Steve Inskeep

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer John Mellencamp returns with his first album of original songs in five years, Strictly a One-Eyed Jack.

Senate Democrats plow ahead with a showdown over the filibuster and voting rights. Details emerge about the hostage taking at a Texas synagogue. Efforts continue to revive the Iran nuclear deal.

Coronavirus cases are still at pandemic highs with more than 800,000 new cases reported daily. But there are signs this surge may begin to abate soon, and some places may already be past their peak.

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a conversation about how the city thought there would be riots during the March on Washington. Story originally aired on Aug. 28, 2008 on Morning Edition.

The FBI has identified the British man it says took hostages at a Texas synagogue. The pace of omicron infections may be subsiding. Britain's prime minister is fighting for his political life.

Supreme Court delivers two key decisions on vaccine rules. The Oath Keepers leader is charged with conspiracy in the Jan. 6 riot. Australia's revokes tennis star Novak Djokovic's visa again.

Researchers say signs are emerging that the omicron surge may have begun to peak in some parts of the country, and could peak nationally quickly. Others are more cautious.

The federal government has charged Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, and 10 others with seditious conspiracy in the most serious case to emerge from its probe into the Capitol attack.

In the U.S., more people are hospitalized for COVID-19 than at any other point in the pandemic. The omicron variant has slammed ERs, but doctors say this surge feels different than earlier ones.

The U.S. hits another COVID record. NATO officials meet with a Russian delegation to try to prevent another invasion of Ukraine. Pressed on election lies, ex-President Trump cuts NPR interview short.

The former president blasted Republicans who have crossed him and kept up repeated election lies in an NPR interview.

Rapid COVID-19 tests are in short supply and prices are increasing. The Supreme Court will review two of Biden's vaccine rules for workers. Not many Republicans attended Jan. 6 events on Capitol Hill.

Members of Congress mark the attack on the U.S. Capitol a year ago. Experts monitoring extremist worry the U.S. is in a more dangerous place than a year ago. Examining the CDC's messaging problems.

The U.S. hits a record number of COVID-19 cases. A British socialite is found guilty of helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse girls. President Biden and Russia's Putin are to speak on the phone.

President Biden and Russian President Putin on Thursday are expected hold their second call this month — amid Russia's continued military build-up near its border with Ukraine.

As omicron continues to spread, the CDC loosened isolation guidelines. Some infectious disease experts say the revisions should come with stronger mask and testing requirements.

The new CDC isolation guidelines raise concerns among health experts. NFL Hall of Fame coach and iconic sports broadcaster John Madden dies at 85. Consumers are having a tough time buying new cars.

School leaders say the pressures of the pandemic had already made this school year the most challenging of their lives. Then came the omicron variant.

The CDC cuts the recommended isolation time for COVID infections. Schools will usher in another new year defined by the pandemic. Winter Olympic officials put stringent COVID measures in place.

Over the next month, scientists estimate that the U.S. could face a record-breaking 400,000 new cases each day — powered by the omicron variant. Hospitalizations in some areas already are rising.