Dec
10

Mind: A Compromise on Defining and Diagnosing Mental Disorders

They plotted a revolution, fell to debating among themselves, and in the end overturned very little except their own expectations. But the effort itself was a valuable guide for anyone who has received a psychiatric diagnosis, or anyone who might get one. This month, the American Psychiatric Association announced that its board of trustees had approved the fifth edition of the association’s...
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Dec
09

Fear of Fighting Haunts Once-Tranquil Damascus

Muzaffar Salman/ReutersA portrait of President Bashar al-Assad outside the venue of a charity concert by the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra in Damascus on Nov. 21. DAMASCUS, Syria — Business has been terrible for Abu Tareq, a taxi driver, so last week, without telling his wife, he agreed to drive a man to the Damascus airport for 10 times the usual rate. But, he said later, he will not be doing...
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Bits Blog: Facebook Likely to End Experiment With Democracy

A half-million Facebook users have told the social network they do not want the company to change its privacy policy. Sounds impressive, right? Well, the only way that crowd will get its way and the status quo remain intact is if an additional 300 million people vote thumbs down before Monday. Odds of that happening? About zero.Facebook says the changes to the policy are minor and beneficial for users....
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New Taxes to Take Effect to Fund Health Care Law

WASHINGTON — For more than a year, politicians have been fighting over whether to raise taxes on high-income people. They rarely mention that affluent Americans will soon be hit with new taxes adopted as part of the 2010 health care law. The new levies, which take effect in January, include an increase in the payroll tax on wages and a tax on investment income, including interest, dividends...
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As Recovery Inches Ahead, Banks Face a New Reckoning

The nation’s largest banks are facing a fresh torrent of lawsuits asserting that they sold shoddy mortgage securities that imploded during the financial crisis, potentially adding significantly to the tens of billions of dollars the banks have already paid to settle other cases. Regulators, prosecutors, investors and insurers have filed dozens of new claims against Bank of America, JPMorgan...
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Dec
08

President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt Said to Prepare Martial Law Decree

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesEgyptian protesters stood next to a destroyed barricade near the presidential palace in Cairo on Saturday. More Photos »CAIRO — Struggling to quell street protests and political violence, President Mohamed Morsi is moving to impose a version of martial law by calling on the armed forces to keep order and authorizing soldiers to arrest civilians, Egyptian...
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Dec
07

The Lede Blog: Hospital Nurse in Radio Hoax With Kate Middleton Is Found Dead

Video of a statement on Friday from the London hospital where Kate Middleton was treated this week.A nurse at a London hospital, who took a prank call from two Australian radio disc jockeys pretending to be Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles to get details on Kate Middleton’s medical condition, was found dead on Friday, the hospital said.John Lofthouse, the chief executive of the King Edward VII...
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Drafters of Communications Treaty Are Split on Internet Issue

PARIS — Nearly a week into a global conference to draft a treaty on the future of international telecommunications, delegates remain divided on a fundamental question: should the Internet feature in the discussions? The United States says no, arguing that including it in an intergovernmental agreement could result in regulations that would hamper its development, which has been led by...
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Dec
06

U. S. and Russia to Meet on Syrian Conflict

DUBLIN — A new round of diplomacy on the conflict in Syria will begin on Thursday afternoon when Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations special envoy, hosts an unusual three-way meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov. The session, which is being held on the margins of a meeting on European security, comes amid reports of heightened...
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Apple to Resume U.S. Manufacturing

For the first time in years, Apple will manufacture computers in the United States, the chief executive of Apple, Timothy D. Cook, said in interviews with NBC and Bloomberg Businessweek. “Next year, we will do one of our existing Mac lines in the United States,” he said in an interview to be broadcast Thursday on “Rock Center With Brian Williams” on NBC. Apple, the biggest company...
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