USA TODAY US Edition
Poll: Customer service quality getting worse
Over the past few years, Marsha Sakamaki has reached her limit with customer service. Between her bank, pharmacy and insurance company, she is tired of the endless hold times, the constant transfers and, above all, artificial intelligence. Sakamaki...
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Swatters used police to ‘terrorize’
For years, Niki Robinson and Patrick Tomlinson have been targets. In the span of 21⁄2 years, police were dispatched to the couple’s home more than 50 times, all in response to anonymous callers falsely claiming someone had been shot, murdered or taken...
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‘It’s never coming back the way it was’
PAGE, AZ – Tucked deep in a breathtaking canyon about 50 miles from the nearest town sits a towering red rock bridge nearly as tall as the Statue of Liberty. Soaring 290 feet, Rainbow Bridge has been sacred for generations of Native Americans,...
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‘They know I care’
The woman leaned over to look into the man’s face. The room was quiet aside from her prayers. “You are a child of God,” she told him.• “You always will be.” • He wasn’t breathing anymore. But she kept on. • “Teach us, teach us, teach us how to love one...
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Cuba’s elderly are being left behind
Sister Cecilia María Fuentes Ávila marched through the sundrenched grounds of the nursing home, greeting the fragile older women others had forgotten. • Some, like 79-yearold Yvonne Martínez Padrón, had lived at the facility for more than a decade....
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VA residents rise: ‘We’ve been screwed’
ALDIE, VA – On an overcast morning in late September, two dozen women gathered for their weekly pickleball game at a $91 million recreation complex in this leafy suburb outside the nation’s capital. Wearing fitness watches and moisture-wicking skirts,...
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Diesel is economy’s ‘workhorse fuel’
Diesel fuel is about as expensive as it has ever been, its per-gallon price ranging so high as to make regular gasoline look positively cheap by comparison. With high-stakes elections approaching, President Donald Trump has reportedly inked a...
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Halloween outfits mirror viral moments
Halloween lovers have plenty of 2026 viral moments and characters to dress up as on Oct. 31, and while some might be a bit challenging, others can be created with a few craft supplies and some DIY spirit. You can thrift, sew or throw together costumes...
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Consumer sentiment down despite positive reports
Six years after the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans still feel gloomy and no once-a-month economic report seems to make them happy. Since the pandemic, the economy and jobs market have recovered but consumer sentiment hasn’t. While it has ebbed and...
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‘It was a matter of when and where that cancer was going to be’
Three times, Lavonne Schroeder was sent home to die. Twenty-three years after cancer first upended her life, she was settled into one of the recliners at Cass County’s only cancer center, a blue cap covering her head as another round of chemotherapy...
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‘Privilege’ to teach
Wendy Kopp was a senior at Princeton University in 1989, part of a cohort of the most recruited students in America. ● She and her peers in what was widely called “The Me Generation” were being recruited by Wall Street, big banks, lobbying firms,...
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Jeffries is ready to bring the fight
WASHINGTON − House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is promising voters his party will make life more affordable, if they boot Republicans from power in Congress in the midterms. While political observers expect Democrats to pick up House seats in...
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‘Breakdowns in vetting’ Data: Record number have left ICE amid hiring spree
Flush with cash to fulfill President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began a hiring spree last year that more than doubled its number of agents and officers. In the first half of this year, nearly 3,000...
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AI boom meets Mammoth Cave National Park
For thousands of years, people have ventured into the caves beneath the rolling hills of central Kentucky. • In the 1840s, Stephen Bishop, an enslaved Black guide, explored the vast system by lantern and drew one of the earliest maps. • More than 426...
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‘My mother didn’t need to die’
CANTON, GA – A nursing home assistant found Roselin Shankland struggling to breathe as she reached Room 204 on her morning rounds. Shankland’s pulse dropped to 34 beats a minute. Her blood pressure collapsed. By the time Shankland reached the...
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‘God walks with us, we are not alone’
HAVANA – In the cool darkness of the church’s sacristy, the Rev. Ariel Suárez Jáuregui pulled on his vestments – a white ankle-length robe and bright green stole – and entered the 19th-century sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity Catholic Church. Hints of...
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A grand plan
On the surface, Grace Yockey’s life looks like that of a typical recent college graduate. She works a remote job, spends time with friends and family and enjoys her daily ritual of getting coffee down the street with “the coolest roommate of all...
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CULTURAL CHILLS
UNIVERSAL CITY, CA – Brooklyn-Eden can’t wait to step into this year’s “Sinners” house at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights. ● “I love ‘Sinners’ as a film, obviously because it represents my cultural background, and it’s so exciting...
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IL candidate could make Senate history
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s father was raised in the small town of Clearfield, Pennsylvania. Population: 5,962. Henry W. Wiggins Jr. wanted to attend his Clearfield High School trip, alongside the class of 1951, to visit the U.S. Capitol in...
