PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST: 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

Skin color is a non-issue for Abby Reinhardt, a little girl in Kentucky with an adopted sister and brother from Liberia. View

Former nurse Spencer Sullivan copes with life after a tragic medical error left him a quadriplegic. (LAT) 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

Chilling package of audio slideshows paints a grim commentary, in images and numbers, of poverty and inequity in Texas. View

Award-winning series depicts six stories of individuals' struggles and triumphs as they face life's transitions. (NYT) View

A sexually abused boy and his mother recount the anguish they suffered at the hands of a trusted teacher when he was in kindergarten. (LAT) View

Edwin Shneidman, a 90-year-old pioneer in suicide prevention, contemplates his own demise. (LAT) View

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

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

Ambitious multi-faceted series tackles issues affecting the rapidly growing elderly population ... and who will care for them. (Roanoke Times) View