George H.W. Bush hospitalized for bronchitis

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Frozen Water and Organic Material Discovered on Mercury

For the first time, scientists have confirmed that the planet Mercury holds at least 100 billion tons of water ice as well as organic material in permanently shadowed craters at its north pole.The findings come from NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft, which has been in orbit around the solar system’s smallest and innermost planet since 2011. Researchers have suspected that ice could exist in such...

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Cost of Brand-Name Prescription Medicines Soaring

The price of brand-name prescription medicines is rising far faster than the inflation rate, while the price of generic drugs has plummeted, creating the largest gap so far between the two, according to a report published Wednesday by the pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts. The report tracked an index of commonly used drugs and found that the price of brand-name medicines increased...

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U.S. Growth Revised Up, but Year-End Slowdown Is Feared

Even as the government said that the United States economy grew faster than first estimated in the third quarter, economists warned that the rate of expansion could slow sharply before the end of the year as worries mount about the fiscal impasse in Washington. Nam Y. Huh/Associated PressAn employee on the assembly line this month at Generac Power Systems in Whitewater, Wis., a maker...

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Norquist: GOP concern over tax pledge just 'impure thoughts'

Grover Norquist on Wednesday rebuffed claims that his anti-tax crusade is losing steam, calling statements from prominent Republicans...

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Stare Into the Eye of This Insane Storm on Saturn

This mind-boggling storm at Saturn’s North Pole, captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on Nov. 27, looks like it’s going to swallow you right up.An incredible amount of detail can been seen of the magnificent storm system, with wispy clouds curling back on themselves as they swirl around the storm’s eye. Cassini captured the image in infrared wavelengths, which...

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F.D.A. May Tap Experts on Energy Drinks

The Food and Drug Administration said in a letter released on Tuesday that it was likely to seek advice from outside experts to help determine whether energy drinks posed particular risks to teenagers or people with underlying health problems. The letter appears to signal a change in the agency’s approach to the drinks, which contain high levels of caffeine. Previously, F.D.A....

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State of the Art: Tablets Are Hot Holiday Gifts, but Which One to Buy? - Review

From left: J. Emilio Flores for The New York Times, Jim Wilson/The New York Times, Everett Kennedy Brown/European Pressphoto AgencyFrom left, the Kindle PaperWhite, the iPad Mini and the  Nexus 7. The other day, I joined NPR for a segment about high-tech holiday gifts. I was ready for the calls from listeners. I’d brushed up on cameras, phones, laptops, music players and game consoles. I was...

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Cyber Monday sales up 17% to nearly $2 billion, exceeding forecast

Cyber Monday online sales beat forecasts by nearly half a billion dollars.ComScore on Monday predicted that Cyber Monday would...

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Google Pairs Gmail, Drive for an Easy Way to E-Mail Huge Files

Google is making it easier than ever to send large files via e-mail. The company has announced a new feature that puts all your Google Drive documents just a click away from Gmail. Now you can quickly and easily attach files from Google Drive to Gmail messages.That means you can attach files up to 10GB in size, which is some 400 times larger than what Gmail...

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Disney Channel to debut ‘Sofia the First’ Jan. 11

NEW YORK (AP) — Disney says its animated children‘s series “Sofia the First” will premiere Jan. 11 on the Disney Channel and Disney Junior networks.Created for kids ages 2 to 7, “Sofia the First” is about a young girl who becomes a princess and learns that honesty, loyalty and compassion are what makes a person royal.Sofia is voiced by “Modern Family” actress Ariel Winter, and her mother is played...

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Books: Woe Is Syphilis, and Other Afflictions of Famous Writers

The old Irishman was a swollen, wheezing mess, blood pressure wildly out of control, kidneys failing, heart fibrillating. “What we have here,” said his new Spanish doctor, “is an antique cardiorenal sclerotic of advanced years.” In fact, what the doctor had there was William Butler Yeats: the poet had a long list of chronic medical problems and experienced one of his regular cardiac crises...

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News Analysis: St. Jude Medical Suffers for Redacting a Product Name

Peter Muhly for The New York TimesDr. Ernest Lau holds a Durata lead from a St. Jude Medical Fortify ICD, an implanted heart defibrillator. IS covering a product’s name in a public document a sign that a company has something to hide? And how should doctors, patients and investors react if the product at issue is one on which peoples’ lives and a company’s fortunes depend? Such questions...

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Riordan abruptly ends bid to get L.A. pension measure on ballot

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The 'SUV of Motorcycles' Offers Neither Sport nor Utility

Alessandro Tartarini, the son of Italjet founder Leopoldo Tartarini, has created a new category of motorcycle we didn’t know we needed. And based on the stats and those pesky laws of physics, we’re unconvinced it’s even a viable solution for the handful of potential buyers Tartarini and his company are targeting.The design intent of the Brutus (no relation to the Brutus electric motorcycle...

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Beyonce documentary premiering on HBO in February

NEW YORK (AP) — Beyonce is getting personal.HBO announced Monday that a documentary about the Grammy-winning singer will debut Feb. 16, 2013. Beyonce is directing the film, which will include footage she shot herself with her laptop.The network said the documentary will include “video that provides raw, unprecedented access to the private entertainment icon and high-voltage performances.” It will...

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Wealth Matters: Dealing With Doctors Who Accept Only Cash

James Edward Bates for The New York TimesDr. Stanford Owen no longer accepts insurance. He charges patients like Monica Knight $38 a month. A FEW weeks ago, my wife and I were at our wits’ end: our 4-month-old daughter wouldn’t sleep for more than an hour at a time at night. We had consulted books and seen our pediatrician, but nothing was working. So my wife called a pediatrician who specializes...

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Euro Finance Ministers Struggle to Reach Accord on Greece

BRUSSELS — Finance ministers from the euro area met on Monday for the third time in three weeks, seeking to bridge differences over bailouts for Greece that have bitterly divided creditor countries like Germany and the International Monetary Fund. The haggling continues against the background of a financial catastrophe unfolding in Greece, where the economy has shrunk by about one-fifth in...

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