NPR: Story of the Day
Funny, moving, exceptional, or just offbeat -- the NPR story people will be talking about tomorrow. The best of Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other award-winning NPR programs.
-
First-Term N.Y. Lawmakers Attend State Fair
First-term New York Democrats Rep. Dan Maffei and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand made their rounds at the New York State Fair. Freshmen lawmakers have been feeling the heat this summer, as they try to sell their health care ideas to constituents.
-
States Make Pitches For High-Speed-Rail Money
As the Obama administration prepares to start doling out $8 billion in funding for high-speed-train projects, proposals have flooded in from around the country. Forty states and the District of Columbia have already requested more than $100 billion for high-speed-rail projects. Though many projects …
-
Robert Frank's Elevator Girl Sees Herself Years Later
"I stood in front of this particular photograph for probably a full five minutes, not knowing why I was staring at it," she says. "And then it really dawned on me that the girl in the picture was me."
-
Surviving The Storm: Voices From Katrina
Hurricane Katrina blitzed the Gulf Coast four years ago Saturday. Ever since then, researchers from the University of Southern Mississippi have been collecting the stories of those who survived the storm — and its aftermath.
-
Football, Grief And Resolve At Iowa High School
Tiny Aplington-Parkersburg High in Parkersburg, Iowa, plays its first game Friday since the slaying of its beloved coach, Ed Thomas, allegedly by a former player. The coach was a pillar of the community, and was instrumental in rebuilding efforts after Parkersburg was devastated by a tornado last ye …
-
Big Dreams For Small Wind Turbines
As huge wind farms get up and running to generate electricity on mountaintops and in fields, another market for wind energy is also emerging, known as "small wind." These turbines provide clean power to single homes and businesses, but are they economical?
-
Kennedy's Lasting Devotion To Health Care For All
The late Edward Kennedy was a liberal powerhouse for changing the nation's health care system. Though he died before he was able to realize his goal of providing health insurance for every American, he pushed through many health care bills in his lengthy Senate career.
-
Promises Unkept: Disappointments In Digital TV
Because of the digital transition, TV stations can now offer four or more different channels. But critics say that offerings are a far cry from what broadcasters could be doing with the new channels.
-
Descendant Of White House Slave Shares Legacy
In 1814, Paul Jennings, a slave in President James Madison's White House, helped rescue George Washington's portrait from the White House before it was burned down by the British. Hugh Alexander, his great-great grandson, calls the legacy "awe-inspiring."
-
For Early Man, It Wasn't Easier Being Green
Researchers are rethinking the notion that hunter-gatherers lived in harmony with their environment. Archaeologist Torben Rick says indigenous people altered America's coastlines, thousands of years ago, to make their lives more comfortable.
-
Orchids: 'Inflatable Love Dolls Of The Floral Kingdom'
You might know something about the birds and the bees, but did you know the bees have been having a fling with the orchids? Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food, has written about the scandalous affair and says orchids "practice some very weird sex."
-
Last California Auto Plant Awaits Its Fate
Toyota reportedly is on the verge of closing a plant it had jointly run with now-bankrupt GM in Fremont, Calif. The plant has turned out thousands of vehicles and supported about 5,000 factory jobs over the past two decades.
-
Independent Farmers Feel Squeezed By Milk Cartel
With the price of raw milk at historic lows, dairy farms are going under across the United States. As the crisis deepens, many blame two dairy giants that they say are trying to monopolize the industry, to the detriment of independent farmers and consumers.
-
Lawmakers Strive To Avoid Heated Town Halls
Lawmakers this summer are discussing the move to overhaul the nation's health care system. But as criticism of the plan, and of them, becomes heated, many members of Congress are working hard to avoid getting caught in front of an angry town hall meeting.
-
Search For Green Power On And Off Of The Grid
Hundreds of utilities around the U.S. — and a growing number of companies — are offering customers a chance to buy green power. Businesses use them to promote their environmental consciousness. But where does the power come from?
-
Not Enough Money Or Time To Defend Detroit's Poor
In Detroit, the public defender system that guarantees poor defendants a voice in court is in crisis. Public defenders struggling with low pay and unmanageable caseloads say they can't provide proper representation.
-
To Avoid Bird Strikes, Just Tell The Birds To Move
When US Airways Flight 1549 made an emergency landing in the Hudson River in January after hitting geese, it turned the spotlight on so-called bird strikes — a longstanding problem of aircraft colliding with birds in flight. Airports try a lot of tricks to keep birds away, but now some researc …
-
If It Rolls In Philly, It Better Not Be On The Phone
This fall, Philadelphia's skateboarders, bicyclists and inline skaters will have to either pocket their cell phones or use hands-free devices, making the city the first in the nation to extend the measure to include non-motorists. While that might be a grind for some of the city's wheeled residents, …
-
Richard Montoya: 25 Years Of Laughing About Race
In the mid-1980s in California, at a time when few people wanted to talk about race, Richard Montoya was laughing about it. His thought-provoking performances with the group Culture Clash over the past 25 years have cracked up audiences, and changed some minds.
-
Gene May Determine How Much Sleep You Need
How much sleep you need might just be written in your genes, according to a new a study. Researchers have discovered a genetic mutation that appears to allow some people to get by on less sleep than others.
NPR: Story of the Day