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Study eyes private equity’s role in childcare
Anew study sheds light on an ongoing discussion over corporate expansion in childcare across the country, particularly of large childcare chains owned by private equity companies. Private equity has gotten a bad rap in other care industries such as...
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Costco sells connections
With their busy schedules, Los Angeles besties and social media influencers Analyse Talavera and Carmen Rene Smith don’t always spend as much time together as they’d like. Their solution? Tag-teaming their Costco errands. • The outings double as...
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Finding the good amid the painful
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. A new book by USA TODAY nation enterprise editor Jeremy Redmon explores war, fatherhood, love and loss. This excerpt is drawn from “Tell the Kids I Love Them: A Memoir,” published Sept. 15 by the...
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Beshear weighing White House bid
With the energy of Democratic Socialists of America and their progressive kin grabbing midterm headlines, can an earnest, moderate, Bible-quoting governor from a red state emerge as the Democrats’ standard-bearer two years down the road? Andy Beshear...
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Blood donations by young people plummet
The nation’s blood centers have long relied on high school and university blood drives not only as a dependable and sizable donation source, but as an introduction to young people about the importance of donating. The COVID-19 pandemic that began in...
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Disabled Americans losing out on life
ATLANTA – Nick Papadopoulos clenched the bed at his nursing home. It had no guardrails, and he was terrified he would roll off. A wispy woman floated in from another room, confused, and crawled into bed with him. Papadopoulos, 38, yelled and hit the...
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Oprah’s AHA to capture wonder
Oprah Winfrey is blotting my face. • Blame an unseasonably warm September day in New York City, but apparently, I’d gotten a little bit shiny. Before we roll cameras, she hugs me warmly, then goes to work with a tissue. • She does it in a way that...
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Economy stuck in no man’s land
HAVANA – Óscar Fernández marveled at the rows of dehydrated mango and pineapple as he stood in the aisle at a Trader Joe’s in Washington, DC, wondering how to get his Cuban company’s mango slices on those shelves. By the end of a prestigious six-week...
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Attacks still shaping nation
A woman reads the names of victims at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York on Sept. 8.
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Separated by immigration, bound by love
Nicholas Miller hasn’t tried Taco Bell. Or Whataburger. Not because they are hard to find; they are everywhere in Austin. He is saving them for Irina Miller, his wife, for when her green card clears and she crosses the border for the first time. •...
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Man in the Red Bandanna
When the left wing of United Airlines Flight 175 cut through the south tower sky lobby, those who survived the impact didn’t know if there was a way out. ●Then, they heard Welles Crowther’s voice. “I found the stairs,” he told them. ●Crowther led them...
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Scientists ponder near-death enigma
Outside the emergency room entrance, Katie Winschief floated above her body as paramedics put her in a wheelchair and rushed her toward the hospital doors. ● Everyone on the ground grew smaller as she drifted higher, until all she could see was their...
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8 Black nominees seek governorship
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is running for reelection and is rumored to be a 2028 Democratic presidential contender, but he has taken on another initiative in 2026: electing more Black governors. ● Moore, 47, is one of just three Black Americans ever...
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Frequent Flockers
At least 19 police and sheriff ’s office employees in five states were arrested, fired, put on administrative leave or placed under investigation over the past two months for using Flock Safety’s vast network of license plate reader cameras to track...
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‘The streets are empty’
MIAMI – Jean-Marie Denis raised a metal gate and unlocked his Little Haiti bookstore, stocked with books printed in Creole and French. His shop sits next door to the Little Haiti cultural complex, designed like a turn-of-the-century Haitian...
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Comfort care
CHEEKTOWAGA, NY James Braithwaite is waiting by the door of his home when Nicole Golding arrives from hospice. • He knows he’s dying. But it doesn’t feel like the end is near. • “How are you doing today?” Golding asks as he leads her to a seat at his...
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Who really runs college football?
In today’s college sports landscape, power no longer resides solely on the sidelines or in the commissioner’s office. It sits in television boardrooms, law firms, courtrooms, congressional hearing rooms and donor suites. A judge can reshape athlete...
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Rags to rhinestones and into our hearts
D Dolly Parton, the “Queen of Country,” had a personality as bold as her signature blond coif and rhinestone-encrusted outfits. The beloved singer, who died Tuesday, Aug. 25, at age 80, is being remembered by the music world, Hollywood and millions of...
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LOVE, ALWAYS
Dolly Parton, the country music icon with a personality as bold as her signature blond coif and rhinestone-encrusted outfits, died Tuesday, Aug. 25. She was 80 years old. The music legend was known for hits such as “Jolene,” “I Will Always Love You,”...
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Parents detained, ‘leaving us all alone’
WEST PALM BEACH, FL Federal immigration authorities in Florida detained a Lake Worth Beach couple on Aug. 9 as their family of seven drove away from church. They were on the way to buy shoes for their four youngest children before school resumed the...
