American Notes TEXAS

For 58 hours last month, she held the nation's heart as rescuers in Midland, Texas, worked desperately to free her from an abandoned well. Last week Jessica McClure took her first public bows since she emerged battered and bloody from her underground prison. Wearing an orange-and-black Halloween outfit, the 19-month-old child chirped "Trick or treat!" at a press conference in Midland Memorial Hospital. Bandages covered her forehead and right foot; doctors hope to begin skin grafts this week to repair the wounds. Midland celebrated the happy ending with a parade to honor the 400 people who took part in the rescue.