Books

Robert Breeden, 87, a top officer with the National Geographic Society who helped launch a series of popular books about the White House and magazines such as National Geographic Traveler, died March 15 at his home in McLean, Va. The cause was a brain tumor, said his daughter, Cindy Scudder. Mr. Breeden was an assistant illustrations editor at National Geographic Magazine when he was tapped in 1961 by Melville Grosvenor, president of the society, to create the White House's first official guidebook.

At 1 a.m. on May 7, 1991, Lenny Dykstra, drunk as he sped along winding Darby-Paoli Road in Radnor Township, slammed his red Mercedes sports car into a tree. The then-Phillies centerfielder escaped with fractured ribs and a broken collarbone. Twenty-two years later, that car crash remains an apt metaphor for Dykstra's life. Laws and limits aren't made for him. Dykstra is a self-powered machine bound for self-destruction. He races through life headfirst, heedless of others, an irresistible force in search of immovable objects.

NEWARK, Del. - New Castle County Police have charged an unlicensed day-care operator after officers say they found 3-year-old twins in a closet. Authorities went to a Newark apartment Thursday afternoon after receiving a report of possible child neglect. Police say no one answered the door at the apartment and a maintenance worker let officers in. Officials say officers saw a chair wedged in a hallway between a closet door and a bathroom door. Police say officers opened the door and found the twins sleeping on pillows and blankets on the floor.

THERE ARE many ways to become a published author, but the toughest way Tattle knows of is to get shot. So congrats to Malala Yousafzai , the Pakistani teenager who took a bullet from the Taliban last October as she returned home from school. Little, Brown and Co. will publish the 15-year-old's memoir in the United States and much of the rest of the world. Publisher Weidenfeld and Nicolson announced it would release I Am Malala , about the traumatic event and Malala's long-running campaign to promote children's education, in Britain and Commonwealth countries this fall.

From Jenny to The Butterfly's Daughter , the book comes after the news of the day: Joan's surgery on Friday; Lisa's first grandchild; and, yes, Jane, you can get Thomas' English muffins at Wegmans. At meetings of the Valley Forge Mountain Book Club, the hot new mystery or literary classic isn't incidental, but it shares nearly equal time with the sisterly chitchat of friends. That's the way it's been for decades with this group of women, this year celebrating the 40th anniversary of a book club whose rules once included a 25-cent fine for tardy members.

IF DAYS in court were given formal titles like book chapters, Thursday's trial of Dr. Kermit Gosnell would have been headed "Karnamaya Mongar. " A full day of testimony by anesthesiologist Andrew Herlich, an expert witness, revolved around Mongar, who was not present in court Thursday, the trial's fourth day. She was not present because she died in 2009 within 24 hours of an abortion in Gosnell's "house of horrors," a/k/a Women's Medical Center...

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that textbooks and other goods made and sold abroad can be resold online and in discount stores without violating U.S. copyright law. The outcome was a huge relief to eBay, Costco, and other businesses that trade in products made outside this country. By 6-3, the court tossed a copyright-infringement award to publisher John Wiley & Sons against Thai graduate student Supap Kirtsaeng, who used eBay to resell copies of the publisher's copyrighted books that his relatives bought abroad at cut-rate prices.

K ATE BILO will return to her post as the weatherwoman of CBS 3's Eyewitness News broadcasts at 5 and 6 p.m. Monday after she went on maternity leave in December, resulting in new bundle of joy Anders . Anders, sometimes called A.J. by Bilo and husband Scott , joins Leo , who turns 3 1/2 soon. Being out of commission for three months has been rough on Bilo. "It's been hard sitting out the winter," she told me. "It's like being on the disabled list. " For a lot of working ladies, maternity leave means an extended period of time off. Little do they know, it's hard to get things done with a newborn babe.

Notre Dame is back in the Big East tournament title game for a third consecutive season, and the Fighting Irish hope their luck is about to change. Kayla McBride scored 17 points and Skylar Diggins added 14 to help No. 2 Notre Dame (30-1) to an 83-59 win over 16th-ranked Louisville (24-8) on Monday night in the semifinals in Hartford, Conn. "We're hoping it would be wonderful to get one for coach [Muffet] McGraw," Diggins said. "It's the one thing we're missing besides a national championship.

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick has suspended a scheduled book tour because he has received threats through social media, his spokesman said Monday night. Vick has been promoting his autobiography, Finally Free . The book tour included stops at Barnes & Noble stores in Exton and in Northvale, N.J. His next appearance was scheduled to be on Saturday in Atlanta. Vick appeared without incident at a bookstore in Charlotte, N.C., on March 2. "Michael Vick is committed to helping make his community a better place," Chris Shigas, a spokesman for Vick, said in an e-mail.