2025 will go down as a year of chaos for groups that help poor people. Some have been forced to scale back as the Trump administration targeted safety-net programs.
Jennifer Ludden helps edit energy and environment stories for NPR's National Desk, working with NPR staffers and a team of public radio reporters across the country. They track the shift to clean energy, state and federal policy moves, and how people and communities are coping with the mounting impacts of climate change.
Volunteers in Minnesota are collecting pine needles to help researchers determine how PFAS -- the substances commonly called forever chemicals -- find their way into water, soil and air.
A number of promenant nightclubs and music venues closed across the country in 2025, part of an ongoing trend driven by high rents, decreasing alcohol consumption and monopolization.