Drug Compounders Get Help on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON — Despite two decades of dire health warnings and threats of federal intervention, the specialty drugmakers at the center of the nation’s deadly meningitis outbreak have repeatedly staved off tougher federal oversight with the help of powerful allies in Congress. Over the years, industry friends like Tom DeLay, the former House Republican leader from Texas, have come to its defense....

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Top U.S. Commander in Afghanistan Is Linked to Petraeus Scandal

PERTH, Australia — Gen. John R. Allen, the top American and NATO commander in Afghanistan, has become ensnared in the scandal over an extramarital affair acknowledged by David H. Petraeus, a former general. General Allen is being investigated for what a senior defense official said early Tuesday was “inappropriate communication” with Jill Kelley, a woman in Tampa, Fla., who was seen by Mr. Petraeus’s...

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Roethlisberger hurt, Steelers survive Chiefs 16-13

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers are right where they expected to be heading into a vital three-week stretch that includes two games against the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens.They're just not sure quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be along for the ride.The Steelers survived a scare from lowly Kansas City on Monday night, winning 16-13 in overtime when Lawrence Timmons intercepted Matt...

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Q & A: Weighing the Evidence

Q. My husband weighs twice as much as I do, yet we take the same dose of over-the-counter medications, as recommended on the packaging. Shouldn’t weight be a factor? A. There is little information about using weight as a factor in adjusting doses of either prescription or over-the-counter medications, said Dr. Steven A. Kaplan, director of the Iris Cantor Men’s Health Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill...

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Square Feet: A Wounded Wall Street Is Expected to Stay Put

Emmanuel Dunand/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesA businessman made his way Monday into One New York Plaza in Manhattan's financial district, where the cleanup from Hurricane Sandy was still underway. More than two weeks after Hurricane Sandy came ashore in Manhattan, sending an 11-foot surge of seawater over much of the southern tip of the island, the financial district is still in tatters. ...

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Syrian Jet Strikes Close to Border With Turkey

Murad Sezer/ReutersSyrians fled from Ras al-Ain after an airstrike by Syrian forces on Monday. GAZIANTEP, Turkey — A Syrian MIG-25 jet bombed the rebel-held town of Ras al-Ain a few yards from the Turkish border on Monday, Syrian witnesses said. Veli Gurgah/Anadolu Agency, via European Pressphoto AgencySmoke rose from Ras al-Ain as it was bombed. Murad Sezer/ReutersSyrians...

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Lakers hire Mike D'Antoni as new coach

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers hired Mike D'Antoni late Sunday night, signing the former coach of the Suns and Knicks to replace Mike Brown.The Lakers and D'Antoni's agent, Warren LeGarie, confirmed the deal two days after the Lakers fired Brown five games into the season.D'Antoni agreed to a three-year deal worth $12 million, with a team option for a fourth season.D'Antoni got the high-profile...

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Slipstream: Biometric Data-Gathering Sets Off a Privacy Debate

“PLEASE put your hand on the scanner,” a receptionist at a doctor’s office at New York University Langone Medical Center said to me recently, pointing to a small plastic device on the counter between us. “I need to take a palm scan for your file.” I balked. As a reporter who has been covering the growing business of data collection, I know the potential drawbacks — like customer profiling...

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I.H.T. Special Report: Oil & Money: China Leads the Way as Demand for Coal Surges Worldwide

Gilles Sabrie for The New York TimesCoal piles behind a yurt in Gobi, Mongolia. Coal remains a critical component of the world’s energy supply, despite its bad image. RICHMOND, Va. — Last summer, nearly half of India’s sweltering population suddenly found the electricity shut off. Air-conditioners whirred to a stop. Refrigerators ceased cooling. The culprits were outmoded power generation stations...

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Changing of the Guard: Chinese Communist Party Faces Calls for Democracy

BEIJING — As the Communist Party’s 18th Congress approached, Li Weidong, a scholar of politics, made plans to observe a historic leadership battle in one of the world’s great nations. Instead of staying in Beijing to monitor China’s once-a-decade transfer of power, Mr. Li boarded a plane. “I’m going to the United States to study the elections,” Mr. Li said in a telephone interview...

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