Fact Box: Excerpt

In his new autobiography, "A Reason to Believe," the ...

Fact Box: ExcerptIn his new autobiography, "A Reason to Believe," the governor of Massachusetts recalls the influence of his teachers, including his seventh-grade teacher:Darla Weissenberg was a twenty-two-year-old idealist who was committed to improving the world and making sure those of us on the South Side had a place in it. She was also my first white teacher.She was in only her second year of teaching when I had her for Language Arts and Social Studies. The students were discovering how easily they could intimidate whites, and they badgered her on a regular basis. In the confines of so much free-floating hate, she was …

History of Cognitive Neuroscience

History of Cognitive Neuroscience, by M. R. Bennett and P. M. S. Hacker. Wiley Blackwell Publishers, 2008, 312 pages (ISBN 978-1-4051-7711-5, CAS149.95, Hardcover)

Reviewed by RICHARD BROWN

DOI: 10.1037/a0019826

This is Maxwell Bennett and Peter Hacker's third book on Philosophy and Neuroscience. The first, Philosophical Foundations of Neuroscience (2003) was "the first systematic evaluation of the conceptual foundations of neuroscience" (p. vii). This book stimulated much comment, particularly for its critique of the ideas of Daniel Dennett and John Searle, which led to a second book, Neuroscience and Philosophy: Brain, mind and language (2007). This, the third book …

Iraq: Car bomb hits Baghdad, 3 US soldiers killed north of capital, mass graves found

A car bomb exploded Wednesday near the Baghdad home of an Iraqi police general, killing 13 people in the biggest such attack on the capital in months.

Meanwhile, three U.S. soldiers were shot dead in northern Iraq, and the decaying bodies of at least 23 Iraqis were discovered in a shallow grave and a sewer shaft at separate sites near the capital.

Wednesday's car bomb was the deadliest such attack in Baghdad since mid-March. A year ago, car bombs were part of the daily din of violence in Baghdad _ with hundreds sometimes killed in a single, devastating blast _ but they occur far less frequently now since a U.S. troop buildup.

The Iraqi general …

AUTO RACING Spinouts, crashes subject for debate

There has been an upsurge in crashes and spinouts this year in theNASCAR Nextel Cup series, and some drivers believe they know why.

"With the shorter rear spoiler and the new [softer] Goodyeartires, these things are a handful," said Greg Biffle, who has won twoof the seven races since the new aerodynamic rules went into effectfollowing the season-opening Daytona 500.

NASCAR made the latest aero changes hoping to slow the cars in theturns, make the races more competitive and promote more passing.Instead, most of the races this season have been mostly single-fileparades.

Other than a late-race pass for the lead and the win by CarlEdwards at Atlanta, most of the …

The Surgeon's Guide to Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

THE SURGEON'S GUIDE TO ANTIMICROBIAL CHEMOTHERAPY. John M.B. Smith, John E. Payne and Thomas V. Berne. 286 pp. Arnold, London, UK; Oxford University Press Canada, Toronto. 2000. Can$63.95. ISBN 0-34074196-1

This book is intended to simplify antimicrobial chemotherapy that surgeons prescribe to their surgical patients and is intended for a wide audience, including medical students, residents in surgery and practising surgeons. The book is divided into 3 parts. The first gives a concise history of surgical infection and some basic concepts related to bacteria such as bacterial cell wall structure and the types of flora that might be identified in the various body cavities and on …

Bruins beat Blue Jackets in SO to end 4-game slide

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Tuukka Rask stopped all three Columbus attempts and rookie Tyler Seguin scored the lone shootout goal to lift the Bruins to a 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night, ending Boston's season-worst four-game losing streak.

Seguin, the No. 2 selection in the 2010 draft who was scratched the last two games, faked Steve Mason with a left-to-right move and scored inside the right post.

Rask made 34 saves through overtime, and David Krejci and Rich Peverley scored regulation goals for Boston, which won the 2,800th game in the history of the 87-year-old franchise.

The Bruins, who won in Columbus for the first time since 2003, entered as the third …

Nigeria: Case against anti-corruption czar dropped

The Nigerian government on Wednesday dropped criminal charges against the oil-rich nation's former anti-corruption czar, potentially allowing him to return home from a self-imposed exile.

Nuhu Ribadu, the one-time chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, fled Nigeria in 2008 after he received death threats and survived a drive-by shooting, his lawyer Femi Falana said. The government later filed charges against Ribadu before the nation's Code of Conduct Tribunal over him allegedly failing to declare his financial assets while serving as the anti-corruption agency's leader.

Falana said Ribadu properly filed his asset declaration, something …