Mitt Romney's rally in Mansfield, Ohio, on Monday began the way every political event begins. 'Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and our country's national anthem.' This is always an uncomfortable moment for me. While I sat at my laptop, most of the reporters around me stood and put their hands over their hearts. This time instead of just sitting and working, I tweeted what I was feeling: 'Ari_Shapiro: As a reporter I'm torn about joining in the pledge of allegiance/national anthem at rallies. I'm a rally observer, not a participant.'

Ari Shapiro

Categorized in : Country Heart Monday

People from the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles are starting to return home today. A natural gas well leak in the neighborhood has been permanently sealed. It had been releasing methane and other pollutants into the air for four months. Thousands of people have complained of respiratory illnesses and other problems.

Ari Shapiro

air home people

Hillary Clinton is under fire from Latinos, specifically online. This comes from a recent blog post by Clinton's campaign that was meant to reach out to Latinos. Instead, it offended many people.

Ari Shapiro

campaigns fire people

We heard from a professor at an evangelical college who wore a hijab in solidarity with Muslim women. Now we have a different perspective. Asra Nomani co-wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post titled in part "As Muslim Women, We Actually Ask You Not To Wear The Hijab."

Ari Shapiro

perspective different college

This batch [emails hacked from a top Hillary Clinton aide] shows [Donna] Brazile gave the [Hillary] Clinton campaign advance warning of questions the candidate might be asked at CNN events.

Ari Shapiro

email cnn events

I see certain parallels between the debate over feminism where some women argue that women should not be forced to stay at home and take care of children [and debate about hijab]. And there are other women who are saying you are criticizing my decision as a free liberated women to stay home and take care of my children.

Ari Shapiro

decision home children

Low oil prices played a part in a major move by Congress voting to end the 40-year-old ban on exporting American crude oil.

Ari Shapiro

oil years moving

The Senate gathered to say goodbye to Vice President Joe Biden. Biden has been a presence there for more than 40 years.

Ari Shapiro

president goodbye years

We have some breaking news from our dedicated kale coverage desk here at NPR.Starting now, Chick-fil-A has kale on its menu next to the spicy chicken sandwich and the waffle fries. It's called the Superfood Side.

Ari Shapiro

npr kale news

Yet civil rights issues are very much on the front burner in South Carolina between the Black Lives Matter movement and police shootings.

Ari Shapiro

issues police rights

Everyone knows French artist Claude Monet's "Water Lilies," which he painted in his garden. You find the images everywhere from galleries to dorm rooms and dentists' lounges.

Ari Shapiro

water-lily garden artist

We've got a lot of the meal left to go. Should we move on from the turkey?

Ari Shapiro

turkeys meals moving

If I want to make - I don't know - strawberry jam, I'm going to have to add something to strawberries to make it gelatinous and thick, right? I'm going to have to add pectin or something like that.But if I want to make cranberry sauce, all I have to do is pop some cranberries in a little saucepan and when it cools off, it'll be thick and gelatinous. So what's up with cranberries?

Ari Shapiro

jam want add

Gravy is persistently plagued by two problems. Problem number one - skin. And problem number two - lumps.

Ari Shapiro

skins numbers two

Back in March, before Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination for president, a group of national security heavyweights signed an open letter that called Trump fundamentally dishonest and utterly unfit for the presidency. Now, two days after Trump's victory, some in the national security establishment are wondering whether to return to the fold.

Ari Shapiro

heavyweights victory two

CNN says Donna Brazile, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, will no longer be a political commentator for the network. This comes after WikiLeaks posted more emails hacked from a top Hillary Clinton aide.

Ari Shapiro

email cnn political

Hillary Clinton has secured her place in history. She is the first woman to lead a major party's quest for the presidency.

Ari Shapiro

quests party firsts