At Harvard, Leaner Times Mean No More Hot Breakfast
Gone are the hot breakfasts in most dorms and the pastries at Widener Library. Varsity athletes are no longer guaranteed free sweatsuits, and just this week came the jarring news that professors will go without cookies at faculty meetings.
17 Die in Bombing Near Indian Embassy in Kabul
A car packed with explosives blew up beside the Indian Embassy on Thursday, leaving 17 people dead in what India’s foreign secretary said was a direct attack on the embassy compound, the second in two years.
Shorts (right)
In the year since the government stepped in to rescue the collapsing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the agencies have taken $96 billion from the Treasury, and may still need more.
For U.S., Leaving Iraq Is a Feat That Requires an Army
There is no more visible sign that America is putting the Iraq war behind it than the colossal operation to get its stuff out: 20,000 soldiers, nearly a sixth of the force here, assigned to a logistical effort aimed at dismantling some 300 bases and shipping out 1.5 million pieces of equipment, from tanks to coffee makers.
House Votes to Cover Sex Orientation Hate Crimes
The House voted Thursday to expand the definition of violent federal hate crimes to cover those committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation, a step that would extend new protection to lesbian, gay and transgender people.
The True Windy City
Chicago is frequently termed the “windy city,” but the honor, according to the National Climatic Data Center, belongs to the nearby Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, MA which has an average wind speed of 15.4 mph (24.8 kph). Boston is considered to be the windiest major metropolitan area with an average wind speed of 12.5 mph (20.1 kph) while Chicago is much further down the list at 10.4 mph (16.7 kph).
In Trial, 500,000 Homeowners Get Lower Mortgage Payments
For months, troubled homeowners seeking to lower their mortgage payments under a federal plan have complained about bureaucratic bungling, ceaseless frustration and confusion. On Thursday, the Obama administration declared that the $75 billion program is finally providing broad relief after it pressured mortgage companies to move faster to modify more loans.
Shorts (right)
When the Dalai Lama landed here on Monday, he set off on a characteristically hectic, weeklong schedule including lectures, seminars, an awards ceremony and meetings with a senior State Department official and the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
Prepaid, But Not Prepared For Debit Card Fees
Buying a prepaid debit card these days is just about as easy as picking up a bottle of shampoo or a candy bar. Walk into a Wal-Mart or almost any major drugstore, and rows of plastic worth $25, $100 and even $500 beckon from kiosks alongside prepaid phone cards and gift cards for retailers.
Three Americans Share NobelFor Work in Cell Biology
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded Monday to three American scientists who solved a problem of cell biology with deep relevance to cancer and aging. The three will receive equal shares of a prize worth around $1.4 million.
Shorts (left)
For nearly three decades, the Federal Trade Commission’s rules regarding the relationships between advertisers and product reviewers and endorsers were deemed adequate. Then came the age of blogging and social media.
First Doses of Swine Flu Vaccine Reach An Anxious Nation
The fear of swine flu is being compounded by new worries, this time among primary care doctors who say that they are swamped by calls from patients seeking the new vaccine, and that they are ill-prepared to cope with the nationwide drive to immunize everyone, particularly children and chronically ill adults.
As Job Losses Rise, Obama Aides Act to Fix Safety Net
With unemployment expected to rise well into next year even as the economy slowly recovers, the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress are discussing extending several safety net programs as well as proposing new tax incentives for businesses to renew hiring.
Algae May Have Made a Speedy Rebound After Deadly Strike
The asteroid that struck the planet 65 million years ago was very bad for the dinosaurs, as everyone knows, but it wasn’t too good for smaller things, either. Even algae and other primary producers in the ocean were affected, probably because atmospheric debris from the impact reduced the sunlight available for photosynthesis.
October in New England: A Meteorological Grab Bag
October has begun! Historically this month has been home to a wide variety of weather conditions for the New England region. This time of year has seen weather ranging from snowfall (on October 2, 1899), to 90 degree temperatures (on October 12, 1954), to hurricane landfalls (on October 20, 1770). As we transition from a warmer, calmer summer weather pattern to the cold, stormy winter pattern, it’s possible to experience all kinds of weird phenomena.
Shorts (left)
For most of the last two decades, a clear majority of Americans has supported the right to abortion. A new poll, though, suggests that support for abortion may have declined, with the public almost evenly divided over the issue.
China Celebrates, Worldless On Traumas in Their Past
Unlike in other cities taken by the People’s Liberation Army during China’s civil war, there were no crowds to greet the victors as they made their triumphant march through the streets of this industrial city in the heart of Manchuria.
Iran Agrees to Key Concessions On Nuclear Fuel
Iran agreed on Thursday in talks with the United States and other major powers to open its newly revealed uranium enrichment plant near Qum to international inspection in the next two weeks and to send most of its openly declared enriched uranium to Russia to be turned into fuel for a small reactor that produces medical isotopes, senior U.S. and other Western officials said.
Sen. Ensign Helped Husband of Ex-Mistress Find Work
Early last year, Sen. John Ensign contacted a small circle of political and corporate supporters back home in Nevada — a casino designer, an airline executive, the head of a utility and several political consultants — seeking work for a close friend and top Washington aide, Douglas Hampton.