National

The rise in heroin use in the town of Turners Falls, Mass., has led to another problem: a proliferation of discarded hypodermic needles. Police can't keep up, so they've asked residents to help.

The city boasts one of the largest Nepalese communities. In the aftermath of the disaster, they've organized prayer vigils, collected money for relief efforts and sent medical personnel to the region.

Forty years ago, Viet Luong was a 9-year-old Vietnamese boy fleeing Saigon with his family. Today he's the first Vietnamese-American general in the U.S. Army and is helping train the Afghan military.

Printers blew up. People took the photo stickers home. But in the end, art professor Mary Beth Heffernan succeeded in bringing a human face to the scary-looking protective gear.

Crescent Leadership Academy has a checkered reputation, but a new principal is trying to do right by some of the toughest — and most troubled — kids in the city.

National Guard soldiers live in two worlds: They can be deployed in a crisis, but must support themselves and their families with civilian jobs. That's made harder by the guard's unpredictable needs.

Robyn Gritz investigated major national security threats, but says the FBI drummed her out of a job after she fell out of favor with her supervisors. She went on to sell cosmetics and answer phones.

Sometimes the women aren't allowed to leave their homes. Some commit suicide. Many have little recourse, advocates say, because current laws are ill-equipped to address this hidden crisis.

Aetna, the giant health insurance company, raised its minimum wage this month. CEO Mark Bertolini says he expects the raise will pay for itself through increased productivity.