DealBook: As Labor Talks Collapse, Hostess Turns Out Lights

What might be the last Twinkie in America — at least for a while — rolled off a factory line Friday morning. It was just like the millions that had come before it, golden, cream-filled empty calories, a monument to classic American junk food.But it is likely to be the last under the current management. After not one but two bankruptcies, Hostess Brands, the beleaguered purveyor of Twinkies, Ho Hos,...

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N.F.L. Paid Millions Over Brain Injuries, Article Says

Three retired N.F.L. players received at least $2 million in disability payments as a result of brain trauma injuries from their playing days, according to an article by ESPN and the PBS series “Frontline.” The payments were made in the 1990s and early 2000s by the Bell/Rozelle N.F.L. Player Retirement Plan, a committee comprising representatives of the owners, players and the N.F.L. commissioner....

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N.F.L. Paid Millions Over Brain Injuries, Article Says

Three retired N.F.L. players received at least $2 million in disability payments as a result of brain trauma injuries from their playing days, according to an article by ESPN and the PBS series “Frontline.” The payments were made in the 1990s and early 2000s by the Bell/Rozelle N.F.L. Player Retirement Plan, a committee comprising representatives of the owners, players and the N.F.L. commissioner....

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Shortcuts: The Meaning in a Drawer Full of Old Family Snapshots

Eric Thayer/ReutersA resident found photos as she sifted the debris of a house destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in Union Beach, N.J. I WASN’T going to write about Hurricane Sandy. I was going to write about the changing nature of photographs and our relationship to them in this digital age. Doug Mills/The New York TimesPicture-taking is now mainly digital, making prints of photos uncommon....

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Israel Sticks to Tough Approach in Conflict With Hamas

TEL AVIV — With rockets landing on the outskirts of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Friday and the Egyptian prime minister making a solidarity visit to Gaza, the accelerating conflict between Israel and Hamas — reminiscent in many ways of so many previous battles — has the makings of a new kind of Israeli-Palestinian face-off. The combination of longer-range and far deadlier rockets in the hands...

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Twinkies Maker Hostess Plans to Go Out of Business

(Reuters) - Hostess Brands Inc, the bankrupt maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, said it had sought court permission to go out of business after failing to get wage and benefit cuts from thousands of its striking bakery workers. Hostess said a strike by members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union that began last week had crippled its ability...

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For Alzheimer’s, Detection Advances Outpace Treatment Options

Joshua Lott for The New York TimesAwilda Jimenez got a scan for Alzheimer’s after she started forgetting things. It was positive. When Awilda Jimenez started forgetting things last year, her husband, Edwin, felt a shiver of dread. Her mother had developed Alzheimer’s in her 50s. Could his wife, 61, have it, too? He learned there was a new brain scan to diagnose the disease and nervously agreed...

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For Alzheimer’s, Detection Advances Outpace Treatment Options

Joshua Lott for The New York TimesAwilda Jimenez got a scan for Alzheimer’s after she started forgetting things. It was positive. When Awilda Jimenez started forgetting things last year, her husband, Edwin, felt a shiver of dread. Her mother had developed Alzheimer’s in her 50s. Could his wife, 61, have it, too? He learned there was a new brain scan to diagnose the disease and nervously agreed...

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Gadgetwise Blog: Q&A: Removing Programs on a Mac

Windows computers have the Add/Remove Program option and many programs include uninstaller software, but how do you uninstall a Mac program?Some Mac programs do come with their own uninstaller programs to remove the software from the computer. If the program you want to delete does not offer that utility, you can get rid of it in other ways.Just dragging the program’s icon out of the Applications...

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Egypt Sends Prime Minister to Gaza in Show of Solidarity

Ilia Yefimovich/Getty ImagesSmoke rose over Gaza on Friday. Israel denied launching airstrikes. More Photos »GAZA CITY — Egypt launched a remarkable diplomatic initiative on Friday after a night of ferocious Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and militant rocket fire toward Israel, sending its prime minister to show support for Palestinians in the beleaguered enclave and to try to end the hostilities. ...

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Obama Meets C.E.O.’s as Fiscal Reckoning Nears

Luke Sharrett for The New York TimesUrsula M. Burns, chief of Xerox, said the president discussed few specifics of a potential agreement but emphasized that “we cannot go over the fiscal cliff.” WASHINGTON — President Obama extended an olive branch to business leaders Wednesday, seeking their support as he prepared to negotiate with Congressional Republicans over the fiscal impasse in Washington....

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Health Law Has States Feeling Tense Over Deadline

DES MOINES — The days since President Obama won re-election have been marked by tension and angst in Republican-led states like Iowa, where Gov. Terry Branstad has waited until the last minute to decide whether to create a crucial tool for people to get medical coverage under Mr. Obama’s health care law. “There has been a total blackout of information,” said State Senator Jack Hatch, a Democrat...

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5-Hour Energy Is Cited in 13 Death Reports

Federal officials have received reports of 13 deaths over the last four years that cited the possible involvement of 5-Hour Energy, a highly caffeinated energy shot, according to Food and Drug Administration records and an interview with an agency official. The disclosure of the reports is the second time in recent weeks that F.D.A. filings citing energy drinks and deaths have emerged. Last...

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Gadgetwise Blog: Q&A: Making Picture Books on a PC

My Mac friends make these really nice picture books with iPhoto, but I use Windows. What options for easily making comparatively good-looking photo books are out there for me?Apple iPhoto books, which can be designed and uploaded right from the iPhoto program, simplify the process for Mac users, but that does not mean Windows users are without similar resources. When shopping for a photo-book service,...

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Attacks Resume After Israeli Assault Kills Hamas Leader

KIRYAT MALACHI, Israel —Israeli warplanes struck dozens of militant sites in Gaza early on Thursday, the second day of Israel’s deadly offensive against Hamas and other militant groups, and rockets fired from the enclave reached far into Israel, killing three civilians when one struck an apartment block in this small southern town. The regional perils of the situation sharpened, meanwhile,...

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Major Retailers Start Selling Financial Products, Challenging Banks

On a recent shopping trip to Costco, Lilly Neubauer picked up paper towels, lentils, carrots — and a home mortgage. While Ms. Neubauer, 27, said she was surprised to find the warehouse club selling financial products, she and her husband saved about $200 a month by refinancing there this year. She also bought home insurance from Costco, she said, again because it was cheaper there. ...

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Lance Armstrong Cuts Officials Ties With His Livestrong Charity

In the wake of being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping, Lance Armstrong last week cut all official ties with Livestrong, the charity he founded 15 years ago while he was treated for testicular cancer. On Nov. 4, he resigned from the organization’s board of directors; he had previously stepped down as the chairman of the board Oct. 17. He has distanced himself from...

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Lance Armstrong Cuts Officials Ties With His Livestrong Charity

In the wake of being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping, Lance Armstrong last week cut all official ties with Livestrong, the charity he founded 15 years ago while he was treated for testicular cancer. On Nov. 4, he resigned from the organization’s board of directors; he had previously stepped down as the chairman of the board Oct. 17. He has distanced himself from...

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