QUOTE OF THE DAY
“There’s going to have to be some plastic surgery done later on. Thankfully, there was no brain damage or eye damage.”
Rev. Corey Brooks, pastor of New Beginnings Church in Chicago, on 3-year-old Deonta Howard, who is recovering from surgery after he was shot in the head during a mass shooting at a city park Article, 4A
Harvard launches $6.5 billion campaign
BOSTON - Harvard University launched a $6.5 billion capital campaign Saturday that, if successful, would be the largest fundraising effort in the history of higher education.
The school said the campaign had broad goals spanning all its schools and would fund research into neuroscience, stem cell science and low-cost energy for the developing world.
The campaign would target major renovations of the university’s undergraduate housing and increase its study of new learning and teaching strategies.
It also aims to expand the school’s global presence, including through an ongoing project to develop a center in Shanghai for conferences and research.
The campaign quietly began two years ago. Harvard says it has already raised $2.8 billion in gifts and pledges, some of which has already been used.
The school aims to reach its $6.5 billion goal by 2018. If it does so, the campaign would surpass a five-year, $6.2 billion campaign by Stanford University that ended last year.
2 bicyclists die after car strikes them
HAMPTON, N.H. - A car slammed into a group of bicyclists Saturday during an annual ride along the New England coastline, killing two riders and injuring two others, police said.
The crash happened on a two-lane bridge in Hampton about 8:30 a.m., just after the start of the 40th annual Granite State Wheelmen Tri-State Seacoast Century ride.
Police said two Massachusetts women were killed. They were identified as Pamela Wells, 60, of South Hamilton, and Elise Bouchard, 52, of Danvers. Two other riders suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.
Investigators said a 20-year-old was driving southbound and crossed into the northbound lane, hitting the riders. The woman was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released.
Authorities haven’t said whether the driver will be charged.
Hampton police Deputy Chief Richard Sawyer said the investigation is ongoing and could take some time while police interview witnesses.
Scientists sort odors into 10 categories
Scientists have managed to sort the seemingly endless range of scents humans can detect all into 10 basic categories, ranging from peppermint to pungent.
The classifications are meant to be the olfactory equivalent of the five basic tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami).
To come up with the 10 scents, neuroscientists turned to a 30-year-old database that contained profiles of 144 odors. Each odor was assessed by human subjects, who were given a list of 146 words and asked to rate how well each word described the odor.
The researchers, led by Jason Castro, a neuroscientist at Bates College in Maine, wanted to see if they could look for patterns in those responses that would help them group the odors into distinct categories.
By the end of the analysis, the researchers came up with a list of 10 key odor categories: fragrant, woody/resinous, minty/peppermint, sweet, chemical, popcorn, lemon, fruity (noncitrus), pungent and decayed.
Clinton: Yellen would be great at Fed
WASHINGTON - Former President Bill Clinton said Janet Yellen would be “great” as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve and defended Larry Summers, who withdrew his name from consideration amid lawmaker opposition.
“I also consider Janet Yellen a friend, and I think she has shown good judgment,” Clinton said in a CNN interview scheduled to air today. “She’s been right on everything that’s happened in this whole aftermath of the financial crisis. So if she gets the job, I’ll be thrilled, too.”
The likelihood of Yellen, 67, replacing Ben Bernanke as Fed chief has increased as White House officials began gauging lawmakers’ support and she won the backing of a top Senate Democrat. She currently is vice chairman of the Fed, where Clinton said she’s “done a fabulous job.”
Front Section, Pages 6 on 09/22/2013