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READ EXCERPT: 'Wildflower,' by Mark Seal

One early morning when the weather couldn't decide if it was late winter or early spring, I woke up to a really queasy stomach. Not sure if I would make it through the day without the threat of spewing on a bus driver, teacher, or classmate, I decided to run the risk of missing school, and went back to bed. My mother had left for work. Jason and Carrie had caught the bus, and the house was now empty and quiet.

Missing any kind of school was a first for me. Confident that I was of age and therefore quite capable of taking care of myself, I knew I shouldn't be worried about being all alone in the house. Had I been worried at all, the flulike cramping and nausea would've drowned it out. After I went back to sleep for a while, I felt a bit better. From the bed I shared with Carrie, I grabbed the large comforter and my pillow and traipsed out to the front room to lie on the couch.

As I lay down, I was glad it felt less isolated out here. This way I knew I would hear my brother and sister coming home from school when it was time. I also knew I would be able to hear the noises of anyone else if they came by. I was wondering if I ought to turn the TV set on when suddenly my mind was filled with the image of a man trying to break into our home. I was defenseless. Over the years, I had learned that sometimes these images and pictures were not just reactions to my fear, but were valid. I attempted to relax

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PHOTOS: It's a Tiger? It's a Panda? No, It's a Dog!

"Usually, when a lion and a tiger are kept together, they will for sure attack each other to death," Huang told the British Telegraph newspaper. "But these two have been spending time together since they were small."

Huang said he did not purposely breed the animals but that Simba and Beauty began to mate about three years ago.

"The tigress' pregnancy caught me totally off-guard," Huang said.

Zoo staff must now hand-rear the cubs because the mother rejected them.

Taiwan's first ligers have sparked controversy throughout the island. Various animal rights groups and activists say that breeding hybrids is a total disregard for animal welfare and is, quite simply, not what Mother Nature intended.

"Crossbreeding two protected species is completely against nature," Lin Tai-jing, a researcher for Environmental and Animal Society of Taiwan, told Taiwan News. "We are urging the Council of Agriculture to ... bring Huang to real justice. A fine of

Sandra Bullock's Real-Life 'Blind Side'

Later, Von D's rep told People magazine that she and James were "just friends," even though they had been spotted together in Las Vegas, having dinner and holding hands.

According to a People source: "Jesse and Kat drove to Las Vegas together in Jesse's car. It was just the two of them and they slept in the same room. They have been friends for years, but this is the first time they are both single."

Divorced since 2007, Von D recently split from Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx.

Meanwhile, for single mom Bullock, there's only one man in her life -- son Louis. Bullock finalized her adoption of 8-month-old Louis last week in New Orleans.

Though James will soon be moving into a new $2 million home in Austin, Texas, 20 miles away from Bullock, the move appears to be more about continuing his relationship with their three children, Sunny, Jesse Jr. and Chandler, than any ploy to reunite with Bullock.

"I support Jesse in his move to Austin," Bullock told People magazine. "We have both moved on with our lives and only want the best for each other. Anything else that is said on my behalf is inaccurate."

At least for now, James appears to be reverting back to type. A look back at some of Jesse's girls:

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PHOTOS: Can Love Survive a 20,000-Mile Journey?

To find out, he came up with a radical idea: The two would take the road trip of a lifetime and put their young love to an ultimate test. He and his new bride would tackle the world's longest road -- the Pan American Highway, a 29,800-mile trek from Alaska to Argentina -- while riding on a motorcycle with a sidecar.

The London couple quit their advertising jobs and planned for a nine-month journey through 16 countries.

"It was really scary," Alanna Clear admitted.

Before venturing out, they decided to see how deep their love was for each other, and whether their wild adventure would change it over time. The two contacted world-renowned anthropologist Helen Fisher to have their brains scanned.

Mike Clear had read about Fisher in the newspaper, and he got in touch with her on the off chance that she would do her compatibility test on them. But Fisher suggested the two have their brains scanned instead.

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Cops Fear Ariz. Fugitive Won't Be Taken Alive

David Gonzales, the U.S. Marshal for Arizona said at the news conference that the investigation is still ongoing but the "nightmare that started on July 30 is now over."

