Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it can be painful when we see things our country should have done and didn't when it had the chance. A perfect example of this followed the collapse of the Soviet Union as democracy swept the world back in the early 1990s. A New York University professor recently discussed with PBS's Charley Rose about the West's, as in Western Europe and America's, missed opportunity when communism fell in much of the world. Instead of using those heady times to make great in-roads in the world as the only super power, we instead looked inward and missed a huge opportunity. Now that's all lost. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, millions of people caught up in their first whiff of freedom sought what we had to offer. Everything seemed right and the rest of the world looked to us for leadership and guidance. Instead of stepping up and taking this opportunity, the West looked inward instead of outward. We could have affected so much change that benefited the world, and our country, but we missed the opportunity. ...more

June 16, 2008

The credit crunch has driven dozens of lenders out of the student loan market. But a number of new Web sites are trying to sidestep the traditional players, facilitating loans between students and anonymous investors or even friends and family members. ...more

June 4, 2008

At dusk on New Year's Eve, Erika Gunderson got into a taxi in New York City and entered a digital-age mystery. ...more

February 3, 2008

It's heartache almost too incomprehensible to imagine. Susan Rizzo Vincent's only child, a beautiful young woman named Andrea, survives cancer, only to be killed at age 24 by a drunken driver. ...more

January 26, 2008

For Benazir Bhutto, the decision to return to Pakistan was sealed during a telephone call from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice just a week before Bhutto flew home in October. The call culminated more than a year of secret diplomacy - and came only when it became clear that the heir to Pakistan's most powerful political dynasty was the only one who could bail out Washington's key ally in the battle against terrorism. ...more

December 28, 2007

They stand outside in the cold the night before exams, wearing jeans and sweats or just PJs. At 9 p.m. on the dot, they partake in one minute's worth of silliness for the sake of their sanity. They: ...more

December 14, 2007

The man burst through the door at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square on Saturday night bearing the Heisman Trophy like a standard. He probably should have had a security detail, but maybe he didn't need it. Maybe the stiff arm thrown by the bronze, miniature version of former New York University back Ed Smith in the man's hands warded off any would-be muggers on the one-block walk between the Nokia Theatre and the Hard Rock. ...more

December 11, 2007

John W. Heisman was the first Director of Athletics at New York's Downtown Athletic Club, coming to the position in 1930 after 36 seasons of football coaching (including a 102-29-6 record at Georgia Tech from 1904-19). ...more

December 9, 2007

¿Ha visto en la TV a esas bailarinas con coloridos atuendos navideños, que alzan las piernas al unísono y bailan al compás de la música con igual precisión? ...more

December 6, 2007

TAMPA Suvir Saran is wearing a soft, satisfied smile. The chef and owner of the New York City restaurant Dévi is enjoying lunch at Cilantro on 56th Street North in Temple Terrace only a few hours before he has to drive south to give a demonstration at the Publix Apron's Cooking School in Sarasota. ...more

November 28, 2007