Divine Intervention

A 9-year-old Boston boy says divine intervention saved his life when a bullet fired in the street outside his home came through his bedroom wall and left a smoking hole in the Boston Celtics jersey he was wearing. Preston Stevens says he felt some sort of force push him before the bullet went through his Rajon Rondo jersey Tuesday afternoon, barely missing his torso. He says "it was like God" pushed him. He saw and smelled smoke. The third-grader's mother, Sharon Jackson, says she heard a series of pops at about 3 p.m. and yelled at her children to get down.

A 9-year-old Boston boy says divine intervention saved his life when a bullet fired in the street outside his home came through his bedroom wall and left a smoking hole in the Boston Celtics jersey he was wearing. Preston Stevens says he felt some sort of force push him before the bullet went through his Rajon Rondo jersey Tuesday afternoon, barely missing his torso. He says "it was like God" pushed him. He saw and smelled smoke. The third-grader's mother, Sharon Jackson, says she heard a series of pops at about 3 p.m. and yelled at her children to get down.

CHICAGO - When it comes to saving lives, God trumps doctors for many Americans. An eye-opening survey reveals widespread belief that divine intervention can revive dying patients. And, researchers said, doctors "need to be prepared to deal with families who are waiting for a miracle. " More than half of randomly surveyed adults - 57 percent - said God's intervention could save a family member even if physicians declared treatment would be futile. And nearly three-quarters said patients have a right to demand such treatment.

Downhill champ Lindsey Vonn had never won a World Cup race in the United States. Until yesterday. But of course, that's not the story. The real story is that when she reached the podium, she did...well, this. Tebow. In fact, the Broncos' quarterback's brother was on hand for the race at Beaver Creek's Birds of Prey, joining what the Denver Post labels Lindsey's "Vonntourage," and the World Cup champ made sure with Robby Tebow that the "Tebowing" celebration was OK. "This is my first ski race," Tebow said.

Downhill champ Lindsey Vonn had never won a World Cup race in the United States. Until yesterday. But of course, that's not the story. The real story is that when she reached the podium, she did...well, this. Tebow. In fact, the Broncos' quarterback's brother was on hand for the race at Beaver Creek's Birds of Prey, joining what the Denver Post labels Lindsey's "Vonntourage," and the World Cup champ made sure with Robby Tebow that the "Tebowing" celebration was OK. "This is my first ski race," Tebow said.

Explorations of identity - personal, cultural, historical - weave through many of the films in the fifth annual Boston Palestine Film Festival, which runs Friday through Oct. 30 at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and other venues. While a fractured sense of self and divided loyalties may not be surprising themes for Palestinian filmmakers, what is striking is how deeply personal many of these films are, with tones more contemplative than didactic, more ironic than angry. Elia Suleiman, the award-winning Palestinian director whose absurdist,...

LONDON -- An infertile Nigerian couple who believed a self-styled preacher's claim that their child was miraculously conceived were really the victim of greedy international child traffickers, a British judge ruled yesterday. Relying on DNA evidence, Judge Ernest Ryder said the couple who claimed to be parents of the 1-year-old boy were victims of "a cruel deception to further the financial ends of those involved. " Ryder said he found that Gilbert Deya, a London-based Kenyan preacher who claims to have helped infertile women conceive...

In order to get back in this series with the Yankees, the Red Sox don't need divine intervention or a roster turnover. They need base runners. I keep looking at my scorebook for Games 1 and 2, and what do I see on the lefthand page? What I see is a whole lot of white space. It's 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, etc. In the first six innings of Game 1 and the first seven innings of Game 2, the Red Sox went down 1-2-3 10 times, and that's not counting the three-batter seventh in Game 2 that ended in a 5-4-3 double play.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Meet the Los Angeles Angels. Twenty-five players, 25 couches. Really. These guys don't need Doc Halladay, Dock Ellis, Doc Medich, Doc Rivers, or Dr. J. They need Dr. Melfi or Dr. Phil. They need Lucy of "Peanuts" to set up a booth in the third base dugout under a sign that reads, "Psychiatric Help - 5 cents. " It's supposed to be different for the Halos this year. No more will they be bullied or intimidated by the Blue Meanies from Boston. This time, the Angels are coming into the playoffs hot and healthy - a 100-win, wire-to-wire powerhouse with a great...

