William Cowan Named Interim Senator in Massachusetts

BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick on Wednesday appointed William Cowan, a Boston lawyer who is a longtime friend and former aide, to serve as an interim United States senator until voters chose a successor to John Kerry in a special election set for June 25. Mr. Cowan, 43, who is known as Mo, is a former partner in the politically connected law firm of Mintz Levin and will become Massachusetts’...

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Are Weak Wii U Sales a Bellwether of Shifting Game Demographics?

Nintendo expects to sell fewer Wii U and 3DS units than originally claimed, according to reports this morning. The company says it sold three million Wii U units through December, but slashed its forecast of 5.5 million Wii U units sold by the end of March to just four million in all. On the Wii U software side, Nintendo is now forecasting 16 million units in the same timeframe, a number that’s...

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Patty Andrews of Andrews Sisters dead at 94

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of the singing Andrews Sisters trio whose hits such as the rollicking "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" and the poignant "I Can Dream, Can't I?" captured the home-front spirit of World War II, died Wednesday. She was 94.Andrews died of natural causes at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge, said family spokesman Alan Eichler...

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Illness Walks the Runway

A top fashion designer quarantines a sneezing underling, forcing her to work in a closet. An industry P.R. executive makes colleagues douse their hands with Purell. Germ-phobic magazine editors are powerblasting offices with antiseptic wipes and Lysol. Such is the dread gripping the fashion world as it prepares for New York Fashion Week, beginning Feb. 7, with a killer flu and a stomach-bug...

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BlackBerry Maker Unveils Its New Line

Marcus Yam for The New York TimesThorsten Heins, the chief executive of BlackBerry, which was known as Research in Motion, introduces the company's new phones. BlackBerry’s maker unveiled a new operating system and a new line of phones on Wednesday, along with a new corporate name, with the hope of restoring its products’ status as a symbol of executive cool. Analysts, technology reviewers...

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BlackBerry 10’s Debut Is a Critical Day for Research in Motion

OTTAWA — Research in Motion’s introduction on Wednesday of a new BlackBerry phone will be the most important event in the company’s history since 1996, when its founders showed investors a small block of wood and promised that a wireless e-mail device shaped like that would change business forever. Now with just 4.6 percent of the global market for smartphones in 2012, according to IDC, RIM...

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RIM faces its day of reckoning with BlackBerry 10 launch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The innovative line of BlackBerry smartphones that Research In Motion Ltd will formally unveil on Wednesday has already succeeded on one crucial count – getting RIM back in the conversation.The new BlackBerry 10 has created a buzz among technology watchers and financial analysts, thanks to nifty features that may set it apart in an overcrowded smartphone market. RIM stock has...

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ABC: Barbara Walters is out of the hospital

LOS ANGELES (AP) — ABC says Barbara Walters is out of the hospital and recovering from chicken pox at home.ABC said Tuesday that the 83-year-old host on "The View" is resting comfortably and "getting stronger." There was no indication of when she might return to work.Walters was hospitalized after falling and cutting her head at a pre-inaugural party in Washington on Jan. 19. The news veteran later...

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Well: Ask Well: Squats for Aging Knees

You are already doing many things right, in terms of taking care of your aging knees. In particular, it sounds as if you are keeping your weight under control. Carrying extra pounds undoubtedly strains knees and contributes to pain and eventually arthritis.You mention weight training, too, which is also valuable. Sturdy leg muscles, particularly those at the front and back of the thighs, stabilize...

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DealBook: Chesapeake Energy Chief Steps Down

Chesapeake Energy’s co-founder and chief executive, Aubrey McClendon, will retire on April 1, the producer of oil and natural gas announced on Tuesday, almost eight months after investors complained about a contentious compensation plan.Mr. McClendon, who gave up his chairman role last May, will also leave Chesapeake’s board on that date. Until then, he will transfer daily management responsibilities...

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