The Lede Blog: New Photographs Stir Doubts About Bashar's Baby and Iran's Space Monkey

Last Updated, Saturday, 12:37 p.m. Bad news, readers: new images appear to cast doubt on the accuracy of two of the week’s most widely-reported stories — the rumored pregnancy of Syria’s first lady, and the pioneering space flight of an Iranian monkey.As the Washington Post correspondent Liz Sly reported, President Bashar al-Assad’s office posted five new photographs of his wife, Asma, on Facebook,...

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Washington Post Joins List of News Media Hacked by the Chinese

SAN FRANCISCO — The question is no longer who has been hacked. It’s who hasn’t? The Washington Post can be added to the growing list of American news organizations whose computers have been penetrated by Chinese hackers. After The New York Times reported on Wednesday that its computers as well as those of Bloomberg News had been attacked by Chinese hackers, The Wall Street Journal...

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Ferrol Sams, Doctor Turned Novelist, Dies at 90

Ferrol Sams, a country doctor who started writing fiction in his late 50s and went on to win critical praise and a devoted readership for his humorous and perceptive novels and stories that drew on his medical practice and his rural Southern roots, died on Tuesday at his home in Lafayette, Ga. He was 90. The cause, said his son Ferrol Sams III, also a doctor, was that he was “slap wore...

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Ferrol Sams, Doctor Turned Novelist, Dies at 90

Ferrol Sams, a country doctor who started writing fiction in his late 50s and went on to win critical praise and a devoted readership for his humorous and perceptive novels and stories that drew on his medical practice and his rural Southern roots, died on Tuesday at his home in Lafayette, Ga. He was 90. The cause, said his son Ferrol Sams III, also a doctor, was that he was “slap wore...

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Media Decoder Blog: In Wake of Restructuring, NBC News President Quits

8:30 p.m. | Updated The longest-serving president of any of the three network news divisions, Steve Capus of NBC News, stepped down from his position on Friday, six months after Comcast restructured its news units in a way that diminished his authority.Pat Fili-Krushel, chairwoman of the NBCUniversal News Group, said in a brief telephone interview on Friday that she would “cast a wide net” while searching...

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The Lede Blog: Video Shows Aftermath of U.S. Embassy Bombing in Turkey

Associated Press video showing the damage to the perimeter of the United States Embassy in Turkey after a suicide bombing in Ankara on Friday.As my colleagues Sebnem Arsu and Rick Gladstone report, a suicide bomber attacked the American Embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara on Friday, in a blast that officials said killed at least one Turkish citizen and wounded another at a side entrance to the compound.A...

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Making Web Sites Completely Addictive

Looking for a real estate agent who loves dogs? You’ll find 314 results for “dog lover” on Corcoran’s redesigned Web site. Want to know how locals rate the suburb you’re considering moving to? What if during Sunday brunch you get the sudden urge to go apartment hunting? Warburgrealty.com now offers an app that offers up nearby listings based on your current location. Recognizing that...

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SciTimes Update: Recent Developments in Science and Health News

Michael Probst/Associated PressBaby hedgehogs in Germany. Friday in science, clues to owls’ backwardness, fresh dangers to the seas and the launch of a giant kite. Check out these and other headlines from around the Web. Phil Marino for The New York TimesPhysicists monitored data from heavy ion collisions in the control room at Brookhaven National Laboratory particle collider in 2007....

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SciTimes Update: Recent Developments in Science and Health News

Michael Probst/Associated PressBaby hedgehogs in Germany. Friday in science, clues to owls’ backwardness, fresh dangers to the seas and the launch of a giant kite. Check out these and other headlines from around the Web. Phil Marino for The New York TimesPhysicists monitored data from heavy ion collisions in the control room at Brookhaven National Laboratory particle collider in 2007....

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DealBook: Capital One Hires Centerview Executive as Finance Chief

Capital One Financial said on Friday that it had hired Stephen S. Crawford, a top executive of the boutique investment bank Centerview Partners, as its chief financial officer.He will join Capital One on Monday as chief financial officer designate, and on May 24 will formally replace Gary L. Perlin, who will retire. Upon joining the bank, Mr. Crawford will report to its chairman and chief executive,...

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Hagel Offers Endorsement of U.S. Military Might

Brendan Hoffman for The New York TimesChuck Hagel arrived for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. WASHINGTON — Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee to be secretary of defense, engaged in a sharp exchange with his old friend, Senator John McCain, at the opening of his confirmation hearing on Thursday when Mr. McCain, Republican of Arizona, pressed him...