McCluskey and two other inmates, Daniel Renwick and Tracy Province, escaped from Arizona State Prison on July 30. Officials believe they had help from Welch, who is McCluskey's fiancee, in escaping from the medium security prison.

Province, a convicted murder, was arrested Aug. 9 outside a church in Meeteetse, Wyo., after being spotted with McCluskey and Welch the week before in the area around Yellowstone Park.

Convicted murderer Daniel Renwick, who also escaped with the two men, was arrested Aug. 1 in Rifle, Colo.

McCluskey was serving a 15-year sentence for attempted murder and other charges.

Welch and McCluskey were last seen in Montana near the Canadian border on Aug. 6.

The couple, believed to be white supremacists, were considered by law enforcment officials to be extremely dangerous.

They led authorities on a three-week cross-country manhunt, leaving in their wake a string of robberies and two suspected murders but few clues as to their current whereabouts.

Since they've been on the lam, the couple have become suspects in the murders of a New Mexico couple in their 60's.

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our soldiers deployed for 12 months, home anywhere from 12 to 16 months, and back for another 12- or 15-month deployment."

Chiarelli, who commissioned the report, said there is not a direct connection between multiple deployments and increased risk of suicide. 60% of suicides are during the soldier's first term of enlistment, he told Amanpour. Even so, he emphasized that the growing strain on military leaders increased risky behavior in some soldiers and made monitoring at-risk soldiers harder.

During this period of increased deployments, Chiarelli said, "we've seen an increase with some soldiers, a very small number of soldiers, of high-risk behavior ... the abuse of alcohol, drugs, getting in trouble with the law."

Leaders of those at-risk soldiers, because of the operational tempo, sometimes overlook signs that the soldiers might need help.

"While our commanders and subordinate leaders are phenomenal warriors, they are unaccustomed to taking care of soldiers in a garrison environment," the report, released on July 29 at the Pentagon, said.

"There are instances where a leader's lack of soldier accountability resulted in suicide victims not being found until they had been dead for three or four weeks," the report said. "In an organization that prides itself on never leaving a soldier behind, this sobering example speaks to the breakdown of leadership in garrison, which appears to be worsening as requirements of prolonged conflict slowly erode the essential attributes that have defined the Army for generations."

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has confessed to the cold-blooded murder of five people. Five Americans, whom Panamanian police say he killed to steal their homes, businesses, and money. The five have been identified as Michael Brown, his wife and teenage son; Bo Icelar; and Cheryl Lynn Hughes.

In 2007, when the Brown family disappeared and the Cortezes took over their home, renaming it Hacienda Cortez, no one thought much of it. The Browns kept to themselves; few people knew them. It turns out Michael Brown had his own checkered past: he was in the witness protection program, having turned witness against several drug dealers back in the United States.

Bo Icelar had owned an art gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In the expact community on Bocas, friends say he had become increasingly disenchanted and made it known that he wanted to sell his house. So when the Cortezes told next-door neighbor Sandi Hodge that Bo had left suddenly in November of 2009 and sold them his property at a reduced price, Hodge says people were surprised, but mostly by the price.

"That struck me as very odd," Hodge said. "It was the talk of the town. I said, 'God, if I would've known he was going to give the house away, we would've bought it.'"

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Flight Attendant's Ex-Wife Speaks Out MORE VIDEOSectionsShowsVideo RSSshows:GMAGMA Recipes GMA Concert SeriesWorld NewsNightline20/20PrimetimeBoston MedThis WeekABC News NowWhat Would You Do?Playlist:20/20: 08/06/1020/20: 07/30/1020/20: 07/23/1020/20: 07/17/1020/20: 07/10/1020/20 Reports20/20 WebcastsHome > Video > 20/20 > 20/20 Webcasts

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1 commentBy ROB WALLACE, LAUREN PUTRINO and
TOM McCARTHY
Aug. 11, 2010

In the summer of 2000, 15-year-old Leah Freeman went missing in Coquille, Ore. For almost a week, the Coquille Police Department, led by Chief Mike Reeves, treated it as a missing person case, believing that the teen had run away.

Caught up in young love, Leah Freeman, 15, disappears on summer night.
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Yet on the night the teen disappeared, an ominous discovery was made. A man picked up a shoe by the side of a town road. He thought it belonged to his daughter. It was not until days later, after the town's search for Leah had grown increasingly anxious, that he turned the shoe over to police.

