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Here's a little Christmas secret: Dusting desserts with powdered sugar makes them look more expensive. Chef Nigella Lawson talks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about her tricks for economical holiday hosting.

Fires continue to blaze in California. A select group of firefighters is all that stands between the intense flames in forests near Los Angeles and some 12,000 homes. Our "day in the life" series starts with firefighting, and what it takes to contain a massive forest fire.

The news that Bob Dylan was making a Christmas album came as a surprise. Now that Christmas In The Heart has been released, with the announcement that all profits will go to charity, it's caused even more consternation, with commentators divided as to whether it's an earnest effort or one big put-down. Rock critic Ken Tucker offers his opinion.

Russian-born scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov shared the Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday for "groundbreaking experiments" with a new material expected to play a large role in electronics.

NPR's Jeff Brady reports that the West is bracing for what is expected to be another very bad wildfire season. He visits a youth camp where staff is busy creating "defensible space" against fire by clearing away trees and brush that is growing too near buildings.

Last month monarch butterflies began an annual northward journey from their overwintering habitat in Mexico. Monarch expert Lincoln Brower discusses the dwindling monarch populations, and explains how habitat loss in Mexico and a decline in milkweed plant numbers in the U.S. may be harming the familiar orange and black fliers.

At age 9, Demetrius Walker was dunking basketballs into a 10-foot hoop. As an eighth grader, he made the cover of Sports Illustrated. Sportswriter George Dohrmann examines the cutthroat, big-money world of youth basketball in his new book, Play Their Hearts Out.

The closure of a major flu vaccine manufacturer will cause major shortages during the upcoming flu season, say health officials. Before its license was suspended, the Chiron Corp. intended to ship 48 million doses of flu vaccine to the United States. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

News that a British flu-vaccine company will be closed instead of providing vaccines for the upcoming flu season has health officials working to get the available vaccine to those who need it most. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and Dr. Richard Raymond, president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

NBC's Frasier has its season finale on Tuesday. The character originated on another hit show, Cheers. Grammer got his start in classical theatre, but he's best known for his comic gifts.