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Chinese Hackers Infiltrate New York Times Computers

A Cyberattack From China: TimesCast: Chinese hackers infiltrated The New York Times’s computer systems, getting passwords for its reporters and others.SAN FRANCISCO — For the last four months, Chinese hackers have persistently attacked The New York Times, infiltrating its computer systems and getting passwords for its reporters and other employees. After surreptitiously tracking the intruders...

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SciTimes Update: Recent Developments in Science and Health News

NASAResearchers tracked the movement of carbon monoxide molecules orbiting a black hole within the galaxy NGC 4526 to determine its mass. Thursday in science, possible advances in cancer diagnosis, weighing black holes, shocking photos from space and good news for a breed of penguins. Check out these and other headlines from around the Web. How Heavy Is That Black Hole?: Concerned about the...

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SciTimes Update: Recent Developments in Science and Health News

NASAResearchers tracked the movement of carbon monoxide molecules orbiting a black hole within the galaxy NGC 4526 to determine its mass. Thursday in science, possible advances in cancer diagnosis, weighing black holes, shocking photos from space and good news for a breed of penguins. Check out these and other headlines from around the Web. How Heavy Is That Black Hole?: Concerned about the...

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DealBook: Deutsche Bank Posts Surprise $3 Billion Loss

FRANKFURT – Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest lender, reported a surprise net loss of 2.2 billion euros ($3 billion) for the fourth quarter of 2012 on Thursday, hurt by the diminished value of some assets as well as costs related to numerous legal proceedings.The results underline the task ahead for Jürgen Fitschen and Anshu Jain, the co- chief executives who took over the bank less than seven months...

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Syrian Opposition Leader Softens Position on Talks with Assad

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria’s top political opposition leader expressed willingness for the first time on Wednesday to talk with representatives of President Bashar al-Assad, softening what had been an absolute stand of refusing to negotiate with the government in an increasingly chaotic civil war. The opposition leader, Sheik Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib, coupled his offer with two demands: the release...

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Bits Blog: For Rent: The New Microsoft Office

Office is one of the great gushers of profits in the software industry, so it is noteworthy when Microsoft starts fiddling with how it charges for its suite of productivity applications.On Tuesday, the company began what it called a reinvention of its Office product for consumers. Users will now subscribe to the software for a $100 annual fee, rather than buying it outright as they have for years....

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SciTimes Update: Recent Developments in Health and Science News

Charles A. Nelson Lab, University of MinnesotaStudying the infant brain. From the book:  "Raising America: Experts, Parents and a Century of Advice About Children" by Ann Hulbert. Wednesday in Science, babies who know what’s on your mind, a sinkhole in China, coral reefs in crisis and a soldier who can now talk with his hands. Check out these and other headlines from around the Web. ...

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SciTimes Update: Recent Developments in Health and Science News

Charles A. Nelson Lab, University of MinnesotaStudying the infant brain. From the book:  "Raising America: Experts, Parents and a Century of Advice About Children" by Ann Hulbert. Wednesday in Science, babies who know what’s on your mind, a sinkhole in China, coral reefs in crisis and a soldier who can now talk with his hands. Check out these and other headlines from around the Web. ...

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Today's Economist: Casey B. Mulligan: The Health Care Law and Retirement Savings

Casey B. Mulligan is an economics professor at the University of Chicago. He is the author of “The Redistribution Recession: How Labor Market Distortions Contracted the Economy.” Because of its definition of affordability, beginning next year the Affordable Care Act may affect retirement savings.Employer contributions to employee pension plans are exempt from payroll and personal income taxes at the...

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Ukrainian General Given Life Sentence in Killing of Journalist

Sergey Dolzhenko/European Pressphoto AgencyGen. Oleksei Pukach listened to his sentence from the defendant's cage during a court session of the Pechersk district court on charges of murder of the journalist Georgy Gongadze in Kiev, Ukraine, on Tuesday. MOSCOW — A Ukrainian court sentenced a former security official to life in prison on Tuesday for the death of Georgy Gongadze, a journalist whose mysterious...

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Streaming Shakes Up Music Industry’s Model for Royalties

Jim Wilson/The New York TimesZoe Keating published on her blog the details of what she made in royalties from the Web streaming of her music. It wasn’t a lot. Like plenty of music fans, Sam Broe jumped at the chance to join Spotify two summers ago, and he hasn’t looked back. Spotify, which began streaming music in Sweden in 2008, lets users choose from millions of songs over the Internet...

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