Rocket Scientist

David Silverstein, 13, was inspired to build a model rocket after seeing the movie October Sky, a biography of NASA rocket scientist Homer Hickam. The boy took his rocket, made out of a potato chip canister and fueled with three match heads, to his Glendale, Ariz., school, where it was found in a search of his locker. School officials classified the toy as a “weapon” and suspended him for the rest of the year based on its “zero tolerance” weapons policy. The police were also called, and the case is being referred to juvenile authorities. (Arizona Republic) ...How the U.S. lost its leadership in technological innovation — one in a long series.