BETHLEHEM, West Bank - Gloom was banished from Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem for the first time in years on Monday as Christian pilgrims from all over the world flocked here to celebrate Jesus' birth in an atmosphere of renewed tranquility.

After Israeli-Palestinian fighting erupted in 2000, nearly all of the people milling around Manger Square in the center of this biblical town on Christmas had been local Palestinians. But this year, city hotels were packed with tourists.

Tiago Martins, 28, from Curitiba, Brazil, said he was visiting Jesus' traditional birthplace for the first time after new peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians reassured him he'd be safe.

The holidays have a way of turning simple sadness into tragedy, chance encounters into magic, and mere good luck into a miracle. That was the case on Christmas Eve in Elmhurst, Queens, when a cab driver called 911 to report that his passenger was giving birth and he did not know the way to the nearest hospital.

One of the first people to reach the scene was Police Officer Ivy Dror, a certified emergency medical technician. Not only did Officer Dror, 23, help deliver a healthy baby girl, she handed a Polaroid camera to the cab driver and asked him to document the baby's first minutes.

NEW DELHI - Hindu extremists attacked Christians celebrating Christmas in eastern India, ransacking and burning at least six village churches, officials said Wednesday. One person was killed in the violence.

Authorities in the remote district where the churches were attacked have deployed 450 police to quell the violence, which had tapered off by Wednesday, said Bahugrahi Mahapatra, a government official.

DALLAS, Texas (CNN) -- If you turn to the Bible -- Isaiah Chapter 35, Verse 8 -- you will see a passage that in part says, "A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness."

Now, is it possible that this "highway" mentioned in Chapter 35 is actually Interstate 35 that runs through six U.S. states, from southern Texas to northern Minnesota? Some Christians have faith that is indeed the case.

It was with that interesting belief in mind that we decided to head to Texas, the southernmost state in the I-35 corridor, to do a story about a prayer campaign called "Light the Highway."

Churchgoers in all six states recently finished 35 days of praying alongside Interstate 35, but the prayers are still continuing.

Some of the faithful believe that in order to fulfill the prophecy of I-35 being the "holy" highway, it needs some intensive prayer first...