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Reflection in space
View this image of Atlantis astronaut Leland Melvin and others chosen by msnbc.com editors for their interesting perspective on life.
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Ancient skill boosts fight along border
Video: U.S. agents say they are slowing illegal crossings from Mexico with tactics new and old.
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Newsweek: Is the American empire at an end?
If the United States succumbs to a fiscal crisis, as an increasing number of economic experts fear it may, then the balance of global economic power could shift. And the U.S.'s ability to manage its finances is closely tied to its ability to remain the predominant global military power.
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Manhunt in Kan. ends with arrest in fatal shooting
Kansas authorities say they have picked up a man for questioning in a shooting that left three dead and another wounded, ending a 12-hour manhunt.
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Steel town plans return to its green roots
Residents of Vandergrift, Pa., are reviving the town architect's vision and making the community environmentally sustainable for the 21st century and beyond.
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Tracking smugglers along the Mexican border
In a further attempt to seal the boundary and restore order, the Border Patrol this year opened Camp Ramsey, a permanent forward operation base in the middle of the desert, 26 miles west of the nearest town.
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Twists delayed finding pilot killed in Iraq
Saddam Hussein was telling the truth, this time. The U.S. just didn't believe him. As a result, it took 18 years to find the remains of the only pilot shot down in the 1991 Gulf War.
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Meet Tiana, Disney’s first black princess
Nov. 26: Little girls lining up in New York and Los Angeles for the limited preview of Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” will witness a first: a princess who happens to be African-American. NBC’s Chris Jansing reports.
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Switzerland votes on minaret ban
Swiss voters are deciding in a referendum Sunday whether to accept a ban on the construction of minarets, which right-wing parties regard as symbols of militant Islam.
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More seniors showing up at soup kitchens
Older Americans who were raised on stories of the Great Depression and acquired lifelong habits of thrift now find themselves crowding soup kitchens and food pantries in greater numbers.
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Proposal to merge black schools draws fire
Gov. Haley Barbour's plan to merge Mississippi's three historically black universities has created a tense atmosphere in a state saddled with a violent civil rights past.
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