At a highway crossroads in Missouri, desperate families are each crammed into a single room with all of their belongings. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) View

Loaded down with 100 pounds of gear in 126-degree heat, U.S. Marines fight their way through Helmand Province. (NPR) View

Haitian activist Rea Dol isn't waiting for outside help to feed and care for a poor and neglected Port-au-Prince neighborhood. (NYT) View

An amusing analysis of a hot new internet fad that randomly connects strangers via webcam. (Warning: Not recommended for kids!) View

Jazz musicians and chefs are creatively spontaneous, but so are surgeons and firefighters. A look at the unscripted moments in all our lives. View

The Best Videojournalism Stories of 2009 ... Celebrating excellence in video, journalism and storytelling. View

Rural Texas farmer Cliff Etheredge saw an opportunity to cash in on a crop of the future that revived his dying town: wind power. View

Alvin Stamper defends his four-time tobacco-chopping title in Kentucky, cutting and spearing nearly 1,500 stalks per hour. By hand. (POYi winner) View

191,725 children live below the poverty line in Colorado. Here are the stories of eight families and how they cope. (Denver Post) View

From all walks of life, Florida retirees have more fun playing ice hockey than you can shake a shtick at. (AARP) View

Was PLX4032 a miracle cure for terminally ill melanoma patients? A 3-part series on the hopes and frustrations of clinical drug trials. (NYT) View

A 9-year-old musician takes center stage in Washington State's Old-Time Music community, even to her own parents' bemused amazement. (The Olympian) View