For thousands of years, prisons have been used to separate criminals from law-abiding citizens. Before the eighteenth century, common penalties for criminal acts included exile, execution, and various methods of corporal punishments. Jails were viewed...

Alcatraz Island (sometimes informally referred to as simply Alcatraz or by its pop-culture name, The Rock) is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California, United States. It served as a lighthouse, then a military...

The Golden Gate Bridge, City Hall, Alcatraz and other parts of the city will go almost completely dark for an hour next month as part of a campaign to conserve energy and fight global warming.Organizers of Lights Out San Francisco are asking city residents and...

Today is Friday, May 4, the 124th day of 2007. There are 241 days left in the year.Today's Highlight in History:On May 4, 1945, during World War II, German forces in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany agreed to surrender.On this date:In 1626, Dutch explorer...

Today is Tuesday, May 22, the 142nd day of 2007. There are 223 days left in the year.Today's Highlight in History:One hundred years ago, on May 22, 1907, actor-director Laurence Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, England.On this date:In 1813, composer Richard Wagner was born...

New sightseeing cruises are sailing the rivers around Manhattan, one focusing on history, one on architecture.Both are offered by NY Waterway Tours.The history cruise, developed in collaboration with the New-York Historical Society, takes a "then and now" approach to four centuries of New York's past,...

Alcatraz, also known as "The Rock," is a well-known yet mysterious island near San Francisco that served as a notorious U.S. prison.