If you want to humble an empire it makes sense to maim its cathedrals. They are symbols of its faith, and when they crumple and burn, it tells us we are not so powerful and we can't be safe. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, planted at the base of Manhattan island with the Statue of Liberty as their sentry, and the Pentagon, a squat, concrete fort on the banks of the Potomac, are the sanctuaries of money ...

For nearly a week now, Spaniard Oscar Pérez has been alone on the wall of ice and rock that is Latok II. The 33-year-old mountaineer fell while attempting to summit the notoriously difficult peak in northeast Pakistan's Karakorum range, breaking his leg and possibly his wrist. Unable to get him down unassisted, his climbing partner, Alvaro Novellón, left Pérez with supplies and went for help. But a combination of bureaucracy, complicated logistics and poor weather impeded search efforts, and ...

Lance Armstrong returned to the Tour de France for first time in four years by finishing 10th in the opening time trial in Monaco which was won by Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland. Cancellara, renowned for his awesome performances against the clock, clocked 19 minutes 32.14 seconds for the 15.5 kilometer course in the Mediterranean principality. Armstrong's Astana teammate and Tour favorite Alberto Contador finished in second place at 18 seconds with Britain's Bradley Wiggins in third. Seven-time Tour ...

The death of actress Natasha Richardson, who sustained a fatal head injury while skiing, has reignited the perennial debate around the safety of the sport. The 45 year-old died Wednesday, two days after falling on a beginners slope while having a private lesson at Canada's Mont Tremblant resort. While full details of the circumstances surrounding Richardson's death are not yet known, head injuries are the most common cause of fatalities among skiers worldwide. "A typical death is ...

For years, the typical caller at CareOne Credit, one of the biggest debt counseling outfits in the nation, has been a woman in her 30s with a family income of $30,000 to $35,000 and a credit score around 550 . In the past two months, though, the people at CareOne have noticed a shift. It's still women who usually get stuck making the call, and the age range isn't dramatically different. But credit problems are rapidly moving up the income ...