(CNN) Grab a cup of coffee and settle in. Here are some pieces you may have missed in a busy news week:

Gasping for life: Syria's merciless war on its own children

In a CNN exclusive report, video footage of the aftermath of the recent chemical attack in Syria reveals the unsanitized view of what happened that day. (By Clarissa Ward, Waffa Munayyer, Salma Abdelaziz, and Fiona Sibbett)

Daughter, father, future doctor: Victims of unrest in Venezuela

Violence and unrest are tearing Venezuela apart. Lost somewhere in the spray of bullets and fog of tear gas are the stories of the dead. Here are their stories . (By Paul P. Murphy)

The alarming rise of female genital mutilation in America

Female genital mutilation involves altering or injuring female genital organs. Here's what you should know about the brutal practice that's inflicted on thousands of girls and women each year . (By Michelle Krupa, graphics by India Hayes)

From the Opinion section:

Teaching self-esteem

Lovely Hoffman, a Boston area educator who wrote a song and recorded a video of it with her students to help them find self-confidence, writes about the need for teachers and schools to help children build self-esteem and develop character

What we could learn from the breastfeeding Australian senator

Jill Filipovic writes that Australian Senator Larissa Waters is making headlines by breastfeeding her infant daughter in Australia's Parliament

Dolly Parton: I'm as proud of this as anything I've ever done