“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

― G.K. Chesterton

Athens Braces for ‘Merkel Time’ as German Chancellor Flies In

A headline in Greek newspaper Ethnos describes today as “Merkel Time.” About 7,000 police are on duty in the center of Athens, half a dozen metro stations are closed from 10am and streets near Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s office are being shut. The lockdown comes as labor unions seek to ensure their protects against austerity measures are heard by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is visiting Greece for the first time since the debt crisis started.

Malala Yousufzai: Young activist attacked in Pakistan's Swat

A 14-year-old rights activist who has campaigned for girls' education has been shot and injured in the Swat Valley in north-west Pakistan.

Malala Yousufzai was attacked on her way home from school in Mingora, the region's main town.

Nominated for an international peace award, she came to public attention in 2009 by writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under the Taliban.

ICC Debating Where Gadhafi's Son Should Be Tried

Libya insisted Tuesday that it should be allowed to prosecute one of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's sons, telling international judges that trying him at home will be "a unique opportunity for national reconciliation."

Libyan lawyer Ahmed al-Jehani, was speaking at the start of a two-day hearing at the International Criminal Court that will go a long way to deciding where Seif al-Islam Gadhafi will be put on trial for crimes against humanity — in Libya or The Hague.

Seif al-Islam is charged by the international court with crimes against humanity for his alleged involvement in the deadly crackdown on dissent against his father's rule.

One in five Americans reports no religious affiliation, study says

One-fifth of U.S. adults say they are not part of a traditional religious denomination, new data from the Pew Research Center show, evidence of an unprecedented reshuffling of Americans’ spiritual identities that is shaking up fields from charity to politics.

But despite their nickname, the “nones” are far from godless. Many pray, believe in God and have regular spiritual routines.

Their numbers have increased dramatically over the past two decades, according to the study released Tuesday. About 19.6 percent of Americans say they are “nothing in particular,” agnostic or atheist, up from about 8 percent in 1990. One-third of adults under 30 say the same. Pew offered people a list of more than a dozen possible affiliations, including “Protestant,” “Catholic,” “something else” and “nothing in particular.”

Is Supreme Court set to end use of race in admissions?

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday is set to hear arguments on whether colleges and universities can continue to favor minority candidates in admissions policies. Given that the court in 2003 approved such policies, its decision to take up the issue again suggests it may be looking to cut back on affirmative action.

The case before the court was brought by Abigail Fisher, a white woman who says the University of Texas denied her admission because of her race, in violation of the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantee. The university says it must consider race as a factor in admissions, or minorities will be underrepresented on its campuses.

Several factors are tipping the scales against affirmative action this time around: For starters, the makeup of the court has become more conservative in the past nine years. Seven states have banned affirmative action, while polls show the U.S. public has grown increasingly opposed to racial preferences.

Texans Stay Unbeaten, Hold on to Beat Jets 23-17

After Arian Foster ran over the New York Jets all night, it was time for the defense to seal things for the Houston Texans.

A six-point lead. Three minutes left. Mark Sanchez and the Jets 84 yards away from sending the Texans to their first loss with a crowd-pleasing comeback.

Not on this night.

Lilly Alzheimer’s Drug Slows Mental Decline, Study Finds

Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY)’s experimental Alzheimer’s treatment slowed memory loss and cognitive decline in early-stage patients by about 30 percent, offering the first evidence that a medication may hamper the course of the ailment, researchers said.

The benefit, though small, supports further research targeting a protein called beta amyloid, said Rachelle Doody, chairwoman of Alzheimer’s disease research at Baylor College of Medicine who presented the findings today at the American Neurological Association meeting in Boston.

The independent analysis by Doody and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego, supported Lilly’s report in August. At that time, Lilly said the drug, solanezumab, slowed mental decline in those with mild Alzheimer’s while providing no benefit to more advanced patients. To market the drug, Lilly may need to do another study to confirm the findings, said Maria Carrillo, a vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer’s Association.