This photo of Roy Middleton working underground at the Kentucky Darby mine now sits on the mantel in the Middleton home in Harlan County, Ky. He was killed after an explosion in 2006. Anna Boiko-Weyrauch/NPR/Original photo courtesy of Middleton family hide caption

itoggle caption Anna Boiko-Weyrauch/NPR/Original photo courtesy of Middleton family

Delinquent Mines

Coal Mines Keep Operating Despite Injuries, Violations And Millions In Fines

An NPR investigation found thousands of American mine owners fail to pay penalties for safety violations, even as they continue to manage dangerous — and sometimes deadly — operations.

NATO has reported a spike in Russian military activity at sea and in NATO and other Western European countries' airspace, as tensions mounted over Ukraine. Here, a Russian military long-range bomber aircraft flies in international airspace on Oct. 29. Royal Air Force/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Royal Air Force/AP

Parallels - World News

Russia And The West: Close Encounters Of The Cold War Kind

Russia and Western countries have had several close encounters in the air and at sea recently. Russia says these are just routine military exercises, but NATO and its Nordic partners are alarmed.

Beacon Power President and CEO Barry Brits, at the company's plant in Hazle Township, Pa. He says a loan from the Department of Energy made it possible for his company to develop its flywheel energy storage technology. Jeff Brady/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Jeff Brady/NPR

U.S.

After Solyndra Loss, U.S. Energy Loan Program Turning A Profit

The federal government lost hundreds of millions of dollars when solar panel maker Solyndra and car company Fisker went bankrupt. Now the loan program has made up for early losses and is in the black.

The world's tallest timber residential tower, 10 stories, in currently in Melbourne, Australia, though a 14-story Norwegian project may top it in 2015. Courtesy of Lend Lease hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Lend Lease

Architecture

For Greener Skyscrapers, Basic Building Materials Are Being Reinvented Ozy.com

Can wood replace steel in a 70-story skyscraper? Architects and biochemists at Cambridge think so. Meanwhile at MIT, rethinking cement is cutting down carbon emissions.

Partner content from

Ozy.com

Medical workers will test the effectiveness of three new potential Ebola therapies at clinics run by the non-governmental organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders). Zoom Dosso/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Zoom Dosso/AFP/Getty Images

The Two-Way - News Blog

3 New Ebola Therapies Will Be Tested; Liberia Lifts Emergency

Two of the therapies that medical teams plan to start testing next month involve antiviral drugs. In Liberia, the president has lifted a state of emergency.

Back in 1925, thousands of Ku Klux Klan members paraded past the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, D.C., as part of a big rally. Throughout its iterations, the KKK has tried to position itself as a respectable, mainstream civic organization. AP hide caption

itoggle caption AP

Code Switch

Why The KKK Is Reaching Out Beyond White Folks

Ku Klux Klan groups are diversifying their aims and marketing themselves to people of color. But these moves aren't new; the Klan has long tried to position itself as a mainstream civic organization.

load more
Back to top