Bits Blog: Samsung Is Forming an Army in Barcelona

Samsung Electronics had no new phone to show at Mobile World Congress this week. But it was ubiquitous in Barcelona nonetheless.The South Korean company’s presence was unavoidable even outside the conference. The walls of Barcelona’s metro stations were plastered with enormous posters showing Galaxy phones. Samsung even had a booth where people could try Galaxy devices right by the exit of the metro...

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First Lady Announces Public-Private Plan to Bolster Physical Education

CHICAGO — As part of her campaign to curb childhood obesity, Michelle Obama on Thursday announced an ambitious plan to increase physical education in the country’s public schools with the help of private companies. Jeff Haynes/ReutersMichelle Obama spoke in Chicago on Thursday about her plan to increase physical activity in schools. Under the $70 million...

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First Lady Announces Public-Private Plan to Bolster Physical Education

CHICAGO — As part of her campaign to curb childhood obesity, Michelle Obama on Thursday announced an ambitious plan to increase physical education in the country’s public schools with the help of private companies. Jeff Haynes/ReutersMichelle Obama spoke in Chicago on Thursday about her plan to increase physical activity in schools. Under the $70 million...

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DealBook: Icahn Gains 2 Seats on Herbalife’s Board

Herbalife said on Thursday that it planned to give two board seats to Carl C. Icahn, as the health supplements maker further binds itself to its most outspoken outside defender of late.Herbalife will expand its board by two seats, giving both to the billionaire investor. As part of the agreement, Mr. Icahn will also have permission to raise his stake in the company to 25 percent, from its current...

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The Lede: Video of Pope Benedict’s Public Farewell

During his final farewell address, Pope Benedict XVI describes the joys and challenges of his papacy via CNN on YouTube. As our colleagues, Rachel Donadio and Alan Cowell report, Pope Benedict XVI held his final general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, a day before he withdraws from the public for a cloistered life of prayer and meditation.Before tens of thousands of people gathered in...

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Bits Blog: Yahoo Issues a Statement on Work-at-Home Ban

In a front-page article in The New York Times on Tuesday morning, Catherine Rampell and I wrote about Yahoo’s new policy banning employees from working remotely. The company declined to comment for that article, but on Tuesday afternoon, it issued a statement about the ban against work-at-home arrangements.“This isn’t a broad industry view on working from home,” the statement said. “This is about...

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Personal Health: Too Many Pills in Pregnancy

The thalidomide disaster of the early 1960s left thousands of babies with deformed limbs because their mothers innocently took a sleeping pill thought to be safe during pregnancy,In its well-publicized wake, countless pregnant women avoided all medications, fearing that any drug they took could jeopardize their babies’ development.I was terrified in December 1968 when, during the first weeks of my...

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Personal Health: Too Many Pills in Pregnancy

The thalidomide disaster of the early 1960s left thousands of babies with deformed limbs because their mothers innocently took a sleeping pill thought to be safe during pregnancy,In its well-publicized wake, countless pregnant women avoided all medications, fearing that any drug they took could jeopardize their babies’ development.I was terrified in December 1968 when, during the first weeks of my...

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Shell Suspends Arctic Drilling for 2013

WASHINGTON — Royal Dutch Shell, after a series of costly and embarrassing accidents in its efforts to drill exploratory wells off the north coast of Alaska last year, announced on Wednesday that it would not return to the Arctic in 2013. The company’s two drill ships suffered serious accidents as they were leaving drilling sites in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas last fall and winter and are...

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Immigrants Released Ahead of Automatic Budget Cuts

In a highly unusual move, federal immigration officials have released hundreds of detainees from immigration detention centers around the country, an effort to save money as automatic budget cuts loom in Washington, officials said Tuesday. The government has not dropped the deportation cases against the immigrants, however. The detainees have been freed on supervised release while their cases...

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