For Afghan Officials, Prospect of Death Comes With Territory

Bryan Denton for The New York TimesAbdul Majid Khogyani, center, the governor of Wardak Province, touring government buildings damaged by a suicide truck bombing two days earlier. KABUL, Afghanistan — There are so many ways for an Afghan official to die: car bombs, suicide attacks, a volley of bullets or, in the case of one particularly enterprising assassin, a handgun hidden in the sole of a shoe....

Read More..

James Cameron Relives Voyage to Ocean’s Deepest Spot

SAN FRANCISCO — The first thing James Cameron saw 7 miles below the sea was man-made: tracks from a remotely operated vehicle.“When I got to the bottom, I saw skid marks from the ROV,” Cameron said yesterday (Dec. 4) here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, referring to a 2009 survey by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Scientific results of the film director’s expedition...

Read More..

Cowboy charged after player dies in auto accident

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Police charged Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent with intoxication manslaughter Saturday after he flipped his car in a pre-dawn accident that killed teammate Jerry Brown.Irving police spokesman John Argumaniz said the accident happened about 2:20 a.m. Saturday in the Dallas suburb, hours before Brent was to be on a team flight to Cincinnati for the Cowboys' game Sunday...

Read More..

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...

Read More..

Tax Arithmetic Shows Top Rate Is Just a Starter in Talks

WASHINGTON — Despite hints in recent days that President Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner might compromise on the tax rate to be paid by top earners, a host of other knotty tax questions could still derail a deal to avert a fiscal crisis in January. The math shows why. Even if Republicans were to agree to Mr. Obama’s core demand — that the top marginal income rates return to the Clinton-era...

Read More..

Afghan Spy Chief’s Attacker Hid Bomb by His Groin

KABUL, Afghanistan — The man who tried to kill Afghanistan’s intelligence chief this week by smuggling a bomb into a guesthouse in Kabul concealed the device “around his groin,” according to a statement released Friday by the government. The statement suggested one reason the bomb might not have been detected during a search. It called the bombing, which seriously wounded the intelligence...

Read More..

The Era of Twitter Without Instagram Has Now Begun

We know everyone is a little bummed about all those filtered photos disappearing from your Twitter streams this weekend, but let’s not get all worked up about it: They are disappearing, and there is no scandal.RELATED: Why You Can’t See Instagram Photos on Twitter AnymoreTechCrunch’s  Drew Olanoff got a little too excited on Friday and thought a single in-stream photo meant that Instagram...

Read More..

Te'o and Manziel hit Manhattan with Heisman hopes

NEW YORK (AP) — Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o was looking forward to a break. It's been a long week for most decorated football player in the country.Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel seemed to have more energy when he arrived at a midtown Manhattan hotel with his fellow Heisman Trophy finalist.The two players spent about 30 minutes getting grilled by dozens of reporters before being whisked...

Read More..

The New Old Age Blog: A Son Lost, a Mother Found

My friend Yvonne was already at the front door when I woke, so at first I didn’t realize that my mother was missing.It was less than a week after my son Spencer died. Since that day, a constant stream of friends had been coming and going, bringing casseroles and soup, love, support and chatter. Mom hated it.My 94-year-old mother, who has vascular dementia, has been living in my home in upstate New...

Read More..

Off the Charts: European Banks Thriving as Investor Fears Ease

THE European bank crisis was one of the major worries of 2012. There were forecasts that the euro zone would break up, that various countries would default on their debts and that undercapitalized banks would fail because national governments could not afford to keep them alive. The bank crisis is not yet resolved, but it “appears to have been put on the back burner of investor concerns,”...

Read More..

IHT Rendezvous: Trust Women Conference: A Delegate's Reflections

LONDON — The first Trust Women conference, hosted by Thomson Reuters Foundation and the International Herald Tribune in London this week, boasted an impressive line up of speakers — from Melanne Verveer, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues to Christy Turlington Burns of Every Mother Counts to Queen Noor of Jordan, to name a few.The conference confronted difficult subjects like modern-day...

Read More..

Zynga moves to enter US gambling market

NEW YORK (AP) — Online games company Zynga said it has asked Nevada gambling regulators for a decision that could pave the way for it to enter the U.S. gambling market.This follows Zynga’s October disclosure that it has signed a deal to offer online poker and casino games, played with real money, in the U.K. It plans to launch those games in the first half of 2013.Zynga Inc. said in an email late...

Read More..

NHL labor talks break off after 1 hour

NEW YORK (AP) — Talks in the NHL labor fight broke down after just one hour Thursday night, and it isn't known when the league and the players' association would get back together.After several hours of waiting for discussions to resume for a third straight day, the conversations didn't go well and had none of the momentum that existed Tuesday and Wednesday.NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly left the...

Read More..

Extended Use of Breast Cancer Drug Suggested

The widely prescribed drug tamoxifen already plays a major role in reducing the risk of death from breast cancer. But a new study suggests that women should be taking the drug for twice as long as is now customary, a finding that could upend the standard that has been in place for about 15 years. In the study, patients who continued taking tamoxifen for 10 years were less likely to have...

Read More..

Jobless Claims Drop as Storm’s Effects Fade

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week as a temporary spike caused by Hurricane Sandy faded. Weekly first-time jobless claims have fallen back to a level consistent with modest hiring. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits dropped 25,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 370,000. New...

Read More..

The Lede Blog: Clashes in Cairo After Morsi Supporters Attack Palace Sit-In

Video, said to show a Morsi supporter firing a shotgun in the direction of protesters in Cairo on Wednesday night, was posted on YouTube by the Mosireen film collective.Last Updated, 6:55 p.m. Street battles erupted in Cairo on Wednesday night, after Islamist supporters of President Mohamed Morsi attacked protesters camped outside the gates of the presidential palace, according to journalists and...

Read More..

Chiefs players head to Belcher memorial service

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Several players for the Kansas City Chiefs attended a memorial service for teammate Jovan Belcher, who killed his girlfriend and then fatally shot himself in the head.Belcher killed 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins on Saturday at the home they shared in Kansas City with their 3-month-old daughter. He then drove to the Chiefs practice facility at Arrowhead Stadium, where he killed...

Read More..

Extended Use of Breast Cancer Drug Suggested

The widely prescribed drug tamoxifen already plays a major role in reducing the risk of death from breast cancer. But a new study suggests that women should be taking the drug for twice as long as is now customary, a finding that could upend the standard that has been in place for about 15 years. In the study, patients who continued taking tamoxifen for 10 years were less likely to have...

Read More..

Obama Tells G.O.P. Not to Tie Debt Ceiling to Fiscal Debate

Doug Mills/The New York TimesPresident Obama spoke to members of the Business Roundtable in Washington on Wednesday. WASHINGTON — President Obama warned Republicans on Wednesday not to use the debt ceiling as leverage on spending and tax decisions, saying he refused to engage again in the sort of brinkmanship that brought the country close to default last year and damaged its credit rating. ...

Read More..

32% of Young People Use Social Media in the Bathroom

...

Read More..

Bielema agrees to leave Wisconsin for Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema is taking his brand of power football to Arkansas.Bielema has agreed to become the new coach of the Razorbacks, according to a person familiar with the situation that was first reported by Yahoo Sports.The person, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the school had not announced the hire, said a news conference was planned for Wednesday....

Read More..