The Neediest Cases: Medical Bills Crush Brooklyn Man’s Hope of Retiring

Andrea Mohin/The New York TimesJohn Concepcion and his wife, Maria, in their home in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. They are awaiting even more medical bills. Retirement was just about a year away, or so John Concepcion thought, when a sudden health crisis put his plans in doubt. For the past 100 years, The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund has provided direct assistance to children, families...

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DealBook: Michael Dell’s Empire in a Buyout Spotlight

The computer empire of Michael S. Dell spreads across a campus of low-slung buildings in Round Rock, Tex.But his financial empire — estimated at $16 billion — occupies the 21st floor of a dark glass skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.It is there that MSD Capital, started by Mr. Dell 15 years ago to manage his fortune, has quietly built a reputation as one of the smartest investors on Wall Street....

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Alliance of big city school districts aims for more healthful meals

Fatty corn dogs and sugary coffee cake may become extinct in thousands of school cafeterias nationwide under a landmark new...

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Secret Nuclear Redesign Will Keep U.S. Subs Running Silently for 50 Years

The U.S. Navy is betting the future of its submarine force on a secret and revolutionary nuclear drive system that aspires to be more efficient and quieter than anything under the water today.The heart of the planned ballistic missile Ohio Replacement (OR) program will be built around a drive that will not need to be refueled for the 50-year life of the boats and cuts out potentially noisy...

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Sniping, then singing as ‘American Idol’ returns

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There was no hair-pulling between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj on the season debut of “American Idol,” although some viewers may have been reduced to it.The pop divas exchanged insults worthy of middle schoolers, fellow freshman judge Keith Urban looked trapped between them, and there was a whiff of make-believe Wednesday about the show’s touted feud.“We can have accessories. I...

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The New Old Age Blog: Officials Say Checks Won't Be in the Mail

The jig is up.Two years ago, the Treasury Department initiated its Go Direct campaign to persuade people still receiving paper checks for their Social Security, Veterans Affairs, S.S.I. and other federal benefits to switch to direct deposit.“At that point, we were issuing approximately 11 million checks each month,” or about 15 percent of the total, Walt Henderson, director of the campaign, told me.After...

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DealBook: After Mortgage Settlements, Bank of America's Profit Drops 63%

7:42 a.m. | Updated Bank of America continues to cope with the self-inflicted wounds it suffered during the financial crisis.The bank on Thursday reported a widely expected 63 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit after making huge payments to settle legal claims over its mortgage business. The bank’s earnings, a slim $732 million, amounted to 3 cents a share. That figure narrowly beat estimates of...

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Helicopter crashes in central London, killing at least two people

LONDON -- A helicopter apparently crashed into a crane atop a high-rise building in central London during the morning rush hour...

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Here They Are — The Best Comic Books of 2013!

Okay, fine: Comic books aren’t the most predictable things ever. We've seen fantastic comics take a sudden turn and become all but unreadable, and seen comics no one heard of until two seconds ago skyrocket to greatness. But we can still make some pretty good guesses about the most promising comics, graphic novels, and collected editions on the horizon -- or even if we can’t, we’re about to give it...

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A Minute With: Patti Smith on her photography show

TORONTO (Reuters) – Singer Patti Smith is best known for her rock ‘n’ roll songs from the punk era of the 1970s, but visitors to a new photo exhibition will see a different side of the musician, poet and artist.The 70 photos in Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) “Camera Solo” show, which runs from February 9 to May 19, include poetic images of gravestones, religious iconography and objects that...

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