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‘No age limit’ on adventure
Ellie Hamby and Sandy Hazelip have seen the Northern Lights in Finland, sailed down the Amazon River at night, and ridden the Trans-Siberian Railway – and they did it all in their 80s. Hamby and Hazelip are the 85-year-old best-friend duo behind the...
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Scams target seniors with help of AI
It’s the kind of call that makes Clayton LiaBraaten’s blood boil. LiaBraaten, senior executive spokesperson at Truecaller, a Caller ID and spam-blocking app, said a man called in recently asking for help. His mother, a grieving widow, had been scammed...
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3 days documenting an evolving response
The first video captures the eerie, mundane moments of that morning. Through the windshield, viewers see vehicles speeding by, then halting in bumper-to-bumper traffic along Interstate 66. A sign shows they’re about 5 miles from the Pentagon. Inside...
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Beloved town feels its heart beating again
Set between the mountains and coastline of Southern California, the community of Pacific Palisades is at a turning point. It has been just over a year and a half since powerful Santa Ana winds and a drought fueled the biggest fire in Los Angeles...
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Immigration cases sped through court
Lines stretched out the front doors of courthouses. Overflow seating set up in hallways. Classroom-style exchanges, with judges asking people to raise their hands in response to generic questions about their cases. These are some of the scenes playing...
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Summer camp made possible
GLEN SPEY, NY – In the Catskills, down an unassuming road shaded with ash trees, stands a 125acre campus with all the makings of a traditional summer camp: a lake flanked by kayaks and paddle boards, a climbing wall, a field house for singalongs and...
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Cuban artist freed
MIAMI – Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara hugged his son with the gnawing dread that it might be the last time. No one had heard from Otero for days. Not since Cuban agents whisked him to this safe house near Playas del Este in Cuba after completing a...
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‘Sanctuary’ cities face losing federal money to process rape kits
No federal money for bulletproof vests in Santa Cruz, California; no ambulances for paramedics in Beaverton, Oregon; no money to process rape kits in Fresno Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz was furious to learn that the Trump administration is...
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It’s like a family resort, but some kids come to die
SAN LEANDRO, CA − Daniel Lockwood’s parents say he squealed with enthusiasm the whole last hour of their four-hour drive to George Mark Children’s House on June 1. Upon their arrival, Sarah and Kevin Lockwood help their son, who has several diagnoses...
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We need better heroes, and Spain answers call
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ − At this level, any coach can find great players. Finding players who are also good people and willing to put the team ahead of themselves – that’s the challenge. In this day and age, when so many people are out only for...
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Wildfire seasons grow in ferocity
Anew heat wave will bring another round of scorching temperatures as fires in the West continue to grow in what already has been a deadly fire season. The Babylon Fire in Utah now covers 100,000 acres, and the Aspen Acres Fire in Colorado is nearing...
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Hawaii rebuilding after fires and floods
HAWAII – To most travelers, Hawaii is paradise. This perennial destination draws visitors eager to experience its stunning beaches, cascading waterfalls, and rich culture, guided by the warmth of aloha. However, it’s been a different reality for many...
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Is it lights out for fireflies?
For many Americans, fireflies (or lightning bugs, depending on where you live) are an iconic sign of summer, lighting up warm evenings with their twinkling glow. ● Fireflies are little beetles in the family Lampyridae. There are more than 175 species...
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Judges step up
Michael Donnelly is used to speaking to the public through his judicial opinions. No more, the former Ohio Supreme Court justice said. So Donnelly, along with a bipartisan group of sitting and retired state and federal judges, did what their...
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GOP on alert over midterms
When Ashton Reed voted for President Donald Trump in 2024, he was drawn by Trump’s vow to recharge the economy and curb the inflation that many around his hometown of Jackson, Missouri, blamed on then President Joe Biden. ● Reed, 22, who has worked at...
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A lifeline by delivery
LOUISVILLE − Carmen Deulofeu tapped a few buttons on her laptop in Kentucky, and 1,000 miles away in Havana, her sister suddenly could feed her family. Basics that are often absent from Cuba’s grocery shelves or unattainable on a Cuban salary were all...
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American Girl dolls reach beyond playtime
The first time I discovered the word journalist was in an American Girl book. I was in elementary school when I fell in love with Kit Kittredge, a doll with my same short blond hair and love of writing. ● I didn’t own the Kit doll, but I devoured her...
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World Cup fever fuels soccer imports surge
America has caught World Cup fever, and it is showing up in an unlikely place: trade data. Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted by the United States alongside Canada and Mexico, it was not only fans gearing up to see their teams in action –...
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Campaign funds for childcare?
Liuba Grechen Shirley was nursing two children when she decided to run for Congress in 2018. • During the day, she gave speeches and knocked on doors with a baby wrapped to her chest and a toddler at her side. In the afternoons, she relied on her...
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