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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. As of Monday, the procedure of freezing women's eggs is no longer experimental. The announcement from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine should make the controversial practice more widely available and increase pressure on insurance companies to pay for it.

Inspired by a fellow referee who was sick with cancer, high school football ref Mike Wilmoth dropped 25 pounds, ignored the naysayers, and was picked to officiate a total of six NFL games. Wilmoth talks about making it to the big leagues and the challenges of working as a replacement ref.

It's not the sexiest of weapons, because it doesn't cause big explosions, or fly around the world in minutes. But the effect is huge and could cripple a modern military without causing any casualties.

This week, Boeing announced that it has successfully tested a missile that can send out targeted, high-power microwaves that fry electronics without actually causing an explosion.

If you shopped recently at 63 Barnes & Noble stores in nine states and used a credit or debit card there's a chance that thieves got hold of data about your accounts and your PIN.

As the company has announced:

In coming months, Congress will begin an epic struggle to get the federal budget deficit under control. One tax break almost certain to come into play is the mortgage interest deduction.

Both President Obama and his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, have suggested ways to scale back the deduction's value for wealthy taxpayers. And many economists are cheering them on, saying that now — when interest rates are low — would be a great time to reduce or even phase out the deduction.

How do you reach an audience of more than 200,000 people a day in an important swing state without buying an expensive TV ad?

If you're Sid Overton, you build a blimp and fly it alongside one of Colorado's busiest freeways.

"It says, 'Romney For President. He Creates Jobs,' " Overton told KUNC.

I grew up in Greenwich Village, not that far from the campus of New York University. Back in the 1970s campus demonstrations were pretty common, but I remember one in particular. I was walking by myself toward Washington Square Park and I came upon what was a small but very energetic and frightening protest. I think what made the encounter scary for me was that the students were objecting to the presence on campus of a "Nazi," who, apparently, was coming to give a lecture. Or maybe what I found disturbing was that I found it hard to believe the protesters.

Update at 3:46 p.m. ET. Sandy Makes Landfall:

At 3:20 p.m. ET., Sandy made landfall about five miles east of Kingston, Jamaica, the Hurricane Center said in an update.

Our Original Post Continues:

The tropical cyclone Sandy has just crossed the threshold to become a hurricane.

Weddings are supposed to be filled with joy and excitement, but Artie Goldstein had mixed emotions when his daughter, Jill, got engaged to another woman. His trip to the wedding became a video journey that father and daughter wanted to share with the world. Host Michel Martin finds out how this personal moment became an internet sensation.

Millions of voters across the country could cast their ballots before Election Day. Some experts say early voting could have a disproportionate impact on certain voting blocs. Host Michel Martin discusses the issue with Professor Paul Gronke, founder of the Early Voting Information Center, and Republican strategist Lenny McAllister.

By now you've likely heard that in the pages of Superman #13, on stands today, Clark Kent quits his once-beloved great metropolitan newspaper.

Disillusioned by his employer's increasing predilection for glitzy infotainment over hard-hitting news, Clark takes a principled stand and abandons print journalism for the web, a medium blissfully free of petty, frivolous, celebrity-driven content OH WAIT

If you're reading this blog, you're probably into food. Perhaps you're even one of those people whose world revolves around your Viking stove and who believes that cooking defines us as civilized creatures.

Well, on the latter part, you'd be right. At least according to some neuroscientists from Brazil.