The police identified the shoe as Leah's. On it they discovered blood.

Six weeks passed before Leah's mother, Cory Courtright, got the call from police that would end her hopes that Leah was still alive. Another discovery had been made.

"I still let the denial take over," Courtright said. "I wanted to... I wanted to go back in time. I didn't want, I didn't want to go home. I didn't want to hear the final news. I didn't want to hear it."

Watch the full story Friday on "20/20" at 10 p.m. ET

A search team had come upon a macabre scene just off an isolated lumber road about five miles outside of town.

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or nearly $400 for every vote -- and has vowed to spend another $30 million to beat Democrat Richard Blumenthal in November. Also in Connecticut, former ambassador Thomas Foley won a narrow victory in the GOP gubernatorial primary after loaning his own campaign $3 million.

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Alaska Plane Crash Rescuers SpeakRescuers who saved four from the crash that killed Sen. Stevens tell their story 1View CommentLike It. Tweet It. Digg It. Most Popular

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PHOTOS: Julia Roberts Rocks the Red Carpet

"I'm going for it. I have no interest in being obese. I'm just through with the guilt. So this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to finish this pizza and then we're going to go watch the soccer game, and tomorrow, we're going to go on a little date and buy ourselves some bigger jeans."

Eat Pray Love: Searching for Pleasure

For Catherine Hughes, who works at a web design firm in Northern California, reading the book led her on a guilt-free search for pleasure: She embarked on a quest for the perfect bicycle. She had not ridden one in two decades.

"Not just any bike, a bike you can cruise through the wine country, without a care in the world," she said.

When she found the one, $300 later, she said, riding with the wind blowing her hair, made her forget her problems and feel "young, free and blissfully happy."

It's these stories of self-discovery that Gilbert herself enjoys hearing. "Getting divorced and moving to India is not everyone's answer,'' she said. "Go on your own scavenger hunt to find out where your spark is, where your joy is, what you're missing. It's not about eating the same pizza I ate."

Sharon Gilchrest O'Neill, a marriage and family therapist outside New York City, said she read the book when it first came out and within a few months, patients were coming into therapy inspired to make changes.

"Eat Pray Love," she said, can "show us how indoctrinated we are in our lives, we don't think we can sort of just spread our wings in different ways."

One of her patients had never gone away on her own and after reading the book, and after months of planning, she hopped a flight for her first solo beach vacation. Another, afraid of leaving her kids, finally took an overnight trip alone with her husband, their first in seven or eight years, Gilchrest O'Neill said.

The book has made many women realize they need to create more boundaries in their lives, and to demand time to be alone to reconnect with themselves and discover themselves for the first time.

One mother was moved to hang a sign up on the bathroom door, lock it and and insist on some private time to take a bath in peace.

The act of eating alone also became a flash point for many women.

"The whole idea about eating alone, even if you can't go out, even if you don't want to spend the money -- most women can find a way to just have a quiet peaceful meal," she said.

_For more literal ideas on the "Eat" theme, check out Chowhound for "Eat Pray Love" menus. _To enhance your experience, buy local ingredients at your farmer's market.

_Go the extra mile and make your own pasta.

_Consider hosting an "Eat Pray Love" night for some close friends. Feast on Italian food, have a yogini friend lead a meditation, and discuss the book and your own relationship challenges.

PRAY

The middle portion of Gilbert's book, set on an ashram in India, focuses on the pursuit of devotion, and the author's struggle to immerse herself in meditation.

"When it comes to meditation,'' said Margaret Burns Vap, founder of Big Sky Yoga Retreats, "you don't have to sit there for an hour to make it happen. You can take two minutes of your day.

"You can incorporate it into your daily ways, so you can discover some of this peace and perspective,'' she said.

Find a space in your home to claim as your own. "Dedicate a small area to your well-being." Create an "altar," filled with inspiring objects, such as a photos, books, candles, a journal, flowers. Make it pleasing to your senses, she said. (HSN also has "Eat Pray Love" branded home fragrance diffuser set for $19.95, currently sold out).

