India Ink: New Focus on Village of Delhi Rape Victim's Father

MEDAWARA, Uttar Pradesh — A makeshift helipad was being built this week in this remote dusty village in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The potholed single-lane road that leads the village was under repair, and journalists, district officials and local politicians had come to call.Medawara, population 2,000, has never seen this kind of action and attention before, residents said.A brutal rape took place 600...

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Adrian Peterson, J.J. Watt unanimous All-Pros

NEW YORK (AP) — It's unanimous, on both sides of the ball.Vikings 2,000-yard man Adrian Peterson and Texans pass-swatting end J.J. Watt were unanimous choices for The Associated Press All-Pro team announced Saturday.Peterson, who came within 9 yards of breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record, and Watt, who led the NFL with 20 1-2 sacks, were selected by all 50 members of a nationwide...

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Former Lab Technician Denies Faulty DNA Work in Rape Cases

A former New York City laboratory technician whose work on rape cases is now being scrutinized for serious mistakes said on Friday that she had been unaware there were problems in her work and, disputing an earlier report, denied she had resigned under pressure. The former lab technician, Serrita Mitchell, said any problems must have been someone else’s. “My work?” Ms. Mitchell said....

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Business Briefing | Retailing: Best Buy Shares Rally on Improved Holiday Sales

The Best Buy Company had better-than-expected holiday sales, setting off a gain of $2, or 16.4 percent, in its stock price, to $14.21 a share on Friday. The holiday quarter accounted for about a third of Best Buy’s revenue last year. The chain said that revenue at stores open at least a year fell 1.4 percent for the nine weeks ended Jan. 5. The company’s performance in the United States was flat....

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Browns introduce Rob Chudzinski as new coach

CLEVELAND (AP) — Rob Chudzinski is back for his third tour with the Cleveland Browns, and this time he's calling the shots.Chudzinski, who spent the past two seasons as Carolina's offensive coordinator, was introduced as the club's sixth fulltime coach on Friday. He'll inherit a young roster he'll try to develop into a contender with the Browns, who have lost at least 11 games in each of the past...

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The New Old Age Blog: Taking a Zen Approach to Caregiving

You try to help your elderly father. Irritated and defensive, he snaps at you instead of going along with your suggestion. And you think “this is so unfair” and feel a rising tide of anger.How to handle situations like this, which arise often and create so much angst for caregivers?Jennifer Block finds the answer in what she calls “contemplative caregiving” — the application of Buddhist principles...

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Common Sense: Economic Experts Give Predictions for 2013

To many politicians, the deal that raised taxes on the wealthy and averted the fiscal cliff was a sellout, a cop-out, a Band-Aid — in short, nothing good. And now the debt ceiling showdown is looming. So why have stock investors cheered, pushing the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index to five-year highs? My annual survey suggests that investment experts are cautiously upbeat about the...

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Would-Be Inauguration in Venezuela for Chávez

Ariana Cubillos/Associated PressA woman walked past a wall plastered with election campaign posters of President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela in Caracas on Wednesday. CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chávez’s supporters have not ruled out swearing him in from his hospital in Havana. His detractors are calling for government investigators to go check his pulse themselves. The justices whom Mr. Chávez’s...

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Jaguars fire Mularkey after team's worst season

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars fired coach Mike Mularkey Thursday after just one season, the worst in franchise history.New general manager David Caldwell made the announcement, giving him a clean slate heading into 2013. Caldwell said he made the move just 48 hours after he was hired because he wants to immediately explore every avenue possible to turn the Jaguars around."For...

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F.D.A. Requires Cuts to Dosages of Ambien and Other Sleep Drugs

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday that it was requiring manufacturers of popular sleeping pills like Ambien and Zolpimist to cut their recommended dosage in half for women, after laboratory studies showed that they can leave people still sleepy in the morning and at risk for accidents. The agency issued the requirement for drugs containing the active ingredient zolpidem,...

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App Smart: A Deep Look at Tech Tools for Scuba Divers

In the middle of winter there can be few more spine-chilling thoughts than the idea of slipping into the ocean for a dip. But at least one group of people are attracted to the idea of year-round: scuba divers. The Android and iOS app Scuba Exam offers a quiz to prepare divers for tests. While high technology and water don’t mix well as a rule, the smartphone...

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World Briefing | Americas: Colombia: Former President’s Ties to Militia Under Investigation

Colombia’s chief prosecutor’s office has opened a preliminary criminal investigation into former President Álvaro Uribe over allegations he sponsored a deadly far-right militia as a regional governor in the 1990s. The inquiry ordered last Wednesday was made public Tuesday by Mr. Uribe’s lawyer, Jaime Granados. Mr. Uribe denounced it on Twitter as defamation based on the testimony of “manipulated...

