Nation

taxes | Comment | Recommend
Tax bills in 2009 at lowest level since 1950
By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY

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Former kindergarten teacher says acquittal isn't a victory
Okla., Kan. prepare for more severe weather
Idea for making booms: Shear genius or hairbrained?
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World

world | Comment | Recommend
U.S. reviews Afghan watchdog authority
By Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY

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7 children, 2 adults killed in China school attack
Taliban kill 2 alleged U.S. spies in Pakistan
61 Dutch among the dead in Libya plane crash
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Photo galleries

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Oil in the Gulf
Elena Kagan

Communities

Petroleum leak
How will Gulf oil spill affect Louisiana's brown pelicans?
Sandra Bullock, Academy Award winner for Best Actress, arrives at the Vanity Fair Dinner And After Party celebrating the 82nd Academy Awards is lit up at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood, California on March 7.
Loyalty report
Sandra Bullock's dogs helped drive off Jesse James.
Sex scandal
Pope Benedict: Church must repent, 'relearn' justice.
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Opinion

Gulf spill shouldn't sink offshore plans
Our view: Why are we addicted to oil? Years of feckless policy have left us in this bind.
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Sharing in the USA

New ways to give and volunteer
The Kindness Community is your daily source of inspiration and guide to making a difference in fresh and exciting ways. What are you doing to make an impact?

Civil Rights in America

Connections to a movement
As the nation mourns civil rights activist Dorothy Height, a look back at her life and her legacy.

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Health & Behavior

weightloss | Comment | Recommend
By Carolyn Kaster, AP
Michelle Obama reveals goals of childhood obesity task force
By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
Schools, restaurants and even pregnant women are among those targeted in a report by the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity.
health | Comment | Recommend
Mentally ill people are sent to jail more often than hospital
By Rita Rubin, USA TODAY
Authors of the new report argue that "these people should be getting treatment" instead.
health | Comment | Recommend
Mom's voice can ease stress even if she's not there
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
A new study reveals that it actually generates soothing hormones that can calm a child down.
health | Comment | Recommend
Premature birth rate drops 2nd year in a row, CDC finds
By Rita Rubin, USA TODAY
It's the first time in three decades the U.S. has seen a dual-year drop. Thirty-five states saw a significant decline in preterm births.

Religion

religion | Comment | Recommend
By Francois Campredon, AFP/Getty Images
Mohammed cartoonist 'head-butted' during speech
Muhammad cartoonist 'head-butted' as protesters disrupt free-speech lecture in Sweden
nation | Comment | Recommend
AP file photo
Vandals tear down cross that justices would not
By William M. Welch, USA TODAY
Thieves have stolen a cross in the Mojave Desert that honored American war dead, less than two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed...
religion | Comment | Recommend
Pope sees sex scandal as greatest threat to Catholic church
The clerical abuse scandal represents the greatest threat to the Roman Catholic Church and the crisis was "born from sins within the...

Education

education | Comment | Recommend
By Lynne Sladky, AP
One-third of students need remedial college math, reading
Nationwide, about a third of first-year students in 2007-08 had taken at least one remedial course, according to the U.S. Department of...
education | Comment | Recommend
Do gays face 'stained glass ceiling' at Catholic colleges?
By Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed
Gay scholars at Catholic colleges wonder if two recent cases suggest that gays don't have a shot at advancement in a Catholic institution.
education | Comment | Recommend
By William Thomas Cain, for USA TODAY
Students dive into mystery of Civil War submarine Hunley
By Betty Klinck, USA TODAY
Did the H.L. Hunley shine a blue signal to Confederate troops that they sunk a Union ship? Pennsylvania high schoolers are trying to find...

    Science & Space

    globalwarming | Comment | Recommend
    By Karen Nichols, AP
    Glacier National Park turns 100, but may not last another 10
    By Nicholas K. Geranios, Associated Press Writer
    Ravages of age: Glacier National Park turns 100, but melting glaciers portend big changes
    space | Comment | Recommend
    Matt Stroshane, Getty Images
    Countdown begins for shuttle Atlantis' last flight
    By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press
    Countdown begins for space shuttle Atlantis' last flight, good launch weather forecast
    resources | Recommend
    Reader-submitted photo by Tammy Branham
    Ask USA TODAY Weather
    By Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
    Why aren't storms that hit the Pacific Northwest called hurricanes? Is Michigan really that cloudy? What direction do tornadoes usually...

    Offbeat

    offbeat | Comment | Recommend
    By Lynne Sladky, AP
    Plan to block giant snakes in Florida may hurt businesses
    By Oren Dorell, USA TODAY
    A federal plan to block giant constrictor snakes in the Florida Everglades from slithering into other states has snake sellers hissing that...
    health | Comment | Recommend
    Isabella top name for girls; Jacob No. 1 for boys
    Scoot over, Emma. Isabella is the new top baby name for girls.
    offbeat | Comment | Recommend
    Lord Jesus Christ (his real name) hit by Mass. car
    Woman cited for running down man named Lord Jesus Christ in western Massachusetts crosswalk