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Flight Attendant's Ex-Wife Speaks Out MORE VIDEOSectionsShowsVideo RSSsections:Most PopularTop News of the DayU.S.WorldPoliticsVote 2010Brian Ross InvestigatesHealthEntertainmentMoneyTechTravelExtreme VideoABC News AudioLive Video Playlist:Entertainment NewsJimmy Kimmel Live!The ViewWhat's the BuzzPopcorn with Peter TraversAmplifiedHome > Video > Entertainment > Jimmy Kimmel Live!

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Flight Attendant's Ex-Wife Speaks Out MORE VIDEOSectionsShowsVideo RSSsections:Most PopularTop News of the DayU.S.WorldPoliticsVote 2010Brian Ross InvestigatesHealthEntertainmentMoneyTechTravelExtreme VideoABC News AudioLive Video Playlist:Weird and WackyCaught on TapeHome > Video > Extreme Video > Caught on Tape

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Get a Better Education Free Online

Get a Better Education Free OnlineBill Gates says that soon more lectures will be available online than in schools

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Flight Attendant's Ex-Wife Speaks Out MORE VIDEOSectionsShowsVideo RSSsections:Most PopularTop News of the DayU.S.WorldPoliticsVote 2010Brian Ross InvestigatesHealthEntertainmentMoneyTechTravelExtreme VideoABC News AudioLive Video Home > Video > U.S.

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1 commentBy SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
Aug. 12, 2010

Two years ago, the Milwaukee school district decided that it was more interested in enhancing teacher performance in the classroom than the bedroom.

New reports indicate athletes are using the drug to boost performance.

The district cut Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs like Cialis and Levitra from its health insurance plan, hoping to save $786,000 a year.

Officials said too many teachers were using the expensive drugs for recreation, swelling their insurance rates. An estimated 1,000 of the 10,000 school's staff, which includes employees, dependents and retirees, were using the drugs.

Now, teachers are fighting to get the benefit back with a lawsuit. The Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association (MTEA) argues that the new policy discriminates unfairly against men and "creates barriers" to receiving necessary medical treatment.

In recent years, several lawsuits have claimed that health plans discriminate against women by not providing contraceptives, but now medications like Viagra -- which can cost $20 a pill -- are being viewed as so-called "lifestyle" drugs.

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WATCH: Paris Hilton vs. Your Family Vacation

The filing states the company's lost $6.6 million on the launch party alone, although a jury or judge will have to decide whether Hilton owes any money if the case goes to trial.

Phone and e-mail messages to Hilton's publicist Dawn Miller were not immediately returned Wednesday.

The case isn't the first time Hilton's role as a pitchwoman has gotten her sued.

The producers of the film "Pledge This!" sued Hilton in 2008 in federal court in Miami, claiming she didn't properly promote the film. A judge ruled last year that she didn't owe the roughly $8.3 million it cost to the make the film, which played in fewer than two dozen theaters.

The court is still deciding how much, if any, of Hilton's $1 million fee for "Pledge This!" she may have to return to filmmakers.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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(AP)

A crowd of about 300 villagers yelled "Death to the United States" and blocked a main road in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday as they swore that U.S. forces had killed three innocent villagers, officials said.

NATO forces rejected the claim, saying they had killed several suspected insurgents and detained a local Taliban commander in the overnight raid.

The gulf between the two accounts is a reminder of how sensitive every NATO operation in Afghanistan has become. In Taliban-heavy areas it is hard to distinguish villagers from insurgents and sometimes public opinion turns against coalition forces even when they say they are certain they targeted the correct people.

And while NATO has drastically reduced the civilian deaths it causes, the military coalition still makes mistakes. During a clash in southern Helmand province Wednesday, coalition forces mistakenly killed an Afghan woman as they fired back at insurgents, NATO said in a statement.

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9 commentsBy JOHN WETENHALL, LEE FERRAN and COURTNEY CHAPMAN
Aug. 12, 2010

Authorities arrested a suspect in the cross-country case of 20 vicious stabbings as the man was attempting to board a flight to Israel, investigators said today.

Suspect is reportedly apprehended trying to leave the U.S.

Police received a tip Wednesday that "developed into a strong investigative lead that identified the individual" with ties to every area in which attacks had taken place from Michigan to Virginia, according to an early morning statement from police in Leesburg, Va., who were part of a multi-state task force to track the serial stabber.

