Ellen Stofan saw her first rocket launch when she was 4 years old. Now, more than 50 years later, she's director of the National Air and Space Museum — the first woman to hold the position. Amanda Edwards/Getty Images for Discovery hide caption
U.S. News and National Top Stories NPR coverage of national news, U.S. politics, elections, business, arts, culture, health and science, and technology. Subscribe to the NPR Nation RSS feed.
National
Michael Hayden, former Director of the CIA and NSA, speaks at Nobel Week Dialogue: the Future of Truth conference on Dec. 9, 2017, in Gothenburg, Sweden. Julia Reinhart/Getty Images hide caption
Ex-CIA Director On National Security, Post-Truth 'Assault On Intelligence'
A couple sits on Belle Isle while looking at the skyline in Detroit, Michigan, in 2017. The city has been released from state oversight of its finances after several years of scrutiny. Anthony Lanzilote/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
Comedian Michelle Wolf Is Standing Her Ground After Controversial Routine At D.C. Gala
Closing Arguments Heard In DOJ's Lawsuit To Block Potential AT&T, Time Warner Deal
Central Americans From Migrant Caravan Arrive At U.S. Border To Find Crossing At Capacity
Trump Says He's Optimistic About Nuclear Deal With North Korea While Criticizing Iran's
Even Before Hurricane Maria Hit, Puerto Rico Was In Financial Ruin
The new Amazon Echo Dot For Kids is that little green thing on the bedside table. Amazon hide caption
President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron joined in planting a symbolic oak sapling on the South Lawn of the White House last week. By the weekend, it was gone from the spot. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
Former CIA director Gen. Michael Hayden delivers remarks on national security at the National Academy of Sciences in October. Hayden is among a growing number of former intelligence officials who are now speaking out regularly in retirement. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption
U.S. Marines fire the Carl Gustav rocket system during live-fire training last October. With each firing, the shooter's brain is exposed to pulses of high pressure air emanating from the explosion that travel faster than the speed of sound. Sgt. Aaron Patterson/3rd Marine Division/DVIDS hide caption
Report To Army Finds Blast From Some Weapons May Put Shooter's Brain At Risk
A February training class at the Arkansas Armory in Sherwood. Sarah Whites-Koditschek/Arkansas Public Media hide caption