NPR News

Hailed as heroes during the pandemic, essential workers have cared for the elderly in nursing homes and kept food supplies moving from farms to supermarkets. But thousands of these workers are also undocumented immigrants facing this choice to keep their jobs: ride a crowded bus or drive without license.

Four French police officers have been suspended and are in custody after a video that shows them brutally beating a Black man was posted online Thursday.

Updated at 3:22 p.m. ET

A top Iranian scientist believed to be responsible for developing the country's military nuclear program was killed Friday, causing outrage in Iran and raising U.S. concerns over potential retaliation.

Despite statements to the contrary from the Arabian Peninsula, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin-Salman reportedly met secretly with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Neom. While Israel and Saudi Arabia have had a back-channel relationship for many years, this is the first time a meeting of this nature has been made public.

Despite President Trump’s administration making it exceedingly difficult for President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team to do its work in full, the office of the president-elect has wasted no time in announcing some of its cabinet-level appointees. Of particular note is Biden’s choice for a new position: special presidential envoy on climate.

On this Thanksgiving, we’re celebrating American audio heritage with recordings selected by the Library of Congress to preserve forever in the National Recording Registry. These recordings were chosen for their historic, aesthetic or cultural importance to American society.

Find our other shows from our ‘Sounds of America’ series here.

North Korea is taking increasingly harsh measures to stop the coronavirus from entering the country, including executing an official in August who violated anti-virus rules, South Korean intelligence officials told lawmakers on Friday.

"No-knock" search warrants, which allow police to force their way into a home with the element of surprise, have attracted criticism since the height of the "war on drugs" in the 1980s and 90s. But it wasn't until this year that the death of Breonna Taylor galvanized that criticism into a national movement to ban the raids.

It may only be weeks until a COVID-19 vaccine is approved for use in the U.S. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech asked the Food and Drug Administration to grant an emergency use authorization for their vaccine a week ago, and Moderna is expected to follow suit in coming days.