Search results for

In November, NPR's Backseat Book Club is reading Matilda by Roald Dahl. It's the story of an exceptionally gifted girl who outsmarts her cruel parents and the brutish school headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, with the help of her magical abilities and her kind teacher Miss Honey.

A Halloween event first started by churches has been gaining in popularity. Instead of going door to door seeking candy, kids instead go trunk to trunk, with cars parked in a central location. "Trunk-or-treating" is billed as a safer alternative to trick-or-treating.

If you commute to work, chances are you travel on roads or rails. A designer in Austin, Texas, wonders, "Why not up in the air?" In a nod to orangutans at the National Zoo who get around on wires 50 feet above the ground, designers see the potential for aerial mass transit.

Twin embarrassments framed HHS Secretary's Kathleen Sebelius' day Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Criticism over the rocky rollout of the HealthCare.gov website was expected. But Sebelius also had to answer questions about insurance companies canceling policies for people who buy their own coverage.

Virginia Tech officials could not have foreseen that 32 people would die in a 2007 attack on campus, the Virginia Supreme Court said. The ruling overturns an award to two victims' families. Officials believed the gunman had fled and posed no further danger in the area, the justices said.

Once among the richest men on the planet, Eike Batista's wealth has evaporated. From a net worth of $34.5 billion last year, the Brazilian businessman is now worth less than 1 percent of that. Many observers see Batista's fall as a parable for the nation's economic woes.

In a special election to replace retired GOP Congressman Jo Bonner, one candidate believes in "dying on the hill" to repeal Obamacare. His opponent wants to go to Washington to "get something done."

The success of the Affordable Care Act rests in part on getting young, healthy people to purchase coverage. But despite marketing attempts to reach them, some young people feel they're too healthy or cash-strapped to buy something they say they're unlikely to need.

The value of a brand doesn't include anything physical. It's just the name of the company — and all of the customer loyalty attached to that name.

Rami Aizic knew he wanted kids. But as a gay man, he was not going to meet the girl of his dreams. Robin Share wanted a child but hadn't met Mr. Right. Then the two found each other, and 14 years later, they have no regrets.