For Hourly Workers After the Storm, No Work, No Pay

Chantal Sainvilus, a home health aide in Brooklyn who makes $10 an hour, does not get paid if she does not show up. So it is no wonder that she joined the thousands of people taking extreme measures to get to work this week, even, in her case, hiking over the Williamsburg Bridge. While salaried employees worked if they could, often from home after Hurricane Sandy, many of the poorest...

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Second Illness Infects Meningitis Sufferers

Just when they might have thought they were in the clear, people recovering from meningitis in an outbreak caused by a contaminated steroid drug have been struck by a second illness. The new problem, called an epidural abscess, is an infection near the spine at the site where the drug — contaminated by a fungus — was injected to treat back or neck pain. The abscesses are a localized infection,...

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Second Illness Infects Meningitis Sufferers

Just when they might have thought they were in the clear, people recovering from meningitis in an outbreak caused by a contaminated steroid drug have been struck by a second illness. The new problem, called an epidural abscess, is an infection near the spine at the site where the drug — contaminated by a fungus — was injected to treat back or neck pain. The abscesses are a localized infection,...

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Cellphone Users Steaming at Hit-or-Miss Service

To wireless customers, cellphone networks might seem to be made out of thin air. But they are plenty vulnerable to catastrophic storms — and bringing service back can take an excruciatingly long time. On Friday, four days after Hurricane Sandy, the major carriers — AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA and Sprint — were still busily rebuilding their networks in the hardest-hit areas. ...

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Petraeus’s Lower C.I.A. Profile Leaves Benghazi Void

WASHINGTON — In 14 months as C.I.A. director, David H. Petraeus has shunned the spotlight he once courted as America’s most famous general. His low-profile style has won the loyalty of the White House, easing old tensions with President Obama, and he has overcome some of the skepticism he faced from the agency’s work force, which is always wary of the military brass. Brendan Smialowski/Getty...

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Estimate of Economic Losses Now Up to $50 Billion

Economic damages inflicted by Hurricane Sandy could reach $50 billion, according to new estimates that are more than double a previous forecast. Some economists warned on Thursday that the storm could shave a half percentage point off the nation’s economic growth in the current quarter. Losses from the storm could total $30 billion to $50 billion, according to Eqecat, which tracks hurricanes...

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The New Old Age Blog: How to Bypass the Revolving Door

Last week, I wrote about older people in nursing homes who are transferred to hospitals when their health takes a turn for the worse, even if they don’t want aggressive medical interventions. And you responded with dozens of stories about relatives who had had these experiences.In fact, researchers who have studied the revolving door between nursing homes and hospitals think that as many as 45 percent...

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The New Old Age Blog: How to Bypass the Revolving Door

Last week, I wrote about older people in nursing homes who are transferred to hospitals when their health takes a turn for the worse, even if they don’t want aggressive medical interventions. And you responded with dozens of stories about relatives who had had these experiences.In fact, researchers who have studied the revolving door between nursing homes and hospitals think that as many as 45 percent...

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Gadgetwise Blog: Q&A: Putting the iPad on the Big Screen

Is there a way to show iBooks pages on my iPad on an HDTV screen? If so, what would I need to do it?You can display the pages of an iBook currently on the iPad’s screen on the television with the built-in “video-mirroring” technology in the iPad 2 and current Retina display models. In addition to books, you can mirror apps, games, movies or whatever else your iPad is showing at the moment.Depending...

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Guinea-Bissau, After Coup, Is Drug-Trafficking Haven

Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesSoldiers in Bissau, the capital. BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau — When the army ousted the president here just months before his term was to expire, a thirst for power by the officer corps did not fully explain the offensive. But a sizable increase in drug trafficking in this troubled country since the military took over has raised suspicions that the president’s sudden removal...

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