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Palestinian children leap into the air while playing on a trampoline in northern Gaza's militarized orange zone of Beit Lahia, on May 31.

9 months into a ceasefire, Israel now controls nearly 70% of Gaza

When the U.S. brokered a ceasefire last year, Israel controlled half of Gaza. Now Israeli forces have pushed deeper, and Palestinians are paying a deadly price.

Zubedah Hassan, 32, at home in Kibera. She works as a champion for the Stop Sex for Water program, encouraging women and girls to speak out if they face sexual violence from water vendors or are groped or peeped on in public bathrooms. "The main problem is poverty," she says. "A girl tries to save money on water by doing favors for a vendor. Another challenge is drought. You find schoolchildren waking up very early to go and look for water and being raped along the small paths they take."

Some women who can't afford water are often pressured to provide sex for it

Water is often a scarce commodity in Nairobi's largest slum. The only source may be a local cartel — and with that comes the risk of sexual threats and attacks.

Oleksandr "Sasha" Ostapchuk (left) heads a ball while playing for a tournament squad of the Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals soccer team in a match against a club with roots in Belarus at Tryzub Ukrainian American Sport Center in North Wales, Pa., on June 21.

Long before the World Cup, Ukrainian immigrants built a soccer powerhouse in Philly

World Cup games are underway in Philadelphia. Long before Americans caught the world's soccer craze, Ukrainian migrants made Philly a soccer town. Today, the sport helps sustain their culture.

Officials in the Salmon River Central School District in Fort Covington, New York, have acknowledged that wooden boxes were constructed and used to confine elementary school children, including Native children, with disabilities. The practice was ended in December 2025 after these images, confirmed as authentic by school officials, circulated on social media. In a new report, New York's state has ordered sweeping reforms at the public school.

Native kids with disabilities were held in wooden boxes. Sweeping reforms are coming

State officials in New York say the Salmon River district's special education program confined young children with disabilities in wooden boxes. Parents weren't notified.

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Though some influencers largely seem like regular people sharing their love of music, the content they're making can sometimes be a form of hidden advertising.

Music influencers are getting paid to promote songs — and they're not telling you

Social media can make a song go viral — even push it up the pop charts — seemingly overnight. Perhaps it's not surprising that some influencers are being paid to promote music without disclosing it.

Women sift gold-bearing sediment in search of gold at the Maidede mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province on June 16.

Inside the gold-mining town where the Ebola outbreak likely started

NPR reports from Mongbwalu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The fight to contain the virus faces obstacles from lack of supplies to residents who doubt that the virus is real.

Soldiers from the First Center of Unmanned Systems launch a deep-strike drone from an undisclosed location in eastern Ukraine.

Inside a secretive Ukrainian team launching deep drone strikes at Russia

Ukraine's long-range drones are striking deep inside Russia, up to 1,200 miles away, hitting oil refineries and depots. NPR recently spent time with one of the Ukrainian strike teams launching drones at Russian targets.

Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is home to several hundred mountain gorillas -- about a third of the population. Rangers are setting up checkpoints to screen visitors for Ebola and trying to protect the primates, who are very vulnerable to the virus.

A park famed for rare gorillas gears up to fight Ebola and protect its primates

In Virunga National Park, rangers are on the front lines — playing a critical role to contain the surging virus while coping with an upsurge in conflict-related violence.

Members of a youth baseball league play a game near the A.C. Ward Water Treatment Plant in Des Moines, Iowa, in June. Water quality has become an important issue for voters ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial election.

In Iowa, the water is so concerning that it could decide who wins the governor's race

In Iowa, the state's water quality is so concerning that it could play a part in who wins the governor's race.

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