Teachers and Librarians Weigh in on “Twilight”

On Nov. 14, 1851, Herman Melville’s epic narrative of the great white whale debuted on the American literary scene, meeting mixed reviews and tepid sales.

A new Tom Hanks film marks the unveiling of elaborate additions to New Orleans’ National World War II Museum, underscoring the city’s reemergence.

A new Amelia Earhart film hits theaters this weekend, highlighting the American flying icon’s intriguing life and conspiracies about her mysterious disappearance.

On Oct. 20, 1977, legendary Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd’s tour plane crashed in Mississippi, killing six, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, backup singer Cassie Gaines.

As suspicion builds about the legitimacy of the Heene family’s claims, we examine evidence suggesting the balloon boy story is a hoax, look at past media frenzies incited by false claims and explore the possible legal fallout against the family.

On Oct. 6, 1927, “The Jazz Singer” debuted; it was the first full-length film to feature the voices of its actors.

A new U.K. film points to a certain pesticide as the root cause of colony collapse disorder among honeybees, but some dispute the claim.

On Oct. 2, 1950, Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strip first appeared in several newspapers.

A documentary revealing Japan's annual dolphin slaughter will show at the Tokyo Film Festival in October, drawing attention to a practice both traditional and troubling.

The aggressive—and extremely expensive—approach to health care portrayed in medical dramas on TV is a far cry from what doctors recommend in real life.

A composer and a scientist have found that animals respond to music derived from their own vocal communication, a discovery that could make life for captive animals much more pleasant.

Wii is gearing up to introduce self-playing computer games and developers are creating AI to play the game “Infinite Mario Bros.,” illustrating how computers may replace a variety of human activities.

On Aug. 20, 1882, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky introduced his “1812 Overture,” which commemorated Russia’s defeat of Napoleon, at the 1882 Moscow Exhibition.

Ken Burns, whose PBS series "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" first airs in September, is set to appear on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight.

On Aug. 17, 1908, Cohl released the cartoon “Fantasmagorie,” which amazed viewers and instituted a new form of art.

On Aug. 15, 1969, half a million people descended on a dairy farm outside Woodstock, N.Y., to celebrate three days of music, marking one of the most important and legendary events of the 1960s.

The historic four-day festival in Bethel, N.Y., looms large for a generation of Americans as a symbol of solidarity and love of music in the face of war, tragedy and generational rifts.

On Aug. 5, 1926, legendary magician Harry Houdini performed his last and greatest feat by spending 91 minutes inside a coffin submerged in a swimming pool.