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Tablets believed to be laced with fentanyl are displayed at a Drug Enforcement Administration lab in New York in 2019. The Biden administration is hoping to crack down on abuse of synthetic opioids in part by putting them in the most restricted category or "schedule" under the law. Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images

A proposed Biden drug policy could widen racial disparities, civil rights groups warn

A coalition of civil rights and criminal justice reform groups said a White House proposal for restricting synthetic drugs related to fentanyl will not curb the overdose epidemic.

A proposed Biden drug policy could widen racial disparities, civil rights groups warn

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Workers remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from Market Street Park July 10, 2021 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Initial plans to remove the statue four years ago sparked the infamous "Unite the Right" rally where 32-year-old Heather Heyer was killed. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

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Win McNamee/Getty Images

A Black museum asks to melt Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee statue to create new art

In 2017, debate over Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee statue sparked a violent neo-Nazi rally that left a woman dead. Now, a Black cultural center wants to melt it down and turn it into public art.

The narrative that passengers watched a man rape a woman on a train in suburban Philadelphia last week and "filmed it for their own gratification instead of calling the police" is false, the prosecutor handling the case has said. Matt Slocum/AP hide caption

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Matt Slocum/AP

The prosecutor disputes reports that train passengers recorded a rape without calling police

The narrative that passengers on a SEPTA train in suburban Philadelphia watched a man rape a woman and filmed it instead of calling the police is false, the prosecutor handling the case has said.

This undated photo provided by ElephantVoices in October 2021 shows some of the tuskless elephants in the Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. A hefty set of tusks is usually an advantage for elephants, allowing them to dig for water, strip bark for food and joust with other elephants. But during episodes of intense ivory poaching, those big incisors become a liability. ElephantVoices via AP hide caption

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ElephantVoices via AP

Elephants have evolved to be tuskless because of ivory poaching, a study finds

Researchers have pinpointed how years of civil war and poaching in Mozambique have led to a greater proportion of elephants that will never develop tusks.

Nitin Bajaj poses for a photo inside the empty and damaged apartment unit in Los Angeles, Calif., on October 2, 2021. He is currently fixing the damages and preparing the unit in hopes of having new tenants soon. Jessica Ruiz for NPR hide caption

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Jessica Ruiz for NPR

They didn't pay rent and stole the fridge. The pandemic spawned nightmare tenants

Some landlords got hurt by tenants who took advantage of eviction bans during the pandemic. Now they can't get any help from a massive $47 billion federal rental assistance program.

They didn't pay rent and stole the fridge. Pandemic spawns nightmare tenants

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People protest for the release of kidnapped missionaries near the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries headquarters in Titanyen, north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Oct. 19, 2021. A group of 17 U.S. missionaries including children was kidnapped by a gang in Haiti on Oct. 16, according to a voice message sent to various religious missions by an organization with direct knowledge of the incident. Joseph Odelyn/AP hide caption

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Joseph Odelyn/AP

Haiti gang leader threatens to kill the 17 kidnapped missionaries

The gang leader that police say is holding the kidnapped missionaries said in a video that he will kill the group if his demands aren't met. Authorities have said he wants $1 million per person.

The conductor Bernard Haitink leading the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in an undated photo. Haitink died Thursday at age 92. Todd Rosenberg/Courtesy of Askonas Holt hide caption

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Todd Rosenberg/Courtesy of Askonas Holt

Renowned conductor Bernard Haitink, beloved for his modesty, has died at age 92

The Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink had a six-decade career leading major orchestras across Europe, the U.S. and the U.K. He was hailed as a musician's musician, prizing the art well above glamor.

Pharmacist LaChandra McGowan prepares a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic operated by DePaul Community Health in New Orleans in August. Soon children ages 5 to 11 could be eligible for Pfizer shots. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine appears more than 90% effective in kids 5 to 11

The companies studied a 10 microgram vaccine dose in children 5 to 11, a third of the dose used for adults, to minimize side effects and because it still prompts a strong immune response.

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