Laila Ali welcomes son!: Laila Ali and her husband Curtis Conway have welcomed the birth of a 6.8 lb baby boy, named Curtis Muhammad Conway. "Although mom and baby are both healthy and happy, there were some surprises during labor that altered Laila's birth plan," a statement on Ali's blog said. This is the first child for the married couple, and Conway has three children from a previous relationship.

'Toy Story' helps father and autistic son survive at sea: Floridian Walter Marino and his 12-year-old son were pulled from the ocean last week after treading water for 12 hours. Marino is now speaking out about how he used a phrase from Disney's Toy Story to stay connected with his son, which is one of the only phrases that the autistic boy will respond to. "I'd be screaming, 'To infinity ... and beyond!' " Marino said. "Then I would hear him and it would be more and more and more distant, until finally I couldn't hear anything." Both the father and son survived the night and are in good health.

Texas prepares for Hurricane Ike: Citizens of several Houston areas are responding to a mandatory evacuation order from the government. Several other counties have also been urged to begin partial or full evacuations. It has been left up to local officials to determine whether or not evacuations are mandatory. "One of the things that the public has to understand if they decide to stay, there will be a period of time during this storm when they will absolutely be on their own," Brazoria County Sheriff Charles Wagner said. Forecasters predict that Hurricane Ike will hit the coast late Friday or early Saturday, possibly as strong as a category 3.

Officials soliciting oil for sex? New reports are revealing that numerous government officials who sell U.S. mineral rights to oil companies have solicited sex with employees of energy companies. The inspector general for the Interior Department claims they rigged contracts and engaged in gift-taking, illegal moonlighting, drugs, and sex from oil company representatives. "This all shows the oil industry holds shocking sway over the administration and even key federal employees," Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla said. "This is why we must not allow big oil's agenda to be jammed through Congress," Nelson added. The investigations are still under review--and no actions have yet been taken.

More info: Ali, Marino, Hurricane Ike, Oil