Economix Blog: Bernanke Defends Stimulus as Necessary and Effective

The Federal Reserve’s chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, picked an unusual time to offer his most recent defense of the Fed’s campaign to stimulate the economy: 7 p.m. on a Friday night in San Francisco, 10 p.m. back home on the East Coast.The basic message was the same as Mr. Bernanke delivered to Congress earlier this week: The Fed regards its current efforts as necessary and effective, and the risks, while...

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U.S. Judges Offer Addicts a Way to Avoid Prison

Todd Heisler/The New York TimesEmily Leitch of Brooklyn, with her son, Nazir, 4, was arrested for importing cocaine but went to “drug court” to avoid prison. Federal judges around the country are teaming up with prosecutors to create special treatment programs for drug-addicted defendants who would otherwise face significant prison time, an effort intended to sidestep drug laws widely seen as inflexible...

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U.S. Judges Offer Addicts a Way to Avoid Prison

Todd Heisler/The New York TimesEmily Leitch of Brooklyn, with her son, Nazir, 4, was arrested for importing cocaine but went to “drug court” to avoid prison. Federal judges around the country are teaming up with prosecutors to create special treatment programs for drug-addicted defendants who would otherwise face significant prison time, an effort intended to sidestep drug laws widely seen as inflexible...

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Jennifer Sultan Pleads Guilty to Selling Prescription Drugs

At the height of dot-com mania 13 years ago, Jennifer Sultan and a few colleagues sold their small technology company for $70 million in stock and cash. She and her boyfriend rented a large house in the Hamptons for the summer and bought a spacious loft near Union Square. John Marshall Mantel for The New York TimesJennifer Sultan faced 15 years to life on the top charge against her, and...

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India Ink: Newswallah: Bharat Edition

Jammu and Kashmir: Demands for a discussion over the recent execution of Muhammad Afzal, who was convicted in a deadly attack on India’s Parliament, rocked the state legislature on Friday, according to an IANS report on the NDTV Web site. The call for debate was initiated by the opposition People’s Democratic Party, and it found support from the governing National Conference party in the state.Northeast:...

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F-35 Jets Returned to Service by Pentagon

The Pentagon lifted its grounding of the new F-35 jet fighter on Thursday after concluding that a turbine blade had cracked on a single plane after it was overused in test operations. The office that runs the program said no other cracks were found in inspections of the other engines made so far, and no engine redesign was needed. It said the engine in which the blade cracked was...

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Jane C. Wright, Pioneering Oncologist, Dies at 93

Dr. Jane C. Wright, a pioneering oncologist who helped elevate chemotherapy from a last resort for cancer patients to an often viable treatment option, died on Feb. 19 at her home in Guttenberg, N.J. She was 93. Her death was confirmed by her daughter Jane Jones, who said her mother had dementia. Dr. Wright descended from a distinguished medical family that defied racial barriers in...

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Jane C. Wright, Pioneering Oncologist, Dies at 93

Dr. Jane C. Wright, a pioneering oncologist who helped elevate chemotherapy from a last resort for cancer patients to an often viable treatment option, died on Feb. 19 at her home in Guttenberg, N.J. She was 93. Her death was confirmed by her daughter Jane Jones, who said her mother had dementia. Dr. Wright descended from a distinguished medical family that defied racial barriers in...

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Media Decoder Blog: Barnes & Noble Rethinks Its Strategy for the Nook

7:15 p.m. | Updated Barnes & Noble, reporting a sharp drop in sales of its Nook tablets, said on Thursday that it would pull back on its ambitions for its device business, shrinking it in size while focusing more on digital content.Calling Nook sales over the holiday period an “obvious disappointment,” the bookseller’s chief executive, William Lynch, said the company was taking “significant actions...

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South Africa Suspends 8 Police Officers Accused of Dragging Man

PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa suspended eight police officers on Friday after the death of a man they had bound to a vehicle and dragged through a busy street in a videotaped incident that has further blackened the reputation of the police. Mido Macia, a 27-year-old taxi driver from Mozambique, was found dead in detention with signs of head injuries and internal bleeding, according to...

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