TOP NEWS
U.S. Marks End to 9-Year War, Leaving an Uncertain Iraq
By TIM ARANGO
Officials conducted a modest ceremony in Baghdad days before the last troops' exit, which will end the United States' most ambitious and bloodiest military campaign since Vietnam.
Video: TimesCast
Gingrich Push on Health Care Appears at Odds With G.O.P.
By JIM RUTENBERG and MIKE McINTIRE
As a candidate for president, Newt Gingrich is criticizing some of the same health care programs that he supported as a consultant.
As Sales Lag, Stores Shuffle the Calendar
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
The Saturday before Christmas is too crucial to retailers to be left in the hands of procrastinating shoppers, so many stores are having "Super Saturday" this weekend instead.
QUOTATION OF THE DAY
"I can feel how Iraq has changed now, and how it is sad. All of Iraq is sad."
DALI, an Iraqi pop singer on her recent return to the country.
U.S.
Interactive Feature:
Reaching the Ears of Iowa
In Iowa, the campaign is playing out on Simon Conway's radio program on WHO, the most listened-to and widely broadcast news radio station in the state.
Opinion
Op-Ed Contributor
By KIRK W. JOHNSON
The Iraqis who loyally served us are under threat. We must give them refuge.
WORLD
Statue Deepens Dispute Over Wartime Sexual Slavery
By CHOE SANG-HUN
A statue was installed near the Japan embassy in Seoul to protest sexual slavery during World War II.
Italy's Leader Offers Tax Increases, but No Deep Reforms
By RACHEL DONADIO
Prime Minister Mario Monti's difficulty in carrying out economic reforms could weaken the underpinnings of the accord reached in Brussels to address the euro zone's troubles.
Talk of Aid From Russia Buoys Markets in Europe
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| Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said Thursday that paid agents had been working to undermine him. |
On TV, Putin Is Dismissive of Critics Far and Near
By ELLEN BARRY
Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Thursday was trying to put things in order after weeks of mounting evidence that political discontent is rising in the country's large cities.
• More World News
U.S.
U.S. Finds Pervasive Bias Against Latinos by Arizona Sheriff
By MARC LACEY
An investigation that lasted more than two years singled out Sheriff Joe Arpaio as helping to nurture his department's "culture of bias."
Document: Justice Department Findings in Investigation of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office
As Romney Steps Cautiously, Gingrich Duels With Others
By JEFF ZELENY and JIM RUTENBERG
The seven Republican contenders met in Sioux City to spar with one another, and to critique President Obama.
Slide Show: Republicans Debate in Sioux City
Canada Holds Hearings on Suspected Virus in Salmon
By WILLIAM YARDLEY
Canadian officials deny any cover-up of cases of infectious salmon anemia, a potentially lethal virus that conservationists have long feared could spread from farmed fish to wild salmon.
• More U.S. News
POLITICS
Huckabee Gets Star Treatment on Return to Iowa
By JEREMY W. PETERS
Four years after his big victory in the Iowa caucuses, Mike Huckabee, who isn't running for president this year, is still a huge favorite among evangelical conservatives in the state.
In Iowa, British-Accented Radio Host Draws G.O.P. Hopefuls
By JEREMY W. PETERS
The WHO-AM show of Simon Conway is a new obligatory stop on the campaign trail this year. Mr. Conway, while cutting and often brash, does not fit the conservative talk radio mold.
Interactive Feature: Reaching the Ears of Iowa
Disagreement Over Payroll Tax Cut's Impact on Social Security
By JACKIE CALMES
Critics predict one extension will lead to another as politicians balk at raising taxes to their former level, especially if unemployment remains high.
Graphic: Accounting for Social Security
• More Political News
BUSINESS
News Analysis
Paying a 'Sports Tax,' Even if You Don't Watch
By BRIAN STELTER and AMY CHOZICK
American television subscribers pay, on average, about $100 a year for sports programming - no matter how many games they watch.
Kinder's Major Bet on a Boom in Fracking
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Kinder Morgan, the pipeline company, hopes its $21 billion acquisition of the El Paso Corporation will help it capitalize on once-in-a-generation boom in oil and gas drilling.
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| Pepsi plans to make bottles out of agricultural products. |
The Race to Greener Bottles Could Be Long
By WILLIAM NEUMAN
Despite dueling announcements claiming technological breakthroughs in all-plant bottles, neither Coke nor Pepsi is confident enough in the technology to offer a firm timetable.
• More Business News
TECHNOLOGY
Your Life on Facebook, in Total Recall
By JENNA WORTHAM
The social network is rolling out a revamped profile feature called Timeline that makes a user's entire history of photos, links and other items much more accessible with a single click.
"Facebook said in a blog post that users could either wait to receive a notification about Timeline on their pages or go to facebook.com/about/timeline to activate it immediately. Eventually all profiles will be switched to the new look, though the company is not saying when. And there will be no switching back."
Gadgetwise Blog: Facebook's New Timeline: What Do You Want to Know?
Judge Dismisses Twitter Stalking Case
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
A federal judge dismissed a criminal case against a man accused of stalking a religious leader on Twitter, saying the Constitution protected "uncomfortable" speech on such bulletin-boardlike sites.
Research in Motion's Earnings Fall 71% Amid Soft Product Sales
By IAN AUSTEN
Research in Motion said the number of BlackBerry users grew to 75 million, but its revenue is down 6 percent.
