Working for Union Pacific Railroad for 38 years enabled Lee Wesley Gibson, now 100, to create his most cherished legacy -- his progeny. (LAT) View

California parents demand to know what environmental factors are causing the high number of birth defects in their community. (LAT) View

Reconnecting with the Torah helps heroin junkies, alcoholics, sex addicts and gamblers at a Jewish rehab center. (LAT) View

A sexually abused boy and his mother recount the anguish they suffered at the hands of a trusted teacher when he was in kindergarten. (LAT) View

Edwin Shneidman, a 90-year-old pioneer in suicide prevention, contemplates his own demise. (LAT) View

A 16-year-old California girl sets out to complete a solo nonstop sailing trip around the world ... and to break her brother's record. (LAT) View

For Phan Plork, using his shrimp boat and crew for oil cleanup is filthy and dangerous work, and pays only half of what he made before BP fouled the Gulf of Mexico. (LAT) View

Joe Mozingo set out to research his ancestry, never expecting to find that he's descended from a black slave. (LAT) View

In the ultimate conflation of brains and brawn, players alternately exchange punches and chess pieces at a gym in Hollywood. (LAT) View

Former nurse Spencer Sullivan copes with life after a tragic medical error left him a quadriplegic. (LAT) View

The Best Videojournalism Stories of 2009 ... Celebrating excellence in video, journalism and storytelling. View

Bessie Mae Berger, 97, and her two sons, Larry and Charlie, both in their 60s, tried to survive while living in their rusty '73 Chevy Suburban. (LAT) View