A Splash Of 'Urban Ocean' On A Southern California Cruise

A cruise run by the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, Calif., sounds like a picturesque summer outing. But the Urban Ocean boat cruise highlights the juxtaposition of a powerful port with a fragile ecosystem: You're just as likely to see trash as you are to see marine life.

In front of the aquarium, school kids are running around, eager to go inside and pet the sharks and see the penguins. There's also a marina, where a small passenger boat called the Cristina shoves off from sunny Shoreline Aquatic Park.

Foreigners At Home: Turkey Beckons To Germany's Turks

In 1961, desperate to increase its labor force, West Germany signed an employment agreement with Turkey and launched a wave of immigration that continues to have repercussions today.

Now, after years of being treated as second-class citizens in Europe's economic powerhouse, large numbers of Turks — descendants of the first wave of immigrants — are returning to Turkey.

In A Strange Land

Violence, Hardship Fuels Central American Immigration To U.S.

William Ordonez and his wife, Carolia, thought that starting a new business in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, was a great idea.

But just two weeks after they started selling chips, candy and soda, gang members showed up and ordered them to pay about $25 a week.

"We tried explaining to them that we just opened, we aren't making that much, we can't pay you," Ordonez says.

Former Detainee Talks Of Desperation In Guantanamo Bay

Omar Deghayes is one of hundreds of former detainees who have been released from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay over the past several years.

Arrested in Pakistan in 2002, Deghayes, a Libyan citizen, was held as an enemy combatant until his release in December 2007. No charges were ever filed against him.

Two Last Names For The Price Of One

On-air challenge: Every answer today consists of two people, either real or fictional, whose last names are anagrams of each other.

For Some Young Latinos: Donkey Jaws And Latino Roots

We love hearing stories of how you straddle all the different cultures in your life. That's why we're sharing this report, about retro-acculturation, from our friends at Latino USA.

The process of integrating into mainstream America is a complex one if you are an immigrant. Often, people lose touch with their country of origin.

But for people like Marco Polo Santiago, the reverse is also true. Second, third and fourth-generation immigrants are seeking out their roots and creating a trend of their own.

House Leadership Crashes Into Outside Hurdles On Bills

The House was set to vote this week on a bill modifying the president's health care law. The Republican bill was supported by the leadership, but ran into trouble and was pulled from the floor before the scheduled vote.

It's an example of the kind of obstacles Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, faces in getting legislation through the House. In many recent cases, his problem hasn't been the Democrats as much as members of his own party, backed by proudly conservative outside groups.

Unfinished FEMA Flood Maps Put Sandy Victims In Limbo

Superstorm Sandy pummeled the East Coast six months ago, and, as with other natural disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was there from day one, finding people temporary shelter and later supporting rebuilding efforts.

FEMA also has a lesser-known role. It oversees the creation of flood maps, which model the risk of flooding in different areas during storms. These maps are also used to set building codes and flood insurance rates. In New York and New Jersey, FEMA is updating those maps, and so far many homeowners don't like what they are seeing.

Vermont To FEMA: Put Our Flooding On Your Maps

People in Vermont affected by floods in recent years now wish they could be included on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's flood maps.

The maps for the state are old and don't include flooding from fast-rising rivers and streams, the kind of flooding that tore up Vermont during Tropical Storm Irene.

Karin Hardy's house, built in 1850, once stood in Jamaica, Vt., across from the tranquil Ball Mountain Brook. But when Irene hit in August 2011, she heard boulders tumbling.

Michael Bublé On Fishing, Sinatra And Auto-Tune

In some ways, Michael Bublé is just of a different time. The songs the Canadian crooner sings are the Motown, jazz and swing classics he grew up listening to with his grandfather. Bublé says he misses the pure, unadulterated sound of music made back then — though he is willing to use a little Auto-Tune once in a while.

"I use it as a means to get onto pop radio, onto Top 40 radio," Bublé says. "It's kind of an effect, I guess, that you hear so much on modern radio that if you don't have it, you don't really get played."