WALTHAM - The routine is paramount. People don't understand that. They see Ray Allen, his head meticulously shaved, his jersey tucked carefully into his shorts, his socks pulled up to precisely the same length, and they are drawn to his silky jumper. Can you blame them? It is so smooth, so fluid, so seemingly effortless. Everyone wishes they could shoot like Ray. They tell him that all the time. They are envious, they say, of his God-given talent. "An insult," says Allen. "God could care less whether I can shoot a jump shot.

Explorations of identity - personal, cultural, historical - weave through many of the films in the fifth annual Boston Palestine Film Festival, which runs Friday through Oct. 30 at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and other venues. While a fractured sense of self and divided loyalties may not be surprising themes for Palestinian filmmakers, what is striking is how deeply personal many of these films are, with tones more contemplative than didactic, more ironic than angry. Elia Suleiman, the award-winning Palestinian director whose absurdist, mordantly humorous features have earned him...

Maybe I'd have relished watching any actress play a borderline nutcase who goes all "Fatal Attraction" on the tightly wrapped hero of "Dexter. " But Jaime Murray, so intense as Lila on the Showtime drama, has become one of my favorite TV actresses. There's something slyly irrepressible about her and her dark eyes, even when she's playing a cool con artist on the British series "Hustle. " Tomorrow night, Murray continues to charm as the star of a new CW series called "Valentine," at 8 on Channel 56. She plays Aphrodite the goddess of...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Meet the Los Angeles Angels. Twenty-five players, 25 couches. Really. These guys don't need Doc Halladay, Dock Ellis, Doc Medich, Doc Rivers, or Dr. J. They need Dr. Melfi or Dr. Phil. They need Lucy of "Peanuts" to set up a booth in the third base dugout under a sign that reads, "Psychiatric Help - 5 cents. " It's supposed to be different for the Halos this year. No more will they be bullied or intimidated by the Blue Meanies from Boston. This time, the Angels are coming into the playoffs hot and healthy - a 100-win, wire-to-wire powerhouse with a great...

CHICAGO - When it comes to saving lives, God trumps doctors for many Americans. An eye-opening survey reveals widespread belief that divine intervention can revive dying patients. And, researchers said, doctors "need to be prepared to deal with families who are waiting for a miracle. " More than half of randomly surveyed adults - 57 percent - said God's intervention could save a family member even if physicians declared treatment would be futile. And nearly three-quarters said patients have a right to demand such treatment.

LONDON -- An infertile Nigerian couple who believed a self-styled preacher's claim that their child was miraculously conceived were really the victim of greedy international child traffickers, a British judge ruled yesterday. Relying on DNA evidence, Judge Ernest Ryder said the couple who claimed to be parents of the 1-year-old boy were victims of "a cruel deception to further the financial ends of those involved. " Ryder said he found that Gilbert Deya, a London-based Kenyan preacher who claims to have helped infertile women conceive...

In order to get back in this series with the Yankees, the Red Sox don't need divine intervention or a roster turnover. They need base runners. I keep looking at my scorebook for Games 1 and 2, and what do I see on the lefthand page? What I see is a whole lot of white space. It's 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, etc. In the first six innings of Game 1 and the first seven innings of Game 2, the Red Sox went down 1-2-3 10 times, and that's not counting the three-batter seventh in Game 2 that ended in a 5-4-3 double play.

Maybe I'd have relished watching any actress play a borderline nutcase who goes all "Fatal Attraction" on the tightly wrapped hero of "Dexter. " But Jaime Murray, so intense as Lila on the Showtime drama, has become one of my favorite TV actresses. There's something slyly irrepressible about her and her dark eyes, even when she's playing a cool con artist on the British series "Hustle. " Tomorrow night, Murray continues to charm as the star of a new CW series called "Valentine," at 8 on Channel 56. She plays Aphrodite the goddess of love, literally, and she is both...