Five years ago this month the COVID-19 virus started ravaging populations, changing life here in America and around the globe. Many shrugged it off initially. It wasn’t until March 9th when the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, declared it a pandemic. In Quinter, Kansas, a small rural town of about 1,000 and in surrounding Gove County, it devastated the population, killing 1 in 132. That made Gove the deadliest county in the U.S. in December of 2020. Five years on, how have residents recovered, or have they? USA TODAY National Correspondent Trevor Hughes revisits Quinter and shares the lasting impacts in a place that suffered such huge losses.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson won back his job for another term Friday after a tight vote.

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USA TODAY White House Correspondent Joey Garrison talks through some of the latest developments in the wake of this week's New Orleans terror attack.

Will House Speaker Mike Johnson keep his job?

Donald Trump will hold a 'victory rally' in Washington on the eve of Inauguration Day.

USA TODAY National Correspondent Chris Kenning tells us about the latest American treasure hunt.

The College Football Playoff semifinals are now set.

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For centuries, Native American art has been viewed through the lens of collectors, art historians, and tourists. But how have Native artists considered their own work? For many tribal artists, there was a financial incentive to create objects that would appeal to non-Natives. But that’s changing. Across the U.S., Indigenous artists are fighting stereotypes, protesting cultural appropriation, and carving spaces for their work in museums and galleries beyond those reserved for Native artists. Indigenous Affairs Reporter Debra Utacia Krol, a correspondent for The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY network, joins The Excerpt to discuss how Native art has grown and evolved.

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At least 15 people were killed in a New Year's terror attack in New Orleans.

USA TODAY Money and Consumer News Editor Charisse Jones discusses some economic optimism following Donald Trump's election win.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts warns courts' independence is under threat from violence.

USA TODAY National Correspondent Elizabeth Weise talks about the supervolcano under Yellowstone.

It's been 40 years since seat belts became part of U.S. culture.

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An ancient, lost city in Southern Mexico hidden under jungle canopy for centuries, spotted via just searching on Google. Luke Auld-Thomas’ research on Mayan settlements had him poking around on the internet which led him to a LIDAR survey - a laser-based technology used in this case for terrain mapping. When he ran the data, he realized there was an entire city, of a significant size, entirely covered in dense vegetation. What’s it like, finding a whole city, without ever setting foot on the ground? And could there be more of these ancient settlements, just a few clicks away, waiting to be found? Tulane doctoral student Luke Auld-Thomas joins The Excerpt to share how he stumbled into the discovery of a lifetime.

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New gun laws are coming in 2025.

Drugmakers will raise U.S. prices on over 250 medicines starting January 1.

USA TODAY National Trending Desk Editor Amanda Lee Myers discusses Dry January.

What stories are we keeping an eye on in 2025?

USA TODAY Reporter Karissa Waddick talks about the popularity of polar plunging?

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Former President Jimmy Carter will lie in state at the Capitol rotunda.

Chinese state-sponsored hackers breached the U.S. Treasury Department's computer security and stole documents.

USA TODAY Consumer Travel Reporter Zach Wichter looks at some airline topics he's keeping an eye on in 2025.

President-elect Donald Trump loses an appeal of a sexual abuse and defamation judgment in the E. Jean Carroll case.

USA TODAY Personal Finance Reporter Daniel de Visé explains which documents you should keep and which ones you can toss.

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