It was after 8 p.m. at the public library in the quiet town of Adel, Iowa, and staffers were folding up the metal chairs. Tim Pawlenty's question-and-answer session had wrapped up some 30 minutes earlier, but a handful of voters were still here, and therefore so was Pawlenty, tall and lean in his dark suit, staying as always until no one was left to talk with him. When the polls show you in the low single digits, ...

Vigor was the byword of the Kennedy years. After the wrinkled decorum of Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy's America would feature people like him, the kind whose hair waved in the wind as they scrimmaged on the lawn at Hyannis Port, Mass. But for more than a decade now, as biographers have burrowed under the New Frontier, another J.F.K. has come into the picture. That would be the one with a multitude of serious illnesses whose life was ...

Vigor was the byword of the Kennedy years. After the wrinkled decorum of Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy's America would feature people like him, the kind whose hair waved in the wind as they scrimmaged on the lawn at Hyannis Port, Mass. But for more than a decade now, as biographers have burrowed under the New Frontier, another J.F.K. has come into the picture. That would be the one with a multitude ...

One horrible day 1,600 years ago, the wisdom of many centuries went up in flames. The great library in Alexandria burned down, a catastrophe at the time and a symbol for all ages of the vulnerability of human knowledge. The tragedy forced scholars to grope to reconstruct a grand literature and science that once lay neatly cataloged in scrolls. Today, with little notice, more vast archives of knowledge and expertise are spilling into oblivion, leaving humanity in danger of losing ...

Hamburgers are an American passion. And millions of Americans consume burgers, and other forms of meat, every day without consequences. But ground beef contaminated with E. coli bacteria has sickened, paralyzed and even killed some people who ate it. On Monday night's "Larry King Live," a wide range of guests joined an in-depth and spirited debate to answer this question: Should meat, and most specifically hamburgers, be a part of the American diet One person who has said "no" ...

A woman who had the wrong embryo implanted in her gave birth to a baby boy Friday, according to a statement from the couple. "Our family is deeply grateful for the support and prayers of so many people from around the world," the statement said. "We also would like to thank the medical professionals who provided superior care and treatment throughout the pregnancy and delivery." "Our family is going through a very difficult time and requests privacy in the days ...

In just 200 days, Michelle Obama has put her own stamp on one of America's most unusual political positions -- the unelected, undefined job of being first lady. And the way she's done it? It's largely through the fashion choices she's made. (CNN) -- In just 200 days, Michelle Obama has put her own stamp on one of America's most unusual political positions -- the unelected, undefined job of being first lady. And the way she's done it It's largely ...

The FBI has seized a two-page, handwritten letter of condolence sent by Jacqueline Kennedy to the widow of Robert F. Kennedy shortly after he was assassinated in 1968. The family contends the letter was stolen. "We're trying to determine who the legal owner is," said Mark White, a spokesman for the FBI. "There's still an ongoing investigation." The letter's path from the Virginia home of Robert Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy, to a locked evidence vault in the Dallas field office ...

The murder trial of American student Amanda Knox in the death of her housemate two years ago is expected to resume Monday in Italy after a summer break. Knox, 22, and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito also face charges of sexual assault. They are accused of killing British student Meredith Kercher, Knox's housemate in Perugia, a scenic university town north of Rome. Kercher, 20, died in what prosecutors called a "drug-fueled sex game." She was found half-undressed in ...

She's petite, she's middle-aged, she's bookish, and if she gets a chance, she'll knock you on your keister. By day, she's Beth Hollis, a 53-year-old reference librarian in Akron, Ohio. By night, she's MegaBeth, an ageless dynamo on the roller derby rink. "All my life, when I tell people I'm a librarian, they say, 'You don't look like a librarian,' " Hollis said. "And now that I'm a roller derby girl, they say, 'You don't look like a roller derby ...