Colonial Americans were drinking coffee long before they dumped tea into Boston Harbor or fought a war for independence. The establishments that served it were already brewing revolutionary ideas.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted shipments of fertilizer and natural gas, a key component in fertilizer manufacturing. It's unlikely to cause major price hikes for U.S. grocery shoppers.

The Airbnb-style company Swimply said there have been about 275,000 private pool reservations so far this year.

David S. Reynolds' book examines the twin legacies of the Mayflower, which carried the Pilgrims to Plymouth in 1620, and the White Lion, which brought the first enslaved Africans to Virginia in 1619.

In a test of a new state law, doctors in Eugene went up against a national physician staffing firm seeking to replace them. Their success is getting attention across the U.S. as other states consider similar laws.

Listen to the best student podcasts about what "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" means for young people today.

Heat threatens U.S. 250th celebrations, Russian advances slow as Ukraine hits back, infighting risks derailing Democrats' House hopes.

Democrats are hoping they can win back the House majority this fall, but fighting within the party could complicate their plans.

On the eve of America's 250th birthday, NPR's Michel Martin asks House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York about the Democratic Party's midterm future.

When the U.S. bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, it took ownership of the Pribilof islands, home to the Russian-American Company's commercial fur-seal enterprise — and to the Unangax^ people who were forced to harvest the seals as "wards of the state." Indigenous residents continued to live under government supervision until 1983, when Congress finally transferred local control of the Pribilof Islands to the Unangax^ people themselves. From Theo Greenly of Alaska Public Media.