There is a handheld device that has been around for a very long time - and it's become popular all over again.

I'm talking about ... the pencil.

We have an all-volunteer military these days.

People debate the merits of it, but "Volunteers Only" wasn't always the case.

On this day a century ago, Congress passed The Selective Service Act of 1917 - the draft.

Many farmers in California are say they are facing a serious labor shortage which is likely to get worse...which is likely to cut into crop yield...and therefore the supply of fruits and vegetables..and a sharp increase in prices you and I will have to pay for groceries at the store.

How technology is connecting buyers and sellers of rare and expensive sneakers as never before.

These days in Washington more than once people have mentioned what this reminds them of. Watergate. Remember that? Of course you do if you're old enough. There had been a break in at the Watergate building - into the office of the Democratic National Committee during President Richard Nixon's election campaign for a second term. One thing led to another and eventually to Nixon's resignation as President.

Today's date, May 17 in 1973 is part of the story.

Are you an early bird - or a night owl? The answer may tell you when you're the most productive.

These days, people are getting more for less by buying and selling clothes online. One site - called "thredUP" - sells more than 30,000 items of clothing a day. There are plenty of "threads" at the thredUP warehouse in Brisbane, California. Our CBS News colleague John Blackstone met the man in charge.

This date is a big one for movie fans - and for fans of glitz and glamour. Because on this day in 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences handed out the first awards ever in Hollywood. They were the first Oscars.

There's a cop on the beat that our CBS News colleague Mark Strassmann would like you to meet. A Refugee from Sudan. Living out the American dream.

Over the past 15 years California has taken in over a hundred thousand refugees escaping violence and poverty in their home countries. Non Profit Organizations across the state helping to meet the refugees needs as they begin new lives in this country.

Here are some of their stories.