This stamp's for mom: Designer creates Alzheimer's commemorative stamp

Philately

This stamp's for mom

Alzheimer's is a frightening possibility that takes a toll on both the victims and their families. Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Md., should know. Her mother, Ruth, now in a nursing home, has suffered from the brain-wasting disease for years. That's why Kessler, who has designed more than 200 postage stamps, wanted to take on the job of planning the new Alzheimer's commemorative, which goes on sale today. According to the Alzheimer's Association, as many as 5.2 million Americans suffer with Alzheimer's with a new case developing every 71 seconds.

Keeping score

SAT "goof"

Baylor University, facing sharp criticism for paying already-admitted students to retake the SAT and try to boost their scores, said Thursday it "goofed" and would probably end the practice. The school in Waco, Texas, offered enrolling students a $300 bookstore credit for retaking the college entrance test and $1,000-a-year merit aid if their scores rose 50 points or more. The carrot prompted a wave of criticism, on campus and nationally, as an unethical bid to boost the school's rankings. Of the school's roughly 3,000 incoming freshmen, 861 received the bookstore credit for retaking the exam and 150 boosted their scores enough for the $1,000 aid.

People

Costners expecting

Actor-director Kevin Costner and his wife, handbag designer Christine Baumgartner, are expecting their second child, his rep told Agence France-Presse on Thursday. Costner, 53, and Baumgartner, 34, already have a 1-year-old son, Cayden Wyatt Costner, born in May 2007. Costner has three kids from an earlier marriage to Cindy Silva and a fourth from a relationship with Bridget Rooney.

Bonet expecting No. 3

Lisa Bonet, 40, who stars on the kooky time-travel cop show "Life on Mars," tells People magazine she is expecting her third baby. "I'm seven months, and I feel great," Bonet says. "I've had a tremendous amount of energy, which is lucky, because I have a 14-month-old." Bonet and her boyfriend, Jason Momoa, who began dating barely two years ago, already have a toddler, daughter Lola. Bonet also has a 19-year-old daughter, Zoe Kravitz, with rocker Lenny Kravitz.

Today in History

1777: British forces surrendered to American troops in Saratoga, N.Y., in a turning point of the Revolutionary War.

1807: Britain declared it would continue to reclaim British-born sailors from U.S. ships and ports regardless of whether they held U.S. citizenship.

1931: Mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion. (Sentenced to 11 years in prison, Capone was released in 1939.)

1933: Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany.

1978: President Carter signed a bill restoring U.S. citizenship to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

1989: An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck Northern California, killing 63 people and causing $6 billion in damage.

Today's Birthdays

Actress Beverly Garland, 82. Actress Julie Adams, 82. Actress Margot Kidder, 60. Actor George Wendt, 60. Movie director Rob Marshall, 48. Animator Mike Judge, 46. Reggae singer Ziggy Marley, 40. Singer Chris Kirkpatrick ('N Sync), 37. Rapper Eminem, 36. Singer Wyclef Jean, 36.

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