The incredible story of how some friend's of The "Ex" Patriot discovered that their mother survived the bombing last week at the UN in Iraq can be found in this New York Times article. The "Ex" Patriot also throws in his two cents with Two Degrees.
In addition, for all those amateur astronomers out there, don't forget that Mars is the closest it will get to earth until the year 62, 003, this week. Check out this USA today article for details on how to look for the red planet.