Shorts (left)
When the Mayans envisioned the world coming to an end in 2012 at least in the Hollywood telling — they didn’t count junk bonds among the disasters that would lead to worldwide disaster.
C-Span puts full archives, 23 years of history, on the web
WASHINGTON — Researchers, political satirists and partisan mudslingers, take note: C-Span has uploaded virtually every minute of its video archives to the Internet.
Shorts (right)
WASHINGTON — An ill-timed municipal housing announcement in Jerusalem has mutated into one of the most serious conflicts between the United States and Israel in two decades, leaving a politically embarrassed Israeli government scrambling to respond to a tough list of demands by the Obama administration.
U.S. reins in special forces in Afghanistan after civilian deaths
KABUL — Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has brought most U.S. Special Operations forces under his direct control for the first time, out of concern over continued civilian casualties and disorganization among units in the field.
Priest close to Pope is suspended in child molestation case
MUNICH — The priest at the center of a German sex-abuse scandal that embroiled Pope Benedict XVI continued working with children for more than 30 years, even though the pope was personally involved in his case and a German court convicted the priest of molesting boys.
Flint, Mich. is hard hit by cuts in Medicaid reimbursements
FLINT, Mich. — Carol Y. Vliet’s cancer returned with a fury last summer, the tumors metastasizing to her brain, liver, kidneys and throat.
Sunshine returns!
A strong nor’easter brought heavy rains and strong winds to the Boston area for the past three days.
Health reform bill at impasse, Democrats push ahead alone
WASHINGTON — Democrats said on Thursday that they would go it alone in an effort to pass an overhaul of financial regulation, increasing the likelihood of a bitter partisan showdown.
Shorts (right)
It has been a rough few months for Toyota because of its three big safety recalls. But the automaker’s luxury division, Lexus, appears to have avoided much of the fallout.
Turmoil in Iraq amid tight vote tally, as some charge fraud
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s major coalitions were locked in a surprisingly close race on Thursday, in initial results from elections that deepened divisions across a fractured landscape. Candidates were quick to charge fraud, heightening concerns whether Iraq’s fledgling institutions were strong enough to support a peaceful transfer of power.
Shorts (left)
During the economic crisis last year, the prices for many goods held steady or even dropped. But on American farms, the picture was far different, as farmers watched the price they paid for seeds skyrocket. Corn seed prices rose 32 percent; soybean seeds were up 24 percent.
Afghan tribal rivalries bedevil a U.S. plan to counter Taliban
JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN — Six weeks ago, elders of the Shinwari tribe, which dominates a large area in southeastern Afghanistan, pledged that they would set aside internal differences to focus on fighting the Taliban.
Study sees efficiency, not natural gas, as best way to meet future energy needs
The big buzz at the CERAWeek conference may be natural gas, but a new study says it’s time to light a fire under energy efficiency to meet future energy demands.
Springing forward
Early Sunday morning marks the beginning of Daylight Saving Time (not Daylight “Savings” Time), when we move our clocks one hour forward. Eastern Standard Time (EST), five hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), gives way to Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), four hours behind GMT. The good news is that the sun will set an hour later, but at the price of one hour less of sleep on Saturday night.
$657.6 million settlement reached for 9/11 rescue and cleanup crews
NEW YORK — A settlement of up to $657.5 million has been reached in the cases of thousands of rescue and cleanup workers at ground zero who sued the city over damage to their health, according to city officials and lawyers for the plaintiffs.
States increase risk by seeking higher returns on pensions
States and companies have started investing very differently when it comes to the billions of dollars they are safeguarding for workers’ retirement.
Shorts (left)
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates met here on Monday with President Hamid Karzai and Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal to review plans for a major U.S.-led offensive in the city of Kandahar, the spiritual heart and birthplace of the Taliban, an operation McChrystal indicated could get under way this summer.
In earthquake’s aftermath, invisible cracks threaten Chile’s capital
SANTIAGO, Chile — From outside, there is no sign that the century-old building where Cecilia Painaqueo lived with her four children was damaged by one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded.
Obama says passing health bill is more important than politics
PHILADELPHIA—President Barack Obama challenged wavering members of his party on Monday not to give in to political fears about supporting health care legislation, asserting that the urgency of getting a bill through Congress should trump any concern about the consequences for Democrats in November.
Shorts (right)
For decades, advocates have fought to protect women from disfiguring breast cancer surgery, arguing that it was just as effective to remove only the cancerous tissue rather than the whole breast.