Rio de Janeiro Grapples With Exploding Manholes

RIO DE JANEIRO — David McLaughlin was thrilled to be in Brazil. He had arrived here from Ohio State University on a Fulbright grant to research Brazilian hip-hop music with his wife, Sarah Lowry, a scholar of Russian literature. The graduate students, newlyweds, set out one morning in June 2010 to search for an apartment in the beachfront neighborhood of Copacabana. Then, while crossing a...

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Azarenka beats Li, defends Australian Open title

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Victoria Azarenka had the bulk of the crowd against her. The fireworks were fizzling out, and when she looked over the net she saw Li Na crashing to the court and almost knocking herself out.Considering the cascading criticism she'd encountered after her previous win, Azarenka didn't need the focus of the Australian Open final to be on another medical timeout.So after defending...

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Diner’s Journal Blog: PepsiCo Will Halt Use of Additive in Gatorade

PepsiCo announced on Friday that it would no longer use an ingredient in Gatorade after consumers complained.The ingredient, brominated vegetable oil, which was used in citrus versions of the sports drink to prevent the flavorings from separating, was the object of a petition started on Change.org by Sarah Kavanagh, a 15-year-old from Hattiesburg, Miss., who became concerned about the ingredient after...

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Diner’s Journal Blog: PepsiCo Will Halt Use of Additive in Gatorade

PepsiCo announced on Friday that it would no longer use an ingredient in Gatorade after consumers complained.The ingredient, brominated vegetable oil, which was used in citrus versions of the sports drink to prevent the flavorings from separating, was the object of a petition started on Change.org by Sarah Kavanagh, a 15-year-old from Hattiesburg, Miss., who became concerned about the ingredient after...

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Tens of Thousands Fill Tahrir Square on Anniversary of Egyptian Revolt

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesA man throws rocks at Egyptian security officials in Cairo on Friday. CAIRO — Tens of thousands of Egyptians filled Tahrir Square here on Friday to observe the second anniversary of the revolt that ousted President Hosni Mubarak with a massive protest against the political ascendance of the Muslim Brotherhood. There were parallel demonstrations...

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Murray edges Federer, reaches Australian final

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Andy Murray has finally beaten Roger Federer at a Grand Slam.The U.S. Open champion beat 17-time major winner Federer 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 Friday at the Australian Open, calling it a massive confidence boost as he attempts to win his second consecutive major.Murray, who missed his chance to serve out the match at 6-5 in the fourth set, will play defending champion...

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Well: Ask Well: Squats for Aging Knees

You are already doing many things right, in terms of taking care of your aging knees. In particular, it sounds as if you are keeping your weight under control. Carrying extra pounds undoubtedly strains knees and contributes to pain and eventually arthritis.You mention weight training, too, which is also valuable. Sturdy leg muscles, particularly those at the front and back of the thighs, stabilize...

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DealBook: Making Sense of Wall Street's Trading Revenue

Traders at the top Wall Street firms racked up nearly $80 billion of revenue last year. But understanding how they produced all that money is far from simple.The financial crisis revealed the dangers of banks having murky balance sheets. And some investors think banks’ disclosures are still inadequate. “The major financial institutions in the U.S. and around the globe are utterly opaque,” Paul Singer,...

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India Ink: India Rape Trial Starts With Renewed Ban on Media Coverage

The trial of five men accused in the gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in a moving bus in New Delhi is being watched closely as a symbol of India’s commitment to justice for women, but information about the ongoing court proceedings may be scarce.As court proceedings began Thursday, the presiding judge said  there would be a blanket ban on reporting on the trial. The judge, Yogesh Khanna,  also...

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NCAA announces problems with Miami investigation

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — The NCAA's probe of Miami's athletic compliance practices is ramping up again.Only this time, the Hurricanes aren't exactly the subject of the inquiry.In a bizarre twist, the college sports' governing body is being investigated after NCAA President Mark Emmert acknowledged on Wednesday "a very severe issue of improper conduct" by former investigators working the long, complex...

