Daniel Hajek

When the distance swimmer turned 60, she vowed to complete her life's biggest challenge: a 110-mile swim from Havana to Key West. It was her fifth attempt at the feat — and, ultimately, a triumph.

Actor Kenneth Choi is best known as the boisterous Chester Ming in The Wolf of Wall Street. Growing up in Chicago, acting was his passion, but his dad didn't approve. So he ran away — to Hollywood.

Ethan and Joel Coen spent months searching for the right actress to play Mattie Ross in their 2010 film True Grit. Then, just weeks before filming, Hailee Steinfeld showed up — dressed in character.

A young Air Force captain thought his career was over. Instead, he was invited to join a stealth program — and told, "You've got 30 seconds and if you don't say yes, this conversation never happened."

In October 1995, a passenger train was bound for Los Angeles. But it never reached its destination. The train derailed in the Arizona desert, killing one and injuring dozens — and it was no accident.

Larry Bender has been a Los Angeles graffiti buster for 20 years, hunting down and painting over gang tags around the city. He's one of hundreds of unseen, early-morning beautification workers.

Shipping companies and dock workers reached a tentative deal after labor disputes jammed cargo along the West Coast. But at the nation's largest port, you can still see the backlog of container ships.

The 1,000-mile-long Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race is underway Saturday. It's not so much a race as it is a test of survival — and veteran musher Lance Mackey knows all about fighting for the finish.

You may not have heard of illustrator Mona Shafer Edwards, but you've probably seen her work: she's been drawing high-profile courtroom cases for years. She says behind every sketch, there's a story.

Some criminals hide payment-card skimmers in gas pumps to steal credit card numbers. But that isn't the end of the story: Those stolen numbers are just the start of a highly profitable operation.

The Big Lebowski star Jeff Bridges is known as an actor, but he's been playing music for just as long. "Whenever I'm working, I'll have my guitar with me," he says.

Milwaukee Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond was carrying his rare Stradivarius violin out to the parking lot after a show when he was suddenly attacked. The violin, worth millions, was stolen.

The iconic aluminum trailers bring back nostalgic memories. But the company is still manufacturing new trailers — and enjoying a recent surge in sales, fueled by demand for the sleek, retro style.

Force has been drag racing professionally since 1974. The 65-year-old has gone from blowing up his 10,000-horsepower engines to winning championships, and he has all the scars to prove it.

From sea cucumbers to deadly scorpions, exotic-animal trafficking is a multibillion-dollar business. Here in the United States, Southern California is a hub for distribution.

The Emmy-winning cartoon is one bizarre and hilarious plot after another. For the show's creators, making each 11-minute episode is its own adventure.

Public transit vehicles may be the key to China's success in the U.S. auto market. Chinese company BYD, based in Shenzhen, is manufacturing electric buses. It's an appealing option for a place like California, where emission standards are strict.

At BYD's North American headquarters in Los Angeles, one of the ...

Try telling a story in six seconds. With the social media app Vine, owned by Twitter, users are doing just that. They're creating everything from artistic pieces to random comedy sketches in six-second videos that loop endlessly.

Nicholas Megalis, a 24-year-old songwriter living in Brooklyn, recorded himself rapping as ...