'Balloon Boy' Parents Pardoned By Colorado Governor For 2009 Hoax The incident captured the attention of many as authorities sought to save the boy, thought to be stuck in an airborne weather balloon. Later, authorities called the situation a hoax. Reese Oxner
Chinese Regulators Open Investigation Into E-Commerce Giant Alibaba China's State Administration for Market Regulation is focusing on allegations that Alibaba forces merchants on its website to sell only on its platform. Jaclyn Diaz
Trump Pardons Roger Stone, Paul Manafort And Charles Kushner The announcement comes as part of a wave of pardons and commutations in the final weeks of Trump's presidency. Ryan Lucas
Shock And Dismay After Trump Pardons Blackwater Guards Who Killed 14 Iraqi Civilians "We were surprised that the American President issued a decision to pardon these criminals, murderers and thugs," says an Iraqi man who was shot in the 2007 massacre at Baghdad's Nisour Square. Laurel Wamsley
Immigrant Advocates Vow To Keep Up The Pressure As Biden Asks For Patience President-elect Joe Biden says he will roll back many of President Trump's actions on immigration — but it will take longer than immigrant advocates might have hoped. Joel Rose
Justice Department Says Walmart Helped To Fuel Ongoing Opioid Crisis On Tuesday, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Walmart, alleging that the retail giant unlawfully dispensed controlled substances from pharmacies it operated nationwide. Brian Mann
Trump Grants Slew Of Pardons, Including George Papadopoulos And Duncan Hunter Clemency advocates have pressed President Trump to intervene in the cases of people hit with mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses who have filled prisons in the past few decades. Ayesha Rascoe
Barr Says No Need For Special Counsel For Hunter Biden Probe, Election Fraud Claims William Barr put a damper on two ideas President Trump has reportedly raised in recent days during what was likely his last press conference as attorney general. Ryan Lucas
In Podcast Finale, 'Louder Than A Riot' Looks At Prison Reform NPR Music's Louder than a Riot has been doing a deep dive into the stories of rappers that highlight inequalities in the way this country addresses crime and punishment. Rodney Carmichael
Supreme Court Punts In Census Case, Giving Trump A Chance To Alter Numbers The opinion said the case was "riddled with contingencies and speculation that impede judicial review." The president has been seeking to use a count that does not include undocumented immigrants. Hansi Lo Wang
