Explainer Stories that unpack the complex ways our world works.
Explainer
Iranian tanker docking at the platform of the oil facility in the Kharg Island, on the shore of the Persian Gulf. The island is responsible for 90% of Iran's oil exports, making it a lifeline for its economy. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Containers are stacked at the Port of Los Angeles on Friday. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption
A supporter poses with a picture of Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, during a rally in central Tehran on Monday. Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference at the end of a Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 29, 2025. JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Shown from left are Tom Malinowski, Analilia Mejia and Tahesha Way, some of the 11 Democrats on the ballot in New Jersey's 11th Congressional District special primary election on Thursday.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images; Chris Pedota/USA Today Network via Reuters
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Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a shooting Wednesday in Minneapolis. Adam Gray/AP hide caption
A Venezuelan supporter of U.S. operations in Venezuela celebrates in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Saturday. John Lamparksi/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado speaks during a press conference at the government's representative facilities in Oslo, Norway, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. Stian Lysberg Solum/Pool NTB Scanpix via AP hide caption
Supporters of Venezuela's current and former president, Nicolas Maduro and the late Hugo Chavez, hold posters with their images in Caracas on Saturday. Jesus Vargas/Getty Images hide caption
Advertisements by the company Kalshi predict a victory for Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral election before the votes are counted and polls close on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York. Olga Fedorova/AP hide caption
Election betting on prediction markets apps is set to boom ahead of midterms
Can you identify which videos are real and which are AI-generated? Screenshots by NPR/Collage by Emily Bogle/NPR hide caption
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani holds hands with Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a campaign rally in October. All three identify as democratic socialists. Angela Weiss/AFP hide caption
In response to U.S. Postal Service changes, California state officials are urging mail-in voters for a special election on congressional redistricting to return their ballots before Election Day to help ensure their ballots get postmarked by the deadline. Here, a post office in Montclair, Calif., is seen last year. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption
Your ballot or other mail may not get postmarked by USPS the day it's dropped off
A man exits a voting booth at a polling station in Lancaster, N.H., on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Down 2 members, the Federal Election Commission's work is at a standstill
Election workers open and inspect mail-in ballot envelopes for Arizona's 2024 general election inside the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
GOP push to restrict voting by overseas U.S. citizens continues before 2026 midterms
New World screwworm larva, like the one pictured, will hatch and feed on the flesh of living animals, typically cattle. Cases in humans are rare but can be fatal. AP/USDA Agricultural Research Service hide caption
Members of the National Guard patrol on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
The National Guard has been deployed before. What's different now?
Members of the National Guard stand near D.C.'s Union Station, within view of the U.S. Capitol, on Thursday. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption
How long can Trump's D.C. takeover last? Here's what to know
A traffic police officer in Peru sets up a roadblock during a tsunami warning in La Punta, Callao province on July 30, 2025. Alerts were issued in countries across the Pacific, following a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake off the east coast of Russia. Connie France/AFP via Getty Images hide caption