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Three-Minute Fiction Readings: 'Geometry' And 'Snowflake'

editor — Sat, 25 May 2013 11:08:00 +0000

NPR's Bob Mondello and Susan Stamberg read excerpts of two of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. They read Snowflake by Winona Wendth of Lancaster, Mass., and Geometry by Eugenie Montague of Los Angeles. You can read their full stories below and find other stories on our Three-Minute Fiction page or on Facebook.

Tornado Safe Rooms In Schools A Popular, But Costly Idea

Scott Harvey — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:03:00 +0000

In the days since a tornado ripped through Moore, Okla., talk of constructing safe rooms in public schools has become commonplace.

In southwest Missouri, officials have built a few of them already, and they are seeking funding to build more.

'A Sense Of Peace'

Karina O'Connell is preparing dinner tonight under the pavilion at Phelps Grove Park in Springfield, Mo., where she's eating with her 9-year-old twin sons, Samuel and John Patrick.

A mixture of curiosity and fear has the boys often going online to track big storms.

L.A. Blue Jeans Makers Fear Their Business Will Fade Away

Sonari Glinton — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:35:00 +0000

Los Angeles is the world leader in the most American of clothing items: bluejeans. High-end, hand-stitched, designer bluejeans that will you run well over $100 a pair.

But as the U.S.

Toronto Mayor Dodges Accusations Of Crack Cocaine Use

editor — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:26:00 +0000

Melissa Block talks to Jeff Semple of the CBC about the video that appears to show Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine.

History Makes Hiring Household Help A Complex Choice

Karen Grigsby Bates — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:26:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bHh8VAb_BQ

More Time Together, Though 'Midnight' Looms

Bob Mondello — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:49:00 +0000

Celine and Jesse are sporting a few physical wrinkles — and working through some unsettling relational ones — in Before Midnight, but that just makes this third installment of their once-dewy romance gratifyingly dissonant.

It's been 18 years since they talked through the night that first time, Julie Delpy's Celine enchanting and occasionally prickly, Ethan Hawke's Jesse determined to charm; their chatter then, as now, scripted but loose enough to feel improvised as captured in long, long takes by Richard Linklater's cameras.

Take a peek back at 1995's Before Sunrise, and

A Race Against Time To Find WWI's Last 'Doughboys'

editor — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:41:00 +0000

Ten years ago, writer Richard Rubin set out to talk to every living American veteran of World War I he could find. It wasn't easy, but he tracked down dozens of centenarian vets, ages 101 to 113, collected their stories and put them in a new book called The Last of the Doughboys.

Battered Jersey Shore Pins Recovery Hopes On Summer Season

editor — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:02:00 +0000

Memorial Day weekend marks the start of the summer travel season, and it's particularly important for the resort communities along the Jersey Shore still suffering the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

In the popular tourist spot Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., it has taken seven months and more than $1 million to make repairs along Jenkinson's Boardwalk.

After repairing the flooded aquarium, rebuilding the miniature golf courses and replacing the damaged planks, contractors were still busy doing final repairs in anticipation of the holiday weekend.

Boy Scots Vote To Allow Gay Members, But Not Leaders

Kathy Lohr — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:23:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

The Boy Scouts ban on openly gay scouts is coming to an end. That's the result of a vote held today by the leadership of the Boys Scouts of America.

WAYNE PERRY: Our vision is to serve every kid. We want every kid to have a place where they belong, to learn and grow and feel protected.

BLOCK: Today's historic vote is being celebrated by gay rights advocates as a hard-fought victory and criticized by opponents as a moral capitulation. NPR's Kathy Lohr is in Grapevine, Texas, where the vote took place, and she joins us now.

Abortion Opponents Try to Spin Murder Case Into Legislation

Julie Rovner — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:07:00 +0000

As predicted, abortion opponents on Capitol Hill are wasting no time in their efforts to turn publicity over the recent murder conviction of abortion provider Kermit Gosnell to their legislative advantage.

Their latest goal: a federal ban on most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Rep.

