NPR Topics: Story of the Day Podcast

After Asiana Flight 214's crash-landed in San Francisco, many weekend travelers were left stranded across the country. But the way airlines route such passengers to their destinations isn't based on how long they have been stranded, but rather on how frequently they fly and their "value" to the airline.

The insurance industry is bracing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in claims to people whose homes were destroyed in major forest fires. But with government policies that indirectly encourage building in high-risk areas, insurance premiums for those living in the woods are unlikely to rise much.

Factories are running at full capacity to try to keep up with the surging demand for ammunition in the U.S. The current shortage has prompted more shooters to take up "reloading," or making one's own ammo. But now, even the components needed to make one's own bullets are harder to come by.

After analyzing 66 million shopping trips, economists think they have the answer.

For 20 years, Linda Smith was a successful ER doctor. But she started to regret doing painful procedures on patients without having the time to sit down and talk with them. So she became a palliative care doctor, one of a growing number helping people deal with life-threatening illnesses.

The small town of Gettysburg, Pa., has rolled out the red carpet for tens of thousands of visitors this week. The town hopes the tourists, descending to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, will mean a $100 million boost to the local economy.

After the Supreme Court ruling overturning the Defense of Marriage Act, President Obama ordered federal agencies to revise their rules regarding benefits for same-sex spouses. But that will be simpler for some federal agencies than others.

In recent years, Democrats have gained the upper hand in the Electoral College. Virginia and Florida, once GOP strongholds, have turned purple. Now, Democrats are turning their attention to the biggest Republican prize of all, Texas.

Cutlery, dishes and other inedible accoutrements to a meal can alter our perceptions of taste, according to researchers. And it might be more about our brains than our tongues.

Retired federal Judge Vaughn Walker set the California gay marriage ban on its way to the Supreme Court with his ruling in 2010. On Wednesday, the high court kept his decision intact. Walker shares his insight into the justices' strategy and the controversy he's waded through as a gay judge.

Synthetic biologist Jay Keasling has already taught yeast to make the leading anti-malarial drug. His next project takes the technology a step further, using yeast to turn plant waste into diesel — and maybe gasoline and jet fuel, too.

Researchers are developing a technology that could draw carbon dioxide directly out of the air. It's very expensive now, but it works, and one company is already trying to identify a market for all that captured greenhouse gas.

The court declared part of the 1965 law unconstitutional on Tuesday, effectively striking down a process that put states with a history of voting discrimination under extra federal oversight.

For some, it's a symbol of America's might. For others, it's a frightening weapon of warfare. For many target-shooting hobbyists, it's "the Mr. Potato Head of firearms" — customizable to fit each individual. And it's all part of what is now a nearly billion-dollar business in military-style weapons.

How does a great orator develop his speeches? Before Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his iconic address at the Lincoln Memorial in August 1963, he gave speeches in Detroit and Newark, N.J., that tested the ideas and language of "I Have a Dream."