Bill Chappell

Vester Lee Flanagan allegedly shot Alison Parker, 24, and photojournalist Adam Ward, 27, at a shopping plaza Wednesday morning. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police say.

Alek Skarlatos, a National Guardsman who was one of three Americans who helped foil a gunman's attack on a French passenger train Friday, will receive the Soldiers Medal, one of the U.S. Army's highest awards.

Skarlatos is a specialist in the Oregon National Guard; along with two friends and ...

One day after the racing community was shocked by the death of driver Justin Wilson at age 37, news has emerged that Wilson, a well-known advocate for charities who often spoke about his dyslexia, donated his organs to others — and gave vital help to six people.

Wilson died Monday ...

With angry street protests complaining about both political dysfunction and a garbage-collection crisis, members of Lebanon's Cabinet rejected the winning waste management bid Tuesday.

Anti-government protesters, many of whom are organized into a group whose name is translated as either "You Stink" or "You Reek," have criticized the bid for ...

The shaky peace between Donald Trump and Fox News is in tatters, after the Republican presidential candidate blasted Fox's Megyn Kelly during her show Monday night. On Tuesday, Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes said Trump should apologize for remarks he called "crude" and "unacceptable."

"I liked The Kelly File much ...

A Maine couple who lost their daughter to a shooting in 2010 has filed the paperwork to start the process of putting criminal background checks for gun buyers to a vote next fall. The state currently requires the checks only for sales by licensed dealers, not for private sales conducted ...

At the end of this month, containers of Blue Bell ice cream, a staple in Texas and other states, will finally return to store shelves. The company's ice cream has been absent from stores for four months after a wide recall over listeria concerns.

The rollout will happen gradually,

Toronto police want hackers' help to find out who released the data of more than 30 million users of the affair-enabling website Ashley Madison. One month after the intrusion, the website is offering a bounty of $500,000 (Canadian), and police are also looking into two deaths to determine whether they ...

Led by an 8.5 percent drop in China's Shanghai composite index, U.S. and global stock markets took a dive Monday. Shortly after opening, the Dow Jones index fell by more than 1,000 points, or 5 percent. The Dow then zigzagged to close at 15,871, losing about 3.6 percent of its ...

#NPRreads is a weekly feature on Twitter and on The Two-Way. The premise is simple: Correspondents, editors and producers from our newsroom share the pieces that have kept them reading, using the #NPRreads hashtag. On Fridays, we highlight some of the best stories.

This week, we bring you three ...

Two days after twin explosions devastated a warehouse area in northeast China, officials say the death toll has risen to 56, including 21 firefighters. More than 6,000 people have been relocated over contamination concerns; the warehouse contained dangerous chemicals.

The authorities are still trying to determine what caused the huge ...

In a much-anticipated speech, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his "profound grief" and "sincere condolences" for his country's role in World War II.

But the leader stopped short of renewing apologies extended by his predecessors, and he said he doesn't want future generations to be "predestined to apologize" for ...

It had to happen. For years, the Wheaties slogan – "breakfast of champions" — has been invoked by beer lovers who pop open an adult beverage before noon. Now the cereal company is putting its name and logo on a beer.

That beer is called HefeWheaties, the result of a ...

Another year, another revelation about Warren Harding's love life. Last summer, the 29th president's love letters to a mistress were released; now comes news that DNA tests show Harding did in fact father a child with another mistress, whose claims were denied for decades.

Harding, who died in office in ...

Updated at 5:20 p.m. ET

The death toll from an industrial accident has risen to 50 in Tianjin, a port city in northeast China. Emergency crews are still working to locate missing people; 12 firefighters are among the dead, and more remain unaccounted for.

Casualty numbers have been climbing, as ...

Saying "enough is enough," U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon says he has accepted the resignation of the head of the peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic, after new allegations of sexual abuse and other misdeeds by U.N. troops.

Babacar Gaye of Senegal resigned his post as the United Nations' top ...

There are many surprising elements in a story we're seeing out of Talladega, Ala., where the city's mayor, 74, was assaulted, allegedly by his TV and radio co-host, 71. The case includes allegations of a sex tape featuring the mayor and his former friend's soon-to-be ex-wife.

Mayor Larry Barton was ...

For the second-straight day, China has allowed its currency to take a sharp drop, sparking another round of falling stock prices internationally. The decision to devalue the yuan has shaken investors who fear a currency war and question the health of China's economy, the second-largest in the world.

The currency ...

Days after a police officer in the Dallas-Fort Worth area city of Arlington fatally shot a young man at a car dealership, Arlington's police chief says that Officer Brad Miller has been fired.

Protesters are calling for criminal charges and police reforms, citing what they call a pattern of violence. ...

In track and field, new anti-doping tests of old samples — taken from athletes at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships — have brought a flurry of suspensions. The sport's world governing body says it's punishing 28 athletes over the findings. It did not release any of their names or ...