Lilli Rayne's dog-walking business was taking off and she was finally preparing to buy a house. Then the pandemic struck. She's among the millions of Americans struggling to stay afloat right now.

An NPR investigation follows the legal battle unfolding over evidence that many inmates' lungs fill with fluid as they're executed by lethal injection.

For decades, states have claimed that lethal injection is quick, peaceful and painless. An NPR investigation — and legal battles across the country — tell a different story.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought the world to its knees, says U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. He says the global body requires more enforcement mechanisms and more "appetite to bite."

Fiona Apple talks about Fetch the Bolt Cutters, her first album in eight years, getting advice from King Princess to release her record early and what she would say to her teenage self.

"I'm a combination of a perfectionist and a snail," Khushi jokes. It took him 10 years to write Strange Seasons, which he ended up recording in a shed over the course of six years.

China's economic growth has been slowing down for years. Tariffs have contributed to slower growth since early 2018, when the economic standoff began, but it's hard to pinpoint how much.

Hundreds of millions have climbed out of poverty, but an equality gap has widened. Seventy years after Mao's revolution, many Chinese people reflect on their own stories of struggle and mobility.

Sexual harassment has long been swept under the carpet in Russia. But by going on the record with her allegations against a powerful politician, a young journalist has raised awareness of the problem.

The world-famous ballet company is iconic in Russia. Principal dancer Olga Smirnova says a new staging of a beloved epic takes it into the 21st century.

Vladimir Putin wanted a mandate to govern, and got it, with 76 percent of the vote. He will use the next six years to advance his mission: cementing Russia's role as a major player on the world stage.

Ahead of Sunday's presidential election in Russia, NPR spoke with a Putin supporter, an opposition supporter and a Russian who sees no point in voting.

Before the Soviet period, "Russian food had color," says Vladimir Mukhin of Moscow's world-famous White Rabbit restaurant. He aims to honor those flavors, as well as locally source his ingredients.

Lyudmila Savchuk infiltrated an online troll farm in St. Petersburg. "That feeling from the Soviet times — I can feel it everywhere," she tells NPR.