Authorities have found a missing 12-year-old North Carolina girl who reportedly ran away last week and was suspected of traveling with a convicted sex offender. Jodie Collie was recovered by Des Moines police at a bus station following a phone call she made to her grandfather, who in turn notified the FBI, leading local authorities to her location. Officials say Collie was alone and unharmed. The girl's mother, Kim Baker says, "The hugest weight has been lifted off my shoulders. All the prayers I've been praying have been answered. She's safe and she'll be back soon. I think we'll all be fighting to see who hugs her first. I don't think I'll let her go for a couple of hours. "

A survey conducted by The Space Foundation reveals more than three-fourths of the total population - 77 percent - of Americans support a new plan for space exploration; an increase from last year's 68 percent support result. Such a plan would include returning the space shuttle to flight, completing assembly of the International Space Station, the building of a replacement shuttle, and missions returning to the Moon and Mars.

A man who has spent 35 years in jail for stealing a $140 television set will be released in a few weeks. However, the 64-year-old man Junior Allen will have to work, comply with all laws and check in periodically with a parole officer for five years after his release.

A determined Seo Sang-moon, 69, passed the academic part of his driver's license examination on his 272nd attempt earlier this week. Due to his illiteracy, he used the test process to teach himself the rules of the road because he could not read them in a manual. Since the oral exam was launched, Sang-moon, a repairman took the test as often as he could, paying about $1,000 in fees along the way. He was able to grasp the exam and the rules of the road through each failure. After 271 attempts, he was able to get the minimum score needed to pass the academic test. Next on Sang-moon's agenda is preparing for his road test. Despite the amount of time it took Sang-Moon to pass the test, officials were thrilled to see him pass. "He has been coming here for more than five years and we regard him almost as being one of the family," an official from the exam office said by telephone.