Kidnapped Boy
SHAWN HORNBECK

For the Akers family of Richwoods, Mo., picking out a Christmas tree this year was "something we dreamed about for five years," says Pam Akers. That's how long ago it was that her son Shawn, then 11, was kidnapped and held in captivity by pizza-parlor manager Michael Devlin, before being rescued and returned home by the FBI last January. Since his release, Shawn, who was assaulted and kept out of school during his ordeal, has been thriving. A foot taller and 55 lbs. heavier than when he was taken, he has advanced three grades in school and has a 3.9 GPA. He's "great, absolutely wonderful," says his mother. Ben Ownby, 13, who was released along with Shawn after being held for four days by Devlin, is also "doing great," says his uncle Loyd Baile. (In October Devlin, 41, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.)

Shawn's father calls his son's return "the most miraculous outcome anyone could hope for." But his mother believes there's been another miracle, too. "When Shawn first came home, his eyes were dark and downward-looking," she says. "Now they're bright and sparkling again."

Missing Toddler
MADELEINE McCANN

The trail of 3-year-old Madeleine McCann, who disappeared in May from her family's hotel room in Portugal as her parents dined nearby, appears to be growing colder by the day. But talk about the case continues to simmer. In November the BBC aired a special report in which one of the other parents dining with Gerry and Kate McCann—still officially suspects—declared publicly for the first time that on the night in question she saw a "Mediterranean-looking" man carrying a child that she now believes was Madeleine. On the same program Gerry said he was convinced Madeleine had been deliberately targeted. The couple feel "guilty and torn and helpless, as we all do," says Philomena, Gerry's sister. "But finding Madeleine is still the focus of our lives."

TB Patient
ANDREW SPEAKER

Andrew Speaker, 32, made headlines in May when he flew to Europe for his wedding while suffering from a drug resistant form of TB (he maintains he was never told not to fly). Now completely noncontagious, Speaker remembers how even some of his friends shunned him and his wife, Sarah, "because they were worried they might catch something." What's more, says the lawyer from Atlanta, "I still get all sorts of hate mail."

Lovesick Astronaut
LISA NOWAK

These days Lisa Nowak, 44, who was fired from NASA after her alleged diaper-wearing road trip in February to confront a romantic rival, is sticking close to home. Facing trial on charges of burglary with assault and attempted kidnapping, the mother of three is living in Houston, separated from her husband.

Home Invasion Victim
DR. WILLIAM PETIT

The sheer horror of the crime shocked the nation: Two intruders broke into Dr. William Petit's Cheshire, Conn., home and burned down the house, killing his wife, Jennifer, 48, and daughters Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. Beaten in the attack, Petit hasn't yet returned to medicine but is apparently healing himself through foundations he started in memory of his loved ones. "I've had really, really bad luck," Petit, 51, told New Haven TV station WTNH. "Part of me says, 'Well, you might as well try to help to make something good out of it.'"

Virginia Tech Survivor
DEREK O'DELL

"The fear has definitely gone away a lot," says Derek O'Dell, 20, a biology major who was shot in the face and arm during the April 16th Virginia Tech massacre and returned to the school in September as a junior. "Loud noises no longer startle me. I had a nightmare over the summer that really shook me, but it hasn't recurred. Still, sometimes you have to let it all out and cry. I've done that several times. Sometimes you just want to escape. At the same time, it's sort of helpful to be back. You have to face the obstacles as they come."

HALL OF SHAME
For these hapless headline-makers, 2007 was a year they would no doubt rather forget

TOE TAPPER
Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, 62, was arrested in June in an airport men's room stall for lewd behavior. He pled guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct. Craig said he'd resign—then didn't.

STEROIDS
Here's one for the record books: Former Sen. George Mitchell's probe of pro baseball and performance-enhancing drugs implicated a slew of big names—Yankees Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, and the biggest slugger of all, Barry Bonds.

DOPER
Faced with charges of lying to the federal government, sprinter Marion Jones, 32, fessed up to using steroids—and turned in her five Olympic medals.

KILLER TOYS
Holy recall! Batman figures were among 12 million Chinese-made toys pulled from U.S. shelves because they contained toxic lead paint or dangerously small parts.

BIGOT?
TV bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, 54, used racial slurs in a phone conversation his son tape-recorded and made public in the National Enquirer. A&E axed his show.

DOG FIGHTER
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, 27, confessed to organizing dog fights and was sentenced in December to 23 months in prison (he's been suspended by the NFL, too). Some 53 battle-scarred pit bulls were taken from his house.