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Senate Makes Alejandro Mayorkas First Latino Head Of Homeland Security

February 2, 2021 - 7:32pm

The Senate has voted to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. He becomes the first Latino and first immigrant to lead DHS.

The vote was narrower than for some of President Biden's other Cabinet nominees. Mayorkas was confirmed by a 56-43 vote on...

Saint Coltrane: The Church Built On 'A Love Supreme'

February 2, 2021 - 7:29pm

I have seen God – I have seen ungodly – none can be greater – none can compare to God.

John Coltrane composed these words in December 1964, as part of a poem he called A Love Supreme. He included the poem in the inside...

Coup Caught On Camera: Myanmar Woman Goes Viral For Dance Video With Surreal Backdrop

February 2, 2021 - 7:10pm

Fitness instructor Khing Hnin Wai has been filming herself performing aerobics on the same street in Myanmar's capital city for months. But none of her videos has gone quite as viral as the one she posted on Monday, in which she inadvertently captured the country's military coup unfolding in the...

Protests In Rochester As Lawmakers Move To Ban Use of Chemical Irritants On Minors

February 2, 2021 - 5:55pm

New York state lawmakers have introduced legislation that bans law enforcement officers from using chemical irritants on minors.

It was a quick response to Rochester Police pepper-spraying a handcuffed 9-year-old girl as officers were responding to a call of a family disturbance last week. Video of the girl's encounter...

Biden Administration Will Ship COVID-19 Vaccines Directly To Pharmacies

February 2, 2021 - 5:19pm

The Biden administration has announced that it will begin shipping about 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses a week directly to thousands of pharmacies in an attempt to address equity concerns and speed up the country's crucial inoculation effort.

The vaccines sent to pharmacies will be in addition to the...

Pete Buttigieg Confirmed As Transportation Secretary

February 2, 2021 - 5:18pm

Updated at 3:33 p.m. ET

Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg made history Tuesday, becoming the first openly gay man to win Senate confirmation to run a Cabinet department.

Buttigieg was easily confirmed as secretary of transportation by a vote of 86-13.

After the vote, Buttigieg...

At Virtual Groundhog Day Ceremony, Punxsutawney Phil Predicts 6 More Weeks Of Winter

February 2, 2021 - 5:04pm

The morning after a winter storm dumped up to 2 feet of snow in parts of the northeastern U.S., a world-renowned groundhog named Phil emerged from his burrow and predicted six more weeks of winter.

Continuing a 135-year-long Groundhog Day tradition, members of Punxsutawney Phil's "inner circle"...

Education Pick Miguel Cardona Is New To Washington — But Not To Classrooms

February 2, 2021 - 4:53pm

On Wednesday, lawmakers will have some tough questions for Miguel Cardona, President Biden's nominee to be the next U.S. education secretary. The Connecticut educator will no doubt have to navigate the choppy policy waters of school choice, how to close opportunity gaps and, most critically, how he would help...

Author Digs Into Family's 'Smalltime' Mob Operation, Finds Family Secrets

February 2, 2021 - 4:34pm

Hollywood portrayals of the American Mafia often focus on major cities, but writer Russell Shorto says there have been active mob organizations in countless small and midsize cities in the United States.

Shorto knows this firsthand: His grandfather was a mob boss in the industrial town of Johnstown, Pa....

USDA Research Agencies 'Decimated' By Forced Move. Undoing The Damage Won't Be Easy

February 2, 2021 - 4:13pm

During the Trump administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers published and funded objective analyses of issues such as climate change, the efficiency of food assistance programs, and tax cuts that mostly benefit the richest farmers. It wasn't received well.

"There definitely was hostility in the Trump...

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News from NPR

Senate Makes Alejandro Mayorkas First Latino Head Of Homeland Security

Saint Coltrane: The Church Built On 'A Love Supreme'

Coup Caught On Camera: Myanmar Woman Goes Viral For Dance Video With Surreal Backdrop

Protests In Rochester As Lawmakers Move To Ban Use of Chemical Irritants On Minors

Biden Administration Will Ship COVID-19 Vaccines Directly To Pharmacies

Pete Buttigieg Confirmed As Transportation Secretary

At Virtual Groundhog Day Ceremony, Punxsutawney Phil Predicts 6 More Weeks Of Winter

Education Pick Miguel Cardona Is New To Washington — But Not To Classrooms

Author Digs Into Family's 'Smalltime' Mob Operation, Finds Family Secrets

USDA Research Agencies 'Decimated' By Forced Move. Undoing The Damage Won't Be Easy

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