A storm puts the power grid in Texas under enormous strain. President Biden was on the road pushing his COVID-19 relief package. The U.S. reviews plans for all troops to leave Afghanistan by May 1.

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Michael Whatley, head of North Carolina's Republican Party, about the party censuring Sen. Richard Burr for voting to convict former President Donald Trump.

In an interview with NPR, Secretary of State Tony Blinken talks about the possibility of restarting the Iran nuclear deal, and holding China accountable for human rights violations.

The deep freeze gripping much of the South is creating all sorts of problems from power outages to icy roads. Farmers are struggling too — trying to keep livestock alive in the frigid temperatures.

Players in Alberta skated all day and night — taking turns — to try to break a Guinness World Record for longest hockey game. The winning team prevailed by 121 goals.

Most of Houston's half-million undocumented residents work in front-line, essential jobs, but many fear vaccination. Some elected officials are making extra efforts to reach them and change minds.

The duo, famed for enmeshing classical and hip-hop, looks back at America's past year and toward its near future on a new song, "Time to Shine."

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Scott Kobner, chief ER resident at the Los Angeles County USC Medical Center, who has been photographing colleagues and patients on the front lines of COVID-19.

NATO governments wait on the Biden administration to decide whether to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan — based in part on whether the Taliban are fulfilling obligations in a 2020 peace deal.

The U.S. and NATO were to decide this week on whether to pull their troops out of Afghanistan at the end of April. But that decision was put on hold as the Biden administration reviews its options.

President Biden was in Wisconsin Tuesday night for a town hall on CNN. In addition to specifics about his coronavirus relief package, Biden was also asked a lot about vaccines and schools.

Preliminary statistics for 2020 show a jump in the number of arson cases. As the pandemic continues, cities are taking measures to protect vacant or under-used structures.

Zookeepers at the Cincinnati Zoo say training the giraffes to do that took nearly four years. Regular hoof trims are essential for giraffe health.

Montana, a state that's voted for a Democrat for president twice in the last 70 years, has a unique characteristic for a red state — broad access to abortion. But this year, things are changing.

Millions of people in Texas don't have electricity or water and it's very cold. The state's power grid failed. Officials are being criticized for not being out in front of the storm.

The power outages in Texas are raising new questions about the safety of the U.S. power grid. NPR's Noel King speaks to professor Emily Grubert, who studies energy infrastructure at Georgia Tech.

Pope Francis plans to travel the original home of the patriarch Abraham in the Iraqi desert. His tour will also take him to places where there are almost no Christians — most everyone is Muslim.