| CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more. | Floods: Missing teen's body found | | The Mississippi River flung refrigerators, cars and tree trunks past Andrew Dallwitz as he tried to save what he could of his marina and his home in the bay of Portage Des Sioux.
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| Man crushed in falling elevator | | A 25-year-old man is being called a hero after helped a woman escape from a fallen elevator before being killed. CNN affiliate WCBS reports.
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| Terror group uses Trump to recruit | | An al Qaeda affiliate has apparently released a new recruitment video, telling Muslims in America that the country has a long history of racism and discrimination and will turn on its Muslim community.
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| ISIS kills Iraqi forces near Ramadi | | Three Iraqi soldiers were killed and 17 wounded Friday when ISIS militants, driving 10 vehicles packed with explosives, attacked an Iraqi army base near Ramadi.
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| Stories of American extremes | | You've heard of the American Dream. In 2015, CNN brought you tales of American extremes: From the town in Alaska where everyone lives in one building to the Virginia hamlet where cell phones are banned to one of the nation's richest places with children living in poverty. You might say these stories bring new meaning to the phrase "American exceptionalism."
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| At last, we talked race | | The issue of race took center stage in 2015 in old and new ways -- from questions about policing in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Chicago and elsewhere to a gunman's massacre at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina. Our first black president was judged with every word he said -- and those he didn't. And the 50th anniversary of the civil rights march in Selma, Alabama, reminded us that when it comes to race, we've come a long way -- and have far to go.
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| The year of guns | | Another year, another revolving-door of headlines about gun violence in the United States. Guns are as much a part of our national fabric as they are a flashpoint for ongoing debate. They fuel discussions in our living rooms, light up feeds in social media and spark divisions among lawmakers. And they, of course, shape -- and end -- lives, which is why they cannot be ignored. We set out in 2015 to meet those who know this better than anyone.
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| The year in religion | | Amid all the uncertainty in the world today, there are those who cling to religious beliefs and those who find comfort believing in no God at all. We spent the year looking at stories across the spectrum, from the journey of Pope Francis and those who are inspired by him to a scandalous secret that led to salvation and a family that traded in traditional faith for the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
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| Beyond the tragedy | | A terrorist attack, a gang rape, an earthquake. An assassin's bullet, a lost plane, a death camp. Horrors that befall humanity come in many forms. How we process tragedy, in the immediate aftermath and over the years, shapes who we become.
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| Why climate was the story of 2015 | | CNN's John Sutter is an award-winning columnist who made climate change his focus in 2015 with the creation of the network's "2 degrees" project. He asked viewers and readers what climate-related topics they wanted him to cover -- and then he traveled the globe to deliver eye-opening stories. His work culminated in December's climate change summit COP21 in Paris.
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