Camila Domonoske

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund says 64 officers were shot and killed in 2016 — an increase of more than 50 percent over 2015. It's the highest since 2011, when the tally was 73.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov went on state TV Friday to announce plans for a tit-for-tat response to U.S. sanctions on Russia. But President Vladimir Putin says it's not happening.

Christian Schmidt told a German newspaper he wants a ban on phrases like vegetarian schnitzel and vegan sausage. He argues that branding is "completely misleading" when there's no meat in the product.

Last week, police in Milan killed the man suspected of carrying out a deadly attack on a Christmas market in Berlin. Now police are questioning a man whose number was stored in the suspect's phone.

Pangolins — raccoon-sized animals that resemble artichokes — are the most trafficked mammal in the world. Chinese state media say more than 3 tons of scales were recently seized in Shanghai.

Rubi Ibarra's 15th birthday bash was one for the ages after her invitation became an online hit. But the party on Monday was marred by tragedy; one man was killed in an accident at the horse race.

A Russian military jet crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday morning with 92 people on board. Officials say they do not consider terrorism a likely cause of the crash.

The astrophysicist's groundbreaking research on spiral galaxies provided evidence of invisible dark matter. She was a pioneer in an era when women were excluded from many astronomy programs.

It has been a violent year in Chicago, and Christmas weekend offered no respite. "We have a traumatized city," one woman who works with victims' families tells NPR.

The British pop icon made large donations to a variety of charities — and worked hard to keep the gifts from garnering publicity. Fans on Twitter have shared stories of individual acts of charity.

Officials in Russia say they do not consider terrorism to be a likely cause of the crash on Sunday morning. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff; all 92 people on board are believed to have died.

In 1972, NPR asked listeners to write noncommercial commercials: ads for life's little joys. One praised love notes — and suggested they ought to be showed off and shared, not stored away.

Mary Thorn's beloved trained alligator — a rescue animal she says is sensitive to sunlight, hence the outfits — had grown too big for her property, the state said. But she asked for an exception.

Evacuations of civilians and rebel fighters from east Aleppo finished on Thursday night, and forces supporting President Bashar Assad seized the enclave. But the rebels' surrender doesn't mean peace.

Two hijackers armed with a hand grenade and pistols took over a flight within Libya. Malta's prime minister says all 118 people on board the plane are safe and that the hijackers are in custody.

Italian police say during a normal ID check in a Milan suburb, a suspect pulled a handgun and fired at officers. Police returned fire and killed the man. They have identified him as Anis Amri.

Remaining rebels and civilians in east Aleppo wait in freezing weather for transportation out of the city; a few hundred people refuse to leave. Pro-regime forces might enter as soon as this evening.

Unsecured Malm dressers, prone to tipping over, killed three children in three years. A wrongful death suit has been settled, lawyers for the families say; Ikea confirmed a "tentative" agreement.

On Nov. 1, a church in Greenville, Miss., was torched and "Vote Trump" was painted on a wall. Now a member of that church has been charged with arson. Officials have not provided a motive.

A deal between Charlotte leaders and state lawmakers called for the repeal of both a local ordinance and the controversial state law. The repeal failed a Senate vote, and the Legislature adjourned.