2 Sides in Talks Inch Closer but No Fiscal Deal on Final Day

WASHINGTON — A frantic round of late-night negotiations on Sunday between Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, moved the Senate close to a deal to stave off hundreds of billions of dollars in tax increases and across-the-board spending cuts that would begin to kick in on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the talks. ...

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Chinese Firm Is Cleared to Buy American DNA Sequencing Company

Ramin Rahimian for The New York TimesDNA sequencing machines at Complete Genomics in California. The firm dismissed concerns about its acquisition. The federal government has given national security clearance to the controversial purchase of an American DNA sequencing company by a Chinese firm. The Chinese firm, BGI-Shenzhen, said in a statement this weekend that its acquisition of Complete...

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Chinese Firm Is Cleared to Buy American DNA Sequencing Company

Ramin Rahimian for The New York TimesDNA sequencing machines at Complete Genomics in California. The firm dismissed concerns about its acquisition. The federal government has given national security clearance to the controversial purchase of an American DNA sequencing company by a Chinese firm. The Chinese firm, BGI-Shenzhen, said in a statement this weekend that its acquisition of Complete...

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YouTube Ban Lifted in Pakistan, for 3 Minutes

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A ban on YouTube, which Pakistan imposed after an anti-Islam video caused riots in much of the Muslim world, was lifted Saturday, only to be reinstated — after three minutes — when it was discovered that blasphemous material was still available on the site. After months of criticism of the ban, the government decided to allow Pakistanis to have access to YouTube again,...

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Afghan Army Deaths on the Rise

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan government has hit a grim record in its quest to take over the country’s security from coalition forces: more than 1,000 soldiers died in 2012, a roughly 20 percent increase from 2011. Though the Afghan Army’s death rates have outstripped those for international forces in recent years, the new figures show the widest margin yet, as more and more Afghan units...

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Elwood V. Jensen, Pioneer in Breast Cancer Treatment, Dies at 92

Tony Jones/Cincinnati Enquirer, via Associated PressElwood V. Jensen in 2004. Elwood V. Jensen, a medical researcher whose studies of steroid hormones led to new treatments for breast cancer that have been credited with saving or extending hundreds of thousands of lives, died on Dec. 16 in Cincinnati. He was 92. The cause was complications of pneumonia, his son, Thomas Jensen, said. ...

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Well: Exercise and the Ever-Smarter Human Brain

Anyone whose resolve to exercise in 2013 is a bit shaky might want to consider an emerging scientific view of human evolution. It suggests that we are clever today in part because a million years ago, we could outrun and outwalk most other mammals over long distances. Our brains were shaped and sharpened by movement, the idea goes, and we continue to require regular physical activity in order for...

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YouTube Ban Lifted in Pakistan, for 3 Minutes

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A ban on YouTube, which Pakistan imposed after an anti-Islam video caused riots in much of the Muslim world, was lifted Saturday, only to be reinstated — after three minutes — when it was discovered that blasphemous material was still available on the site. After months of criticism of the ban, the government decided to allow Pakistanis to have access to YouTube again,...

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Drone War Spurs Pakistan Militants to Deadly Reprisals

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — They are dead men talking, and they know it. Gulping nervously, the prisoners stare into the video camera, spilling tales of intrigue, betrayal and paid espionage on behalf of the United States. Some speak in trembling voices, a glint of fear in their eyes. Others look resigned. All plead for their lives. “I am a spy and I took part in four attacks,” said Sidinkay, a...

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Well: Spinach Recipes for Health

Spinach goes well with all kinds of foods. It’s also a green that is easy to find year-round. As Martha Rose Shulman writes in this week’s Recipes for Health:Spinach has remained a part of my holiday ritual. I love the convenience of bagged spinach, but I prefer the richness of the lush bunches I get at the farmers’ market. I don’t mind stemming and washing it, but if you are pressed for time the...

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Well: Spinach Recipes for Health

Spinach goes well with all kinds of foods. It’s also a green that is easy to find year-round. As Martha Rose Shulman writes in this week’s Recipes for Health:Spinach has remained a part of my holiday ritual. I love the convenience of bagged spinach, but I prefer the richness of the lush bunches I get at the farmers’ market. I don’t mind stemming and washing it, but if you are pressed for time the...

