Senate Leaders Set to Work on a Last-Minute Tax Agreement

Luke Sharrett for The New York TimesIn a televised statement at the White House after meeting with Congressional leaders on Friday, President Obama said he was “modestly optimistic” that an agreement could be reached. WASHINGTON — At the urging of President Obama, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate set to work Friday night to assemble a last-minute tax deal that could pass both chambers...

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Memphis Aims to Be a Friendlier Place for Cyclists

Lance Murphey for The New York TimesThe Shelby Farms Greenline, which replaced a Memphis rail line. MEMPHIS — John Jordan, a 64-year-old condo appraiser here, has been pedaling his cruiser bicycle around town nearly every day, tooling about at lunchtime or zipping to downtown appointments. “It’s my cholesterol-lowering device,” said Mr. Jordan, clad in a leather vest and wearing a bright...

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IHT Rendezvous: France's 75 Percent Tax Rate Struck Down on Constitutional Grounds

France’s Constitutional Council overturned a 75 percent tax rate on incomes above €1 million euros, or $1.3 million, on Saturday.“The decision, in response to a motion by opposition conservatives, is a huge blow to Socialist President François Hollande who had made the 75 percent rate his flagship tax measure as he sought to make the rich be seen to contribute more towards reducing the budget deficit,”...

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Autonomy's Lynch Defends Record as HP Confirms Federal Probe

LONDON (Reuters) - Mike Lynch, the founder of the software firm sold to Hewlett-Packard last year in a deal tainted by accusations of accounting fraud, said he would defend the company's accounts to U.S. Federal investigators. HP confirmed in a filing late on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating Autonomy's books. The PC and printer maker bought the British...

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The New Old Age Blog: United States Lags in Alzheimer's Support

This month, the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging released a report examining how five nations — the United States, Australia, France, Japan and Britain — are responding to growing numbers of older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.Every country has a strategy, but some are much further ahead than others. Notably, France began addressing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in...

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The New Old Age Blog: United States Lags in Alzheimer's Support

This month, the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging released a report examining how five nations — the United States, Australia, France, Japan and Britain — are responding to growing numbers of older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.Every country has a strategy, but some are much further ahead than others. Notably, France began addressing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in...

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TIMESCAST: New Year’s in Times Square Goes Digital

December 26, 2012By Fritzie Andrade, Krishnan Vasudevan and David GillenTimesCast Media+Tech: Song apps to keep the party going. | A conversation with Allure’s 85-year-old plastic surgery editor, Joan Kron. | A look at the social media tied to the ball dr...

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China Toughens Restrictions on Internet Use

HONG KONG — The Chinese government issued new rules on Friday requiring Internet users to provide their real names to service providers, while assigning Internet companies greater responsibility for deleting forbidden postings and reporting them to the authorities. The decision came as government censors have sharply stepped up restrictions on China’s international Internet traffic in recent...

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DealBook: Looking for Opportunity Where Few Others Invest

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Investors started poking around for deals here five years ago, as the war-torn country began to move past its legacy of genocide and coups. When the global financial crisis struck, Cambodia’s fast-growing economy crashed and the dollars flowing from abroad evaporated.Douglas Clayton stayed put. In the midst of the crisis, he raised $34 million, starting the first investment...

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Creating the Ultimate Housework Workout

Robert Wright for The New York TimesChris Ely, an English butler, and Carol Johnson, a fitness instructor at Crunch NYC, perfecting a houseworkout. CAN housework help you live longer? A New York Times blog post by Gretchen Reynolds last month cited research linking vigorous activity, including housework, and longevity. The study, which tracked the death rates of British civil servants, was the latest...

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Creating the Ultimate Housework Workout

Robert Wright for The New York TimesChris Ely, an English butler, and Carol Johnson, a fitness instructor at Crunch NYC, perfecting a houseworkout. CAN housework help you live longer? A New York Times blog post by Gretchen Reynolds last month cited research linking vigorous activity, including housework, and longevity. The study, which tracked the death rates of British civil servants, was the latest...

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U.N. Envoy Calls for a Transitional Government in Syria

MOSCOW — The international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, on a mission to Damascus seeking an end to the escalating civil conflict in Syria, said Thursday that a transitional government should be granted full executive powers until President Bashar al-Assad’s term ends in 2014. Mr. Brahimi’s remarks to journalists, reported by news agencies, follow intensive talks this week with Mr. Assad and a range...

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Google Apps Moving Onto Microsoft’s Business Turf

SAN FRANCISCO — It has taken years, but Google seems to be cutting into Microsoft’s stronghold — businesses. Google’s software for businesses, Google Apps, consists of applications for document writing, collaboration, and text and video communications — all cloud-based, so that none of the software is on an office worker’s computer. Google has been promoting the idea for more than six years,...

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Recipes for Health: Penne With Mushroom Ragout and Spinach

Andrew Scrivani for The New York TimesPenne with mushroom ragout and spinach. ​​Mushrooms and spinach together is always a match made in heaven. I use a mix of wild and regular white or cremini mushrooms for this, but don’t hesitate to make it if regular mushrooms are all that is available.   1/2 ounce (about 1/2 cup) dried porcini mushrooms 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive...

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Recipes for Health: Penne With Mushroom Ragout and Spinach

Andrew Scrivani for The New York TimesPenne with mushroom ragout and spinach. ​​Mushrooms and spinach together is always a match made in heaven. I use a mix of wild and regular white or cremini mushrooms for this, but don’t hesitate to make it if regular mushrooms are all that is available.   1/2 ounce (about 1/2 cup) dried porcini mushrooms 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive...

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Google Apps Moving Onto Microsoft’s Business Turf

SAN FRANCISCO — It has taken years, but Google seems to be cutting into Microsoft’s stronghold — businesses. Google’s software for businesses, Google Apps, consists of applications for document writing, collaboration, and text and video communications — all cloud-based, so that none of the software is on an office worker’s computer. Google has been promoting the idea for more than six years,...

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IHT Rendezvous: IHT Quick Read: Dec. 26

NEWS The Tea Party might not be over, but it’s increasingly clear that the U.S. election last month significantly weakened the movement, which had nearly captured control of the Republican Party through a potent combination of populism and fury. Trip Gabriel reports.As Russia’s middle class becomes a force in commerce, G.M., Ford, Volkswagen and other automakers have been expanding, or plan to expand,...

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News Analysis: Getting Polio Campaigns Back on Track

How in the world did something as innocuous as the sugary pink polio vaccine turn into a flash point between Islamic militants and Western “crusaders,” flaring into a confrontation so ugly that teenage girls — whose only “offense” is that they are protecting children — are gunned down in the streets? Nine vaccine workers were killed in Pakistan last week in a terrorist campaign that brought...

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IHT Rendezvous: Safety Agency Blasts Grinches Who Use 'Safety' to Spoil Christmas Fun

LONDON — Britain’s health and safety watchdog has come out with a timely indictment of petty officialdom for using the excuse of supposedly protecting the public in order to spoil everyone’s Christmas fun.The seasonal Grinches include the town officials who banned Santa from riding in a local yuletide parade because his reindeer sled was not fitted with a seat belt.Other killjoys have tried to outlaw...

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