'Orphaned' By World War II, Children Salute Fallen Fathers

Memorial Day commemorates those who died serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. For some Americans, the day revives their few and fading memories of their fallen fathers. Those who lost a father in World War II are considered "war orphans." These are the stories of three of those children who have lived nearly all their lives without their dads.

A Voice From Heaven

Geraldine Conway Morenski holds onto a few distant memories of her dad: picking her up out of her crib, laughing, playing with her in the backyard.

Indianapolis Speedway Needs Boost, But With Taxpayer Funds?

Sunday is the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500, which draws hundreds of thousands of fans to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While it's an economic boon for the area, the 104-year-old track needs renovations — and just how it's getting the money is rubbing some Hoosiers the wrong way.

Rebuilding New Jersey' Shore, One Boardwalk At A Time

When Hurricane Sandy swept through New Jersey last year, it destroyed many homes and businesses. It also obliterated the boardwalks that are the center of social and economic life in the towns.

In the months since, many of these towns have rushed to rebuild their boardwalks, but not everyone thinks the money has been well spent.

Investigating The Crime Scene

On-air challenge: Today's theme is "C.S.I." — as in the name of the long-running TV show. You're given three words starting with the letters C, S and I. For each set, give a fourth word that can follow each of the original words to complete a compound word or a familiar two-word phrase.

The Magic Was Behind The Scenes On 'Mary Tyler Moore'

In the sixties, many of the women on television were cute, a little silly, and married. A couple shows even featured women who were sweetly supernatural - think Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. Mary Richards, though, was single, sassy, and filled with joy. She was practically magic to a new generation of women.

The beloved Mary Tyler Moore Show went on the air in 1970, and now, more than 35 years later, it's still a source of inspiration.

The Women Who Inspired Other Women With 'Mary Tyler Moore'

In the '60s, many of the women on television were cute, a little silly and married. A couple shows even featured women who were sweetly supernatural — think Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. Mary Richards, though, was single, sassy and filled with joy. She was practically magic to a new generation of women.

The beloved Mary Tyler Moore Show went on the air in 1970, and now, more than four decades years later, it's still a source of inspiration.

Day By Day: A Mother's Life With Cancer

When Neeley Wells was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer, her daughter Dylan was only 10 months old. The doctor told Wells she had two weeks to live. That was 13 years ago.

"In some ways, for me, it's a little like Groundhogs Day. I'll think, maybe this is my last spring break. And then I'll think, yeah, but I've already thought that 13 times. For me, as a person, there's not a lot of value to trying to figure out what the endgame or the end-time is."

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

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.

More Time Together, Though 'Midnight' Looms

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.

A Lost And Found 'Wonder': Pearl S. Buck's Final Novel

Pearl S. Buck emerged into literary stardom in 1931 when she published a book called The Good Earth. That story of family life in a Chinese village won the novelist international acclaim, the Pulitzer and, eventually, a Nobel Prize. Her upbringing in China as the American daughter of missionaries served as inspiration for that novel and many others; by her death in 1973, Buck had written more than 100 books, including 43 novels.