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A plane drops fire retardant on the Park Fire near Forest Ranch, Calif., Sunday, July 28, 2024. Smoke from the fire is causing air quality issues across the Northwest and parts of Canada. Nic Coury/AP hide caption

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Nic Coury/AP

Thousands battle Western wildfires as smoke puts millions under air quality alerts

The so-called Park Fire had scorched more than 550 square miles in Northern California as of Sunday, contributing to poor air quality in a large swath of the Northwestern U.S. and western Canada.

Nearly 300 readers shared their disability stories with NPR. This is what they want you to know about living with a disability.
Courtesy of Laura Williams, Hannah Soyer, Denise DiNoto, Marty Slighte, Kristen Bettega, Rami Ungar, Mike Fitzsimmons, Sara Burback, Kathy Hyde and Rebekah Taussig.
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Courtesy of Laura Williams, Hannah Soyer, Denise DiNoto, Marty Slighte, Kristen Bettega, Rami Ungar, Mike Fitzsimmons, Sara Burback, Kathy Hyde and Rebekah Taussig.

What NPR readers want you to know about living with a disability

To celebrate Disability Pride Month, NPR readers tell their disability stories and share what they wish other people knew about living with a disability.

Opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia (right) and party leader María Corina Machado wave to supporters in Las Mercedes on Thursday during their closing campaign event. Lexi Parra for NPR hide caption

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Lexi Parra for NPR

Sunday's election could bring dramatic change to Venezuela

Venezuela is holding a presidential election on Sunday that could bring dramatic change to the nation, if the opposition candidate can really knock out longtime President Nicolás Maduro.

Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Harris speaks during a campaign fundraising event at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Mass., on Saturday. Stephanie Scarbrough/Pool/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Stephanie Scarbrough/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Harris calls herself an underdog with momentum during a fundraiser speech

In her speech, Vice President Harris spoke boldly about the stakes of the presidential election, and brushed off Donald Trump's latest attacks against her.

A helicopter searches from the air on Oct. 25, 2023, near where the mass shooting suspect's car had just been found at a boat launch in Lisbon Falls, Maine. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald hide caption

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Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

Portland Press Herald

The 48 hours of chaos after Maine's deadliest mass shooting raise questions about police training

An examination of the police response raises questions about whether they were adequately prepared for what happened — and whether they’d be prepared today if a mass shooter ever took aim at Maine again.

Chef Mustapha Kachetel serves a couscous royal in the restaurant Le Fémina, in Noailles. Emilienne Malfatto for NPR hide caption

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Emilienne Malfatto for NPR

Review

Food

A new French cookbook explores Marseille as a cultural melting pot

A new cookbook celebrates Marseille, France's second-largest city.

A new French cookbook shows the diversity Marseille through its cuisine

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Palestinian children are sitting on a street flooded with sewage water in Deir el-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on July 23, 2024, as municipal infrastructures are failing due to Israeli bombardment of the besieged Palestinian territory amid the ongoing conflict with the Hamas movement. The World Health Organization is saying on July 23 that up to 14,000 people are needing medical evacuations from Gaza and is saying it is ''extremely worried'' that diseases could cause more deaths than war injuries after poliovirus is detected in the territory's sewage. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images/NurPhoto hide caption

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Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images/NurPhoto

Investigators search Gaza for cases of polio after the virus turns up in wastewater

The territory hasn't had any polio cases for 25 years but this suggests the virus is spreading. Polio experts are scrambling to figure out the origins and whether or not there are active cases.

ATC & digital Friday 7/26: Polio in Gaza sewage

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Many carbon offset project types routinely overestimate their climate impact. Some carbon offset projects falsely claim that things like new wind farms wouldn't get built without carbon offset money. FLORENCE GOISNARD/AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption

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FLORENCE GOISNARD/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

If you get an offer to buy a carbon offset, experts say this is what you should know

There are lots of problems in the carbon offset market right now. So if you get an offer to buy an offset, what should you do? NPR asked experts for top things to know.

A view from the Oak Tree Grove June 28, 2024 in Dos Rios State Park in Modesto, California. Geloy Concepcion for NPR hide caption

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Geloy Concepcion for NPR

California's newest state park is like a time machine

California's newest state park just opened this summer — and a visit is like stepping into a time machine as its creators reimagine what a state park can be.

California's newest state park is like a time machine

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Israeli security forces and medics transport casualties along with local residents, at a site where a reported strike from Lebanon fell in Majdal Shams village in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights area on Saturday. Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images

A rocket hit Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, after Israel struck a Gaza school

A rocket hit a sports complex filled with children playing soccer in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights region, on the same day that an Israeli strike in Gaza devastated a school building and killed dozens.

Children were main casualties in strikes in Gaza and near Israel's Northern border

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Prince on the custom motorcycle featured in Purple Rain. Cinematic/Alamy hide caption

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Cinematic/Alamy

40 years after 'Purple Rain,' Prince’s band remembers how the movie came together

Before social media, the film Purple Rain gave audiences a peek into Prince’s musical life. Band members say the true genesis of the title song was much less combative than the version presented in the film.

Prince's band The Revolution talks about the legacy of 'Purple Rain' after 40 years

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A furtive, red glowing hand sneaks up behind text message bubbles, capturing them, representing a text scam.
Moor Studio/Getty Images

8 simple things you can do to protect yourself from getting scammed

Scams can happen to anyone. Experts explain how to safeguard your data and money from being exploited or stolen by fraudsters.

8 good habits that can protect you from getting scammed

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