Quotables

"My wife did all the work."

Louisiana congressman Bobby Jindal, on the birth of a healthy, 8-pound, 2-ounce son. Supriya Jindal woke up in labor at home and the first-term Republican lawmaker called 911 after he saw the baby's head appear. But medics did not arrive in time, and Jindal assisted with the delivery himself.

"I have all this training as a Marine, and all I could think was, 'My city is in need.'"

Former Marine Sgt. Jason Thomas, revealing that he was the unidentified rescuer who, along with David Karnes, discovered Will Jimeno and John McLoughlin under 20 feet of debris after the 9/11 collapse of the World Trade Center.

"People were probably wondering: 'If they take away Pluto, is Rhode Island next?'"

Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Richard Binzel on the debate among astronomers leading up to a vote this month about whether Pluto will continue to be classified as a planet or lead a new classification of subplanets called plutons.

"It had to come out, finally."

Acclaimed German novelist and Nobel laureate Guenter Grass, 78, on his wartime service in Hitler's Waffen SS, to which he admitted for the first time in an Aug. 12 interview.