Huell Howser dies at 67; TV host profiled California people and places

California broadcasting legend Huell Howser has passed away at the age of 67. In a TV arena in which premiums are placed on the...

Read More..

Exclusive: Ford Wants to Create the Android of Automotive Apps

LAS VEGAS – Ford wants to make AppLink the Android of automotive app architectures.In an unprecedented move for the auto industry, Ford is giving the system underpinning its Sync AppLink system to any automaker who wants it, at no cost and with no restrictions on what they do with it. That would help automakers quickly and easily advance their infotainment systems, bring countless new developers...

Read More..

‘Mary Poppins’ to close on Broadway in the spring

NEW YORK (AP) — “Mary Poppins” is closing up its big umbrella on Broadway.An official close to the show’s producers said Monday that the 6-year-old musical will end performances in March at the New Amsterdam Theatre and eventually be replaced by a musical adapted from the film “Aladdin.”The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak before...

Read More..

Reliving the Nightmare of Plague, 10 Years Later

Jakob Schiller for The New York TimesSURVIVORS Lucinda Marker and John Tull at home a decade after having the plague. It was November 2002, little more than a year after planes had been flown into the World Trade Center and anthrax mailings had killed five Americans. New York City was still on edge, in a state of high alert for suspected terrorists. Suddenly all eyes were on a middle-aged...

Read More..

DealBook: Dartmouth Controversy Reflects Quandary for Endowments

By the numbers, the endowment at Dartmouth had a banner year. The $3.49 billion fund returned 5.8 percent for the 12 months that ended in June — the best in the Ivy League.But the performance has been clouded by controversy. Last year, an anonymous letter signed by “the friends of Eleazar Wheelock,” referring to the university’s founder, asked New Hampshire state officials to investigate the endowment...

Read More..

A solution to La Jolla's smell problem proves elusive

LA JOLLA — There's a political stink rising in this seaside community, blown ashore from the rocks of La Jolla Cove, where myriad...

Read More..

Looney Gas and Lead Poisoning: A Short, Sad History

Author’s note: Most people don’t realize that we knew in the 1920s that leaded gasoline was extremely dangerous. And in light of a Mother Jones story this week that looks at the connection between leaded gasoline and crime rates in the United States, I thought it might be worth reviewing that history. The following is an updated version of an earlier post based on information from my book...

Read More..

NBC execs say it’s not a ‘shoot-’em-up’ network

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — NBC executives said Sunday they are conscious about the amount of violence they air in the wake of real-life tragedies like the Connecticut school shooting, but have made no changes in what has gone on the air or what is planned.NBC isn’t a “shoot-’em-up” network, said network entertainment President Jennifer Salke.The level of violence on television, in movies and video games...

Read More..

Drug-Testing Company Tied to N.C.A.A. Draws Criticism

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A wall in one of the conference rooms at the National Center for Drug Free Sport displays magazine covers, each capturing a moment in the inglorious history of doping scandals in sports. Steve Hebert for The New York TimesThe National Center for Drug Free Sport, in Kansas City, Mo., tries to deter doping with programs for high school, college and professional leagues....

Read More..

Tingye Li, Instrumental in the Laser’s Development, Dies at 81

Tingye Li, an electrical engineer whose calculations in the early 1960s helped guide the development of the laser and propel the dizzying increase in the speed of fiber-optic communication, died on Dec. 27 in Snowbird, Utah. He was 81. Family photoSome of the work done by Dr. Li and his colleagues at Bell Labs laid the groundwork for today’s broadband. ...

Read More..