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Is 13 Too Young to Sail Around the World Solo?

A Dutch court placed a 13-year-old girl into temporary custody on Friday after her parents insisted on supporting her bid to become the youngest person to sail around the world solo. Laura Dekker, an avid sailor who was reportedly born on a yacht during her parents’ own round-the-world trip, told Dutch television before the court handed down its decision that she simply wanted to “learn about the world and to live freely.” “The crucial question is whether it is wrong for parents to allow their child to indulge in her passion,” the Dekkers’ lawyer told Radio Netherlands.

Unraveling the mystery of Brazil’s ‘twin town’

For generations the residents of Sao Pedro, Brazil and neighboring Candido Godoi have known their isolated hamlet in southern Brazil was special. They say about a decade ago the rest of the world figured it out too. Since then, despite the remoteness, they’ve been visited by researchers, authors, journalist and even a few tourists.

Laughing Gas: The Latest Threat to the Ozone Layer

Humankind doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to cleaning up environmental messes, but there was one time we really outdid ourselves. That was back in 1989, when over 190 nations signed the Montreal Protocol, phasing out the use of chlorofluorocarbons

Take a Break at Guatemala’s Lake Atitlan

Flanked by volcanoes and colorful Maya villages, Guatemala’s Atitlan is one of the most striking lakes in the world, and there are few better places to lap up the views than Laguna Lodge, a 10-minute boat ride — but a world away — from the Western Highlands tourist town Panajachel.

Girl grew up locked away in backyard shed

From the time she was an 11-year-old, blue-eyed, freckle-faced blonde until she was a 29-year-old woman with two children, Jaycee Dugard was kept locked away in a shed by a couple police say abducted her. She was more than 160 miles from home, and her family had no idea where she was. Nobody else knew she was there except the couple that snatched her off the street in front of her house in South Lake Tahoe, California, in 1991, and took her straight to the soundproof shed, police said.

Yettaw: Swimming to Suu Kyi’s home accomplished goal

The American man who swam to Aung San Suu Kyi’s home in Myanmar said Thursday he still believes he did the right thing, even though his visit led to an extension of the pro-democracy leader’s house arrest.

Teen sailor breaks world solo record

The youngest person to sail solo around the world returned home Thursday from his 30,000-mile, 282-day ocean journey. Mike Perham, 17, sailed into Lizard Point in Cornwall, the southernmost point in Britain, at 9:47 a.m., his race team said. “It feels absolutely brilliant,” Mike told CNN by phone hours before crossing the finish line

The Kennedy Succession: Preparing for a Scramble

Edward M. Kennedy’s death was one of those rare events that can pause politics — but nothing can stop politics.

As Oil Explodes, Why Natural Gas Prices Stay Low

If Best Buy had a big sale on Blu-ray discs, would you go out and buy a Blu-ray player? The energy markets are kind of like that — natural gas is really cheap, for now, but does that does mean we should build infrastructure for a natural gas-fueled economy?

De-Criminalizing Mental Illness

Correction appended: Aug. 16, 2007 “Psycho.” “Freak.” “Jason from the horror movie.” These are the answers that counselor Habsi Kaba gets from Miami police officers when asked to describe people with mental illness.