It was a case that baffled investigators in three different states. A masked intruder, striking women in the night. This string of crimes might not have been solved -- or stopped -- if not for one brave teenager and the bold actions of her parents. The intruder had come for them... but they had a surprise for him!

Learn how one family stopped a killer in his tracks. Hoda Kotb reports on "A Stranger in the House."

See it Monday at 10 p.m .ET, 9 p.m. CT on Dateline NBC.

Our first story centers on one of Chicago's hometown heroes. He and his long-time girlfriend were expecting their first child, but no one was expecting their story to end in the heartbreaking way it did. This beautiful mom-to-be was about to fall prey to a "Dangerous Liaison." NBC's Rob Stafford reports.

Also: the latest developments in the investigation into what killed Michael Jackson. Details are emerging from the LAPD probe, along with new information about Jackson's lifestyle from insiders, and revelations about what his personal doctor did and didn't do in the critical moments before Jackson stopped breathing. Among the questions now: Could the superstar have been saved? NBC's Josh Mankiewicz goes inside "Michael Jackson: The Final Hours."

Join us Friday at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT for Dateline NBC.

He took his desert boomtown by storm, a builder who made milllions in real estate and casinos, and with his charm and enthusiasm, made a lot of friends. He was so popular that even when boom went bust, he was still a man about town. Among his friends were people with mob ties, among his former lovers and ex-wives was an astrologer. But no one would have foretold, he'd be the victim of an assassin's bomb.

Unless, of course, someone already knew. NBC's Josh Mankiewicz reports on "Star-crossed." Don't miss Dateline on Monday at 10 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. CT.

You've probably heard of it, maybe even remember when it happened: the story of Patty Hearst, the newspaper heiress who was kidnapped by terrorists, and then later proclaimed herself one of them. The Vietnam War was raging, so was the Watergate scandal, and yet, this story held the nation spellbound for nearly two years. This past spring, 35 years later, the last member of the group that kidnapped Patty Hearst was released from jail. NBC's Josh Mankiewicz has details you haven't heard before, plus the final chapter of a tale that helped define an era: "Kidnapped Heiress: The Patty Hearst Story."

Plus: You couldn't meet a nicer family than the one in Dateline's second story-- well-known, well-liked leaders of their community. And when a killer invaded their home while the father was away, a town was overwhelmed with shock and grief, and demands for justice. But the case was a puzzle from the beginning: few clues, no murder weapon, and no apparent motive. The only suspect was thousands of miles from the scene of the crime. An ironclad alibi. Or was it? NBC's Keith Morrison has "The Mystery of the Lost Weekend."

Don't miss a two-hour Dateline on Friday at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT.

A long, strange case is solved, one that was disturbing - and demanding - for everyone from investigators to jurors. It all began with a loving father being targeted by the mob, or so it seemed. But as NBC's Keith Morrison reports, eventually it would appear that maybe he was a victim not of a secret organization, but of a family secret.

That's all coming up on a special two-hour Dateline, "The Family Business," this Friday at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT on NBC.

By Aram Roston

Mexican drug cartels are using a brash new paramilitary-style tactic on the Rio Grande River to stop U.S. authorities from seizing smuggled drugs, according to law enforcement officials in Texas.  As dramatic police videos show, smugglers about to be caught by police are literally driving pickup trucks loaded with contraband right into the river. Teams of well-trained men in inflatable boats rush across the river from the Mexican side, dive into the murky brown water, and collect the drugs, while authorities on the U.S. side can do nothing but watch.
 
It's the latest twist in the ever-expanding border war as the powerful cartels are stepping up their violence. This tactic seems to be a way for traffickers to ensure they don't lose any of their drugs, even when American lawmen are hot on their trail.
 
Police say the traffickers' preferred mode of transport these days as they cross into Hidalgo County, Texas, appears to be big heavy duty Ford or Chevy pickup trucks. The cartel has been stealing them in volume in the United States, police say, rather than buying them. Cartel workers drive the stolen trucks up to the Rio Grande River on the U.S. side, and load them with up to a ton of marijuana or other drugs.

