ABC News: US soldier adopts disabled Iraqi boy

National Guard Captain Scott Southworth was on duty in Baghdad when he met Ala'a a young Iraqi boy who could not walk because of cerebral palsy at an orphanage for disabled children. Now, Ala'a nearly 10, lives with his single Dad, Southworth, in Wisconsin, and a doctor said Ala'a soon may be able to walk.

MSNBC: 'coma' mother's baby turns one year old

Decatur, Georgia- Emmanuel Hawkins celebrated his first birthday, a birthday that he was never supposed to live to see.

"For 16 weeks after his mother lapsed into a coma brought on by an assault, Emmanuel continued to grow inside her womb. Doctors tried to persuade his grandmother, Nonnie Hawkins to end the pregnancy. They warned her that even if Emmanuel was born, he could be seriously deformed-or stillborn.

"I told them, 'I rebuke you.' I have the final say," Hawkins said. "I'm believing my child is going to wake up and have this baby." But after 114 days, Tara Hawkins-Bottoms never woke up. The 18 year old did however, stay alive long enough to give birth on March 16, 2004, to a 2 pound 10 ounce boy.

"God delivered him," Hawkins said. Her daughter was taken off life support two days later."

"Born three months premature- very weak and barely breathing -Emmanuel was not expected to survive 24 hours. He was hospitalized for 10 weeks with medical problems that included a bacterial infection and low blood pressure, and had to have heart and eye surgery.

"He was as close to death's door as you can get without entering," said his doctor, neo-natologist Bridget Cobb. "To come from those circumstances is just miraculous to me. It was a reminder to me that I am not in charge."

Now Emmanuel's struggles from his first few months are fading into memory as he fits into the routine of a normal toddler. He is trying to take his first steps. He likes to play peek a boo, apple juice and classical music.

Last week he left his grandmother's apartment for the first time on an outing other than a doctor's visit. It was a trip to the toy store and mall.

"He was just kicking and laughing and talking to himself," Hawkins recalled, smiling

Washington Post: Kenneth Starr Pro Bono defense lawyer

"A compassionate and decent society has to ensure that a death penalty regime is as error-free as humanly possible and as fair as humanly possible.", Starr said in an interview. For Lovitt, he said, the system has failed that test. Moreover, he said: "He is maintaining his innocence, and as his counsel, I am maintaining his innocence."

"Few people as poor as Lovitt have such luminaries as Starr as their attorneys, particularly on death row." Donna St. George of the Washington Post writes. "Among the roughly 3,400 people who await execution in 38 states, most have little or no funding for private lawyers. Some have no legal counsel"

'"We just can't find enough lawyers for everyone who needs them," said Robin Maher, director of the Death Penalty Representation Project of the American Bar Association, who said hundreds of death row inmates need attorneys." "Many of these defendants have never had a persuasive, effective, zealous advocate before," she said. Volunteer lawyers, she added, frequently turn up new evidence and "have had successes that include exonerations and new trials."'

CNN: the Field of Dreams still draws fans

Dyersville, Iowa- More than 15 years after Ray Kinsella built it, people still come to the Field of Dreams. 65,000 baseball fans a year are drawn to Dyersville, to see the ball park Kevin Costner's character build in a cornfiled in the 1989 movie "Field of Dreams." Visitors come from all 50 states and dozens of countries.

"It's just a pickup game from morning to night". "A family from California meets a family from New York and they all play together."

"I really believe the Field of Dreams, over this length of time, has become a part of American culture," said Keith Rahe who manages the Ghost Players a community team made up from some of the ball players from the movie. The team shows up at the park each Sunday from June to September, emerging from the corn to host an hour-long baseball game with visitors.

"At noon, the guys appear out of the corn like they did in the movie," Rahe said. "I've seen it a thousand times and its still sends a shiver down my back."

There's a shaded area in right field where fans take a break from the game and watch the action with a cool drink at the picnic tables. There's no admission and the field owners get no city revenue for upkeep. Profits from the concessions run by the Lansing family and Left and Center Field help offset maintenance costs.

ABC News: Beloved teacher wins deportation reprieve

Boston-Boston special education teacher Obain Attouoman has been granted a reprieve from deportation thanks to the support of hundreds of students, his fellow teachers, many Massachussetts politicians, his pro bono Lawyer, and Senator John Kerry.

CNN: Rock's best kept secret

Joe Grushecky: Iron City legend, devoted teacher. Musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, music arranger, recording artist, as hobbies. His day job involves teaching developmentally disabled, physically disabled and emotionally disturbed kids-- a high burnout career that he has been doing for more than 25 years.