Sudhir Venkatesh, Columbia’s Gang Scholar, Lives on the Edge

Christopher Capozziello for The New York TimesSudhir Venkatesh, at a lecture last month, was audited over expenditures at Columbia University, where he briefly led a research center. FROM his earliest days as a graduate student, Sudhir Venkatesh did things differently. He came to sociology by way of math, not by the social sciences. He was an Indian-American Deadhead from Southern California who wore...

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Ricky Martin finds new home on small screen

NEW YORK (AP) — Ricky Martin is saying goodbye to Broadway's "Evita." But don't cry for him.The Latin superstar has a slew of new projects in the works, including two television series and a children's book."It's about growing," said Martin in an interview Friday. "It's a moment in my life where I just need to absorb and be surrounded by amazing actors and musicians and grow as an entertainer. I think...

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Israel Moves to Expand Settlements in East Jerusalem

Rina Castelnuovo for The New York TimesFrom his home in East Jerusalem last year, Haj Ibrahim Ahmad Hawa looked at the separation barrier surrounding Jerusalem with the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the background. More Photos »JERUSALEM — Israel is moving forward with development of Jewish settlements in a contentious area east of Jerusalem, defying the United States by advancing a project...

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Act of kindness turns New York cop into media darling

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. national media just got the perfect holiday gift: a feel-good tale about a young police officer who dug into his own pocket to put boots on a barefoot panhandler on a freezing city sidewalk.Even better was the way the story of New York City Police Officer Larry DePrimo‘s kindness unfolded.Thanks to a blurry Facebook photo snapped on a cell phone by a tourist who happened...

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Katy Perry, Carly Rae Jepsen get Billboard honors

NEW YORK (AP) — Billboard named Katy Perry its woman of the year, but the pop star thought her year was 2011."I felt like my year was last year ... I thought my moment had passed," Perry said in an interview with Jon Stewart at Billboard's Women in Music event Friday in New York City.Perry released "Teenage Dream" in 2010, and the double platinum album sparked five No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot...

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Hockey Coaches Defy Doctors on Concussions, Study Finds

Despite several years of intensive research, coverage and discussion about the dangers of concussions, the idea of playing through head injuries is so deeply rooted in hockey culture that two university teams kept concussed players on the ice even though they were taking part in a major concussion study. The study, which was published Friday in a series of articles in the journal Neurosurgical...

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Brazil Registers Anemic Growth in 3rd Quarter, Surprising Economists

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Brazil’s economy registered anemic growth in the third quarter as investment levels remained disappointingly low, according to figures released on Friday. The results cast doubt on policies meant to prevent Brazil from turning into a laggard among Latin America’s economies. Gross domestic product grew just 0.6 percent from the previous quarter, stunning economists who...

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General Assembly Grants Palestine Upgraded Status in U.N.

Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesPresident Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority spoke at the United Nations before the General Assembly voted on Palestine's status as a “nonmember observer state” on Thursday. UNITED NATIONS — More than 130 countries voted on Thursday to grant Palestine the upgraded status of nonmember observer state in the United Nations, a stinging defeat for Israel and the United...

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Zynga slides after updated agreement with Facebook

NEW YORK (AP) — Zynga shares tumbled nearly 12 percent in after-hours trading Thursday after the online game company and Facebook disclosed that they changed their relationship status to become less attached to each other.Zynga Inc. said in a regulatory filing Thursday that it will no longer have to display Facebook ads or use Facebook payments on its own properties — such as Zynga.com. In addition...

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Mayim Bialik files to end 9-year marriage in LA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Court records show Mayim Bialik filed for divorce from her husband of nine years on the same day she announced the couple's split in a blog post.She cited irreconcilable differences with husband Michael Stone in the documents filed Nov. 21 in Los Angeles.Bialik currently stars on the CBS comedy "The Big Bang Theory" and rose to fame as the star of the TV show "Blossom."She has been...

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Clearing the Fog Around Personality Disorders

For years they have lived as orphans and outliers, a colony of misfit characters on their own island: the bizarre one and the needy one, the untrusting and the crooked, the grandiose and the cowardly. Their customs and rituals are as captivating as any tribe’s, and at least as mystifying. Every mental anthropologist who has visited their world seems to walk away with a different story, a...

