On Feb. 4, 2005, David Hernandez Arroyo Sr., wearing a flak jacket and bullet-proof vest, shot and killed his ex-wife with an AK-47 assault rifle on the steps of the Smith County Courthouse in Tyler, Texas. He also shot his adult son in the legs, and killed a bystander who rushed in to help the victims.

Book review: In Save the Males: Why Men Matter and Why Women Should Care (Random House), Kathleen Parker argues that feminists have undermined men. And she explains what must be done about it.

Judges are supposed to decide custody after divorce by doing what's "in the best interests of the child." That can be tough to figure out, so legal scholars are proposing an alternative: Children should spend as much time with each parent after the divorce as they did before. But a psychologist argues that this so-called "approximation rule" has little basis in science-and tilts against fathers.

A newly published review of 24 studies finds that fathers have an important positive influence on their kids: When fathers are engaged with their children, boys have fewer behavior problems, girls have fewer psychological problems, and both show enhanced cognitive development.

A decade ago, researchers began to suspect that mothers played a key role in determining how involved fathers are with their kids. But they didn't have much evidence. Now, a new study finds that mothers do play an important role both in encouraging and curtailing fathers' involvement. Even fathers who want to be involved with their kids often drift away with persistent maternal criticism.