News Brief: Trump And Biden's Competing Town Halls, COVID-19 Vaccine Trump and Biden hosted separate but competing town halls in lieu of a debate. And, states are rushing to come up with COVID-19 vaccine distribution plans, without knowing when one will be available.
Oregon's College Towns Prepare For The Return Of Football The Pac-12 kicks off its new season in early November. But there won't be any fans in the stadiums. Businesses in two college football towns in Oregon are looking forward to football's return. H.J. Mai
Weather, Football And Politics: Wisconsin Lt. Gov. On Spike In COVID-19 Cases Mandela Barnes, Wisconsin's Democratic lieutenant governor, reflects on the recent surge of coronavirus cases in his state and talks about how it's preparing for what comes next. Ari Shapiro
Tobacco Plants Contribute Key Ingredient For COVID-19 Vaccine Here's irony: tobacco plants may be key in preventing COVID-19. Two companies are using the plants to produce proteins for a vaccine. One candidate vaccine is already in a clinical trial. Joe Palca
A Disturbing Twinkie That Has, So Far, Defied Science A Twinkie stored in a basement for eight years has been transformed by fungi, giving scientists something unusual to ponder and probe. Nell Greenfieldboyce
Being a Mom Is Tough. Being A Mom In A Pandemic Is Even Tougher Being a mom is challenging enough. Add the pressures of a pandemic — and how do you cope? Mothers in Jordan, the Netherlands and Wisconsin share their stories and strategies. NPR Staff
Barron Trump Tested Positive For Coronavirus, But Now Negative First lady Melania Trump says she dreaded the diagnosis after she and the president got sick. "Luckily [Barron] is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms." Vanessa Romo
Water Or A Sports Drink? These Brain Cells May Decide Which One We Crave Scientists have identified specialized brain cells that create two distinct kinds of thirst. Some of the cells respond to a need for water alone, while others produce a craving for water and salt. Jon Hamilton
Paris Under Curfew: Europe Reacts As Countries See Highest-Ever Coronavirus Numbers President Emmanuel Macron announced nightly curfews for Paris and other cities Wednesday, part of a wave of new coronavirus restrictions in Europe. Bill Chappell
From The Folks Who Brought You Boring Meetings: CEOs Want To Ditch Sterile Zoom Calls Fatigue. Awful. Those are the words being used to describe virtual meetings. "What we as human beings need, want, seek ... is human contact," says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Pallavi Gogoi