Police video, some of it shot at night with thermal imagery cameras, shows what the drivers now do when they about to be intercepted by police. Instead of ditching their load of drugs, they lead the police on a high-speed chase, and they alert their cartel bosses back across the river on the Mexican side.

As the smugglers head back to the river, a whole force from the Mexican cartel is arrayed there, waiting for them. Then the stolen loaded pickup truck drives right into the river. The police call it "splashdown," said helicopter pilot Lt. Stacy Holland. The traffickers, he points out, "don't mind losing that truck because they've stolen that truck. But they do mind losing the inventory."

The police videos show "recovery teams" piling into three rigid inflatable boats, each with a crew of six or seven traffickers on board.  Their timing is perfect, enabling them to reach the stolen truck before it is completely submerged.

In one video, a helicopter pilot radios police on the ground: "Rafts in the water! Rafts in the water! Got three rafts coming your way!"

Once the rafts get close enough to the sunken truck, the men get to work. Some jump in the water and start handing off the bales of drugs. Then they load them on the boat. The pickup truck driver, too, climbs in the boat.

"Suspects are in the water," calls out the pilot to the police officers on the ground. "They are trying to unload the vehicle."

Authorities on the U.S. side can do nothing but watch as the cartel does its work just twenty feet or less from the shore.
 
Once the drugs are in the boats, the men paddle back. It all happens within just a few minutes.

They remove the boats and the drugs from the river on the Mexican side and load them onto waiting pickup trucks.  Two and a half minutes later, the cartel is gone, leaving little behind. 

The only real trace is the stolen American pickup truck, ruined and sunk in the water, and an array of more than a dozen police cars on the American side.  "We're done here," one law enforcement officer says over the radio: "There's nothing else we can do."

Aram Roston is a freelance investigative journalist.

A young UCLA student is found dead in a Los Angeles railroad tunnel.  Was this a possible cult killing or a result of witchcraft? Or were the victim's two roommates responsible for the murder?  NBC's Keith Morrison reports Monday at 10 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. CT.

"The Departed" won an Oscar for Best Picture in 2006, with a story based, in part, on actual events in the Boston mob. Now Dateline brings you the rest of the story.

It starts with two boys growing up in the same neighborhood who take very different paths in life: One ended up a gangster, the other joined the FBI. And when they met again years later, the agent had a choice: He could be loyal to the past, or, loyal to the law.

NBC's Dennis Murphy reports on "Crossing the Line," this Friday at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT.

Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET, NBC's Lester Holt will anchor a special edition of Dateline with recaps from Michael Jackson's memorial service and reactions from fans of the King of Pop.

For a city that has seen it all, Michael Jackson's memorial tomorrow in Los Angeles will surely be an unprecented event.

On the eve of Jackson's memorial, we'll have the latest on his death, and some intriguing, little-known stories about his life.

Close friends trade tales about the Michael they knew, performers from the legendary Thriller video give us an inside look at how it was made, and we'll hear from Michael himself, after he agreed to a rare and intimate chat with fans.

That and more on "Michael Jackson: Gone Too Soon," at 10 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. CT on Dateline.

As plans move forward for a final tribute to Michael Jackson, so does the investigation into his death - and Dateline NBC will have the latest. We'll talk to one of his nurses about his drug use and why she said no to him. We'll hear from a close friend about some of the people who surrounded Jackson.

We'll also have more of TODAY's Matt Lauer's powerful and emotion interview with Michael's brother, Jermaine. NBC's Keith Morrison reports on the brewing battle over Jackson's living legacy - his three children - and NBC's Josh Mankiewicz takes us through some of the highs and painful lows in the singer's life.

See it on a special two-hour Dateline, "Michael Jackson: Remember the Time," this Friday at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT on NBC.