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Salman Rushdie: 10 quotes on his birthday

Here are 10 quotes from Salman Rushdie.

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The Monitor's View Why Holder's probe of 'stand your ground' laws stands out

US Attorney General Eric Holder said after the George Zimmerman verdict that Justice will take a 'hard look' at the many 'stand your ground' state laws, such as Florida's. Such laws need challenging as they reverse history's path away from killing.
Salman Rushdie: 10 quotes on his birthday

Here are 10 quotes from Salman Rushdie.
Whites-only scholarship: Columbia tries to change it

Whites-only scholarship for Columbia University dates from 1920 – and is only for Iowans. Columbia is going to court to change race provisions of whites-only scholarship.
Joyce Brothers, columnist, TV star, and $64,000 winner, dies

Joyce Brothers dies: After getting her start on 'The $64,000 Question,' Joyce Brothers offered advice on talk shows and in Good Housekeeping columns for decades.
5 reasons graphic novels are the next big thing at your library

The book format is everywhere, from ESL classrooms to Ivy League libraries.
Can a 4,000-mile wall of trees stop Sahara Desert's drift?

The pan-African Great Green Wall project aims to build a literal wall of trees to stop the Sahara Desert's southward creep. But is the idea too good to be true?
Focus A way to curb global warming: Suck carbon emissions right out of the air?

Most efforts to address carbon emissions focus on preventing them from entering the atmosphere in the first place. But how to get rid of CO2 already there? Start-ups are developing prototype air-capture systems.
Will we ever understand 2012 drought? Study blames 'random weather' (+video)

The drought of 2012 was more about unusual weather patterns than global warming, says a study. But its authors acknowledge the record-smashing event likely will be a puzzle for years to come.
Lead poisoning among children estimate revised, now two times greater

Lead poisoning affects more than half a million US children, according to health officials. That means 1 in 38 young adults are at risk.
Focus In Mali, a war ends but instability lingers

The French drove out Islamist rebels in northern Mali. But can France and its African allies translate those victories into regional stability and peace?
A loss to the fashion world, Lilly Pulitzer dies at 81

Lilly Pulitzer, made famous by her colorful jungle and floral print dresses, died Sunday at the age of 81.
Kansas passes anti-abortion bill declaring life begins 'at fertilization'

Kansas state legislators passed a bill Friday declaring life begins at fertilization and blocking tax breaks for abortion providers. While it doesn't ban abortions outright, abortion-rights advocates argue the bill could be used to threaten services.
Robert Remini dies, leaves legacy as Andrew Jackson scholar

Robert Remini dies: The Andrew Jackson scholar wrote at least 10 books about the former president. Robert Remini also wrote books about Mormon leader Joseph Smith and President John Quincy Adams.
Mastermind

Maria Konnikova examines the neurological and psychological underpinnings of the great mind of Sherlock Holmes.
NASA climate scientist James Hansen retires to join global warming fight full time

James Hansen, a devoted activist against climate change, announced his retirement from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and plans to challenge federal and state governments over carbon dioxide emissions.
Modern Parenthood Let us not praise our children: Well-intentioned puffery won't boost school success

Dumping praise on a student or your child with the intention of bolstering their scholastic success may actually hinder it. More and more studies are determining that children grow suspicious of general praise or develop an unhealthy fear of failure.
Focus Taming Medicare costs: What are the options?

The US spends twice as much per person on health care as other advanced economies, and Medicare is one of the biggest culprits. But here's why cutting its costs won't be easy.
Fear Itself

Ira Katznelson has produced an exceptionally engaging and thoughtful account of the New Deal era.
Beyond the Higgs boson: Five more elusive particles

The discovery of the Higgs boson greatly furthers our understanding of the fundamental constituents of matter, but some subatomic puzzle pieces still remain. Here are five types of bizarre particles that could turn up in atom-smashing experiments.
Life after Higgs boson: What's next for the world's largest atom smasher?

It's a Higgs boson!! Now what? After confirming that the particle discovered last July really is a Higgs boson, the Large Hadron Collider is ready to look for other universes, figure out dark matter, recreate the Big Bang, or find something totally unexpected.
100,000 'killer' bees attack Florida park rangers

100,000 'killer' bees attack: A pair of park rangers in Tampa, Fla., were hospitalized after disturbing a hive of what are likely Africanized 'killer' bees, a hybrid species introduced in the Americas in the 1950s.
10 best books of March, according to Amazon's editors

Amazon editorial director Sara Nelson talks about the 10 new releases she's calling the best books of March.
Take a lesson from Apple: iTunes U tops 1B downloads

iTunes U has surpassed 1 billion downloads with more than 60 percent of the downloads from outside of the United States.
First college to raise $1B? Stanford beats Harvard

First college to raise $1B in 2012: Stanford University was first in US fund raising for the eighth year in a row. Stanford raised $1.035 billion. How did other colleges do? Harvard University brought in $650 million, Yale University - $544 million, and the University of Southern California got $492 million.
Short trip to Timbuktu reveals long road ahead for Mali

Returning to his hometown, Issaka Nazoum invoked DeGaulle on the liberation of Paris: 'Timbuktu shattered, Timbuktu martyred, but Timbuktu liberated!' He knows, though, that Mali faces daunting hurdles.