Young people 16 and older will be allowed to cast ballots in Catalonia's unofficial secession vote on Nov. 9. Although it's nonbinding, Catalans hope it's a step toward deciding their own future.
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It's rare to be able to celebrate a person who invented a popular musical instrument. Mostly, from the guitar to the violin to the flute, musical instruments have evolved over time: There is no Mr. Flute or Ms. Trumpet. But there is a Mr. Sax — or, rather, a Monsieur Sax.
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The Republican takeover Tuesday night puts Sen. Lisa Murkowski in charge of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. That's great news for Alaska, which is always eager for the feds to allow more oil drilling in the state. But what does her chairmanship mean for the other side of that coin — global warming?
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South Carolina has taken apprenticeship beyond the building trades to fields like nursing, pharmacy and IT. What's the secret sauce? A state tax credit for companies doesn't hurt — but at $1,000 per year per apprentice for four years, it's pretty modest. A big factor is Germany. Companies like BMW and Bosch have plants in the state and brought with them the German system of apprenticeships.
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NPR spoke with longtime AIDS activist Gregg Gonsalves about comparisons between the panic over Ebola in the U.S. and the panic and paranoia around AIDS in the 1980s. Here’s one of the highlights of the interview:

“Back in the old days of ...AIDS, it was health care workers that braved the fear and paranoia to take care of my friends who were sick and dying. Nurses like Kaci Hickox [the Maine nurse who defied a quarantine after returning from caring for Ebola patients in West Africa] are being targeted unfairly. Now, we're saying we're not going to let you target people who have cared for Ebola patients. Health care workers stood up for us then [during the early days of the AIDS epidemic], and now we need to stand up for them.” See More
Making license plates is the stereotypical job for a prisoner, but in California's Central Valley, a group of inmates are doing very different work, supplying milk to almost every prisoner in the state system. Typically, this is the inmates...’ first job in agriculture.

"They come in and they haven't really seen a cow before, haven't milked a cow before,” says Rob Roehlk, an administrator with the California Prison Industry Authority. Some come from a construction background. Others have experience operating heavy equipment. "We just build on it," Roehlk says.
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"There were many, many thousands of Nazi collaborators who got visas to the United States while the [Holocaust] survivors did not — even though they had been, for instance, the head of a Nazi concentration camp." - investigative reporter Eric Lichtblau, author of "The Nazis Next Door."
Taylor Swift is more than just a pop music anomaly. Music writer and former Billboard Magazine editor Bill Werde says she is "defying retail gravity at this point." Here's how she did it.
Brazil's judicial system faces a massive backlog of cases — and stacks of paperwork. One group of five judges in Sao Paulo is currently handling 1.6 million cases. http://n.pr/1x4Xta7
Photo: Brazil's judicial system faces a massive backlog of cases — and stacks of paperwork. One group of five judges in Sao Paulo is currently handling 1.6 million cases. http://n.pr/1x4Xta7
"The Court recognizes that the freedom to marry is a fundamental right and liberty deeply rooted in the history of the United States," the judge said in his ruling.
Part of the hook of the fine podcast "Serial," spun off from "This American Life" and hosted by Sarah Koenig, is that it feels exactly like the grungy, procedurally exacting, multi-episode stories that are so popular right now on television.
What were courtship rituals like in early 20th century America? According to a "Boston Daily Globe," feature on Oct. 11, 1914, parlor games were all the rage.
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That first show, hosted by Bob Edwards and Barbara Hunter, included an interview with a young actor named Martin Sheen about "Apocalypse Now"; a report on a failed prison escape by James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr.; and a story about Rhodesia, a country that no longer exists.
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This is what she sounds like when she's not telling you to "step back, doors closing"
This weekend, Germany will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. To mark the event, we are trying to track down fragments of the wall. Do you own a small piece of this history? We would love to hear your story about how you found/inherited/came to own a piece. If you are willing to share, please send us your story in an email to nprcrowdsource@npr.org with the subject line BERLIN WALL.
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Teachers at Flushing International High School in New York say they strive for a balance: Kids are encouraged to speak in English but are also given the opportunity to learn in their native language.
Nearly 30 percent of Russian children with disabilities live in state orphanages, according to Human Rights Watch. Anastasia says she couldn't bear to leave her child behind. http://n.pr/1yX2i37
Photo: Nearly 30 percent of Russian children with disabilities live in state orphanages, according to Human Rights Watch. Anastasia says she couldn't bear to leave her child behind. http://n.pr/1yX2i37
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The White House had braced for the loss of half a dozen seats or more in the Senate. There also was resignation about the probable loss of another dozen or so seats in the House. But no one was really prepared for the carnage that ensued.
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Florida's medical marijuana ballot measure fell short of the 60 percent approval required. Oregon voters approved Measure 91, allowing legalization. Alaska also voted to legalize pot.
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"One thing I hope, five years from now, is more tech colleagues of mine like the *elite* elite teams, are flowing in and out of government. We want to create an environment where, in addition to amazing policy groups ... tech teams feel comfortable, included and are in leadership positions here." -- Megan Smith, the former vice president of Google X who is now the nation's chief technology officer.
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Information about El Greco, who died 400 years ago this year, is sketchy at best. But the man born Domenikos Theotokopoulos was already an established icon in his early 20s.
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Republicans have picked up the six seats they needed to retake control of the Senate, with major victories in North Carolina, Colorado and Arkansas, and added to their margin in the U.S. House, changing the political dynamic in Washington and complicating the legislative agenda for President Obama's final two years in the White House.
After winning the primary in May, 18-year-old Saira Blair told NPR: "It's wonderful that my generation is learning they don't have to be 40, 50 or 60 to realize these conservative values benefit them." She's now been elected to the West Virginia House.
Photo: After winning the primary in May, 18-year-old Saira Blair told NPR: "It's wonderful that my generation is learning they don't have to be 40, 50 or 60 to realize these conservative values benefit them." She's now been elected to the West Virginia House.
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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.
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This submarine took the first photos of the Titanic wreckage in 1986, two decades after retrieving a hydrogen bomb in its very first mission.
Clay Aiken loses North Carolina House race to Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers. http://n.pr/1t9ilJ3
Photo: Clay Aiken loses North Carolina House race to Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers. http://n.pr/1t9ilJ3
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Hundreds of service members and civilians from various nations lined the road to the landing zone at NATO headquarters in Kabul. They had gathered to salute the two U.S. Marines and two U.S. Army soldiers participating in Operation Proper Exit.
Republican Greg Abbott has been elected governor of Texas, defeating Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis. http://elections.npr.org/
Photo: Republican Greg Abbott has been elected governor of Texas, defeating Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis. http://elections.npr.org/
Melissa Block and Robert Siegel in the studio as the polls close and the results roll in. #nprparty http://elections.npr.org/
Photo: Melissa Block and Robert Siegel in the studio as the polls close and the results roll in. #nprparty http://elections.npr.org/
NPR projects Republican Tom Cotton wins U.S. Senate seat in Arkansas and that Republican Asa Hutchinson is elected governor. Also this:
Photo: NPR projects Republican Tom Cotton wins U.S. Senate seat in Arkansas and that Republican Asa Hutchinson is elected governor. Also this:
You can also follow the NPR Politics Tumblr for live updates: http://n.pr/1yWrxCA
Photo: You can also follow the NPR Politics Tumblr for live updates: http://n.pr/1yWrxCA