Column One

Fear sets up camp on a stretch of the L.A. River

Fear sets up camp on a stretch of the L.A. River

After the killings, the people on the river slept with their knives closer. They leashed guard dogs outside their tents and cardboard lean-...

Egypt's Nile Delta: Fertile land, but not for jobs

Egypt's Nile Delta: Fertile land, but not for jobs

The rice has been harvested, the chaff burned. It's time for planting winter wheat, seed sunk deep into new furrow, as white birds with...

Happy feat in strappy heels

Happy feat in strappy heels

Eight hours of practice and an utter lack of common sense have brought me here, poised to descend 19 steep steps to the ballroom floor of...

Theater project holds a mirror up to the recession

Theater project holds a mirror up to the recession

Two young actors are rehearsing a pivotal fight scene in a new short play opening tonight at a small theater in Lower Manhattan. They are...

Trying to get ahead in the slow lane

Trying to get ahead in the slow lane

El Churrero -- the Churro Man -- sidesteps tamale carts, squeezes between bumpers and beggars, working 24 lanes of idling vehicles.

Operatic trills rise from Botswana bush

Operatic trills rise from Botswana bush

The villages of Botswana are full of music. Gospel music. Choral music. The singsong repetitive music of rote classroom learning.

U.S. warplane fell from the sky and into obscurity

U.S. warplane fell from the sky and into obscurity

Lin Zhengping was 13 the evening he saw the hills above his home glow. He was too frightened to go up and investigate.

In Korea, a round on the world's most dangerous golf course

In Korea, a round on the world's most dangerous golf course

You stand atop an elevated tee box on the first and only hole of the world's most dangerous golf course.

More girls in India are refusing to become child brides.

More girls in India are refusing to become child brides.

Her fate was all but sealed, the wedding bells ringing in her relatives' heads. Then the bride-to-be, a little girl...

At 84, Art Laboe's an oldie but still a goodie

At 84, Art Laboe's an oldie but still a goodie

The disc jockey smiles when he hears Juanita Santos' raspy voice.

An Iranian couple's revolution

An Iranian couple's revolution

One night he came home covered with blood.

An elegy for summertime

An elegy for summertime

The lake is deserted, and the forest is quiet at the far end of Huntington Lodge Road. A breeze combs through the pines and the firs. It...

Southern Africa's elephants: treasured killers

Southern Africa's elephants: treasured killers

Here's how to pitch this (true) story to Hollywood: Ordinary guy named John, ordinary Sunday, cycling home into a setting sun. Monster roars...

Alan Bersin is at home on a daunting frontier

Alan Bersin is back at the border and on the move.

Trying to rebuild after 40 frozen years

Trying to rebuild after 40 frozen years

This is the land where Larry Gordy was destined to live, until it was made unlivable.

Palestinians who see nonviolence as their weapon

Palestinians who see nonviolence as their weapon

Every Friday, Mohammed Khatib's forces assemble for battle with the Israeli army and gather their weapons: a bullhorn, banners -- and a...

They're really and truly for the birds

They're really and truly for the birds

On a recent weekday morning, Tom and Jo Heindel strode to the top of a hill at the edge of town and held hands, savoring the panoramic views...

A soldier's injuries cripple body and mind

A soldier's injuries cripple body and mind

Peter Sinclair rummaged through the closet and found what he was looking for.

In the Sumatran jungle, lessons on the river to school

In the Sumatran jungle, lessons on the river to school

They're equatorial Huckleberry Finns, two wild-hearted boys guiding an old wooden fishing boat along a wide and mighty river.

'The Room,' once a bomb, scores a direct hit

'The Room,' once a bomb, scores a direct hit

The independent film “The Room” didn't exactly make a splash when it opened six years...

A troubled town's grit expectations

A troubled town's grit expectations

Eight hours before game time and Mark Goins takes the field. For 30 autumns, the Trona High School groundskeeper has carefully tended a...

Another Yankee World Series? New York expected no less of itself

Another Yankee World Series? New York expected no less of itself

If any other city had a team as talented as this year's Yankees, it would consider them a blessing. In New York, it's just a comeback.

Young Afghan struggles to adapt after Guantanamo

Young Afghan struggles to adapt after Guantanamo

At family gatherings, the young Afghan with the scraggly beard instinctively sits with the children, before others remind him that he is a...

Rep. Pete Stark: ambition vs. a big mouth

Rep. Pete Stark: ambition vs. a big mouth

Pete Stark is sitting in a gilded meeting room in the House of Representatives. It is home to the powerful Ways and Means Committee that the...

Egypt camel trade runs into the sand

Egypt camel trade runs into the sand

The sun is high and it's a slow day for selling and there's not much for a camel trader to do except scatter hay and greens and listen to...

South Carolina embarrassed by politicians behaving badly

South Carolina embarrassed by politicians behaving badly

It's tough these days being from South Carolina. Ask Dick Harpootlian.

A dogged pursuit of bedbugs

A dogged pursuit of bedbugs

Sara pulled on her leash, sniffing up one side of a cluttered bedroom and snuffling down the other. The black Labrador retriever suddenly...

Family had feared violence but hadn't foreseen victim

Family had feared violence but hadn't foreseen victim

Second of two parts

Holdup sets the scene for tragedy

Holdup sets the scene for tragedy

First of two parts

National anthem singers are in a league of their own

National anthem singers are in a league of their own

O say can you se say can you see . . . a rock god plucking away at "The Star-Spangled Banner" on electric guitar? Or,...


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