INSPIRING STORY: THE BOY WITH THE BACKWARD LEG

INSPIRING STORY: THE BOY WITH THE BACKWARD LEG

A turned around leg, and still cheerful..."

A 10 year old boy, Dugan Smith, diagnosed with cancer had his leg amputated at 11. He went through an unusual surgical procedure that allowed him to keep the remainder of his leg, but reattached backward - that way the cancer is cut out, but the nerve that controls the foot is intact by turning it around backward. According to the report, Dugan's calf now acts as his thigh, his ankle acts as his knee and his foot acts as his shin bone. He also uses a prosthetic ankle and foot.

For Dugan, now 13, despite a slight limp and some lingering troubles with running, he is not giving up, he says "Never give up, because 90 percent of it is in your mind. Read the full story here.

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US STRIPPED OF ITS AAA CREDIT RATING

US STRIPPED OF ITS AAA CREDIT RATING:

John Santiago works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, Aug. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Photo: AP"

The US was stripped of its AAA credit rating by S & P. Following the downgrade, the US stock market which has witnessed continuous plunge since late July 2011 got its worst hit on Monday August 8th - the S&P index plunged by 6.7 percent in the first trading session (the biggest slump since December 2008). In response to the downgrade, the Federal Reserve said "it will leave benchmark interest rate at a record low through mid 2013. Amidst uncertainty and fear and slump in major banks stocks in the US, the stock market remained largely volatile during the week - on this note it was reported that "never before has the S & P 500 index reversed moves that large each day over four sessions."  Read more here & here.

In another news. JAPAN CUTS GROWTH FORECAST TO 0.5%: To reflect the slump in output following the March earthquake, Japan cuts its economic growth forecast for 2011 to 0.5% from 1.5%. Watch Video here.

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