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What is the secret to breaking into Harvard?

For most high-school students, applying for college is a daunting process best left to the bravest of scholars. To apply to a top-tier school is an even nobler task.

To ease that fear and debunk some rumors, we sat down with Harvard College Admissions and Financial Aid Officer Sophia Meas for an inside look at the admissions process:

Scientists try to create less dangerous mosquito

By OTTO ROSS, Arizona Daily Star

Genetically engineered mosquitoes could provide a valuable weapon against malaria, dengue, West Nile and other mosquito-transmitted diseases.

Film: Jason Mewes diversifies onscreen

By TERRY MORROW, Scripps Howard News Service

All those years of playing a stoner in director Kevin Smith's movies have left actor Jason Mewes in a bit of a haze.

"If someone says, 'Hey, let's get Jason Mewes to play a cop in this movie,' somebody else will say, 'But, hey, isn't he that stoner dude from the Kevin Smith films?' So, yeah, it definitely makes (casting agents) second guess me," says the actor.

Tips on writing a winning college-admissions essay

By JESSICA VANDER VELDE, St. Petersburg Times

What makes a winning college admissions essay? Poynter Institute faculty member Kelly McBride knows.

She coaches students at Poynter and has talked to admissions officers and studied up on the topic.

The stakes are high, she says. A great essay can pave the way for admission, even if a student's grades and SAT score aren't the best.

Shea: GMs to throw good money after bad?

By JOHN SHEA, San Francisco Chronicle

Major League Baseball's general manager meetings came and went this week with Milton Bradley still employed by the Chicago Cubs, who want to dump the outfielder ASAP after his lousy season that ended with a suspension for his lousy conduct.

The Cubs have a serious case of buyer's remorse, but they're not the only team with a wildly regrettable contract.

Editorial: 9/11 planners to return to NYC -- for trial

An editorial / By Dale McFeatters, Scripps Howard News Service

The accused mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four of his accused accomplices will stand trial where they should have been tried in the first place -- a civilian federal courthouse in Manhattan only blocks from the site of the World Trade Center.

Tafur: Ranking the Pac-10 coaches

By VITTORIO TAFUR, San Francisco Chronicle

This week, in what would have previously been a sign of the apocalypse, a USC football coach said of Stanford: "We'll just do the best we can, struggle our way through it and hope to slow them down some."

Tuned In: Checking out 'Memento Mori' and other new releases

By CHUCK CAMPBELL, Scripps Howard News Service

"MEMENTO MORI," Flyleaf (A&M/Octane)

China equates Tibetan traditions with U.S. slavery

By MARK MACKINNON, Toronto Globe and Mail

BEIJING - Was Mao Zedong the Abraham Lincoln of China?

In an attempt to convince President Barack Obama of its claim to Tibet, the Chinese government has likened the 1959 Communist takeover of the area to the American Civil War, inferring that Mao freed Tibetans from slavery much as Lincoln ended slavery in the United States.

Utes earn 'Road Warrior' reputation

By STEVE LUHM, Salt Lake Tribune

Utah takes its Mountain West Conference title hopes on the road Saturday.

No big deal.

California offers new plan on prison reduction

By DENNY WALSH, Sacramento Bee

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate announced this week that the state has a plan to reduce the prison population that will satisfy a judicial panel of judges.

Beatle son Dhani Harrison has band, and hand in 'Beatles: Rock Band'

By JON BREAM , Minneapolis Star Tribune

Dhani Harrison is in his right mind. And his left.

At Brown University, he majored in aerodynamics and industrial design and played in a rock band. After designing sports cars at McLaren Automotive, he spent more than two years helping to develop "Beatles: Rock Band" -- as both a programmer and a gamer/musician.

Factors to consider when pricing a house for sale

St. Petersburg Times

A number of factors go into setting a sale price and they aren't all location, location, location. Sellers consider improvements they've made, the original purchase price and how much profit they want -- or need -- to make. The market may say something else. Here are some of the factors that set a house price:

Market decides if you set the right price for a house

By JANET K. KEELER and B BUCKBERRY JOYCE, St. Petersburg Times

It's time for a confession: Every time a neighbor puts up a For Sale sign with an information tube, we're one of the first to pull a flier.

It's not that we're looking for homes for sale, we just want to see how much the neighbors are asking. Given expertise gained from too much time spent on Zillow.com, the real estate site, we feel we have a good idea what the price should be.

Pats to get physical with Clark, Colts

By SHALISE MANZA YOUNG, The Providence Journal

Dallas Clark has gashed many a defense over the past two-plus seasons, as the Indianapolis Colt has become one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the NFL.

He hasn't, however, gotten the best of the New England Patriots as often as he has other teams around the league -- a big part of the reason for that was the presence of Rodney Harrison.

By JOHN LINDSAY, Scripps Howard News Service

Final Four Capsules

Match-up capsule previews of Saturday's NCAA Final Four games in San Antonio. All times Eastern, seeds are indicated and all stats through Monday.No. 1 UCLA (35-3) vs. No. 1 MEMPHIS (37-1), 6:07 p.m., CBS.COACHES: Ben Howland (125-44 in fifth year at UCLA) and John Calipari (218-64 in 8th year at Memphis).

