NPR Top Stories

NASA's Osiris-REx mission has successfully returned a pristine sample of asteroid back to Earth. This cupful-or-so of space rock could shed light on the solar system's origins.

Maj. Gen. Janeen Birckhead of Maryland only became a soldier to help pay for college. Three decades later, she's risen to the top military position in Maryland, leading a force of 4,600 soldiers.

Two Palestinians were killed during an Israeli military raid Sunday in the northern West Bank, Palestinian health officials said, in a surge of violence during a sensitive Jewish holiday period.

The windows, titled "Now and Forever," were created by artist Kerry James Marshall. They show a group of protesters holding up large signs that read "Fairness" and "No Foul Play."

The National Hurricane Center expect some areas in the Mid-Atlantic to southern New England to recieve between 1 and 3 inches of rainfall, posing risk of urban and flash flooding.

The latest children's book from Julie Andrews, Emma Walton Hamilton and illustrator Elly McKay is about the power of nature and music. They discussed their creative process in an interview with NPR.

Immigration authorities arrested more families in August than in any month on record. U.S. officials have long grappled with discouraging families from coming — and found there are no easy solutions.

The horseshoe crab bleeding industry is in transition. One biomedical company agreed to more oversight, and a regulatory group is paving the way for drug companies to use animal-free alternatives.

As the writer's strike continues into the fall TV season, NPR's Scott Simon imagines a fresh crop of reality show substitutes for regular programming.

Colombia's capital is home to 11 million people — and to some of the worst traffic jams in the world. Now Chinese companies are building its first metro line.