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Well: Can You Read the Face of Victory?

Picture a tennis player in the moment he scores a critical point and wins a tournament. Now picture his opponent in the instant he loses the point that narrowly cost him the title. Can you tell one facial expression from the other, the look of defeat from the face of victory?Try your hand at the images below, of professional tennis players at competitive tournaments. All were included in a new study...

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DealBook: Choice for S.E.C. Is Ex-Prosecutor, in Signal to Wall St.

President Obama is tapping Mary Jo White, a former United States attorney turned white-collar defense lawyer, to be the next chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the White House.Mr. Obama is set to announce the nomination at the White House on Thursday afternoon at 2:30. As part of the event, the White House will also renominate Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial...

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The Lede Blog: Clinton Testifies on Benghazi Attacks

The Lede followed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s testimony Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on the American Consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.Mrs. Clinton had been scheduled to testify before Congress last month, but an illness, a concussion and a blood...

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APNewsBreak: UCI's McQuaid replaced on IOC panel

LONDON (AP) — The head of cycling's governing body has been replaced on a key International Olympic Committee panel as he deals with the fallout from the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.International Cycling Union President Pat McQuaid said Wednesday he was too busy to attend all the meetings of the Olympic commission evaluating bids for the 2020 Summer Games."It's quite simple," McQuaid told The Associated...

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Well: Have a Health Question? Ask Well

The Well section of The New York Times is starting a new online featured called Ask Well. If you have a question about fitness, nutrition, illness or family health, the staff of The New York Times Health section is ready to help you find the answer.How do you solve the problem of back pain caused by sitting in an office chair all day? Do you still need the flu shot even if you’ve had the flu? What’s...

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Cameron Promises Britons a Referendum on E.U. Membership

Oli Scarff/Getty ImagesPrime Minister David Cameron of Britain speaking in London on Wednesday. LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron promised Britons a decisive referendum within five years on membership in the European Union — provided he wins the next election — in a long-awaited speech on Wednesday whose implications have alarmed the Obama administration and are likely to set the markers for an...

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The Lede Blog: Prince Harry Compares War to PlayStation and Taliban Is Not Amused

A Taliban spokesman said on Tuesday that Prince Harry must have “mental problems,” following the broadcast of remarks by the royal in which he said that killing militants from an Apache helicopter was similar to playing video games.As soon as Britain’s ministry of defense announced on Monday that Prince Harry had left Afghanistan, ending his four-month deployment there, the British news media rushed...

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NFL lifts suspension of Saints coach Sean Payton

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean Payton is back as coach of the New Orleans Saints.Payton's season-long suspension for his role in the Saints' bounty program was lifted by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday, nearly two weeks earlier than expected.The decision allows Payton to attend the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Saturday, where some of the top college players available for the NFL draft will be competing.Payton,...

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Well: The Appetite Workout

Every January, many people start working out, hoping to lose weight. But as studies attest, exercise often produces little or no weight loss — and even weight gain — and resolutions are soon abandoned. But new science suggests that if you stick with the right kind of exercise, you may change how your body interacts with food. It’s more than a matter of burning calories; exercise also affects hormones.A...

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DealBook Column: Prophesies Made in Davos Don't Always Come True

You’re going to be hearing a lot of predictions over the next several days. Be leery.Some of the world’s biggest names in business and politics are descending on the snowy enclave that is Davos, Switzerland, for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, which begins Tuesday evening. They are there to talk big ideas — and perhaps more important, to rub elbows and do business over Champagne and...

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Algerian Prime Minister Says at Least 37 Foreigners Dead in Siege

Anis Belghoul/Associated PressAlgerian Army vehicles on Sunday near a remote town in southeastern Algeria where hostages were taken in a four-day ordeal. ALGIERS — In his first official tally of the deadly scope of Algerian hostage crisis, Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said Monday that the known death toll among the foreign captives had risen steeply from 23 to 37, and that five additional foreigners...

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