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As Americans go to the polls, one of the closest presidential races in years may be determined by a state in the Midwest and a hurricane named Sandy.

The country was just beginning to worry about nuclear fallout, and the Air Force wanted to reassure people that it was OK to use atomic weapons. And so on July 19, 1957, five Air Force officers stood on a patch of ground in the Nevada desert and waited for the bomb to drop.

Some Londoners may not be much interested in sports - but one image from these Olympic Games will surely remain with them, long after the cheers and crowds have faded away. It is the spectacle of their mayor, Boris Johnson, brandishing a Union flag in either hand, and dangling helplessly from a zip wire 20 feet above the ground.

Halloween might be the best day of the year for kids who love candy and grown-ups who love to be scared, but it is also the last day of work for thousands of ghouls and clowns.

Airs Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV

Some things we learned Wednesday night: Former President Bill Clinton gives a rousing speech; Israel is a touchy issue for Democrats; women are key to winning the health care debate; surprise appearance by a president fires up a crowd; and Mother Nature messes with another convention.

Writer Tamim Ansary was born in Afghanistan, and his new book, Games Without Rules, traces the country's turbulent history over the past two centuries. The title refers both to the game played for control of Afghanistan and the popular sport of buzkashi, a sort of chaotic polo played with a goat carcass.

Nick Conlin had barely touched the plate with the winning run when he was surrounded by his teammates from Chula Vista, Calif. Their arms were flapping up and down and their faces had ear-to-ear grins. Then a bunch of the boys fell to the ground in a heap, still smiling as the crowd roared.

In 1839, Great Britain and Russia were playing the world map like a chessboard — and for no reason other than geography, Afghanistan got caught in the middle. In Return of a King, historian William Dalrymple tells the story of Britain's calamitous invasion.

President Obama has won the key battleground state of Ohio, narrowing the path to victory for Mitt Romney. The president has also won three other key states, New Hampshire, Iowa and Pennsylvania. If Obama holds the "Midwestern firewall" -- by winning Wisconsin -- he can cede Virginia and Florida to Romney and still win the election.