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Chamber Competes to Be Heard in Fiscal Debate

WASHINGTON — After months of sparring with President Obama in the heat of the campaign season, Chamber of Commerce executives came to the White House this week with a far more conciliatory tone, offering up suggestions to avert large budget cuts without having to raise taxes. Jim Young/ReutersTom Donahue, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, with President Obama last year. The two...

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Panel Drafting Egypt Constitution Vows Quick Finish

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesProtesters ran from tear gas fired by police on Wednesday during demonstrations in Cairo. CAIRO — Leaders of the assembly drafting a new constitution said Wednesday that they would complete their work by the next morning, a move that appeared aimed at trying to defuse a political crisis that has gripped Egypt since the president issued an edict that put...

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Wii U Sells 400,000 Units in First Week

Nintendo‘s Wii U sold 400,000 units during its first week of sales, and Nintendo’s president has said the console is “virtually sold out” at retailers.[More from Mashable: YouTube-Exclusive ‘Halo’ Miniseries Nets 26 Million Views]The Wii U, Nintendo’s next-generation console that features a touch screen as a controller centerpiece, was released on Nov. 18 across the United States. Despite large crowds...

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Oh, Yoko! Ono's fashion line gropes for Lennon

NEW YORK (AP) — You remember that Beatles classic "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"? Turns out Yoko Ono had other things in mind.Ono's new menswear collection inspired by John Lennon includes pants with large handprints on the crotch, tank tops with nipple cutouts and even a flashing LED bra.The collection of menswear for Opening Ceremony is based on a series of drawings she sketched as a gift for Lennon for...

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Well: Weight Loss Surgery May Not Combat Diabetes Long-Term

Weight loss surgery, which in recent years has been seen as an increasingly attractive option for treating Type 2 diabetes, may not be as effective against the disease as it was initially thought to be, according to a new report. The study found that many obese Type 2 diabetics who undergo gastric bypass surgery do not experience a remission of their disease, and of those that do, about a third redevelop...

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United Is Struggling Two Years After Its Merger With Continental

Nam Y. Huh/Associated PressA United 787 Dreamliner at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. United lost $103 million through the third quarter of 2012. CHICAGO — It was supposed to be a moment for celebration: United Airlines observing the delivery of its second Boeing 787 Dreamliner with a flight from Seattle to Chicago earlier this month for a select group of employees, while senior officers,...

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After Benghazi Meeting, 3 Republicans Say Concerns Grow Over Rice

Luke Sharrett for The New York TimesSenators Lindsey Graham, left, and John McCain arrive on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet with Susan Rice, the ambassador to the U.N. WASHINGTON — Susan E. Rice, the ambassador to the United Nations, conceded on Tuesday that she incorrectly described the attack on the American mission in Benghazi, Libya, in September as following a spontaneous protest, rather than...

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Judge bows out of 'pink slime' suit over ABC ties

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A federal judge has recused himself from presiding over a $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit against ABC because his daughter-in-law works as a producer on one of the network's morning shows.Judge Lawrence L. Piersol recused himself from hearing the defamation lawsuit filed by South Dakota-based Beef Products Inc. against ABC because his daughter-in-law works as a producer on...

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Global Update: Investing in Eyeglasses for Poor Would Boost International Economy

BSIP/UIG Via Getty ImagesEliminating the worldwide shortage of eyeglasses could cost up to $28 billion, but would add more than $200 billion to the global economy, according to a study published last month in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. The $28 billion would cover the cost of training 65,000 optometrists and equipping clinics where they could prescribe eyeglasses, which...

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Jeffrey Zucker Expected to Be Next President of CNN

In the days to come, when Time Warner appoints a new leader of CNN Worldwide for the first time in a decade, he or she will face an identity crisis unlike any other in corporate America. Though CNN over all is on track to have its most profitable year ever, its flagship channel in the United States is seemingly rudderless, run by layers of producers and executives — many with competing...

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Egypt’s President Said to Limit Scope of Judicial Decree

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York TimesEgyptians stand near a burned out school, before the funeral of Mohammed Gaber Salah, an activist who died Sunday from injuries sustained during protests. CAIRO — With public pressure mounting, President Mohamed Morsi appeared to pull back Monday from his attempt to assert an authority beyond the reach of any court, as his allies in the Muslim Brotherhood...

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