Space Shuttle Returns Safely

Despite threats from Hurricane Dean, space shuttle Endeavor landed safely today. There was some concern because of the hurricane and damage to the tile on the shuttle which happened during the launch.

This flight was pretty special. On board was teacher Barbara Morgan. She was the backup to Christa McAuliffe so many years ago. When space shuttle Challenger exploded killing McAuliffe, the teacher program was shut down. Morgan lost her chance to go into space.

22 years later, she got another chance. Now perhaps other citizens will get the same opportunity.

Rene Lachmann is Baseball's Ambassador

Rene Lachmann is the third base coach for the Oakland, A's. If you've ever watched any of their games you seen him on the third-base line given signs.

His signature move comes after each inning. He walks over to the stands, find a child, chats with them, and hands them a baseball. You can see their eyes light up as they grasped their little prize.

Why does he do it? In 1994, baseball was picking up the pieces after the strike. Lachmann felt that he had to do something to improve baseball's image. So he began handing out baseballs.

13 years later, he still doing it. He feels that every ball he hands out brings in another lifetime fan. If he's coaching 20 years from now, he'll probably still be doing it

Guatemalan Children Found in Antigua

46 children who may have been stolen from their parents in Guatemala were found in a house on the island of Antigua. They ranged from a few days old to three years old. They were going to be used for illegal adoptions.

It's unclear where the children were going to be sent once adopted. Americans adopted 4,000 Guatemalen children last year alone. Illegal operations abound and it's pretty cheap to get a Guatemalan child. Since the investigation got underway, the United States has tighted visa regulations for Americans planning to adopt children from Guatemala.

An investigation will determine if the children were stolen from their parents, whether the parents were coerced, or whether they were given freely. Only a handful of the children had the proper documentation needed for adoption. The house they were found in was no registered as an official place of adoption.

Flozelle Woodmore Released From Jail

At the age of 18, Flozelle Woodmore life was going downhill. She had a 3 year old son to take care of and an abusive boyfriend who she'd been with since she was 13. One day that same boyfriend hit and threw her son against the wall. He chased her with an ice pick. She ran across the street, got a gun, and shot him.

She pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life. At the time, abuse was not a legal justification for self defense in California. The law was corrected in 1992 but that was too late for Flozelle.

While in jail, Flozelle spent her time preparing for the day she might be free. She got her GED. He learned job skills. She became a counselor for women who were abused. She was a model prisoner. The victims mother and sister started advocating for her release in 1996.

Flozelle came up for parole five years ago. Not only was the victim's family behind her, but the Judge who sentenced her. The parole board certified her parole. However, Governor Davis denied her parole. Each year she was denied by Davis and then by Governor Schwarzenegger.

But, something strange happened this year. Flozelle came up before the parole board again. Columnist Byron Williams mounted a letter writing campaign to get the Governor to change his mind. Others in the community acted on her behalf. The parole role granted her parole and Governor Schwarzenegger did...nothing. So, Flozelle Woodmore is a free woman, ready to start her life over.

A Billionaire Invests in Laptops for Children

Carlos Slim is worth $53 billion. He's the second richest man in the world according to Forbes. He could do anything he wants with his money and he probably the does.

Slim is going to take some of that money and help school children in Mexico. He is going to give away 250,000 low-cost computers.

Like a cost about $300 per machine. The first laptops will be handed out to public libraries and then distributed. His costs will roughly be $70 million and that's just for 2007.

Slim owns Telefones de Mexico, a Mexican telephone company. He hopes to use his influence their to set up a wireless network so all of the children will be able to connect to the inner.

He hopes that by the end though 2008 he will of reached at least a million Mexican children. That's not the only thing he plans to do. He hopes to build preschools and assist with healthcare in addition to the laptop program.

Man Returns to the Trenches Ninety Years after the War

Harry Patch of Somerset, England, is 109 years old. At age of 18, he went off to fight World War I. He was wounded on the battlefield in Belgium and saw several of his friends die.

90 years later, he decided to make a trip back to those battlefields. He went with a historian, Richard van Emden. Patch wrote down his memories from the war as he walked over those same grounds where he fought.

Patched stood over a trench which servers as a war cemetery. He laid a wreath on the site. His emotions ran strong. "Too many died," said Patch. "War isn't worth one life."