Deficit Talks Stumble Over Down Payment

Alex Wong/Getty ImagesSenator Kent Conrad in Washington last month. He sees “confusion between the initial down payment and the framework.” WASHINGTON — For all the growing angst over the state of negotiations to head off a fiscal crisis in January, the parties are farthest apart on a relatively small part of the overall deficit reduction program — the down payment. President Obama and the...

Read More..

Global Update: GlaxoSmithKline Tops Access to Medicines Index

Sang Tan/Associated PressGlaxoSmithKline hung on to its perennial top spot in the new Access to Medicines Index released last week, but its competitors are closing in. Every two years, the index ranks the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies based on how readily they get medicines they hold patents on to the world’s poor, how much research they do on tropical diseases, how ethically...

Read More..

Global Update: GlaxoSmithKline Tops Access to Medicines Index

Sang Tan/Associated PressGlaxoSmithKline hung on to its perennial top spot in the new Access to Medicines Index released last week, but its competitors are closing in. Every two years, the index ranks the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies based on how readily they get medicines they hold patents on to the world’s poor, how much research they do on tropical diseases, how ethically...

Read More..

Court Cases Challenge Border Searches of Laptops and Phones

The government has historically had broad power to search travelers and their property at the border. But that prerogative is being challenged as more people travel with extensive personal and business information on devices that would typically require a warrant to examine. Several court cases seek to limit the ability of border agents to search, copy and even seize travelers’ laptops,...

Read More..

Larissa Journal: Greek Brothel Owner Rescues Larissa Soccer Club

Angelos Tzortzinis for The New York TimesMs. Alevridou's support of Voukefalas has caused an uproar. LARISSA, Greece — Her soccer club looked ragged. Strikers jumped up for headers only to miss the ball entirely. Players tumbled over one another, shouting out accusations that they had been fouled. But in the bleachers, Soula Alevridou, or “Madam Soula,” as she is known in these parts, watched...

Read More..

Disruptions: Silencing the Voices of Militants on Twitter

Twitter, perhaps more than any other social media outlet, has become one of the most powerful tools to promote democracy in the Middle East.The service, which helped Arab Spring protesters in their drive for a new order in the region, is now under attack over aiding and abetting terrorist organizations.Along with six other Republican lawmakers, Representative Ted Poe, a judge turned Texas Congressman,...

Read More..

Call That Kept Nursing Home Patients in Sandy’s Path

Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesWorkers were shocked that nursing and adult homes in areas like Rockaway Park, Queens, weren’t evacuated. Hurricane Sandy was swirling northward, four days before landfall, and at the Sea Crest Health Care Center, a nursing home overlooking the Coney Island Boardwalk in Brooklyn, workers were gathering medicines and other supplies as they prepared to evacuate. ...

Read More..

Call That Kept Nursing Home Patients in Sandy’s Path

Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesWorkers were shocked that nursing and adult homes in areas like Rockaway Park, Queens, weren’t evacuated. Hurricane Sandy was swirling northward, four days before landfall, and at the Sea Crest Health Care Center, a nursing home overlooking the Coney Island Boardwalk in Brooklyn, workers were gathering medicines and other supplies as they prepared to evacuate. ...

Read More..

Bits Blog: In App Land, Lots of Ways to Get a Ride

In Monday’s Times, Brian X. Chen writes about the legal struggles of Uber, whose app connects users with car service drivers. Uber has captured the fancy of many riders but faces opposition from regulators and the taxi industry. While the company is perhaps the most prominent tech start-up looking to shake up the car service and taxi industries, it is not alone. Here is a quick look at the approaches...

Read More..

Carbon Dioxide Emissions Hit Record in 2011, Researchers Say

Global emissions of carbon dioxide were at a record high in 2011 and are likely to take a similar jump in 2012, scientists reported Sunday — the latest indication that efforts to limit such emissions are failing. Emissions continue to grow so rapidly that an international goal of limiting the ultimate warming of the planet to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, established three years ago, is on the...

Read More..