Novartis Profit Rises; Its Chairman Will Step Down

Daniel Vasella, the longtime chairman and former chief executive of Novartis, the Swiss drug maker, plans to step down next month, the company said on Wednesday, when it also reported a jump in fourth-quarter profit. The board is proposing that Jörg Reinhardt, the chairman of the German rival Bayer HealthCare, succeed Mr. Vasella. Joseph Jimenez will remain as chief executive. Novartis...

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Hans Massaquoi dies at 87; wrote of growing up black in Nazi Germany

Hans Massaquoi, a former managing editor of Ebony magazine who wrote a distinctive memoir about his unusual childhood growing...

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LG's Next Flagship, the Optimus G Pro, Outed by Japanese Carrier

LG is already prepping its next handset, the Optimus G Pro, for launch, even though the Optimus G — the basis for the Google’s Nexus 4 — appeared just five months ago and is still rolling out in 50 new markets.The Optimus G Pro is slated for an April release date, according to Japanese carrier NT DoCoMo. The company detailed its smartphone lineup, which includes the...

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Justin Bieber tops Lady Gaga to rule Twitter

(Reuters) – Teen heartthrob Justin Bieber with his hordes of fans known of Beliebers became the King of Twitter on Tuesday, topping fellow pop star Lady Gaga as the user with the most followers.Data from TwitterCounter.com showed that the 18-year-old Canadian singer jumped into the lead with 33.33 million followers, topping Lady Gaga’s 33.32 million and ending her two-and-a-half year rule of the microblogging...

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The Well Column: Facing Cancer, a Stark Choice

In the 1970s, women’s health advocates were highly suspicious of mastectomies. They argued that surgeons — in those days, pretty much an all-male club — were far too quick to remove a breast after a diagnosis of cancer, with disfiguring results.But today, the pendulum has swung the other way. A new generation of women want doctors to take a more aggressive approach, and more and more are asking that...

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DealBook: Can Britain Forge Looser Ties to Europe Without Losing Influence?

LONDON — Last year, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain used his appearance at the World Economic Forum to vent frustration with the European Union, listing some of the policies he would ditch if he could throw off Europe’s regulatory shackles.“In the name of social protection, the E.U. has promoted unnecessary measures that impose burdens on businesses and governments, and can destroy jobs,”...

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L.A. church leaders sought to hide sex abuse cases from authorities

Fifteen years before the clergy sex abuse scandal came to light, Archbishop Roger M. Mahony and a top advisor discussed ways...

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A 'Courage Board' for All Conditions

Rating: 9/10 Nearly flawless; buy it now It’s easy to guess what The Hovercraft was built for just by looking at it: The short swallowtail and the big blunted nose all scream “powder hound.”I did my first series of tests in early December up in Lake Tahoe, and there was a lot more crust, ice and grooms than powder, so I took it out without expecting...

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“Death Wish” director Michael Winner dies aged 77

LONDON (Reuters) – Flamboyant British film director Michael Winner, best known for the “Death Wish” series of the 1970s and 80s, died at his London home on Monday. He was 77.In a statement released to the media, his wife Geraldine said: “A light has gone out in my life.”Winner, who reinvented himself in recent years as an outspoken restaurant critic in the Sunday Times, had been ill for some time,...

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Well: An Unexpected Road Hazard: Obesity

Obesity carries yet another surprising risk, according to a new study: obese drivers are more likely than normal weight drivers to die in a car crash.Researchers reviewed data on accidents recorded in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, managed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Beginning with 41,283 collisions, the scientists selected accidents in which the cars, trucks or...

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