In a centuries-old ritual in northern Thailand known as the "training crush," young elephants are subjected to beatings, sleep deprivation, hunger, and thirst to break their spirit and make them submissive to their owners. This story airs on our U.S. cable television program National Geographic Today. Full story and photo gallery:

More than a thousand years after the fall of the Great Library of Alexandria, a marvel of ancient Egypt, a new Bibliotheca Alexandrina opens today in this storied Egyptian coastal city. This report airs on our U.S. cable television program National Geographic Today. Full story and photo gallery:

No season brings out photographers like autumn. It's not only because this is arguably the most colorful time of year—spring, summer and winter are, in their ways, every bit as beautiful. National Geographic News birding and nature correspondent Robert Winkler shares his tips about photographing fall. Full story and photo gallery:

Stephen E. Ambrose, one of the most popular historians to hit the New York Times best-seller list, died Sunday, October 13. Ambrose was a prolific writer, founder of the National D-Day Museum, and a National Geographic explorer-in-residence.

For his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development, former President Jimmy Carter has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002.

While tattoos will always remain taboo to some, they have gone mainstream in the United States—and you might be surprised to learn who is sporting them. Tattoos are the subject of Taboo, airing on the National Geographic Channel in the United States on Monday.

Terrorist groups are seeking nuclear weapons, according to intelligence agencies. If they acquire them, the world will face a threat unlike any other in its history. How are these rogues pursuing their nuclear ambitions? What can be done to stop them? This report airs on National Geographic EXPLORER this weekend.

For his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development, former President Jimmy Carter has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002.

In a recent National Geographic News interview, Traveler Editor Keith Bellows asserted that the United Nations failed to give tourism the attention it deserved at the Earth Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa. Eugenio Yunis—head of Sustainable Development of Tourism at the World Tourism Organization, dismisses Bellows's claim, arguing that tourism was a high priority. Here, Yunis gives his take on tourism's place at the Summit.

A row has erupted between scientists over whether a fossil found in Chad and described in a research journal a few months ago really is a skull of the earliest known human ancestor. The dispute is about whether the six to seven million-year-old fossil is a hominid or an ape. Both views are argued in this week's journal Nature.

Stephen Ambrose and Douglas Brinkley put their storytelling skills to work in a book overflowing with larger-than-life historical figures—heroes and villains, the famous and the obscure. The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation, written to commemorate the bicentennial of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, celebrates the history, people, and geography of the region acquired in that deal. Full story, video, and photo gallery:

Archaeologists in Egypt continue to uncover pieces of the ancient past—and not all of their discoveries are found in the tombs of pharaohs. An upcoming National Geographic Television Special, Egypt Eternal: The Quest for Lost Tombs, follows archaeologists as they dig to uncover the mysteries of ancient Egypt.

Swedish adventurer Göran Kropp, 35, fell to his death while climbing a popular route on the Frenchmen Coulee, in central Washington state. Kropp was known for his 7,000-mile bike ride from Sweden to Nepal, when he summited Everest without oxygen, and rode his bicycle back home. This story is reported by National Geographic Adventure magazine.

The first expedition-style, international adventure race in seven years was held in the U.S. this summer. Environmentalists feared the event would do serious damage in Colorado's San Juan Mountains. National Geographic Adventure magazine discusses the event with its organizer, Dan Barger.

Efforts to treat and prevent malaria, one of the world's most pressing health problems, just got a major boost. Two teams of scientists have decoded all the genes of the parasite and the mosquito associated with the most severe form of the disease.