In the ancient Chinese city of Kashgar, near the Afghan border, two men from Portland, Ore., checked into Room 303 of the Chini Bagh Hotel one month after 9/11 and commenced doing chin-ups and planning a jihad. The pair joined four other Portland-area Muslims attempting to unite with al-Qaeda and the Taliban to wage a "holy war" against U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. Their plans crumbled when Chinese officials closed the border, but the men regrouped in Portland to research attacks on American soil, including possible hits on Jewish synagogues.

Alan Chambers was a youth pastor's "dream kid": president of the youth group, a member of the youth choir, sure to be at church every time the doors opened. He was a role model to other kids and a trouble-free son to his Christian parents. But Mr. Chambers, now 33, was also the keeper of a dark secret.

On the sidelines of a soggy soccer field in Charlotte, N.C., Stephanie Johnson sips Gatorade and hollers to her teammates: "All right now . . . Ya'll bring it home." The 45-year-old Maryland native never imagined she'd find herself playing defense on an amateur soccer team, primarily for one reason: Ms. Johnson is homeless.

When Beverly Crissman reported for work at the American Legion Post in Sturgis, Mich., on June 13-the day before Flag Day-she noticed something odd: Two American flags usually flying out front were missing. Later that morning, a co-worker discovered the charred remains of the flags on the east side of the building. The banners had been torn down and burned the night before.

AUSTIN, Texas-The slogan for most Christian radio is 'it's safe for the whole family.' What does that really mean? You don't have to think?" That was the protest of Jars of Clay musician Dan Haseltine when he and the band's other three members-Matt Odmark, Stephen Mason, and Charlie Lowell-sat down with WORLD before a concert here to talk about their activities.

For Talmage Layton, tobacco is like family. The 57-year-old North Carolina farmer has been raising the plant for nearly 40 years, and he says: "We look after it as though we would our children. . . . We feed it when it's hungry; we water it when it's thirsty; we set it up when it falls down . . . we send it away from home when it matures."