National News
National News
![For years, New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (left) has sought approval of her bill to reform the military's criminal justice system. This year, Gillibrand joined forces with Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, seen here, a sexual assault survivor herself before she became a combat company commander. Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/gettyimages-1232594681_custom-eea477f786a5108b36dd21e808c0e906afab33e4-500x500.jpg)
The Effort To Reform The U.S. Military’s Justice System Faces A New Fight
In the military, commanders who are not lawyers get to choose which serious criminal cases go to trial. That means leaders who are pilots, infantry officers and hold other positions can be tasked with making weighty legal decisions with little to no experience.
![Tulsa, Oklahoma - so-called Black Wall Street before 2021 massacre](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/gettyimages-1264513498_custom-05c8842d8e6e88747e888459f5e4130d022abf13-500x500.jpg)
Artist’s Black Wall Street Project Is About Tulsa 100 Years Ago — And Today
Artist Paul Rucker is fearless when it comes to taking on terrible moments in American history. One of them, in Tulsa, Okla., was destroyed by a white mob 100 years ago, on May 31, 1921. The catastrophic attack on what was known as Black Wall Street might be the worst single episode of racial violence in American history, with 35 city blocks of Black community destroyed and flattened.
![Ralph "AK" Angkiangco spent just under a decade in the United States Navy as a hospital corpsman. He deployed to Afghanistan twice and served alongside the Marines. Courtesy Ralph Angkiangco](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ak-selfie_wide-8436c491cf26cf5db115d1301a95d0963ac35704-500x466.jpg)
A Path To Peace: How A Former Navy Corpsman Honors His Fallen Friends On Memorial Day
BY DUSTIN JONES Ralph “AK” Angkiangco enlisted in the Navy in April 2008 one year after graduating high school. He was an 18-year-old kid uncertain about what he wanted in
![A couple embrace Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, while touring an area devastated by the Almeda Fire in Phoenix, Ore. John Locher/AP](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ap_20255126343359-6c3621ef394728fb4c7dd5bbb84263acae4f6139-500x500.jpg)
‘Nothing Looks Good.’ Across The West, Firefighters Prepare For A Potentially Bad Fire Season
Severe drought has turned forests and grasslands into dry fuels, ready to ignite from a careless camper or a lightning strike. More people are building in areas bordering wildlands, expanding the so-called wildland-urban interface, an area where wildfires impact people the most. Invasive, highly flammable vegetation is spreading uncontrolled across the West.
![An artist’s rendition of the NuScale nuclear power project planned for construction in Idaho. Courtesy of NuScale Power](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/NuScale-Nuclear-plant-Idaho-artist-rendition-NUSCALE-POWER-500x500.jpg)
More Nuclear Energy Could Be Coming To Central Washington, As Grant County Explores Small-Scale
Washington’s Grant County is exploring nuclear generation in an effort to generate more carbon-free electricity. The county’s Public Utility District recently signed a deal with Oregon-based NuScale Power to figure out if a partnership might work.
![Capitol Attack on January 6, 2021](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/gettyimages-1230457438-3bf0df4434da4809c51b9b4f557d55852934c5da-500x500.jpg)
Senate Republicans Block A Plan For An Independent Commission On Jan. 6 Capitol Riot
Bipartisan legislation to establish an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has failed in the Senate, as Republicans staged their first filibuster since President Biden took office to block the plan.
![File photo. Idaho Gov. Brad Little puts on a face mask before a public meeting earlier this year. So far he has resisted calls for a statewide mandate. On Sunday, Nov. 8, the governor of Utah, Idaho's southern neighbor, imposed a mask mandate. CREDIT: Idaho Education News](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Brad-Little-face-mask-CREDIT-IdahoEdNews-500x500.jpg)
Idaho Governor Overturns Mask Ban From His Own Lt. Governor, Calls It ‘Self-Serving Political Stunt’
Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Friday issued an executive order repealing a mask mandate prohibition put in place while he was out of the state by the lieutenant governor, describing her actions as a tyrannical abuse of power and an “irresponsible, self-serving political stunt.”
![West Virginia's Shelley Moore Capito and fellow Senate Republicans unveiled a new counteroffer to President Biden's infrastructure package during a news conference Thursday. CREDIT: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/gettyimages-1233138094_custom-4af368f574d572305fc6dd3488aca7461a140489-500x500.jpg)
Senate Republicans Release $928 Billion Infrastructure Counteroffer
A group of Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled a $928 billion infrastructure proposal to counter President Biden’s plan for a nearly $2 trillion bill.
![Four-cell embryo. Light micrograph of the blastomeres of a four-cell human embryo. The blastomeres are the rounded cells, here formed after two divisions of the fertilized egg. An envelope, the zona pellucida, is seen surrounding the embryo, and the heads of some sperm are visible still attached to it. The fertilized ovum is composed of a single cell, the zygote, containing the genetic material of both spermatozoid and ovum. It then divides repeatedly, producing a cluster of cells that embed themselves in the uteral lining. During the first 8 weeks the child in the womb is called an embryo. At the 2 or 4-cell stage, embryos produced by in vitro fertilization are either embedded in the uterus or frozen for later introduction.](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/sciencesource_ss299805-973b3f7857b1d26dfd7b4923203b400395a09fe3-500x500.jpg)
Controversial New Guidelines Would Allow Experiments On More Mature Human Embryos
For decades, scientists have been prohibited from keeping human embryos alive in their labs for more than 14 days. The prohibition was aimed at avoiding a thicket of ethical issues that would be raised by doing experiments on living human embryos as they continue to develop.
![A laboratory building at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China, is seen on May 13, 2020. CREDIT: Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/gettyimages-1212829488_wide-0facdb9dc6e16723c4fa65be621cb2de2b2417e6-500x500.jpg)
President Biden Asks U.S. Intel To Push For Stronger Conclusions On The Coronavirus’ Origins
President Biden said on Wednesday that he has asked the U.S. intelligence community to push to get closer to a “definitive conclusion” on how the pandemic started.
![In this Feb. 1, 2017 image provided the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, a wolf pack is captured by a remote camera in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area in northeast Oregon near the Idaho border. Wildlife advocates pressed the Biden administration on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, to revive federal protections for gray wolves across the Northern Rockies after Republican lawmakers in Idaho and Montana made it much easier to kill the predators. CREDIT: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/wolves-wolf-hells-canyon-Oregon-Idaho-CREDIT-Oregon-Department-of-Fish-and-Wildlife-via-AP-500x500.jpeg)
A Push To Revive Federal Protections For Wolves After New State Laws Allow More Killing
Wildlife advocates are pressing the Biden administration to revive federal protections for gray wolves across the Northern Rockies after Republican lawmakers in Idaho and Montana made it much easier to kill the predators.
![Amazon has made a deal to purchase MGM for $8.5 billion. CREDIT: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images](https://www.nwpb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/gettyimages-1232974607-34e25488d2876eea8906fd06c9092130adc405e7-500x500.jpg)
Amazon Makes A Deal To Buy MGM For Nearly $8.5 Billion
Amazon has made a deal to buy Hollywood studio MGM for almost $8.5 billion. It’s the second-largest acquisition for the company after purchasing Whole Foods.