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AP Source: Surgery reveals damage to RG3's ACL

WASHINGTON (AP) — A person familiar with the situation says the surgery on Robert Griffin III's knee revealed damage to the ACL.The Washington Redskins quarterback had surgery Wednesday morning to repair a torn lateral collateral ligament in his right knee. The procedure also examined Griffin's ACL, which he tore while playing for Baylor in 2009. Another torn ACL would complicate Griffin's chances...

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Well: Feeling Bullied by Parents About Weight

Nancy Keefe Rhodes, a therapist and writer in Syracuse, N.Y., has struggled with weight all her life. So when the uncle she idolized asked her, at age 10, if she went to “Omar the tentmaker” for her clothes, she was devastated. “When I begged him to stop, he said he was just trying to help,” she said.Parents and other adults who are “only trying to help” may do harm rather than good, as a recent study...

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Wall Street Modestly Higher

Wall Street opened higher on Wednesday after Alcoa got the earnings season under way with better-than-expected revenue and an encouraging outlook for the year. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose 0.5 percent in morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq composite index was up 0.6 percent. European shares were moderately higher in afternoon...

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India Ink: In Maharashtra, Fight Over Restaurant Bill Erupts into Riot

What started out as a skirmish over a restaurant bill escalated into riots that left five people dead from police gunfire and injured over 200 in Dhule, a city about 350 kilometers northeast of Mumbai.“It all happened within a span of about 30 minutes,” said Mohan Pawar, the additional superintendent of police for Dhule, who was among those injured in the weekend violence.Mr. Pawar said by telephone...

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'Bama bashes Notre Dame 42-14 in BCS title game

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Barely taking time to celebrate their latest national championship, Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide are ready to get back to work.That's how they make it look so easy.In what must be an increasingly frustrating scene for the rest of college football, another season ended with Saban and his players frolicking in the middle of a confetti-strewn field. Eddie Lacy ran...

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Recipes for Health: Baked Ziti or Penne Rigata With Cauliflower — Recipes for Health

Andrew Scrivani for The New York TimesYou can add vegetables to just about any baked macaroni dish. Cauliflower works very well in this one, inspired by another Sicilian cauliflower dish in Clifford A. Wright’s “Cucinia Paradiso.” 1 medium cauliflower, about 2 pounds, leaves and stem trimmed Salt to taste Pinch of saffron threads 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil ...

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Chinese Businessman Pleads Guilty in Stolen Software Case

WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - In a case U.S. officials say is the first of its kind, a Chinese businessman pleaded guilty Monday to selling stolen American software used in defense, space technology and engineering - programs prosecutors said held a retail value of more than $100 million. The sophisticated software was stolen from an estimated 200 American manufacturers and sold to 325...

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Court in Bahrain Confirms Jail Terms for 13 Dissidents

CAIRO — A court in Bahrain on Monday upheld prison sentences for 13 of the country’s most prominent dissidents, in a decision that government opponents offered as evidence that the monarchy was ignoring calls to negotiate a political solution that could quiet a nearly two-year-old uprising. The decision ends all appeals for the dissidents, who were sentenced to between five years and life...

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RG3 defends himself as Redskins await knee results

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Robert Griffin III knows he's getting criticized for playing hurt in the Washington Redskins' playoff loss.On Monday, he offered his latest defense on Twitter.The rookie quarterback tweeted: "Many may question, criticize & think they have all the right answers. But few have been in the line of fire in battle."The Redskins were awaiting the results of an MRI on Griffin's right...

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Recipes for Health: Sicilian Pasta With Cauliflower

Andrew Scrivani for The New York TimesEvery once in a while I revisit the cuisine of a particular part of the world (usually it is located somewhere in the Mediterranean). This week I landed in Sicily. I was nosing around my cookbooks for some cauliflower recipes and opened my friend and colleague Clifford A. Wright’s very first cookbook, “Cucina Pariso: The Heavenly Food of Sicily.” The cuisine of...

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DealBook: Banks Reach Settlement on Mortgages

11:38 a.m. | Updated Bank of America agreed on Monday to pay more than $10 billion to Fannie Mae to settle claims over troubled mortgages that soured during the housing crash, mostly loans issued by the bank’s Countrywide Financial subsidiary.Separately, federal regulators reached an $8.5 billion settlement on Monday to resolve claims of foreclosure abuses that included flawed paperwork used in foreclosures...

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