In this clip from her audiobook, learn the incredible story of Illinois senator and Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth and see what inspired her to follow the path that made her who she is today.

"Every Day Is A Gift" excerpt by Senator Tammy Duckworth

Napper-Williams says that she froze when she got the call that her son had been shot.

Oresa Napper-Williams on finding out her son had been shot

Two USA TODAY opinion editors talk about the outcome of the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial and their experiences existing while Black in America.

When it comes to existing while Black, 'you never know which way it's going to go'

U.S. Justice Anthony Kennedy reads the 5-4 majority opinion in the case of Garcetti v. Ceballos, a decision that first amendment advocates say brought particularly devastating consequences for police whistleblowers.

2005 Term

Garcetti v. Ceballos - Opinion Announcement - May 30, 2006

In a lawsuit agains the Saginaw County, Mich. Sheriff's Office, Garrett DeWyse said Sheriff William Federspiel reassigned him to pick up roadkill after he complained about the office's practices in using forfeiture money. The following is a recording of a meeting DeWyse recorded and presented to investigators in the case.

Garrett DeWyse audio recording of meeting with Sheriff William Federspiel

Staying could mean death. The escape nearly killed her.

Read along as you listen to this story: https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/world/2021/09/30/afghanistan-evacuation-fatema-hosseini-escape-taliban-checkpoints-kabul-airport/5822817001/

How one woman fled Afghanistan for freedom

Atlantic Council nonresident fellow Terrell Jermaine Starr on what's going on in Ukraine hours after Russia's invasion began.

Atlantic Council's Terrell Jermaine Starr on what's going on in Ukraine

Oleksiy Honcharuk, former Ukrainian Prime Minister and distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, on the conditions in Ukraine just hours after Russia begun missile strikes on the country.

Former Ukrainian Prime Minster Oleksiy Honcharuk Russia's invasion

Jaden Amos, of USA TODAY Opinion, talks about Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Listen to the encouraging words from kindergarteners.

Listen to encouraging words from a kindergartener on the "Peptoc Hotline"

Here's a sample of an AI voice generator at work.

Jennifer Jolly's AI voice generator sample.

On Saturday, Germany will commemorate its Day of Unity to mark the 25th anniversary of the unification of East and West Germany.  In this podcast,  USA TODAY’s Kim Hjelmgaard speaks with Felix Mihram, 37, a West German whose mother was separated from her parents in East Germany at the age of 16 when the Berlin Wall went up in August 1961. 

Germany looks back on East-West divide: ‘A lot of families were split up on that day’

The late-night comics on preparation for and jealousy over an East Coast hurricane. Listen to our favorite jokes, then vote for yours at opinion.usatoday.com.(Photo: Joe Pugliese, TBS)

Punchlines: Waiting for Joaquin

Working as a housekeeper, Enriqueta Juarez has received pay raises as the minimum wage in the District of Columbia has increased. It is now at $10.50 per hour.
 
She’s a married mother of two, and one of her children has autism. But as the minimum wage has gone up, Enriqueta has been able to move her family into a two-bedroom apartment and buy her own car.

A native of Mexico, Enriqueta spoke to us through the aid of a translator. 

Interview by Jim Lenahan, USA TODAY

Voices of Minimum Wage: Enriqueta Juarez

A native of Detroit, Cecil Euseary moved to Holland, Mich., in 2007, after his mother died — he had to get out of town. He moved back to Detroit in 2014. He works at Burger King for $8.15 per hour, the minimum wage in Michigan. 

Cecil has been active in the "D15" campaign to increase minimum wage in Detroit to $15 per hour. He once met with U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, when he was visiting Detroit.

Interview by Katrease Stafford, Detroit Free Press

Intro narration by Jim Lenahan

Voices of Minimum Wage: Cecil Euseary

Federal drug agents have built the nation’s largest wiretapping operation in the Los Angeles suburbs, secretly intercepting tens of thousands of Americans’ phone calls and text messages to monitor drug traffickers across the United States. The wiretaps, authorized by a single county judge in Riverside, Calif., have intercepted more than 2 million conversations involving 44,000 people despite objections from Justice Department lawyers who fear the practice may not be legal. USA TODAY's Shannon Rae Green interviews investigative reporter Brad Heath.

Feds running nation’s largest wiretapping operation in L.A. area to monitor drug traffickers

Assistant Breaking News Editor Katharine Lackey and Weather Editor Doyle Rice chat about the big snowstorm that's forecast to hit the East Coast later this week. 

