The Man with America’s Trust: Walter Cronkite (1916-2009)

Newsman Walter Cronkite, who died at the age of 92, was so thoroughly and uniquely linked with the word “trust” that it is tempting to say that the word should be buried with him. In the generation since he left the anchor desk at the CBS Evening News, there have been other public figures who inspire passion, devotion, confidence, intensity and personal identification. But trust, that milder but deeper sentiment — Cronkite owned it.

Share

India’s space odyssey: Moon dreams move east

Flashback to 1984: As a child, I am glued to my family’s black-and-white television set for our daily dose of evening entertainment and news on India’s national broadcaster. But this is no ordinary newscast: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is speaking via videolink with astronaut Rakesh Sharma, who is aboard a space station

Share

Teen becomes youngest to sail solo around world

A Southern California teenager has serious bragging rights: After docking back in his home state late Thursday morning, Zac Sunderland, 17, can claim to be the youngest person to sail around the world alone. Sunderland was greeted with thunderous applause and congratulations as he arrived at Marina del Rey in his 36-foot sailboat. “It’s kind of crazy to have it done now because, I mean, for the past year I’ve been just fighting for the next ocean, fighting to get back.

Share

Eighth person arrested in Florida couple’s shooting deaths

Authorities are charging an eighth person in connection with the slaying of a couple who adopted special-needs children, an official said Wednesday night. Pamela Long Wiggins will be charged with accessory after the fact of felony murder, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said. Morgan did not provide further identification on Wiggins and did not say how she is related to the shooting deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings last week.

Share

Cricket, Ivy League classmates startled student Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor spent her first week at Princeton University obsessing over the sound of a cricket. Growing up in New York City, her only notion of this insect was Jiminy from "Pinocchio." She tore her dorm room apart looking for the critter every night. PRINCETON, New Jersey (CNN) — Sonia Sotomayor spent her first week at Princeton University obsessing over the sound of a cricket.

Share

A POW’s ‘Tears in the Darkness’

Ben Steele hated the young man as soon as he saw him. The man’s almond-shaped eyes, dark hair and olive skin — Steele had seen those Asian facial features before. He saw that face when he watched Japanese soldiers behead sick men begging for water, run over stumbling prisoners with tanks and split his comrades’ skulls with rifle butts

Share