Working through the night, police investigators and the FBI tracked the suspect and took him into custody at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta, Ga., on unrelated charges late Wednesday night, federal officials told ABC News. The suspect was not identified and has not been charged with any of the stabbings.

"While this is a key step in the investigation, there are still many issues that need to be addressed before we identify this individual as the person responsible for this horrific crime spree," the Virginia police statement said.

"I'm not at 100 percent confidence level -- until we're sure we have the evidence to convict this individual," Leesburg Police Chief Joseph Price said in a press conference today. "

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Mobile site Sign in Register Text larger·smaller About Us About us Contact us Press office Guardian Print Centre Guardian readers' editor Observer readers' editor Terms of service Privacy policy Advertising guide Digital archive Digital edition Guardian Weekly Buy Guardian and Observer photos Subscribe Today's paper The Guardian G2 features Comment and debate Editorials, letters and corrections Obituaries Other lives Sport Subscribe Zeitgeist Today's hot topics

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Police snipers search for Raoul Moat near the village of Rothbury. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images3.49pm:

Substantive developments in this story are becoming fewer and further between now, so we are bringing this live page to an end. We'll have further updates when they happen on the Guardian website.

3.13pm:
A public meeting is to held in Rothbury at 6.30pm tonight, according to Sky News.

1.34pm:
Here are the main points from the press conference.

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Sarah Palin has brought the word 'refudiate' into the world. Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP

The word "refute" was one of the most misused in the English language even before Sarah Palin came along.

Now the possible next president of the US has taken incorrect use of the verb to a new level by mangling it into a whole new word

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The Guardian, the New York Times and Der Spiegel have published a huge cache of secret military files from the whistleblowing website Wikileaks, detailing the war in Afghanistan. Here's how reaction to the Afghanistan war logs unfolded


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Today marks two years until the start of London 2012. A breathtaking series of events are planned to mark the milestone, including the launch of a volunteering programme and the opening of the first official shop. Follow the thrills and spills here

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Political harmony: Condoleezza Rice, George Bush's former secretary of state, performed live with Aretha Franklin, who sang at Barack Obama's inauguration. Photograph: Bill Mccay/WireImage.com

News just in from the under-reported world of bipartisan musical collaborations

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The London 2012 Olympic Park. Photograph: David Levene

The nation's collective, unquestioning enthusiasm for London 2012 could be dampened, with the announcement today of the key traffic lanes that will only be accessible to Olympic traffic.

The so-called "Games Lanes", which will run along more than 60 miles of London's roads, will only be accessible to vehicles from the Olympic family

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There are reports of outbreaks of cholera among the survivors of monsoon flooding in north west Pakistan, as the death toll rises and rescue workers struggle to reach 27,000 stranded people. Follow how the day unfolded

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not a fan of the bottle. Photograph: Eric Thayer/Reuters

It is well known that the US has four branches of government: the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and celebrities. The country's constitution is also famously insistent about ensuring the separation of powers between those branches, which is just as well, because were celebrities ever to get their hands on the seat of government we'd all be in a lot of trouble.

Gisele Bündchen, the Brazilian supermodel who now lives in the US, has given a definitive example of why it is imperative to keep celebrities away from decision-making, by sharing with the world her views on breastfeeding.

In an interview with the UK edition of Harper's Bazaar, she says: "I think there should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for six months."

She added: "Some people here in the US think they don't have to breastfeed, and I think: 'Are you going to give chemical food to your child when they are so little?'"

To be fair, Bündchen practises what she preaches. Last December she gave birth to Benjamin, her son by American football star husband Tom Brady, naturally and at home, having meditated through the eight-hour labour.

Meditation, she told Harper's Bazaar, "prepared me mentally and physically. I wasn't expecting someone else to get the baby out of me."

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The supermodel Naomi Campbell admitted receiving "dirty looking stones" after meeting the former Liberian leader Charles Taylor. Follow Campbell's testimony at the Hague war crimes tribunal, as it happened

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Naomi Campbell's evidence at the war crimes trial of the former Liberian leader Charles Taylor was challenged today by her former agent Carole White and the actor Mia Farrow. Follow how the day unfolded

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The war crimes trial of the former Liberian leader Charles Taylor heard more evidence that he gave 'blood diamonds' to the supermodel Naomi Campbell. Follow how this morning's session unfolded

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