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TODAY's Takeaway: Man freed from prison is 'thankful'; woman who traced iPhone is 'lucky' 

1. Cornealious "Mike" Anderson was freed Monday after being in prison since July 2013 after authorities discovered that, due to a clerical error, he had never served a 13-year sentence for armed robbery originally handed down in 2000.A Missouri judge spared the father of four from having to serve the full sentence, saying he had rehabilitated himself and turned his life around. Monday night, "I
Mike Anderson, Sarah Maguire, Maile Daly
Mike Anderson, freed from prison; Sarah Maguire, who confronted an iPhone thief; Maile Daly, who surprised her mom with her weight loss.Today

1. Cornealious "Mike" Anderson was freed Monday after being in prison since July 2013 after authorities discovered that, due to a clerical error, he had never served a 13-year sentence for armed robbery originally handed down in 2000.

A Missouri judge spared the father of four from having to serve the full sentence, saying he had rehabilitated himself and turned his life around. Monday night, "I watched my family, watched them sleeping. I just wanted to make sure I didn't wake up from a dream," Anderson told Savannah Guthrie on TODAY Tuesday

"I was just thankful," he added. "Just thanked God, thanked my family and everyone that's been supporting us." 

2. When Sarah Maguire and her roommate noticed their smartphones missing after a night out on the town, the 26-year-old California yoga teacher turned to her computer to utilize the “Find my iPhone” app. She tracked down the devices to West Corvina, a quiet Los Angeles suburb 30 miles away.

"Knocking on the door was a little bit scary,” she admitted. She said after a short confrontation, a large man eventually handed over both phones. "I think I'm lucky, yeah. Definitely,” she said. 

3. Abigail Lowe and her daughter, Maile Daly, have both struggled with weight, and both have had successful weight-loss surgery. But Lowe lives in Hawaii, while Daly lives in California, so they haven’t had a chance to see each other since Daly — inspired by her mother—lost more than 140 pounds.

Not until Tuesday, that is, when Abigail had a surprise on-air reunion with her daughter courtesy of TODAY's week-long "Mom's the Word" celebration. “Wow,” the stunned mom said, as the two embraced. “You need to talk to me so I recognize you.”

“Hi, Mommy,” Maile responded.

4. "The Fault in Our Stars,” the latest read for TODAY's Book Club, tells the story of a teen with incurable cancer who meets and falls in love with another patient. It was inspired by author John Green's experiences working at a children’s hospital.

“I was only 21. It was very difficult. I saw a lot of kids die,” Green told Willie Geist. "It kept coming back to me. I kept wanting to write about it."

5. Hollywood A-listers donned their best attire and walked the red carpet at the 2014 Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.   

Sarah Jessica Parker, Beyonce, Emma Stone and Charlize Theron were just a few of the glitterati who strutted in colorful designer fashions.

2014 Met Costume Gala

Slideshow  43 photos

2014 Met Costume Gala

From Sarah Jessica Parker to Bradley Cooper, Hollywood A-listers donned their best attire for the 2014 Costume Institute Gala.

And that's TODAY's Takeaway!