NPR Staff

Sen. Kamala Harris of California and former Vice President Joe Biden traded barbs on several issues, but they also faced criticism from other candidates on Wednesday's debate stage. NPR reporters shared real-time analysis and context for the presidential hopefuls' talking points.

While the focus going into Tuesday's debate was on progressive icons like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, centrists were not afraid to push back. NPR reporters have analysis and fact checks to parse through the candidates' remarks.

Ten candidates, including former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, will be on stage Thursday in Miami.

Twenty candidates have made it to the first round of Democratic primary debates. Ten take the stage Wednesday night, with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at the center. Night 2, on Thursday, will include former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Updated at 9:37 p.m. ET

The Justice Department has released a redacted copy of special counsel Robert Mueller's report into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

» A copy of the document is available here.

The stakes were high for President Trump ahead of his second State of the Union speech, as he remains at a logjam with Congress over immigration in the shadow of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

NPR reporters will be posting results and offering analysis through Tuesday night.

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Updated at 12:20 a.m. ET

A handshake in Singapore set in motion a historic meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un — the first-ever between a sitting U.S. president and North Korean head of state. Both leaders have committed to "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," but it's unclear what specific steps North Korea is willing to take to get there.

Updated at 6:46 p.m. EDT

The Democratic National Committee filed an attention-grabbing lawsuit against the Russian government, WikiLeaks and Donald Trump's presidential campaign that says they conspired to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The suit — which faces legal obstacles because of the Justice Department's investigation into Russia's attack and the difficulties involved with suing a foreign government — develops a theory about alleged collusion between Trump's campaign and the Russians.

President Trump hosted lawmakers from both parties to discuss gun policy and school safety  Wednesday. During the freewheeling meeting, Trump appeared to support a number of conflicting measures. NPR journalists have annotated a transcript of the exchange, adding context and analysis.

Updated at 2:44 a.m. ET Sunday

Tropical Storm Harvey remains a serious threat as it continues a slow march across Texas, killing at least two people, even as the National Hurricane Center downgraded it from a hurricane on Saturday.

While the wind was weakening, the rain proved to be relentless.

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Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, told lawmakers in a statement on Monday that he "did not collude ... with any foreign government."

Christopher Wray, President Trump’s nominee for FBI director, faced the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for his confirmation hearing. Wray would replace James Comey, whom Trump fired in May.

Donald Trump Jr. tweeted images of emails regarding his 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer on Tuesday. An intermediary said he could connect Trump Jr. with people who had information "that would incriminate Hillary [Clinton] ... and would be very useful to your father."

This week, Republicans in Congress will try to rally votes behind a bill that proposes major changes to the way Americans get health care and how much they pay. Use this Q&A to explore how the bills would affect you.

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Former FBI Director James Comey is testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. Before Comey was fired on May 9, he led the FBI's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential ties between Trump associates and Russia. That probe is now led by a special prosecutor.

The U.S. will withdraw from the international climate agreement known as the Paris accord, President Trump announced Thursday. He said the U.S. will negotiate either re-entering the agreement or a work on a new deal that would put American workers first.

During his campaign, Trump vowed to "cancel" U.S. participation in the deal. World leaders and business figures had recently urged him to reconsider. Ultimately, the president decided to withdraw.

Before his election, back in October, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump laid out a 100 Day Action Plan. He called it his Contract With The American Voter. Among other things, it called for the full repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, suspension of immigration from certain "terror-prone regions," and the lifting of "roadblocks" to let "infrastructure projects like the Keystone Pipeline move forward."

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is taking questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee today. If confirmed, the federal appeals court judge would fill a seat left vacant for more than a year, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February 2016.

President Trump has signed a revised executive order, barring travel to the United States from six majority-Muslim countries and suspending the U.S. refugee program.

Former Exxon Mobile CEO Rex Tillerson testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. The secretary of state nominee, who has never held a position in government, does have extensive experience dealing with foreign countries on behalf of Exxon, where he has worked since 1975.

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, will face the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and Wednesday for his confirmation hearing. Sessions, a Republican who has served in Congress for two decades, has had his nomination protested for his record on civil rights, voting rights and criminal justice. A key controversy: In 1986, the Judiciary Committee rejected Sessions' nomination to be a federal judge.

Move over Mariah Carey. There's a new holiday star in town.

Behold, a new Christmas carol for the 2016 holiday season! Have a listen:

Neural Story Singing Christmas from Hang Chu on Vimeo.

Larry Jefferson has been putting on a big red suit and perfecting his best ho, ho, ho for nearly 20 years.

The retired Army captain plays Santa at shopping malls, holiday parties and charity benefits. He hit the big time this year when he was handpicked at a Santa convention to appear at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn.

And by all accounts, kids and parents at the mall loved him. But when the story spread online, the negative attacks starting pouring in — because Jefferson is black.

Seventy-five years after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, some Americans have never stopped believing that President Franklin Roosevelt let it happen in order to draw the U.S. into World War II.

"It's ridiculous," says Rob Citino, a senior researcher at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. "But it's evergreen. It never stops. My students, over 30 years — there'd always be someone in class [who'd say], 'Roosevelt knew all about it.'"