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• "The only way I'd be in favor of this is if the FCC mandated that all those who want to use their cellphones must sit next to families with screaming children," said frequent flier Joe Winogradoff.
• Amtrak and many local commuter railways have created quiet cars for those who don't want to be trapped next to a loud talker. It's not hard to envision airlines offering "quiet rows," although there will probably be an extra fee to sit there. Hopefully, they'll be more effective than the old smoking and non-smoking sections.
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• AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The long-simmering battle over teaching evolution in Texas boiled over at a late-night meeting, as the Board of Education extended preliminary approval of new science books for use in classrooms across the state but held up one biology text because of alleged factual errors.
• With midnight looming, some of the state education board members singled out a textbook by Pearson Education, one of America's largest publishers, on Thursday. Many of the 20 concerns pertained to the theory of evolution. After a lengthy debate that got testy at times, the board voted to have three of its members pick a trio of outside experts to further scrutinize the book.
• If the issues can be resolved, it will win approval. But if not, it will be returned to the board for consideration at its January meeting.
• Textbook and classroom curriculum battles have long raged in Texas pitting creationists -- those who see God's hand in the creation of the universe -- against academics who worry about religious and political ideology trumping scientific fact. At issue this time are proposed high school textbooks that could be used statewide starting next school year and through 2022 at least.
• The board is scheduled to vote again on all the proposed books at a meeting later Friday, then take final votes in January.
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• CAIRO (AP) -- In Egypt, misery just keeps piling on and, fittingly, the nation is officially in mourning.
• Political violence and unrest have plagued Egypt since the ouster in 2011 of

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