'Extremely Active' Atlantic Hurricane Season Predicted

Jon Hamilton — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:49:00 +0000

Unusually warm ocean temperatures and favorable wind patterns mean the Atlantic is likely to see "an active or extremely active" hurricane season this year, say officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The agency expects between seven and 11 hurricanes and as many as 20 named storms during the 2013 season, which runs from June 1 through November.

So for residents of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, "now is the time to pay attention to preparedness," NOAA's acting administrator, Kathryn Sullivan, told a news conference Thursday at the agency's new Climate Prediction

After The Storm: Students Gather For One More School Day

David Schaper — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:05:00 +0000

Under cloudy skies and through intermittent showers, 4-year-old Kamrin Ramirez holds in her little hands two cards, one addressed to Ms. Patterson, the other for Ms. Johnson, her two preschool teachers at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla.

"I write thank you so much," she says.

Plaza Towers was obliterated by Monday's powerful twister, and seven children died beneath the rubble there.

Inside A Tart Cherry Revival: 'Somebody Needs To Do This!'

Dan Charles — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:47:00 +0000

Some fruits, like apples, you can find anywhere. But others have gotten a little bit lost in today's global food business.

Take tart cherries, also known as sour cherries.

Descending Into The Mariana Trench: James Cameron's Odyssey

Bill Chappell — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:41:00 +0000

At nearly seven miles below the water's surface, the Mariana Trench is the deepest spot in Earth's oceans. And the site north of Guam is where director and explorer James Cameron recently fulfilled a longtime goal of reaching the bottom in a manned craft.

For the dive, Cameron designed a 24-foot submersible vehicle, the Deepsea Challenger — "this kind of long, green torpedo that moves vertically through the water," as he tells All Things Considered's Melissa Block.

Health Officials Decry Texas' Snubbing Of Medicaid Billions

Wade Goodwyn — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:39:00 +0000

The state of Texas is turning down billions of federal dollars that would have paid for health care coverage for 1.5 million poor Texans.

By refusing to participate in Medicaid expansion, which is part of the Affordable Care Act, the state will leave on the table an estimated $100 billion over the next decade.

Texas' share of the cost would have been just 7 percent of the total, but for Gov.

A Decade In The Making, West Bank Barrier Is Nearly Complete

editor — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000

Israeli army Capt. Barak Raz climbs a metal staircase to the top of a high concrete wall that is part of Israel's West Bank barrier. From his perch, he overlooks both the Palestinian village of Bil'in and Modin Illit, the largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank, with some 50,000 residents.

The barrier here used to be a fence. After many confrontations with Israeli soldiers, Palestinian villagers won a court case, and the fence was moved off some of their land.

FBI Shoots And Kills Man Tied To Boston Bombing Suspect

Dina Temple-Raston — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

There has been an unexpected turn in the Boston Marathon bombing case. A man who was thought to have ties with one of the bombing suspects was shot dead early this morning by authorities in Florida. He allegedly tried to attack an FBI agent who was interviewing him. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston has been following the story and is here with the latest.

Fears Of Killing Immigration Bill Doomed Same-Sex Amendment

David Welna — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000

After five marathon sessions debating 150 proposed amendments, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a landmark rewriting of the nation's immigration laws this week — and the bill emerged largely intact.

Three Republicans voted with the panel's 10 Democrats on Tuesday night to forward the bill to the full Senate.

Documentary Shows George Plimpton's Best Story Was His Own

Joel Rose — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

George Plimpton boxed with Archie Moore, played quarterback for the Detroit Lions, and played percussion for the New York Philharmonic. He did these jobs, and many others, as an amateur. Plimpton was a professional writer.

Letters: Stories From Moore, Okla.

editor — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

It's time now for your letters, and we got many about our coverage of the tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma. Several were praise for our story yesterday about survivors who lost most of their possessions but considered themselves lucky.

CHRISTINE PARRISH: They were digging her out while we were looking through our stuff. And we thought they were looking for their dogs, and it was her.