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Aggressive and unafraid, the region's rising urban coyote population is thriving in Charlotte. Some families fear for their children and small pets.

Lexi Haas is awakening into a world of new possibilities. Miracle by tiny miracle, she is making her body do what she wants - instead of her body always controlling her.

Charlotte nurse Susan Gawlik was 35 when she got her first mammogram two months ago. It was supposed to provide a baseline for future scans. Instead, it detected cancer.

Interactive: BofA's merger with Merrill Lynch

Sheryl Crow is calling on the federal government to halt roundups of wild horses in the West, branding the action as inhumane and unnecessary.

Here are the winning numbers selected Saturday.

When Kevin Parks read in Thursday's Observer that Loaves & Fishes was in desperate need of food for low-income families, he saw it as a way for his 918 students at Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School to make a difference.

A story in Saturday's Sports section about a state soccer tournament misspelled Ramblewood Soccer Complex in southwest Charlotte.

To avenge the arrest of their leader, Mexican drug cartel commandos went on a rampage this summer across the lawless state of Michoacan, seizing 12 police officers and dumping their stripped corpses beside a busy highway.

The sign sits propped on a wooden chair, inviting all comers: "Ask an Atheist."

Go to Crisis Assistance Ministry off Statesville Avenue pretty much any morning and you'll see a line of more than 150 people snaking out of the building.

From Brett A. Loftis, executive director of the Council for Children's Rights in Charlotte:

When Sarah Palin made her first trip to western Pennsylvania as the running mate of GOP presidential candidate John McCain, the Arizona senator warned locals that she "doesn't let anyone tell her to sit down."

U.S. and Afghan officials have begun helping a number of anti-Taliban militias that have independently taken up arms against insurgents in several parts of Afghanistan, prompting hopes of a large-scale tribal rebellion against the Taliban.

A diamond is forever? Prove it.

Steve Lopez was in town the other day. Many of you have heard his tale. But bear with me while I recount some of it for those who haven't. It is just too moving, and speaks too well to what we face in Charlotte, not to share more widely.

The Yemeni-American imam who's been under renewed scrutiny after the deadly shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, preaches against alcohol, birthday parties, black magic and extramarital sex. He also supports armed struggle - jihad - against the U.S.

Ten years ago, former UNC system president William Friday asked the General Assembly to "do something truly dramatic" with an anticipated $2.3 billion the state expected eventually to receive from a national tobacco settlement.