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Meredith and Martha Holley-Miers live in a brick row house in Washington, D.C. with their two kids and a big rainbow flag in front. The couple has been legally married for seven years — and together for 14 years.

When they decided to have a baby, they "went through a lot of time and a lot of money and a lot of heartache trying to get pregnant," Martha says. They used an anonymous sperm donor, and it took them many months. When Martha gave birth to daughter Janey — now a bubbly 8-year-old — in 2009, they knew that they'd need to put forth yet more time, money, and heartache.

Nasty, brutish and short.

Until about the last decade or so, that is how many of us were accustomed to thinking about Neanderthal life.

But a lot has changed since then, not least of which is the emergence of smoking gun DNA evidence that Neanderthals are, in fact, family.

Now a new study runs counter to earlier thinking by suggesting that Neanderthals reached maturity at about the same rate as modern humans.

President Trump is facing a decision on whether to extend the ban on travelers from six majority-Muslim nations from entering the U.S. This week, acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke sent the White House her recommendations for "tough and tailored" security vetting, to replace the current ban, which expires Sunday.

Compounding Puerto Rico's devastation in the wake of Hurricane Maria is the fact that so much is still unknown. Because most of the island's cellphone sites are out of service and the power grid is down, it has been difficult or impossible to connect with the people who live there — whether from the mainland or from another part of the island.

Atlanta resident Silkia Babilonia, who lives in Atlanta, says that since the storm, she hasn't been able to reach friends and family on the island's west side.

Iran unveiled a new ballistic missile Friday, showing off the weapon during a military parade in Tehran. "When it comes to defending our country, we will ask nobody for their permission," President Hassan Rouhani said.

John McCain on Friday imperiled Republicans' latest Affordable Care Act repeal and replace effort when he said he "cannot in good conscience" support the so-called Graham-Cassidy bill. But McCain did also say he could at some point support the substance of his fellow Republicans' proposal.

"I would consider supporting legislation similar to that offered by my friends Sens. [Lindsey] Graham and [Bill] Cassidy were it the product of extensive hearings, debate and amendment," McCain said. "But that has not been the case."

On Saturday the Catholic church will beatify a priest from Okarche, Oklahoma. Three assailants murdered the Rev. Stanley Rother in Guatemala in 1981 during that country’s civil war. Pope Francis declared last year that Rother is a martyr, setting the stage for him to possibly become a saint.

The United Nations General Assembly is in session this week, and the top question on many minds: How will President Trump’s “America First” message mesh with the rest of the world?

Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson revisits some of the week’s speeches to see how world leaders are addressing that and other issues.

Updated at 3:36 p.m. ET

Sen. John McCain may, once again, be the savior of President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement.

The Arizona Republican announced in a statement on Friday that he opposes the latest GOP legislation to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

Young adults are losing faith in American democracy and have difficulty distinguishing between "fake news" and reliable news. That's according to a new research paper out from Tufts University.

The solution? Support civic learning programs in K-12 education at the state and local level, the researchers argue.

"We know that if you study civics in high school you are more likely to be an informed voter," says Peter Levine, co-author of the paper and an associate dean for research at Tufts.

Sometimes it's hard to get people to pay attention to the biggest problems of the world — poverty, hunger, disease. But what if they were printed on M&M's?

Protesters were forcibly ejected from a speech by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York City on Thursday, in the latest U.S. confrontation involving protests against Turkey's leader.

Erdogan was speaking to an audience at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square when, as the AP reports, someone shouted "Terrorist!"