The Globe and Mail: Easing parents' minds somewhat, researchers have found a biological basis for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Previously, the causes of so-called "crib death" were mysterious; now, experts attribute the sudden deaths to a defect in the afflicted infants' brains, which may impair their breathing reflexes. So far there doesn't seem to be any testing for the defect, though, so the best preventive measure remains putting babies to sleep on their backs.
Associated Press: Sheik Taj Aldin al-Hilali, the Australian mufti whose remarks holding women responsible for rape caused an outcry last week, has temporarily stepped down from his duties at the country's largest mosque, citing health concerns.
Associated Press, again: Khalid Adem, the Ethiopian immigrant accused of genitally mutilating his daughter, was found guilty of aggravated battery and cruelty to children and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Associated Press, one more time: While searching through the Sylvia Plath archives at Indiana University, a creative-writing graduate student found an unpublished poem Plath wrote in 1955, titled "Ennui." The poem was published today in the online literary journal "Blackbird;" the full text of the poem is here.
New York Times: It seems that working moms who must travel for business sometimes enjoy the respite from domestic responsibilities. We're not sure this is news -- or that the sense of relief from household tasks only applies to working moms -- but it is slightly useful to know that 43 percent of business travelers are women.
New York Times, again: Fourteen months after Hurricane Katrina, many New Orleans families remain separated, and the city's largest functioning high school is overwhelmed trying to care for and discipline its angry, largely unsupervised student body.
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