Democratic presidential candidates will descend on Iowa next week to do something that Native Americans say doesn't happen enough: court their vote. At least seven White House hopefuls have said they'll attend a forum in Sioux City on Monday and Tuesday named for longtime Native American activist Frank LaMere, who died in June. Tribal leaders and citizens will talk with candidates about issues including health care, education and violence against Native women. Several candidates attending the forum, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Julian Castro and Marianne Williamson, have issued platforms dedicated to the needs of indigenous people. Marcella LeBeau, a 99-year-old registered Democrat and a citizen of the Two Kettles Band of the Lakota, said that's a change from the past when politicians largely overlooked Native issues. Get More

Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib said Friday she would not visit her grandmother in the occupied West Bank, despite being granted an Israeli permit on humanitarian grounds, saying Israel's "oppressive" conditions aimed to humiliate her. Israel barred Tlaib and another Democrat, Rep. Ilhan Omar, from visiting Jerusalem and the West Bank over their support for the international boycott movement following an unprecedented appeal from President Donald Trump to deny them entry. Israel had said Tlaib could visit relatives in the West Bank on humanitarian grounds. But then the Interior Ministry released a letter purportedly signed by Tlaib in which she promised not to advocate boycotts during her visit. That appears to have led to her decision to cancel the visit. Get More

Staring through a swarm of photographers and television crews, self-described introvert Greta Thunberg took the stage at a Swiss university last week, NBC News reports, to pointedly reiterate a message that has captured the attention of leaders and like-minded young women around the globe: The world must take drastic action now to avert ecological and civilizational collapse. “We know that our future is at risk,” the small, soft-spoken 16-year-old Swede tells journalists at the start of a weeklong youth summit at the University of Lausanne. “We would love to go back to school and continue with our everyday lives, but as crucial as this situation is, as serious as this situation is, we feel like we must do something about this now.” Thunberg — whose central point is that humanity must immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions that have unrelentingly increased since the start of the industrial revolution, resulting in global warming — is the driving force behind a movement that has seen more than 2 million teens around the world take part in Fridays for Future school strikes against climate change. On Wednesday, she set off from Britain’s shores on a monthslong journey — she is sailing to avoid flying — that will take her to a U.N. summit on climate change in New York in September, and the COP25 conference in Santiago, Chile, in December. Get More at NBC News

The New York City medical examiner's office has determined Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide, a senior official tells News 4. The examiner's office unveiled its autopsy findings a day after a person familiar with the case confirmed to NBC News that the wealthy financier had a broken hyoid bone. The hyoid bone is a U-shaped bone in the neck that supports the tongue. An NBC medical expert says a broken hyoid can happen in both strangulation and hanging cases, but occurs more often in strangulations. Get More

From guitars to traditional medicines and from tusk to tail, mankind's exploitation of the planet's fauna and flora is putting some of them at risk of extinction. Representatives of some 180 nations are meeting in Geneva to agree on protections for vulnerable species, taking up issues including the trade in ivory and the demand for shark fin soup. The World Wildlife Conference on trade in endangered species, known as CITES, which takes place every three years, aims to make sure that global trade in specimens of wild animals and plants doesn't jeopardize their survival. The conference opens Saturday and runs through Aug. 28, with key decisions expected to be finalized in the last two days. It had originally been due to take place in Colombo in May and June, but was moved to Geneva after a series of terror attacks in the Sri Lankan capital. Get More

Pro-democracy protesters marched on one side of Hong Kong's famous harbor on Saturday to demand the government heed their demands. Across the water, a pro-government rally called for an end to the often violent protests. The dueling demonstrations highlighted the political divide in the semiautonomous Chinese territory, which for 10 weeks has been rocked by protests that show no signs of relenting. "The government right now doesn't listen to the people, and the police are too violent," said Bobby Tse, a 76-year-old retiree who watched the pro-democracy march from a bridge. "It didn't used to be like this. We didn't have to protest every week. But now even though we have protests every week, the government still gives no response." Get More

Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir began restoring landline phone services on Saturday after a nearly two-week security crackdown and news blackout following a decision by India's government to downgrade the Muslim-majority region's autonomy. Shahid Choudhary, a government administrator in Srinagar, the region's main city, said restrictions were being lifted in most areas and government offices were open. He also said on Twitter that food and other supplies were available "in abundance." Police said restrictions on the movement of people were relaxed in several parts of the region. "Situation remains peaceful," they said on Twitter. Get More

A picture of a 4-year-old Virginia girl who uses a wheelchair gazing at a beauty advertisement featuring a woman in a wheelchair went viral on Facebook. Maren Anderson has a rare disease caused by a gene mutation. She uses a wheelchair to get around and doesn’t talk much. “She does very brief sentences,” said her mother, Carolyn Anderson. “She’s a lot of pointing, a lot of non-verbal communication.” Her parents were stunned when she abruptly stopped her wheelchair at Ulta Beauty in Leesburg Wednesday evening to look at an ad showing a model in a wheelchair. Get More

The Indianapolis cemetery where 1930s gangster John Dillinger is buried is objecting to his body’s planned exhumation as part of a television documentary. The Indianapolis Star reports Crown Hill Cemetery said in a statement Wednesday that it objects to the exhumation in part because it’s concerned “the complex and commercial nature of this exhumation could cause disruption to the peaceful tranquility of the Cemetery” and people visiting loved ones’ graves. Dillinger was fatally shot by FBI agents in Chicago in 1934. Get More

When Jordan Ballard read that one of the victims of the El Paso massacre had few relatives and the public was invited to her funeral, the Los Angeles resident bought a plane ticket and flew to Texas to honor a woman she had never met. She was one of hundreds of strangers who braved 100-degree (38 Celsius) heat to pay their respects to 63-year-old Margie Reckard. Feeling heartbroken and alone after her death, Reckard's companion of 22 years, Antonio Basco, had welcomed anyone to attend. "I arrived here this morning," said Ballard, 38, who lived in New York City during the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "His story moved me." Get More

When it comes to rescuing animals from a shelter, there are some pets that are often overlooked. Those with special needs. Get More

A New York couple's luxurious vacation house in Florida has been taken over by dozens of black vultures that are vomiting and defecating everywhere. The Palm Beach Post reports the Casimano family can't even visit the $702,000 home they purchased earlier this year in the Ibis Golf and Country Club. Get More

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday the U.S.-Israel relationship can withstand the "weakness" of President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who shook diplomatic norms this week in barring two members of Congress from visiting the country. Pelosi told The Associated Press that the "weakness of Netanyahu and the weakness of Donald Trump combined" into a policy that's "a no." "We have a deep relationship and long-standing relationship with Israel that can withstand Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu," Pelosi said. "We cannot let their weaknesses stand in the way of our ongoing relationship." Get More

In one recent six-month period, according to a report from the VA's Office of Inspector General released last week, the VA left about 17,400 veterans to pay out-of-pocket for emergency medical treatment the government should have covered. The report said that between April 1 and Sept. 30, 2017, veterans who got emergency care at non-VA facilities were forced to pay $53.3 million in medical bills they never should have had to pay, NBC News reports. Members of Congress, including the chairs of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees sent a letter to the VA on Monday, demanding answers. "No veteran should be afraid to seek care in an emergency room," said Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., who signed the letter. "Clearly the bureaucracy is favoring speed over accuracy, it's favoring efficiency over the health of our veterans. We've got to make sure that we're putting veterans first." Get More at NBC News