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India Ink: Delhi Rape Victim's Condition Deteriorates

The Singapore hospital treating the 23-year-old woman who was raped by several men in a moving bus on Dec. 16 in Delhi issued the following statement on Friday:From Dr. Kevin Loh, chief executive officer, Mount Elizabeth Hospital:“As of 9pm (Singapore time) on 28 Dec, the patient’s condition has taken a turn for the worse. Her vital signs are deteriorating with signs of severe organ failure. This...

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DealBook: Hedge Fund Seeks Ouster of SandRidge Energy's Board

A New York hedge fund filed papers with federal securities regulators on Wednesday seeking to oust the board at SandRidge Energy, the latest salvo in its continuing campaign against the struggling Oklahoma City oil and gas company.The hedge fund, TPG-Axon Capital Management, which owns nearly 7 percent of SandRidge’s shares, submitted so-called consent solicitation documents with the Securities and...

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Well: Where Have All the Primary Care Doctors Gone?

More and more, my family and friends are asking for my help in finding a primary care doctor. That they would be having trouble finding one doesn’t surprise me. We’ve all been reading warnings about an impending doctor shortage for several years now.What is alarming to me is that there are no sure-fire solutions in place that will bail us all out in time.In the United States, we are now short approximately...

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Creating the Ultimate Housework Workout

Robert Wright for The New York TimesChris Ely, an English butler, and Carol Johnson, a fitness instructor at Crunch NYC, perfecting a houseworkout. CAN housework help you live longer? A New York Times blog post by Gretchen Reynolds last month cited research linking vigorous activity, including housework, and longevity. The study, which tracked the death rates of British civil servants, was the latest...

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Marvell Ordered to Pay $1.17 Billion in Patent Case

Carnegie Mellon University said it was awarded $1.17 billion by a federal jury in Pittsburgh on Wednesday in a unanimous verdict that found the Marvell Technology Group had sold billions of semiconductors using technology developed at the university without a license. The award is one of the largest in a patent infringement case, and comes after a $1 billion verdict awarded to Apple this...

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Iran Raises Level of Islamic Law Enforcement

The call to prayer, a five-times-a-day ritual for strict adherents to Islam, is reaching new heights in Iran. Under a directive announced Wednesday by Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, all aircraft will be prohibited from flying across the country during the Adhan, or call to prayer, when many devout Muslims pause to face toward Mecca and pray. The directive also requires that planes scheduled...

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Square Feet: Idled City Airports Get a Second Life as Housing

DENVER — When excavators digging on the land that was formerly Denver’s Stapleton Airport unearthed an old Cessna, J. W. Duff, the 86-year-old owner of the J. W. Duff Aircraft Company was not surprised. “Lots of planes” were disposed of by burial when the airport was still in operation, Mr. Duff said. Finding something unexpected is just one of the many challenges of turning idled airports into something...

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One Illness After Another, and an Eviction Looming

As the water surged through the basement apartment of a Coney Island town house during Hurricane Sandy, Jeffrey Cowen, a cherubic and chatty sort, tried to calm down the two tenants who had remained with him in the building. Michelle V. Agins/The New York TimesJeffrey Cowen, 51, in his Coney Island apartment. His illnesses have led to his falling about $8,400 behind in his rent. ...

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One Illness After Another, and an Eviction Looming

As the water surged through the basement apartment of a Coney Island town house during Hurricane Sandy, Jeffrey Cowen, a cherubic and chatty sort, tried to calm down the two tenants who had remained with him in the building. Michelle V. Agins/The New York TimesJeffrey Cowen, 51, in his Coney Island apartment. His illnesses have led to his falling about $8,400 behind in his rent. ...

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Gadgetwise Blog: In Speaker Dock, a Minimalist Home for the iPhone 5

Capitalizing on the sudden need for iPhone 5 docking stations, Harman has released the JBL OnBeat Micro speaker dock that features the must-have Apple Lightning connector.The $100 JBL OnBeat Micro is a redesigned version of its predecessor, the On Stage Micro. It still comes with an AC power adapter, which charges devices while they are docked, but the remote control was dropped.The speaker dock is...

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South Africa’s President Says Mandela Looking ‘Much Better’

JOHANNESBURG — President Jacob Zuma of South Africa gave a largely upbeat assessment on Tuesday of the health of Nelson Mandela, the nation’s first black president and anti-apartheid icon, who has spent more than two weeks in the hospital for a lung infection and gallstones. Mr. Zuma said in a statement that Mr. Mandela, 94, “is looking much better” and that “the doctors are happy with the...

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