In the nonprofit legal center Steven Schwartz runs from a converted furniture store in Northampton, Mass., the e-mail was very good news: By week's end, a check for $243,000 would be on its way. ...more

December 21, 2008

Trombonist Dwight Decker looks forward to the spontaneous singalongs. Valerie Adams, a violinist, enjoys the end of the show when hundreds of children erupt in screams so loud, "you have to plug your ears." ...more

December 15, 2008

The stories are almost comical: Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, registered to vote on Nov. 4. The entire starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys football team, signed up to go the polls - in Nevada. ...more

October 18, 2008

In the beginning, there was promise. More than a decade ago, leaders at the University of South Florida envisioned a charter school that would reach out to the poor neighborhoods that bordered their campus. ...more

August 3, 2008

VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France - Youths rampaged for a third night in the tough suburbs north of Paris, and violence spread to a southern city late Tuesday as police struggled to contain rioters who have burned cars and buildings and, in an ominous turn, shot at officers. ...more

November 28, 2007

SEBRING — When it comes to prevention of staph infections, Mom was right. A high school student from Virginia died recently after he was hospitalized with a staph infection, and one of five Hardee Senior High School football team members suffering from a staph infection was hospitalized after a reaction to medication. The Hardee outbreak was mentioned in a Tampa Bay-area TV station broadcast, but health officials say the scare is being overblown. Mothers and several local public health officials and health providers agree, the best way to prevent a staph infection is by washing your hands. ...more

October 19, 2007