From the Top

John Darnielle used some tricks of the horror trade to write his latest novel, which is set in 1990s Iowa and involves some cornfields. What's scary about cornfields? Mostly, the unknown.

(Image credit: Marian Carrasquero/NPR)

The Trump administration's travel ban and the confusion around it is creating headaches for some in the U.S. travel industry. Travel agents are trying to calm nervous travelers worried, not just about the ban, but about their reception abroad.

Democrats spent the night on the Senate floor to oppose the nomination of Betsy DeVos as education secretary. Two Republicans say they won't support her nomination.

The Israeli parliament has approved thousands of homes for Jewish settlers that had been built without permission in the West Bank. Palestinians condemned the law.

Steve Inskeep talks to Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma about Betsy DeVos, President Trump's nominee to lead the education department. While he supports her nomination, two GOP senators say they won't vote to confirm her.

With the U.S. denying humanitarian entry to Haitians and stepping up deportations, nearly 5,000 are trapped on the U.S. border in Tijuana, Some are resigned to starting new lives in Mexico.

David Greene talks to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who is one of 10 former diplomatic and national security officials to call on an appeals court to rule against key parts of the ban.

A new report by Amnesty International alleges the Syrian government conducted systematic attacks against its civilian population — including torture and extermination carried out at a military prison. Steve Inskeep talks to the report's author Nicolette Waldman.

The economic meltdown in Venezuela is contributing to Indian children across the border in Colombia dying. Health experts say the Wayuu tribe has been particularly hard-hit.

Donald Trump personally lambasted the judge that overruled his ban on some Muslim immigrants. Steve Inskeep talks to Charles Fried, who was the solicitor general for Ronald Reagan, who says this president has gone too far.

Members of a Syrian refugee family who arrived at New York's JFK Airport on Monday were excited to be headed for a new home in Syracuse, and to give their children a good future in the U.S.

David Greene talks to Tom Nichols, an author and professor at the Naval War College, who says the public and the media need to take a step back and a long breath when thinking about President Trump.

Steve Inskeep and Rachel Martin have the travel ban story of Vian Dakhil, who's a member of the Iraqi Parliament and is a Yazidi activist.

Among those who benefited from Obamacare are many homeless people who were able to get Medicaid for the first time. Some are worried about what a repeal of the Affordable Care Act could mean.

(Image credit: Meredith Rizzo/NPR)

Wild hogs inflict $1.5 billion in damage on U.S. property each year. But biologists can now track the elusive animals via tiny bits of DNA the swine leave behind in puddles and ponds.

(Image credit: Rae Ellen Bichell/NPR)