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Starting this year, competitors in the National Spelling Bee will not only have to know how to spell a word, but they'll also have to know what it means.

Looking back at the year's top stories — in January, a chemical spill disrupted life in West Virginia. Melissa Block speaks with Ken Ward, Jr. of the Charleston Gazette.

Nearly all financial indicators show American optimism about the economy is soaring. But, it's not clear that it's benefitting Donald Trump.

A jury has acquitted the only person charged in connection with the 2016 Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando, Fla. Prosecutors had accused the gunman's widow, Noor Salman, of obstructing justice and helping her husband plan the attack.

Hotter, drier summers are forcing states not used to extreme heat to find new ways to protect some of their most vulnerable residents during heat waves.

In contrast to many of her peers, Portland-based musician Lori Henriques' music for kids is rooted in jazz. Her latest album is How Great Can This Day Be.

The Department of Justice is following through on its threat to sue the New York City over conditions at the notorious Rikers Island jail. The lawsuit announced today comes months after a scathing DOJ report that found a "culture of violence" against adolescent inmates at Rikers.

Montana Democrat Max Baucus announced he will not seek re-election in 2014, and instead retire from the U.S. Senate. The departure creates yet another challenge for Democrats, who hold a 55-45 majority in the chamber but who must defend a number of seats, some of them open, in states lost by President Obama last November.

Investigators are trying to determine if the bombing suspects acted alone. The bombs that exploded at the marathon were simple and similar to ones law enforcement officials come across on a regular basis.

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Andrew Croft tells NPR's Steve Inskeep about the battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul, which the Iraqi government says is over after ISIS was expelled.

The White House tapped former Justice Department lawyer Christopher Wray after a drawn-out search to replace James Comey when he was fired abruptly at the beginning of May.

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, about the tensions between Russia and the U.S after a tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats from their countries.

Officially designated as "ghettos," 25 areas with a high percentage of immigrant residents will be abolished. The government's goal is integration. "What they mean is 'go home,'" one immigrant says.

Target is ousting its CEO, months after a massive data breach and amid some other business issues.

Nearly 500,000 people have petitioned the Securities and Exchange Commission to make publicly-traded corporations disclose their political spending. The question is: How much clout do 500,000 people actually have?

In the wake of two high profile corruption arrests this month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is proposing laws that are supposed to make it easier to catch corrupt politicians. Good government groups say it might also help to take some of the money out of politics in New York — and other states too.

A Florida school district reached an agreement with the NAACP and law enforcement to reassess tough "zero tolerance" guidelines. Non-violent misdemeanors — like alcohol and marijuana possession — will be dealt with by schools instead of police.

Google may soon join Apple and Facebook in building a data center in Denmark. Thanks to easy access to renewable energy, big corporations can say their Danish data centers have zero emissions.

Writer/director Lynn Shelton's latest film is about a man (Jay Duplass) freed from wrongful imprisonment thanks to the work of a woman (Edie Falco). The movie asks: What now?

The Trump administration is considering ending a program that offers a fast track to citizenship for foreign nationals who honorably serve in the U.S. military.

If confirmed, Christopher Wray will take over a vast agency with more than 30,000 employees and a myriad of departments that the public has come to know through depictions in popular culture.

The International Crisis Group is calling on the United Nations to push the Syrian government to open pathways for humanitarian aid. Melissa Block talks to the group's Peter Harling, who regularly visits Damascus to access the situation there.

The power of the president and Congress to make treaties and enforce state compliance has been called into question in a case involving a woman who may have violated the chemical weapons treaty in an effort to poison her husband's mistress. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Tuesday.

India launched its Mars mission on Tuesday. But China is still leading what some see as a space competition among Asian countries. It has worked on a lunar rover, a space station as well as its own unmanned mission to Mars.

Rolling Stone called the 1990s rock group "the best band you've never heard of," but Luna broke up in 2005. Now, its reunion is having a powerful impact on its loyal fans.