Snow foolin: Winter storm forecast to hit East Coast

USA TODAY Investigative Reporter Brad Heath discusses the FBI decision to continue operating a child pornography site for two weeks rather than immediately shutting it down. (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

FBI ran child porn website for two weeks

Clyde Oxereoc is a ninth-generation Wales, Alaska villager. He grew up wanting to hunt seals and walruses, and now carries a cellphone. The modern world has continued to encroach on this community that is as far west as the mainland goes in America.

Ninth-generation resident of the westernmost town in mainland U.S.

USA Today's Charlene Washington and weather reporter Doyle Rice chat about a strange occurrence that happened 200 years ago - a year without summer. 

(Photo: NASA) 

The year without a summer really happened

Donald Trump did what many couldn't have fathomed -- he won the presidential election. Can he unify the nation? Readers, Millennials and members of USA TODAY's Editorial Board respond. (Photo: AFP)

It happened. Trump's in. Now, can he repair the nation?

Doyle Rice and Charlene Washington talk about the first ever, USA-only total solar eclipse on August 21, the best locations for viewing and what exactly you'll see.

Countdown to the total solar eclipse

In this newly released conversation from the Richard Nixon Library & Museum, President Richard Nixon speaks with then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan on Oct. 26, 1971, about the United Nations vote to recognize China’s communist government. An angry Reagan suggests the U.S. end full participation in the UN, which he calls a “kangaroo court,” and makes racist comments about a Tanzanian delegation’s celebration of the vote.

 

Credit: Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum

 

https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/white-house-tapes/013/conversation-013-008

Tape 013

Ronald Reagan calls UN 'kangaroo court', makes racist comment in Nixon recording

We asked readers to share stories that were passed down in their family, and we're retelling them for the historical record. Listen to these oral histories that preserve details of three daring escapes from slavery. They show how people risked everything to attain the freedom that was stripped from them. 

Thank you to readers Phillip Liverpool, Paul Alleyne, and Vernon Butler for sharing family stories with us. 

This 1619 Voices Project audio story was produced by Claire Thornton and hosted by Eileen Rivers, with Peter Majerle. To read and listen to more stories like this, go to 1619.usatoday.com. Photo Credit: Family photo provided by Vernon Butler

Fleeing slavery: a life-changing will and escaping down the Mississippi on a Union ship

Tracing one's family history can be intimidating and joy-filled. USA TODAY reporter Deborah Barfield Berry went down this path of discovery when she found out that the subject of her story could be related to her.
This 1619 Voices Project audio story was produced by Claire Thornton. To read and listen to more stories like this, go to 1619.usatoday.com. Photo Credit: Jarrad Henderson

Reporter's assignment leads to powerful, unexpected family link

Talking about race allows us to acknowledge racism's impact on people's lived experiences. We're telling these personal stories about encounters with racism so that more stories like them can also be told. Thank you to readers Helen Owens, Shelley Sumpter and Mary Garvey for sharing their personal experiences about race. Here, Helen Owens, bottom right, sits with her brothers at age 12 in their childhood home in San Francisco. This 1619 Voices Project audio story was produced by Claire Thornton and hosted by Deborah Barfield Berry. To hear more stories like these, go to 1619.usatoday.com

Racism's painful impact on family memories, traditions, and legacies

Ruth Simmons was the first African American president of an Ivy League college. She was also the first to request a study looking at the role university founders played in slavery. Simmons talked with USA TODAY's Deborah Barfield Berry about the groundbreaking work.

Why Brown University decided to confront its role in slavery

Thabiti Anyabwile preaches about the harms of police brutality at the pulpit and marches on the streets of Washington, D.C.  Listen to an excerpt from a sermon about blood on the streets of America. For more Leaders of Change, visit leadersofchange.usatoday.com.

Thabiti Anyabwile on the violation of loyalty, safety and trust in police brutality

A mother, who  voted for President Donald Trump, and her son, who voted for President-elect Joe Biden, talk about their differences on abortion, gay rights and the mother's struggle with COVID during a phone call that proved more unifying than not.

Conservative mom, liberal son are an inspiration for divided nation

Carmine Lania threatens his wife, Lena Hale, and her children during a recorded phone conversation.

Recorded call from Lania (Warning: This call may be difficult for some listeners to hear.)

Breaking news and features from USA TODAY.

Popular tracks by USA TODAY News