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NCAA Elite Eight capsules

Match-up capsules for Saturday's NCAA Elite Eight East and West regional finals in Charlotte, N.C. and Phoenix. All times Eastern. Seeds are indicated and statistics include all games.EAST REGIONAL:No. 1 NORTH CAROLINA (35-2) vs. No. 3 LOUISVILLE (27-8), 9:05 p.m., CBS.

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Midwest and South Regional semifinal capsules

Match-up capsules for Friday's NCAA Sweet 16 South and Midwest regional semifinals in Houston and Detroit. All times Eastern. Seeds are indicated and statistics include all games.SOUTH REGIONAL:No. 2 TEXAS (30-6) vs. No. 3 STANFORD (28-7), 7:27 p.m., CBS.

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NCAA East and West Regional semifinal caps

Match-up capsules for Thursday's NCAA Sweet 16 East and West regional semifinals in Charlotte and Phoenix. All times Eastern. Seeds are indicated and statistics include all games.EAST REGIONAL:No. 1 NORTH CAROLINA (34-2) vs. No. 4 WASHINGTON STATE (26-8), 7:27 p.m., CBS.

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Giants win upheld several Super Bowl trends

The Giants' 17-14 upset of the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII Sunday night neatly settled the question of whether New England was actually the greatest team in NFL history.But the game also offered some interesting statistical nuggets to ponder:

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Reflections on college football's postseason

After 32 games covering 17 days ended with LSU's 38-24 victory over Ohio State in the Bowl Championship Series title game Monday night in New Orleans, the marathon college bowl season is final

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College football bowl capsules

Capsule previews for the 11 college football bowl games on New Year's Day and beyond. All times Eastern and all rankings Associated Press.NEW YEAR'S DAY:

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College football bowl capsules

Capsule previews for the 15 college football bowl games between Christmas and New Year's Day. All times Eastern and all rankings Associated Press.WEDNESDAY:

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Here are winners for all 32 bowl games

On a chilly holiday, watching a college football bowl game can be a joy -- especially when the alternative is anything involving your distant family, building toys or the Miami Dolphins.

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Dead Wrong

A seven-month investigation into federal mortality records reveals hundreds of thousands of death certificates filed every year in the United States are wrong, meaning we don't really know what's killing Americans. A first-of-its-kind study also found that younger, well-educated and wealthy people are more likely to be autopsied when they die. More men than women are autopsied. And blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans are more likely to be autopsied than whites.

Autopsy rates differ by race, age, sex, education

Cause of death investigations often dead wrong

Accurate death certificates challenged by poor training

Poll: Doubts persist over accuracy of death certificates

Survey results among different groups

Death poll findings, by questions

What to do if you distrust the death diagnosis

Where to find death records

Deaths by heart disease by state

Editorial: We don't know what's really killing Americans

Navy to deploy dolphins, sea lions to protect sub base

5 comments

Editorial: Water puts moon in a new light

5 comments

Market decides if you set the right price for a house

3 comments

Editorial: 9/11 planners to return to NYC -- for trial

3 comments

Editorial: Cracking down on free speech in name of religion

3 comments

Tuned In: New releases from 'American Idol' stars

2 comments

Erbe: Stupak-Pitts shoves women to back of bus

2 comments

Autos: Lincoln's flagship these days is the MKS sedan

2 comments

Parker: Sodom in the nation's capital

2 comments

House bill addresses shortages of primary doctors

2 comments

Recycled Radiation

Thousands of everyday products and materials containing radioactively tainted metals are surfacing across the United States and around the world. But because of haphazard screening, an absence of oversight, and substantial disincentives for businesses to report contamination, no one knows how many tainted goods are in circulation.

Recycled radioactive metal contaminates consumer products

NRC wants to tighten oversight of often-lost radioactive devices

Same batch of radioactive metal from Mexico enters Calif. for 25 years

Radioactive cheese grater case shows lack of oversight

36 states have nowhere to dump low-level radioactive material

Radioactive mesh from China used to make 30,000 filters in Florida

Authorities scrambled to corral radioactive La-Z-Boy recliners

Only U.S. effort to collect radioactive material has 9,000-object backlog

Mandatory screening, reporting needed to stop recycling radiation

Radioactive materials surface in Tennessee scrap yards

Texas has highest number of radioactive metal incidents

Editorial: The hidden radiation around us

Scripps Howard News Service response to comments from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on SHNS' "Recycled Radiation"

The Doctor is Out

A special report by Scripps Howard News Service finds as many as one in five Americans does not have a family doctor. And this translates directly to higher rates of illness and death and higher costs.

Docs: In ERs, more sore throats than cardiac arrests

Interactive database showing U.S. doctors by county

Blog Information Profile for scrippsnews

Latest Stories

By JOHN LINDSAY, Scripps Howard News Service

Final Four Capsules

NCAA Elite Eight capsules

Midwest and South Regional semifinal capsules

NCAA East and West Regional semifinal caps

Giants win upheld several Super Bowl trends

Reflections on college football's postseason

College football bowl capsules

College football bowl capsules

Here are winners for all 32 bowl games

Dead Wrong

Recycled Radiation

The Doctor is Out

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