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Families around the world aren't having as many kids as they used to. Researchers say the average woman is having half as many children now than they did in the 1970s.
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I love having only one child.
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On THE Sunday STORY from Up first, why are so many families making this choice and what exactly does it mean for our future? Listen now to the Sunday story on the up first podcast from npr.
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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Holes across the country will be open a few more hours in the first general election of President Trump's second term. The off year elections are described as a referendum on the White House. NPR's Domenico Montanares tracking key contests, including gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey.
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What's really important is going to be what direction is the wind blowing here politically? You know, both of these states, Virginia and New Jersey were states that went for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election by about 6 points. So that is sort of what the line is on these two races for the governor's races. And a lot of people are going to be watching to see just how Democrats are able to do. Are they able to kind of blow those margins out of the water? Do you have more of a mixed result? And I think that could have a lot of impact on, you know, the shutdown negotiations.
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For example, NPR's Domenico Mochnar reporting. Nearly 42 million people are losing a big part of their food budget this month in the fallout of the longest ever, ever government shutdown. But NPR's Maria Aspen says some nonprofits and private companies are jumping in to help, including a tech startup that's offering cash.
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Jimmy Chen runs a small tech company called Propel. It makes a free app for people on the federal government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program, or SNAP. About 5 million people use Propel's app, meaning that Chen sees just how much the delayed payments are hurting their families. So Propel teamed up with a nonprofit, GiveDirectly, to run a crowdfunding campaign. This weekend, they started giving $50 each to Propel users with little or no income and kids to feed.
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We understand that $50 is not enough. It's not enough to help a family afford food for a whole month or anything even close.
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But until the government fully restores SNAP payments, he's hoping that it makes a little bit of a difference. Maria Aspen, NPR News, New York.
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Former Vice President Dick Cheney has died. He was 84 years old when once a stalwart of Republican politics in his later years, Cheney was a strong critic of President Trump and even endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris for president in 2024. Here's NPR's Donye.
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Dick Cheney's resume includes being a GOP congressman, presidential chief of staff, defense secretary and vice president, always wearing his conservative politics on his sleeve. But he rejected President Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen and was appalled when a pro Trump mob rioted at the US Capitol in a bid to over that election. He supported his daughter, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, when she voted to impeach Trump and campaigned for her when Trump worked to defeat her when she ran for reelection in Wyoming. In TV spots on her behalf, Dick Cheney called Trump a threat to the republic and a coward. Liz Cheney lost that election. It was her father's last public act in American politics. Don Gonyea, NPR News.
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This is npr. Two Massachusetts men were arrested this morning for setting off fireworks in an empty Harvard Medical School building early Saturday. The Associated Press reports that at their arraignment today, an 18 year old and a 20 year old were ordered released to wait trial. No one was hurt in the incident and no structural damage was reported. This is a busy time of year for scientists who are trying to understand autumn leaves. NPR's Nell Greenfield Boyce reports. The most mysterious color is red.
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In the fall, to recover nitrogen, trees take apart green chlorophyll. This reveals yellow pigments that were there all along. But the red pigments are different. Trees make brand new red chemicals just days before a leaf is about to fall. Nicole Hughes is a biologist at High Point University in North Carolina.
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We still don't really know why some species turn red and others don't.
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She says the red pigments do act as a kind of sunscreen, which may protect trees ability to recoup that precious nitrogen. But some researchers think the red could be a signal to insects that lay eggs in the fall. One study found more aphids on trees with green and yellow leaves compared to trees that were red. Nell Greenfield Boyce, NPR News.
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Pizza Hut may be up for sale soon. Its parent company, Yum Brand, says the pizza chain has been struggling to compete with a growing number of rivals. It says it's formally looking at options for Pizza Hut. The chain has nearly 20,000 stores in more than 100 countries. U.S. stocks ended the day lower with the Dow down 251 points. This is NPR News.
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Listen to this podcast sponsor, free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app, by subscribing to NPR News now at npr.org. that's +npr.org.