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Photographers from NPR's member stations across the country share memorable images from 2021. There are stories that document grief to ones that spread joy in a tumultuous year.

President Trump called off a planned Thursday meeting with top Hill Democrats to discuss a possible deal to avoid a shutdown. He called Democrats' demands "unserious." Democrats say he chickened out.

An artist's rendering of the new green technologies research facility on the University of Kansas campus (Image Credit: oread.ku.edu) LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 42-year-old University of Kansas building that formerly housed a small, experimental nuclear reactor has been reduced to rubble. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Burt Hall was demolished to help clear space on campus for expansion of the School of Engineering complex. The nuclear reactor was removed from Burt Hall in the early 1990s. But the demolition took several months as workers carefully searched for any radioactive material. Associate engineering dean JoAnn Browning said she knew of no traces of radiation being found. Browning says officials looked ways to re-use the building, but concluded the demolition was cheaper than making necessary repairs. The $80 million engineering complex makeover will include two new buildings, six large classrooms, labs, research facilities and a renovated library.

The Big Pool in Garden City. (Photo credit: Kansas Sampler Foundation)GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) — One of Garden City's biggest attractions is open for the summer. KSNW-TV reports the city's Big Pool is filled with more than 2 million gallons of water and ready to accommodate swimmers — hundreds of them, more than the populations of some Kansas towns. According to the Garden City Recreation Commission, the pool draws anywhere from 500 to 1,500 swimmers a day. Dating to the 1920s, the pool is so big that as a promotional stunt, a small motorboat once pulled a couple of water skiers around the surface. Western Kansas remains in a deep drought, but Garden City water superintendent Tony Hurtado says the pool isn't really a water hog. Once it's filled, the water is recycled and filtered. Garden City's Big Poolonce had a claim to fame for being the largest, free, municipal, concrete pool in the world. Now that an entrance fee is charged, it no longer has that title.

The House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is holding a series of public hearings. The committee has interviewed hundreds of witnesses and collected tens of thousands of pages of documents as part of its investigation into the deadly attack. The next hearing, the panel's ninth in this series, will be on October 13 at 1 p.m. ET. Watch the hearing and follow along as NPR host Rachel Martin, the NPR Politics team and others cover it live.

Mongolia is undergoing a dramatic transformation from a pastoral society to one whose economy is based on mining, especially copper and coal. With the change has come opportunity — and loss.

The Japanese artist is known for her "infinity rooms," which have mirrored walls that make the space feel endless. Six of those rooms are now on display at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C.

The three 1980s staples are new National Toy Hall of Fame inductees. Hess Toy Trucks, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the trampoline, and balloons were among the finalists.

It's the Chiefs' fourth trip to the big game in five seasons. The 49ers, who haven't won a Super Bowl since 1995, lost their last chance at the trophy in 2020 against the Chiefs.

Low pay combined with a high cost of living make it even more of a challenge for those who suddenly find themselves without a paycheck.