Bill Chappell

A suicide bomber who was reportedly dressed in a student uniform detonated explosives at a large boys' high school in northeastern Nigeria, killing as many as 48 students. The attack during a morning assembly is being blamed on the insurgent group Boko Haram.

From Lagos, NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports:

...

It's not unusual for musicians to play through pain. But instead of blisters or cramps, members of the Danish National Chamber Orchestra recently endured the searing throb of hot peppers. And it was on purpose: Each musician ate one of "the world's hottest chili peppers" whole, as they played a ...

President Obama will announce his choice of U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch as the next U.S. Attorney General this weekend, the White House says. The president will formally announce his intention to nominate Lynch Saturday.

Lynch, whom the White House describes as "a strong, independent prosecutor who has twice led one ...

As of Friday afternoon, all of the people in Dallas who officials say could have had contact with a patient with the deadly Ebola virus are being declared free of risk. More than 100 people had been monitored for the 21-day period that marks Ebola's incubation period.

From member ...

President Obama will bolster the U.S. military force in Iraq with up to 1,500 more personnel, White House press secretary Josh Earnest says, to serve "in a non-combat role to train, advise, and assist Iraqi Security Forces, including Kurdish forces."

The move is the latest U.S. attempt to counteract the ...

In a gift the Los Angeles County Museum of Art says is the largest in its history, billionaire Jerry Perenchio is donating art worth an estimated $500 million to the museum.

From member station KPCC in Los Angeles:

"The collection — at least 47 pieces with an estimated ...

They've littered kids' rooms for decades. And now four well-loved toys have been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, beating out fellow nominees such as the Operation skill game and Fisher-Price Little People.

"Magical, iridescent bubbles; monotone, miniature little green army men; and the colorful, puzzling Rubik's Cube ...

Bans on same-sex marriage in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee were confirmed by a federal court Thursday, in a ruling that provides yet another shift in the legal fight over the issue.

The 2-1 decision handed down by the Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit comes after the four ...

The new Star Wars film that's being made by director J.J. Abrams has a name: The Force Awakens. Disney released that detail today, along with news that it has completed principal photography for the film that is slated for release at the end of 2015.

The new film is set ...

There are currently 13,042 confirmed or suspected cases of the deadly Ebola virus in six countries, according to the World Health Organization. But the group says its latest figures also hold some good news, as the number of Ebola cases in hard-hit Liberia appear to be on the decline.

WHO ...

Saying his knees wouldn't withstand the punishment the NFL deals out, running back Marcus Lattimore retired from the league Wednesday. Lattimore, 23, suffered serious injuries to both knees in college. He says he chose a higher quality of life over the promise of millions of dollars.

We'll also note that ...

Speaking one day after his party lost control of the Senate to the Republican Party, President Obama says, "I would enjoy having some Kentucky bourbon with Mitch McConnell."

We'll update this post with news from the president's remarks, made in an hourlong news conference in the East Room of the ...

One day after GOP candidates gave their party control of both chambers of Congress, presumptive Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Senate "needs to be fixed" — and that he and his Republican colleagues are willing to work with President Obama on some issues.

We'll update this post with ...

In the latest bids for states to compel companies to label foods that contain genetically modified ingredients, Colorado voters decided the issue in their state today.

Proposition 105, was defeated by a roughly 2-1 margin Tuesday.

Oregon voters also considered a measure, but it is still too close to call ...

The Department of Justice released more than 64,000 pages of documents related to its Operation Fast and Furious Monday night, in a move Republicans are calling both a data dump and a victory. The Obama administration had withheld the records, citing executive privilege.

The documents were redacted by several agencies, ...

Gov. Rick Scott will hold on to his job in Florida, NPR projects, as the Republican narrowly defeats Charlie Crist, the former GOP governor who was running as a Democrat.

Earlier, Arkansas voters elected Republican Asa Hutchinson as their new governor.

We'll update this post with other gubernatorial race results, ...

Voters in Washington, D.C., have approved the legal use of marijuana for recreational purposes. Supporters of the D.C. marijuana measure had a 65-29.5 percent lead as of 9:09 p.m. ET, with 20,727 voting in favor.

The D.C. case could create friction between the city's leaders and Congress — particularly if, ...

With a loss by Sen. Mark Pryor, the first Democratic incumbent fell in the 2014 midterms, setting off a chain of events that brought the Republicans a new Senate majority. The man who would lead them in Congress, Sen. Mitch McConnell, coasted to a win in Kentucky.

McConnell was projected ...

The 2014 midterms will decide the balance of power in Congress, along with who lives in governors' mansions and how states handle issues from marijuana to health insurance. Here's a guide to following the night's events, on NPR and elsewhere.

Join NPR's Election Party, featuring real-time coverage from our ...

Responding to users' complaints about a lack of characters whose skin reflects the variety of people who use smartphones, the group that sets technical standards is adding five more shades to the mix.

The Unicode Consortium had previously backed only one skin color, a yellow-orange tone that it considered generic. ...