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Mercer County residents hold up signs protesting a proposed data center at a planning and zonign commission meeting in Harrodsburg on July 30.

Joe Sonka

KPR

Hyperscale data centers provoke bipartisan outrage across Kentucky

Joe Sonka

Opposition to hyperscale data centers is stoking bipartisanship in Kentucky, with Republicans and Democrats finding common cause in their resistance to local proposals.

Feeling stuck, bored or restless in life? You might be ready to start a side quest. In video games, it's a mission that deviates from the main storyline, helping to build the world's lore . In real life, it's an activity that doesn't serve any other purpose than bringing more whimsy into your day-to-day.

Westend61

Getty Images

Feeling restless? Level up your life by starting a side quest

Malaka Gharib, Brittany Luse, Marielle Segarra, Corey Antonio Rose, Clare Marie Schneider

A student plays with interlocking toys at the Connecticut State University Early Learning Center in New Britain, Conn., on March 12, 2025.

Mark Mirko

Connecticut Public via Getty Images

Why more than 400,000 kids are on waitlists for federal childcare assistance

Joe Hernandez

Like many miners with advanced black lung disease, Tim Balthis looks healthy, sitting with his wife Fran Balthis on their porch in Pound, Va. But a scan of his lungs shows so much fibrotic tissue a doctor told Balthis he was surprised he was still alive.

Roger May for NPR

Black lung rates in Appalachia are high as the 1970s, with thousands of miners sick

Howard Berkes, Justin Hicks

Our monthly newsletter brings you timely updates on our station as well as a review of the past month's essential stories from our East Tennessee Community.

Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom

More Headlines

North Korea fires a suspected missile toward the sea, Japan says

The Associated Press

The suspected launch on Thursday comes a day after North Korea shrugged off a U.S. decision to scale back military drills with South Korea in an apparent bid to resume diplomacy.
The bond market is signaling trouble ahead. This is why you should pay attention

Rafael Nam

Many people don't pay attention to bond markets, but they should — especially now. This is why they matter and why the drop in bond prices is signaling investor concerns about the U.S. economy.
Privacy advocates call on Maryland to investigate data brokers

Jude Joffe-Block

Maryland has one of the strictest data privacy laws in the country. But privacy advocates allege data brokers are violating the law by selling data to police and federal immigration agencies.
Here's how the system to report problems in ICE detention has failed immigrants

Vanessa Romo

Critics say it is the reason why more detainees are risking their lives to protest inhumane conditions and legal rights violations, in the form of widespread hunger strikes.
Which country makes the best jollof rice? D.C. foodies put it to a blind test

Durrie Bouscaren

One of the most famous dishes across West Africa is Jollof Rice — fragrant rice cooked down with spices, tomatoes and meat. But which version is best? A traveling festival aims to find out.
Disabled adults learn and work in their communities. That right is under threat

Jonaki Mehta

Siblings Cody and Kaleigh Brendle have grown up with the right to community integration. Now, they worry those protections for people with disabilities like them are being eroded.
Morning news brief

Sacha Pfeiffer, Leila Fadel

Gulf countries react to protracted Iran war, U.S. debt tops $40 trillion, U.S. oil companies sign first deals with Venezuela.
'The Magic Faraway Tree,' a beloved book, comes to the big screen

Sacha Pfeiffer

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffers speaks with actor Andrew Garfield about "The Magic Faraway Tree," a film based on a beloved children's book franchise in the U.K.
The Navajo Nation wants to expand a coal mine. The plan could displace some families

Gabriel Pietrorazio

Coal mining has been a big part of the Navajo Nation's economy for decades. As mines and power plants have been closing, the tribe is trying to expand one of its largest mines.
Harry and Meghan returning to the U.K., reports say

Lauren Frayer, Sacha Pfeiffer

An official familiar with their plans tells NPR that Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are planning to move back to the United Kingdom and have enrolled their children in schools there this fall.