• More Technology News
SPORTS
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| Hunters with permits are allowed to take two alligators longer than four feet, and only one can be longer than seven feet |
Look for the Glowing Eyes, Then Watch Your Fingers
By JAMES CARD
In Mississippi's alligator hunt, which began in 2005, hunters travel the Pearl or the Pascagoula rivers using hooks, lines and the occasional shotgun.
Slide Show: The Mississippi Alligator Hunt
Years Later, Still Waiting for a Second Chance
By SAM BORDEN
Jim Fassel, who took the Giants to the Super Bowl in the 2000 season, is the president, general manager and head coach of the Las Vegas Locomotives in the United Football League.
Former N.B.A. Employee Says Sexual Harassment Concerns Were Ignored
By HOWARD BECK
Warren Glover, who was fired as a security director in July, claims that he repeatedly warned his superiors in the N.B.A.'s security department that women in the office were being sexually harassed.
• More Sports News
ARTS
Art Review
Venus Rising From Her Pretty Prison
By ROBERTA SMITH
Sanja Ivekovic's art is the subject of a small but resonant retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art.
Art Review
A Jewel Box for Translucent Treasures
By KEN JOHNSON
The inaugural exhibition at the Frick's new Portico Gallery presents 65 pieces of tableware, vases and small, figurative sculptures, dating mainly from 1710 to 1730.
Museum Review
Stand Clear of the Ghosts
By EDWARD ROTHSTEIN
The New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn Heights is a museum of specimens, a natural history museum of the city's public transportation.
• More Arts News
Walkouts by Nurses Loom as Hospitals Seek to Cut Costs
By NINA BERNSTEIN
The specter of nursing strikes is looming on both coasts, with more than 6,000 nurses poised to walk out of three prestigious hospitals in New York City.
Elevator Was Serviced Just Before Accident
By CARA BUCKLEY
A Buildings Department spokesman said the electrical work had "become the focus" of an investigation into Suzanne Hart's death.
City Room: 2010 Brooklyn Elevator Injury Leads to Repairman's Indictment
City Room: Did You Think Twice About the Elevator?
SchoolBook
Obesity Rate Falls for New York Schoolchildren
By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS
The decline, though slight, offers hope that the tide may be turning on one of the nation's most stubborn health issues.
• More New York / Region News
MOVIES
Golden Globe Nominations Go to 'The Help,' 'The Descendants,' 'The Artist'
By BROOKS BARNES and MICHAEL CIEPLY
Golden Globe nominations announced on Thursday did little to clear up the Oscar forecast.
Photos: The Nominees - The Full List - Movie Review 'Carnage'
Blood Sport in a High-Rise
By A. O. SCOTT
In "Carnage," Roman Polanski's spry adaptation of Yasmina Reza's play, two couples show that beneath the surface of civilized behavior lurks animal impulses.
ArtsBeat: Staging Your Own Theatrical Table Reading
Critic's Notebook
Film Fables Spun in Japan
By MIKE HALE
"Castles in the Sky," a 15-film retrospective of work by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and other directors from Studio Ghibli, is screening at IFC Center.
Slide Show: Posters of Studio Ghibli
• More Movies News
EDITORIALS
Editorial
A Formal End
American troops, thankfully, are coming home. But, to build a stable democracy, Iraq will need help and goading for years to come.
"--- The fact that Saddam Hussein is gone is a genuine cause for celebration. But the list of errors and horrors in this war is inexcusably long, starting with a rush to invasion based on manipulated intelligence. The Bush administration had no plan for governing the country once Saddam was deposed. The Iraqi economy still bears the scars from the first frenzied days of looting---" --- "The last few thousand will be out of Iraq by year’s end. We celebrate their return. But this country must never forget the intolerable costs of a war started on arrogance and lies.---".
From "The Readers Comments:
"..In my mind Iraq will always be George W Bush's Vietnam. The first time in history, to my knowledge, that the US invaded a sovereign country without provocation and it appears it wouldn't be the last if any of the current GOP potentials are elected President of the United States. Does anyone remember those fateful words of General Powell, "If you break it you will own it!". And what happens when someone offers you good advice that you don't want to hear? Well obviously you fire them and hire someone who will tell the Emperor what a beautiful set of robes he is wearing.
We are right to get out of Iraq. They are a sovereign country and they want us out. We need to respect their rights and their wishes."./RAJA
Editorial
Politics Over Principle
President Obama has caved in to political pressure and will sign a dangerous bill that will make indefinite detention and military trials part of American law.
Editorial - Appreciations
Russell Hoban, Father of 'Frances'
By LAWRENCE DOWNES
The "Frances" children's books take us all the way to delight, using an easy-reader vocabulary.
OP-ED
Op-Ed Contributor
An Unstable, Divided Land
By REIDAR VISSER
America's misguided thinking since the 2003 invasion has created a pro-Iranian Iraqi government.
(Reidar Visser, a research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, is the author of “A Responsible End? The United States and the Iraqi Transition, 2005-2010.”)
"--- Washington was blind to what was going on. Instead of appreciating the intense struggle between the cleric Moktada al-Sadr’s sectarian Shiite followers, and moderate Shiites who believed in a common Iraqi identity, the Obama administration remained steadfastly focused on the Sunni-Shiite-Kurdish trinity, thereby reinforcing sectarian tensions rather than helping defuse them---".
G.O.P. Monetary Madness
By PAUL KRUGMAN
When it comes to views on economics, Republicans have been consistent, clear and wrong.
Columnist Page - Blog
Op-Ed Contributor
By Choosing Arms Over Diplomacy, America Errs in Asia
By STEPHEN GLAIN
Mr. Obama is choosing a costly instrument in deciding to expand America's military commitment in Asia.
• More Opinion
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