Christopher Munoz and Nirvana Contreras kiss during New Year's Eve celebrations in Times Square in New York. Jeenah Moon/AP hide caption
U.S. News and National Top Stories NPR coverage of national news, U.S. politics, elections, business, arts, culture, health and science, and technology. Subscribe to the NPR Nation RSS feed.
National
Friday
Damage to homes burned by wildfires after they ripped through a development are shown Friday in Superior, Colo. David Zalubowski/AP hide caption
Dec. 30: Broomfield, Colo. — Homes burn as a wildfire rips through a development near Rock Creek Village. David Zalubowski/AP hide caption
Fireworks explode in Times Square on New Year's Eve on January 1, 2018 in New York City. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images hide caption
Retired two-star U.S. Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton co-authored a recent op-ed about the fear that a coup could succeed after the 2024 elections. Brent Stirton/Getty Images hide caption
Retired general warns the U.S. military could back a coup after the 2024 election
Dr. Bonnie Abbott (left) embraces her husband George as they watch flames engulf homes as the Marshall Fire spreads through a neighborhood in the town of Superior in Boulder County, Colorado on Thursday. Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Thursday
Firefighters spray water on a structure fire as a wildfire burns on Thursday in Superior, Colo. David Zelio/AP hide caption
The Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Sunrise ship is seen in the port of Miami on Dec. 23, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance is stepping down after 12 years in office. Frank Franklin II/AP hide caption
Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance reflects on Trump and Weinstein cases as he leaves office
Top, from left: Vicente Fernández, bell hooks, Joan Didion; bottom, from left: Vernon Jordan, Petra Mayer and Stephen Sondheim Kevin Winter/Getty Images for LARAS; Karjean Levine/Getty Images; Kathy Willens/AP; Jennifer Law/AFP via Getty Images; Darian Woehr/NPR; R. Jones/Getty Images hide caption
Activists participate in a candlelight vigil calling for an end to the nation's opioid addiction crisis at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., in August 2017. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
More than a million Americans have died from overdoses during the opioid epidemic
A Gap store in Farmington Hills, Mich., was closed by COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. Thousands of people were left without jobs and dependent on unemployment benefits; unfortunately, some people took advantage of the system. Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The 2022 sign that will be lit on top of a building on New Year's Eve is displayed in New York's Times Square earlier this month. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption
Americans fume as the pandemic scrambles New Year's Eve celebrations again
U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell testified last July before the U.S. House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Authorities say some 140 police officers were injured during the insurrection. Pool/Getty Images hide caption
As the Jan. 6 attack anniversary nears, one Capitol officer fears a violent repeat
Wednesday
Mourners gather outside the door of a tattoo parlor in Denver on Tuesday, one of the scenes of a shooting rampage the day prior that left six people dead —including the suspected shooter — and left two more people wounded. David Zalubowski/AP hide caption