This is how far some people will go these days to get locally grown food: In California, more than 40 residents volunteered their back yards to an aspiring young farmer who couldn't afford to buy land of his own. In exchange for a weekly supply of produce, they would let him till their all-American lawns into rows of lettuce, broccoli, squash and peas.

WASHINGTON -- Simplicity, a well-known maker of children's products, was already in serious financial straits when 4-month-old Katelyn Marie Simon, of Noel, Mo., died in a Simplicity bassinet last Sept. 29.

BAN LOMTUAN, Thailand -- Preecha Jiabyu used to take tourists on a rowboat to see the banks of the Mae Klong River aglow with thousands of fireflies.

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Many things have gone wrong for Navy Senior Chief Tommy Gura while disarming nearly 200 improvised explosive devices in Iraq. He's been shot at and targeted for mortar attacks. His robots have blown up and he's lost communication to call for backup.

33"She's exactly who I need. She's exactly who this country needs to help me fight the same old Washington politics of 'Me first and country second,' " McCain declared as the pair stood together for the first time at a boisterous rally in Ohio just days before the opening of the party's national convention.

DENVER -- John McCain's risky choice of Gov. Sarah Palin gives him a running mate who doubles down on his maverick image, may appeal to "hockey moms" and other women, and counters Barack Obama's aura of new-generation change. But he may have undercut his best attack on the Democrat.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thai police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of several thousand anti-government protesters who were besieging city police headquarters. The prime minister said he might declare a state of emergency if the rioting worsens.

FRESNO, Calif. -- Farmers in "America's Salad Bowl" are turning into hunters -- stalking wild pigs, rabbits and deer -- to keep E. coli and other harmful bacteria out of their fields.

IN THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM GUSTAV -- You can feel it when this plane gets close to its destination. It dips, bumps and skips. The chatter on the radio turns from banter to business: barometric pressure, temperature, wind speed.

RAMADI, Iraq -- One is from the city, a businessman with the hint of smuggling to his name.

HAY ASKARI, Iraq -- After the gunfire and explosions, after the panicked flight to an unfamiliar town, the Kadims had one more shock in store: the homecoming.

KSUISI, Georgia -- After Georgian soldiers stormed South Ossetia and killed Vitaly Guzitayev's friend, he hid in the woods. Once the Georgians left, he set fire to the elegant brick homes of ethnic Georgians who lived nearby.