Today, it's a nondescript hill in a remote mountain valley ringed by the rice fields of dirt-poor peasants. But the military brass deemed otherwise, and the taking of the hill proved one of the most brutal battles of the Vietnam War. Twenty-five years after the end of the war, the battle still ignites passionate debate. In fact, the cows' cells seem to have a surprisingly prolonged youth, a new study shows. With Russian troops bogged down in the mountains of Chechnya and suffering heavy losses, the Kremlin is hinting it may no longer be counting on an overwhelming military victory to end the war.
Junked cars line many of eastern Kentucky's creekbeds.
Illegal dumps with milk jugs, dead animals and rusted appliances dot the mountainsides. Raw sewage straight from homes spills from pipes into streams. Concerned that garbage is reinforcing Kentucky's hillbilly image, the state is attacking the problem. The clean comic's paycheck has an extra zero. By keeping sex, foul language and toilet humor out of their acts, scores of comedians who once scraped for the occasional nightclub gig are finding bountiful bookings at large corporations and churches.