Shannon Mullen

With 4.8 million people now playing, pickleball is ready for the big time.

More than a half century after the addictive sport of pickleball was created in an American backyard, it's been exploding in popularity — thanks to its affordability and cross-generational appeal.

Some people who get cards this holiday season will need a smartphone to see what's inside. Hallmark is selling video greetings that make it easy to send montages of personalized videos.

Maine's vital lobster industry is facing big challenges: new regulations; fewer young people entering the business; and threats to its thriving lobster population, including climate change.

This year American consumers are expected to take advantage of retailers' holiday promotions and spend big on gifts for themselves. Fifty-nine percent of shoppers polled plan to "self-gift" — the highest number in a retail industry survey's 10-year history.

Motorcycle Week in Laconia, N.H., brings thousands of bikers to town. And many have a hankering for a special memento to remind them of the trip. Shannon Mullen visits some of the temporary tattoo shops that have been set up to sell souvenirs that are anything but temporary.

New Hampshire indentured servant turned novelist Harriet Wilson wrote Our Nig more than a century ago. The work is the first known publication by an African American woman. Now Wilson will become the first person of color in New Hampshire history to have a monument in her likeness.