Protests Erupt After Egypt’s Leader Seizes New Power

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesEgyptians in central Cairo ran from tear gas during clashes with the police on Friday. Protesters took to the streets in several cities. More Photos »CAIRO — Protests erupted across Egypt on Friday, as opponents of President Mohamed Morsi clashed with his supporters over a presidential edict that gave him unchecked authority and polarized an already divided...

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Ex-boxer 'Macho' Camacho dies after shooting

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hector "Macho" Camacho, a Puerto Rican boxer known for skill and flamboyance in the ring as well as for a messy personal life and run-ins with the police, was declared dead on Saturday, four days after being shot in the face. He was 50.Shot while sitting in a parked car outside a bar Tuesday with a friend in the city of Bayamon, he was declared dead at the Centro Medico...

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Scientists See Advances in Deep Learning, a Part of Artificial Intelligence

Hao Zhang/The New York TimesA voice recognition program translated a speech given by Richard F. Rashid, Microsoft’s top scientist, into Mandarin Chinese. Using an artificial intelligence technique inspired by theories about how the brain recognizes patterns, technology companies are reporting startling gains in fields as diverse as computer vision, speech recognition and the identification of promising...

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New Zealand Wants a Hollywood Put on Its Map

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Standing by his desk in New Zealand’s distinctive round Parliament building, known locally as the Beehive, Prime Minister John Key proudly brandished an ornately engraved sword. It was used, he said, by Frodo Baggins, the protagonist of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and in the films it possesses magical powers that cause it to glow blue in the presence of goblins. ...

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The Lede Blog: Vignettes of Black Friday

With promotions, discounts and doorbusters already well under way on Thanksgiving Day itself, many big-box retailers are making Black Friday stretch longer than ever. The Lede is checking out the mood of American consumers in occasional vignettes Thursday and Friday as the economically critical holiday shopping season kicks o...

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Syrian Airstrike Severely Damages Hospital in Aleppo

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Airstrikes by the Syrian government damaged a hospital in the northern city of Aleppo early on Thursday and flattened a building next to it, killing at least 15 people and leaving as many as 40 missing in an attack that closed one of the city’s few functioning medical facilities, antigovernment activists said. Video purporting to depict the aftermath showed the facade shorn...

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Texans playing Lions for a spot in the playoffs

DETROIT (AP) — The Houston Texans have put themselves in a position to be the NFL's first team to seal a spot in the playoffs and to move a step closer toward earning home-field advantage in the AFC.Houston (9-1) has won four straight and is 4-0 on the road this season, giving the Texans a great shot to be in consecutive postseasons for the first time."It shows the progress we've made," said tight...

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Recipes for Health: Apple Pear Strudel — Recipes for Health

Andrew Scrivani for The New York TimesThis strudel is made with phyllo dough. When I tested it the first time, I found that I had enough filling for two strudels. Rather than cut the amount of filling, I increased the number of strudels to 2, as this is a dessert you can assemble and keep, unbaked, in the freezer. Filling for 2 strudels: 1/2 pound mixed dried fruit, like raisins, currants,...

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Tool Kit: Online Shopping Tips for the Holidays

Some people may be looking forward to leaving Thanksgiving dinner before the pie is served to join the Black Friday rush, which will begin during dinnertime Thursday, earlier than ever, at stores like Sears, Walmart and Lord & Taylor. But for those who prefer to stay for the pie course, avoid the lines and freezing temperatures and shop from the comfort of their homes, there are just...

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Fighting Continues as U.S. Seeks Truce in Gaza

JERUSALEM — American efforts to help negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in the week-old Gaza rocket battle faced a new obstacle on Wednesday when the first bus bombing in years traumatized Tel Aviv, raising the prospect of a new Israeli retaliation just as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was working to achieve even a brief pause in the fighting. Mrs....

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Tagliabue expects to rule on bounties by December

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has advised league officials and players implicated in the NFL's bounty probe that he plans to complete all hearings by Dec. 4 and make a ruling shortly after.In a document obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, Tagliabue directs the NFL to produce key witnesses in the New Orleans Saints cash-for-hits program, including former defensive...

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New H.I.V. Cases Falling in Some Poor Nations, but Treatment Still Lags

New infections with H.I.V. have dropped by half in the past decade in 25 poor and middle-income countries, many of them in Africa, the continent hardest hit by AIDS, the United Nations said Tuesday. The greatest success has been in preventing mothers from infecting their babies, but focusing testing and treatment on high-risk groups like gay men, prostitutes and drug addicts has also paid...

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Blue Laws Curb Consumerism Where Pilgrims Gave Thanks

Charlie Mahoney for The New York TimesThe annual Thanksgiving celebration in Plymouth, Mass., is held the weekend before the holiday, so as not to interfere. PLYMOUTH, Mass. — Here in the birthplace of Thanksgiving, where the Pilgrims first gave thanks in 1621 for their harvest and their survival, some residents are giving thanks this year for something else: the Colonial-era blue laws that prevent...

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Clinton Visits in Effort to Defuse Gaza Conflict; Egypt Hints at Truce

JERUSALEM — Diplomatic efforts accelerated Tuesday to end the deadly confrontation between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, as the United States sent Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Middle East and Egypt’s president expressed confidence that a cease-fire was close. The diplomatic moves to end the nearly week-old crisis came on a day of some of the most intense violence...

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Rutgers to announce its joining Big Ten

NEW YORK (AP) — Rutgers is leaving the Big East for the Big Ten and cashing in on the school's investment in a football program that only 10 years ago seemed incapable of competing at the highest level.The school will make its decision official Tuesday at a news conference on its campus in Piscataway, N.J., with Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany joined by Rutgers University President Robert Barchi and...

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Ecstasy Treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Shows Promise

Gretchen Ertl for The New York TimesALTERNATIVE TREATMENT Rick Doblin of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which is financing research into the drug Ecstasy. Hundreds of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with post-traumatic stress have recently contacted a husband-and-wife team who work in suburban South Carolina to seek help. Many are desperate, pleading for treatment and willing...

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DealBook: Hewlett-Packard Takes Big Hit on ‘Improprieties’ at Autonomy

Hewlett-Packard said on Tuesday that it had taken an $8.8 billion accounting charge, after discovering “serious accounting improprieties” and “outright misrepresentations” at Autonomy, a British software maker that it bought for $10 billion last year.It is a major setback for H.P., which has been struggling to turn around its operations and remake its business.The charge essentially wiped out its...

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