Search results for

Over the past few years, a string of young tourists, mostly Western women, have died mysteriously in Southeast Asia. One science writer and poison expert says a popular cocktail may hold a clue.

Round 9 of Three-Minute Fiction is in full swing. Readers from all over the country have made their selections, and now judge Brad Meltzer is close to making his decision. Meltzer is best-selling author of The Tenth Justice and The Inner Circle. He tells host Guy Raz about his favorite stories in Three-Minute Fiction so far. You can read the stories at www.npr.org/threeminutefiction.

A Vermont college's decision to slaughter two oxen after one suffered an injury has sparked some serious debate. The college cited sustainability as one of its reasons, but some students and animal rights advocates say it's just not right to serve Bill and Lou for dinner.

Both the Romney and Obama campaigns agreed to a laundry list of rules for the debates. That "Memorandum of Understanding" is 21 pages long and covers everything from air conditioning to props. Whether the candidates obey the rules is another story.

Fans of Middle Earth tend to fall in love with The Hobbit as children, says self-described "Tolkien professor" Corey Olsen. But once they move on to The Lord of the Rings, they never come back. That's a great shame, he says, so he's written his own book to honor the classic fantasy novel.

Three-Minute Fiction is getting ready to wrap up as graduate students from across the country comb through nearly 4,000 submissions and pass the best of the best on to judge Brad Meltzer, author of The Inner Circle. NPR's Susan Stamberg reads an excerpt from one of their favorites, Executive Copy, by Cori Schattner of New York.

Preliminary new evidence suggests diet drinks don't increase appetite in the short term — contrary to popular belief — and may help keep weight off down the road. But experts say water is still the best zero-calorie hydration for the body.

Last week's debate was ostensibly about domestic issues, but that didn't stop China from being mentioned numerous times. Tonight's debate, focused on foreign policy, is sure to see relations with Beijing get airplay.

The opposition to the Vietnam War was young, unconventional, countercultural and suspicious of government. McGovern himself was none of these things. At the time of his presidential nomination in 1972, the two-term Democratic senator was a decorated World War II veteran who had spent most of his adult life in politics.

A Los Angeles real estate agent clearing out the house of a man who died found tens of thousands of maps, stuffed in cabinets and closets, even inside a stereo. One was from 1592, the L.A. Times reports. The collection of the late John Feathers has now been donated to the L.A. Central Library — more maps than the library collected in 100 years.