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Marcus Leach is a poor kid from one of Kansas City's worst neighborhoods, but his gangsta debate brilliance has universities across the country clamoring for him. Unfortunately, Leach's achievement is lost on state education activities bureaucrats, offended that his coach would try to break their rules to take her team to the most prestigious debate event in the country. Staff writer Joe Miller tells how Central High school's debate squad is losing its "War of Words." (First in a series)

It's a tale of two cities, tale of two concerts, as one reporter covers the Dixie Chicks' first stateside concert since singer Natalie Maines, well, you know, while the other heads one county over to cover rightwing radio host Mike Gallagher's anti-Dixie Chicks show. "From the saber-rattling, baby-with-a-rattler antics of talk show host Mike Gallagher and his fellow Goebbeldygook-spouting rightwing radio rip-and-readers to the bait-and-tackle interrogations of Diane Sawyer, discussing and dismissing the Dixie Chicks has become an industry unto itself."

On April 26, 50,000-plus members of the National Rifle Association descended on Orlando for their annual meeting. They came to wave the flag, salute Charlton Heston, pat themselves on the back for getting George W. Bush elected, and check out tons of guns. Orlando Weekly Editor Bob Whitby spent three days embedded with the NRA and lived to tell the tale. A message from a woman speaker to the ladies: "I say if you are strong enough to carry a man's groceries and strong enough to carry a man's baby, you are strong enough to carry a man's gun."

The specialty coffee giant, which expects a record $4 billion in sales this year, has Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia in the fold now and sees no end to its growth. Rick Anderson looks at the java giant's stranglehold on the world market for latte in a cardboard cup. Starbuck's goal: 25,000 shops by 2013. "At this rate, Starbucks likely will challenge ubiquitous McDonald's (currently 28,000 restaurants in 118 countries) for Most Annoying Expansion," he writes.