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Appalachia's black lung rates highest in nearly 50 years as miners' protections stall

Howard Berkes — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 04:01:00 -0400

Rates are now as bad as the 1970s, with thousands of miners sick and dying. Mining experts blame toxic silica dust, now more common in mines.

(Image credit: Roger May for NPR)

MLS named LAFC co-owner Larry Berg as its next commissioner. Here's what to know

Becky Sullivan — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0400

For their commissioner of the future, MLS owners chose a soccer native. Berg's team is seen as one of MLS's best-run franchises, and he has embraced rule changes designed to modernize the league.

(Image credit: Richard Drew)

Authorities arrested a man with ammo and apparently monitoring security at Trump golf course near LA

The Associated Press — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 20:30:48 -0400

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Jeanine John Taele, 38, was taking photos and video and had a 16-round magazine with ammunition in his pocket.

(Image credit: John Antczak)

SpaceX's revenue rises as its once-soaring stock price drifts back to Earth

John Ruwitch — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:02:03 -0400

On their first earnings call since SpaceX's June public offering, executives said the company is pouring funds into rocket development, Starlink satellites and AI.

(Image credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY)

Oregon's wildfire season is pushing ranchers to evacuate their cattle

April Ehrlich — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 16:16:43 -0400

Oregon has been having an extremely active fire season. Some of the areas burning are critical to ranchers whose livelihoods depend on cattle.

One Maine community's fight to save a birthing center

Elaine Appleton-Grant — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 16:16:26 -0400

In mid-coast Maine a grassroots coalition is fighting to prevent the proposed closure of Miles Hospital's labor and delivery center.

House Ethics Committee will investigate Ohio Republican Max Miller

Jason Breslow — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 15:40:02 -0400

The committee said it was reviewing allegations that Miller "may have engaged in domestic violence." Miller has denied the allegations, which have swirled around his bid for a third term in Congress.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

The soaring demand for Patriot missiles, from the Middle East to Ukraine

Greg Myre — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:01:04 -0400

The U.S. and its partners depend on Patriot interceptors to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles. But Russia and Iran are firing their weapons at rates far higher than Patriots can be produced.

(Image credit: Efrem Lukatsky)

Senate Democrats say banks turned blind eye to suspicious moves by Jeffrey Epstein

Scott Horsley — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 13:43:06 -0400

A report from Senate Democrats accuses big banks of failing to report suspicious money transfers made by Jeffrey Epstein until after his arrest in 2019.

(Image credit: Martin Bureau)

Europe's heat wave fuels drought, wildfires and fears about energy supplies

Robbie Griffiths — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 12:37:38 -0400

Europe's heat wave exposes buried history and new threats — Nazi-era wrecks emerge from the Danube, nuclear reactors face cooling risks, and Greece battles deadly wildfires.

(Image credit: Darko Vojinovic)