Pat Wingert

The popular daytime TV host hawks his son's diet books on his show. Inside the McGraws' cozy clan. By Pat Wingert and Aram Roston.

The former Pentagon official was seen hours before his death disoriented and disheveled.

The ex-Pentagon official found dead on New Year's Eve was seen disoriented the day before his body was found.

Could something as simple as a probiotic drink stop a colicky baby from crying so much? What about reports that probiotics started during pregnancy can prevent babies from developing asthma?

In Hillsborough County, home of Tampa and St. Petersburg, the president of the teachers' union is not the avowed enemy of reform. In fact, she's a member of the leadership team.

"Blackout in a can." That's what kids call the fruity caffeinated-alcohol drinks that offer a cheap, fast way to get drunk and party all night. As safety concerns grow, so does the pressure to pull these potent products from store shelves.

Every year as Halloween approaches, the kids in my neighborhood become fixated on one house, the one owned by the fireman who always hands out full-size candy bars. After years of being dissed for the "fun-size" bars I deliver ("Mom, smaller candy bars are not more 'fun.' "), last year, I decided to earn a little respect by going upmarket.

Almost no topic in modern medicine has been as controversial or confusing as hormone-replacement therapy. The issue got even more confusing last week thanks to a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association and based on data collected for the ongoing federal Women's Health Initiative (WHI) that found that women taking estrogen and progesterin had an increased risk of breast cancer. Here, the answers to the eight questions asked most often.

What's next for Michelle Rhee? The combative Washington, D.C., schools chancellor resigned last week following September's primary defeat of her boss, Mayor Adrian Fenty. "Not being in this role is heartbreaking," she said. But, she tells NEWSWEEK, "everyone in the city needs to embrace reform, and that couldn't happen while I am in the picture." This does not mean, however, that she's done working on the issue.

Michelle Rhee talks about her departure from the D.C. public schools. Here's why that won't spell the end of education reform.

How one district lured top principals to rescue its failing schools.

The idea that gay couples who are married or have children qualify as "families" has rapidly become the majority view in the U.S., and researchers credit public discussions about gay marriage—by supporters as well as vehement opponents—for the unexpectedly fast pace of change.

American schoolkids attend school for fewer days than children in other educationally advanced countries, a situation President Obama said Monday needs to change. "I think we should have a longer school year," Obama said in response to a question from the "Today" show's Matt Lauer during a White House interview that kicked off the network's weeklong "Education Nation" focus on American schools.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Wednesday that he is actively reaching out to D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and presumptive mayor Vincent Gray in an attempt to work out a deal to keep Rhee in her job.

Hard-charging reformer and Washington Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is in danger of losing her job with the primary defeat of Mayor Adrian Fenty, who gave her free rein to overhaul the city's dismal schools.

A new enrollment study confirms that American women are now earning more doctoral degrees than men. But at the same time, a survey of women competing for tenure-track positions finds that many describe their workplaces as far from family-friendly.

While celebrations occurred in Massachusetts, New York, Hawaii, Florida, Rhode Island, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio after the 10 were named winners of round two of the administration's national education-reform competition, controversy was mounting over some of the more surprising winners and losers.

If you think about the cities best known for education reform, a few always come to mind: New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Washington, D.C. But sometimes reputations outlast reality, and stars in the making don't get the recognition they deserve.

Do parents have the right to know which of their kids' teachers are the most and least effective? That's the controversy roaring in California this week with the publication of a Los Angeles Times investigative series.

NEWSWEEK did a cover story a few months ago asking why we can't fire bad teachers. Today Washington, D.C., Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee proved that you can.

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the precursor to breast cancer, is identified much more often today, thanks to advances in imaging technology. But getting this diagnosis exactly right remains difficult.

Education reformers were feeling optimistic. With President Obama's Race to the Top competition, which offers financial rewards to states willing to hold teachers accountable for their students' performance, they've made real progress in weeding out poor teachers.

The theme of this year's national teachers' union conventions was anger, particularly at President Obama, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and reformers in general. But American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten's decision to emphasize collaboration rather than opposition to reform efforts could well boost her national image as the union leader the administration can work with.

Though she insists she's not trying to make the upcoming Washington, D.C., mayoral election about her, Rhee and her controversial school reforms are becoming a factor in the race.

State spending on prisons has been growing and eating away at other priorities, like higher education. Now that's beginning to change.

Health tips to help teenagers survive growing pains on their way to adulthood, and a look at the controversy over mental illness in developing brains.

The new midpoint? Prepare for many more productive years by ensuring you get the tests you need (and skipping the ones you don't). Plus: better bones through chemistry?

Perry brags about Texas educational standards, but the Houston Chronicle shows how low they are.

The Gores are part of the most-likely-to-split generation in history. What's behind the global trend.

As a result of a revolutionary new contract, teachers in who are rated incompetent can be fired immediately—a practice common in industry but unheard of in American public schools.