12:40pm

Sat May 25, 2013
The Salt

Meet London's Master Architects In Jell-0

Banana-flavored vapors? A pineapple island?

These may sound like the makings of a Roald Dahl children's book (he of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fame). But at London's Kew Gardens, visitors can now immerse themselves in such fantastic-sounding experiences like rowing down a blue-dyed boating lake to the aforementioned island, which features a 15-foot replica pineapple towering over a banana grotto.

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11:04am

Sat May 25, 2013
The Two-Way

Missouri Train Collision Injures 7, Collapses Overpass

Two freight trains collided in Scott County, Mo., early Saturday morning, leaving seven injured and collapsing an overpass.

KMOV-TV reports:

"Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter says a Union Pacific train t-boned a Burlington Northern train that had just made it through an intersection.

"The collision caused one of the trains to derail and hit a pillar under the overpass causing it to collapse. At least a dozen train cars derailed.

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10:03am

Sat May 25, 2013
The Two-Way

One Hit Wonder? Another Anibal Sanchez No-Hit Bid Spoiled

Credit Duane Burleson / Getty Images

You've gotta feel for Detroit right-hander Anibal Sanchez.

He was cruising toward a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins Friday night. It was the ninth inning, two outs to go, the count was 1-1 on Joe Mauer.

For his 121st pitch, Sanchez hung a pitch over the heart of the plate. Mauer delivered a bullet to center field, spoiling Sanchez's no-hit bid.

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9:13am

Sat May 25, 2013
The Two-Way

'We Need Help Bad': 911 Calls Reveal Chaos In Tornado's Wake

Credit Tom Pennington / Getty Images

Authorities in Moore, Okla., just released some of the calls that were made to 911 during the EF-5 tornado that devastated the city.

They're harrowing and they offer a glimmer of the chaos and emotion that followed the storm.

During one of the calls, a man tells the dispatcher that the tornado has "cremated" a daycare.

"We need help bad," the man says. You can hear the sounds of children crying in the background. "We need help bad. We got tons of babies in here."

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8:03am

Sat May 25, 2013
Code Switch

'Las Caras Lindas': To Be Black And Puerto Rican In 2013

Credit Coburn Dukehart / NPR

7:48am

Sat May 25, 2013
The Two-Way

School Bus Fire Kills 15 Children In Pakistan

Originally published on Sat May 25, 2013 8:42 am

Credit Mohsin Raza / Reuters /Landov

A fire onboard a school bus left at least 15 children dead in Pakistan Saturday morning.

The New York Times reports the private school bus caught fire near the town of Gujrat, when the driver tried to switch from using gasoline to natural gas.

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7:08am

Sat May 25, 2013
From Our Listeners

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

Originally published on Sat May 25, 2013 10:36 am

Credit iStockphoto.com

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.

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7:06am

Sat May 25, 2013
Three-Minute Fiction

Geometry

Credit iStockphoto.com

I found your journal in my car. A slim, Moleskin, six by ten centimeters, soft cover, blue, curving upwards at the edges like an incredibly shallow bowl, or a key dish. By the concavity in its form, the book seemed to be suggesting it was capable of carrying something. Something real. Not much. A few pennies. A handful of nails. One heavy pen cradled at that depression in the center, which had dropped out of the flatness of the book from riding around in the back pocket of your jeans.

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7:05am

Sat May 25, 2013
Three-Minute Fiction

Snowflake

Credit iStockPhoto.com

She found the photograph early in the day, while she was cleaning for spring, pulling a winter's collection of domestic detritus out from under the bed. Ticket stubs, grimy grocery notes, coffee-stained lined paper, and dead pens. Their life: movies, food, and books. She didn't like housecleaning, but the weather had changed, and something moved her to sweep around, put things in order, clean them up.

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6:30am

Sat May 25, 2013
The Salt

Gals Who Grill: What Will It Take For Women To Man The Q?

Credit iStockphoto.com

There's a lot of innovation in grilling — everything from fancy briquettes to gadgets that help grill veggies to perfection.

But according to survey data from the NPD Group, one thing that's not changing is who's firing up the grill.

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