1. “This is your child's brain on reading”

2. When parents read to their children the difference shows in children's behavior and academic performance. And according to a new study, the difference also shows in their brain activity. Researchers looked at children ages 3 to 5 who underwent brain scans called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while listening to a pre-recorded story. The researchers saw that, when the young children were being told a story, a number of regions in the left part of the brain became active. These are the areas involved in understanding the meaning of words and concepts and also in memory. This study shows that the development of this area starts at a very young age. Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, program director of the Reading and Literacy Discovery Center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, was one of the authors of the study and helped publish the findings on Monday in the journal Pediatrics. "The more you read to your child the more you help the neurons in this region to grow and connect in a way that will benefit the child in the future in reading," she said. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents start reading out loud to their children from the time they are born.

3. In Other News  Nobel Peace Prize nominees: The Greek island groups welcoming Syrian refugees, an escaped ISIS sex slave turned women's rights activist, the negotiators who ended five decades of civil war in Colombia, National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. Oh, and Donald Trump. The Republican presidential candidate, who was hosting a reality TV show at this time last year, has been nominated for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize by a mystery patron. The Nobel Committee, which does not reveal the details of its decision-making process, typically offers thousands of people the opportunity to nominate notable organizations and individuals for the award, which counts among its recipients Martin Luther King Jr., the Red Cross and, in 2009, President Barack Obama. Trump, however, is not on Harpviken's shortlist, which is currently topped by Snowden and two top U.S. and Iranian nuclear negotiators. Others who were nominated but did not receive the prize include Mahatma Gandhi, Pope Francis, Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Putin.  She hasn't earned an Olympic medal just yet, but fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad is already making history. The 30-year-old Maplewood, New Jersey, native will be the first U.S. athlete to compete in the Olympic Games in a hijab, a headscarf worn by some Muslim women to show modesty. Muhammad said she is honored to be representing not only her dreams, but the dreams of fellow Americans. She hopes she can be a role model for future athletes, especially Muslim Americans. "There are a lot of African-American athletes, but I can't think of a female Muslim woman I can look to for inspiration as an athlete," she said. Growing up, Muhammad's source of inspiration came from the Williams sisters and their confidence on the tennis courts.