today’s top headlines. For more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun, subscribe to the Up First newsletter at www.npr.org/upfirstnewsletter.

▶

▶ 3.9K ❤ 0 💬 0

Princess Diana's brother Charles Spencer is out with a new memoir and it's making some waves for the House of Windsor. Most notably, Spencer recounts a phone call he says he had with then-Prince Charles after Diana died in a car accident in Paris. Spencer claims the man who is now King Charles said, "we'll forget her soon enough." #NPR

▶

▶ 55.3K ❤ 0 💬 0

tarting today, states will be footing a larger share of the bill to run the food assistance program known as SNAP, as federal funding to pay for things like state SNAP workers shrinks by half. Last year’s massive Republican tax and spending law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act included major changes to how SNAP is funded. As a result, states may need to spend two to three times more in the future in order to keep the food assistance program running. The key question now is how states will afford these new costs to SNAP. Policy experts say states may need to raise taxes, cut funding for other programs or reduce access to food benefits. Find “NPR News Now” wherever you listen to podcasts. Host: Korva Coleman/NPR Reporter: Juliana Kim/NPR Producer: Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR