Top headlines:
Lead for car batteries poisonstown: The dirtin this town on the fringes of Dakar, Senegal's capital, is laced with lead left over from years of extracting it from old car batteries. And it is poisoning children. ›08:47 4 Jan, Sun
Pelicans dying from Bay Area to Baja: Wildlife experts are trying to figure out why sick, disoriented and bruised California brown pelicans are being found in record numbers along more than 1,000 miles of coastline. ›22:12 7 Jan, Wed
Video: Managing debts, and expectations: Jan. 7: The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday the projected federal deficit for 2009 is $1.2 trillion, and that does not include the $800 billion economic stimulus package President-elect Barack Obama is proposing. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.(Nightly News) ›23:43 7 Jan, Wed
Bike stolen from crusader against bike thefts: A former Fort Lauderdale city commissioner who helped create a program to combat bicycle theft had his own bike stolen while trying to help people involved in a vehicle crash. ›21:44 1 Jan, Thu
Mississippi now has highest teen birth rate: Mississippi now has the nation's highest teen birth rate, displacing Texas and New Mexico for that lamentable title, according to a new federal report. ›13:30 7 Jan, Wed
Saad Hariri on Lebanons Future: Saad Hariri takes up the mantle of his assassinated father, and argues for the world to isolate Syria. ›15:46 12 Oct, Fri
Hirsh: Democracy's Strange Bedfellows: The champions of democracy often share an overly romantic view of how quickly it can flower in hostile soil. ›16:56 11 Oct, Thu
Drugs: Meet Mexicos Suspected Queenpin: Sexy, stylish and female. Meet Mexicos unlikely druglord suspect. ›22:00 10 Oct, Wed
Ski bum? Bottom bared in lift mishap: A guy who dangled upside down from a ski lift with his bare bottom exposed probably doesn't want to hear any "ski bum" jokes. ›14:40 7 Jan, Wed
Video: Israel resumes airstrikes in Gaza: Jan. 7: Israel Wednesday warned residents along the border between Gaza and Egypt that airstrikes are coming, saying it will continue to attack Hamas during any peace talks. NBC's Richard Engel reports.(Nightly News) ›23:52 7 Jan, Wed
Bush creates huge marine sanctuaries: Announcing the largest marine conservation effort in history, President George W. Bush on Tuesday designated three remote Pacific island areas as national monuments. ›19:21 6 Jan, Tue
Salmonella outbreak spreads to 42 states: Health officials are investigating a salmonella outbreak that reportedly has sickened nearly 400 people in 42 states, but they don't know how the bacteria has been spreading. ›23:40 7 Jan, Wed
Video: Dems come around on Roland Burris: Jan. 7: Senate Democrats appeared ready Wednesday to reverse course and seat Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick for Senate, Roland Burris. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.(Nightly News) ›23:49 7 Jan, Wed
7 movies that glamorize business travel: Portfolio.com's Joe Brancatelli suggests you take some time to relax, fire up the flat screen in the living room and find the angles in his favorite business-travel movies of all time. ›16:38
Q&A: Policing School Shootings: A disturbed 14-year-old wounds four before killing himself in Clevelandjust another spasm of violence in another bloody year for Americas schools. How to spot trouble before it opens fireand the ongoing debate over blame for a cycle that just wont stop. ›23:25 11 Oct, Thu
Airlines fly into new year with wave of fare sales: A wave of fare sales has spread across the airline industry in the early days of the new year as the weak economy continues to put pressure on carriers to fill seats even after they drastically reduced capacity and some expressed willingness to cut more. ›23:31 6 Jan, Tue
Real Estate: Keeping Tabs On 'This Old House': Now in its 28th year, 'This Old House' has helped transform dozens of houses. But what does it really cost to be part of this DIY club? ›17:21 9 Oct, Tue
N.Y. judge: Monkey meat needs permit: A federal judge in Brooklyn has rejected a Liberian woman's argument that she had religious reasons for smuggling endangered monkey meat into the United States. ›23:40 3 Jan, Sat
'Mercenary is a Slanderous Term': The founder of Blackwater defends himselfand his company. ›03:32 13 Oct, Sat
Man who made bomb threat won't face charges: A Kentucky man who claimed to have a bomb aboard a Los Angeles-bound jetliner and was then tackled and bound by other passengers will not face federal charges, the FBI said. ›14:30
Green New Deal? S. Korea ahead of U.S.: South Korea said Tuesday it will invest 50 trillion won ($38.1 billion) over the next four years on environmental projects in a "Green New Deal" to spur slumping economic growth and create nearly a million jobs. ›22:47 6 Jan, Tue
Larry Craig, Hall of Famer: Not even a sex-sting arrest and an on-again, off-again guilty plea can keep Idahos senior senator from induction into the pantheon of Gem State greats. ›17:40 12 Oct, Fri
Man wants estranged wife to pay for kidney: A New York doctor is demanding that his estranged wife pay him $1.5 million to compensate him for the kidney he gave her while they were still on good terms. ›18:57
Video: Gamers, the Army wants YOU: Jan. 7: Army recruiters are canvassing malls across the country in hopes of turning arcade junkies into real life warriors. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.(Nightly News) ›00:08