NPR News

Socialists in Bolivia are celebrating a historic victory after a candidate handpicked by their ousted leader Evo Morales was on course to win the country's most important presidential election in a generation.

Luis Arce — a former economy minister during the Morales era — is poised to be officially confirmed as winner after his main rival conceded even before the official count from Sunday's election was complete.

Hours earlier, Morales, who is in exile in Argentina, announced what he called "an unprecedented historic triumph" and proclaimed, "We recovered our democracy."

Although it's not as widely known in the U.S. as his adventure tales like White Fang and The Call of the Wild, Martin Eden is now regarded as one of Jack London's greatest achievements.

Sometimes, you must go home again, no matter the risks.

That's the philosophy of the winners of the 2020 Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, which comes with a $1 million grant.

UNICEF, the largest single buyer of vaccines in the world, wants to hit the ground running as soon as a COVID-19 vaccine is ready.

The United Nations agency said Monday it plans to stockpile 520 million syringes by the end of 2020. It also will map out global distribution and storage plans for a future COVID-19 vaccine.

Purchasing the syringes now will help reduce the pressure on the market, the organization said, and will ensure timely availability once a vaccine is rolled out.

In South Korea, churches resumed in-person services and stadiums welcomed sports fans over the weekend as the country once again manages to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The government eased social distancing restrictions after the country apparently dodged a surge in cases that was feared to follow the Chuseok national holiday in early October.

Police in France raided numerous homes Monday in a sweep of suspects alleged to have offered online support for last week's beheading of a schoolteacher who had shown his students controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, the Interior Ministry said.

The raids come as thousands have poured into the streets in France to show solidarity in the wake of Friday's attack in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, northwest of Paris, where history teacher Samuel Paty, 47, was killed by a man later identified as an 18-year-old Moscow-born Chechen.

The U.S. Supreme Court said it will hear cases that involve the U.S. "Remain in Mexico" policy and the border wall, two of President Trump's most controversial attempts to limit migration across the southern border with Mexico.

The court did not say when it will hear the cases, but arguments are likely to be heard well after the Nov. 3 election. The outcome of next month's presidential election could render both cases moot if Trump loses his reelection bid.

When Major League Baseball announced on March 12 that it was suspending spring training due to the spread of the coronavirus, Richard Wang's first thought was, OK, this may be a very slow year.

In a remote Indian village, Ranjana Dwivedi goes door to door to educate people about the coronavirus. Once she almost fell into a river on her rounds.

In the halls of power in Iceland, Dr. Alma D. Möller leads the nation's response to the pandemic.

In a mobile testing center in California, Sheeba Shafaq works 12-hour shifts as she also seeks to become certified to practice medicine in the U.S. after fleeing Afghanistan, where the doctor's life was in danger because of her role as an advocate for women.