The state on Thursday is set to carry out an execution using nitrogen gas, a method that has never been used before in the U.S. Kenneth Smith survived an earlier execution attempt by lethal injection.

After a failed lethal injection, Alabama is planning to execute a man using nitrogen gas on Thursday. The method has never been used in the U.S.

We hear from Kenneth Smith, a death row inmate in Alabama, who is scheduled for execution by nitrogen gas — a method of execution that has never been used in the U.S.

Rice's whales are one of the world's newly discovered whale species – and already one of the most endangered. Protections for the whales in the Gulf of Mexico are not coming fast.

The horseshoe crab bleeding industry is in transition. One biomedical company agreed to more oversight, and a regulatory group is paving the way for drug companies to use animal-free alternatives.

Horseshoe crab blood is used to test vaccines around the world. But while Europe has approved a synthetic alternative, biomedical labs are bleeding more crabs from the Atlantic Coast.

In January, the Virginia Department of Corrections restricted public access to execution records. NPR is now publishing a selection of those secret files.

Firefighters are often "woefully under-equipped" to handle train accidents that emit hazardous materials. Most of those serious enough to cause evacuations happened near small towns.

Four tapes mysteriously donated to a library reveal uncertainty behind the scenes of the death chamber — and indicate the prison neglected to record evidence during an execution gone wrong.

NPR spoke with 26 people who were involved with more than 200 executions across the country. Most said their health suffered and they had little support to help them cope with their unusual jobs.

If you witnessed or helped conduct an execution in the United States, reporters at NPR would like to talk with you.