Alaska's Iditarod race, one of the most grueling sporting events in the world, is not just for the dogs.

Teenage baseball players win the hearts of US fans as they make their debut in Little League Baseball World Series.

A special-needs school in the US is under fire for its treatment of students with severe behavioural problems.

Together, leaves, snow and weddings generated $829 million dollars for the state in 2009. The tourism industry pumps reliable money into the state’s economy. Tropical Storm Irene, however, has the potential to put a rather big dent in that number.

<P>There’s a huge amount of public anger over BP’s damaged oil rig and there will be endless demands for accountability and countless inquiries into what went wrong on April 20 -&nbsp;and how to prevent a similar incident.</P>