Pregnant women and babies face ‘terrifying’ threat from xylazine addiction In parts of the U.S., more than half of pregnant women facing severe addiction are also exposed toxic to the toxic animal tranquilizer xylazine, a threat to them, their fetuses and newborns. Read more on NPR

After a chaotic vote count in 2020, here’s what Detroit will do differently this year Four years ago, Trump supporters, motivated in part by false election fraud claims, loudly protested at a Detroit counting facility. Election officials are determined to avoid a repeat of the chaos. Read more on NPR

In this school’s election, it’s pizza vs. chicken nuggets, with democracy as the winner At an Arizona tribal school, it’s a fierce campaign to pick the top school lunch, as students learn about making their voice count Read more on NPR

Millions of low-cost homes are deteriorating, making the U.S. housing shortage worse Older homes are the only ones many Americans can afford, but they are costly to fix and maintain, especially for seniors. A patchwork of programs to help are underfunded and have years-long waitlists. Read more on NPR

Arnold Schwarzenegger has endorsed Kamala Harris for president Schwarzenegger served as the governor of California from 2003 to 2011. He said he is frustrated with both parties, and does not trust either, but felt compelled to speak out. Read more on NPR

North Korea launches a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to threaten US North Korea confirmed the launch hours after its neighbors detected the firing of what they suspected was a new weapon. Read more on NPR

At least 95 people die in devastating flash floods in Spain Spain’s national weather service said it rained more in eight hours in Valencia than it had in the preceding 20 months. Read more on NPR

Dodgers overcome a 5-run deficit to win the World Series against the New York Yankees The Los Angeles Dodgers won their second World Series championship in five seasons Wednesday night, overcoming a five-run deficit to defeat the New York Yankees in five games. Read more on NPR

After setting a home run record, the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman named World Series MVP The Dodgers’ first baseman was already a hero after Game 1, which ended with his historic walk-off grand slam. But his heroics didn’t stop there. Read more on NPR

An Elon Musk-backed political group is posting fake Kamala Harris ads on Facebook Ads seemingly advocating for Vice President Kamala Harris on Facebook are really part of an effort by a dark money group to mislead voters. The messages have been viewed millions of times. Read more on NPR