Starting Points

Apr 23, 2012

GM to Add 600 China Dealerships

GM to Add 600 China Dealerships: General Motors plans to add 600 dealerships in China this year, about a 20% increase, as the auto maker looks to bolster its presence in the country amid growing competition and an economic-growth slowdown.

Concerns Mount Over Bakrie Debt

Concerns Mount Over Bakrie Debt: Shares of mining companies connected to Indonesia's Bakrie family plunged amid concern that one of Southeast Asia's leading business families again was struggling to juggle its debt.

Spain's Economy Dwindling

Spain's Economy Dwindling: Spain's economy contracted 0.4% in the first quarter from the fourth, the country's central bank said Monday, the latest evidence that Spain's efforts to rein in government spending could be feeding a downward economic spiral.

On Education: Robo-Readers Used to Grade Test Essays

On Education: Robo-Readers Used to Grade Test Essays: Computers are fast when it comes to grading test essays, but they can be fooled.

Iranians Say They Took Secret Data From Drone

Iranians Say They Took Secret Data From Drone: An Iranian general said operations data about the aircraft that crashed in the country in December had been culled from its computer system, a claim discounted by American officials.

A Measure of Change: Shift on Executive Powers Let Obama Bypass Congress

A Measure of Change: Shift on Executive Powers Let Obama Bypass Congress: With Congressional Republicans blocking his agenda, the president has been using executive powers to enact measures: on the environment, education, drug shortages and making recess appointments.

South Sudan Accuses Khartoum of Air Attacks

South Sudan Accuses Khartoum of Air Attacks: An aerial bombardment and ground assault on South Sudan in recent days indicated that fighting with Sudan may not be over.

Militants and Politics Bedevil Yemen’s New President

Militants and Politics Bedevil Yemen’s New President: Two months after a new president took office, Yemen’s fledgling interim government has found itself overwhelmed by a set of dangerous new challenges.

Dutch Govt Close to Collapse as Cuts Talks Fail

Dutch Govt Close to Collapse as Cuts Talks Fail: The Dutch government was close to collapse on Monday, with the prime minister preparing to consult with the queen after top-level talks on a new austerity package for the country failed.

Harlem’s Racial Shift May Influence Coming Elections

Harlem’s Racial Shift May Influence Coming Elections: A majority Hispanic presence could have consequences for a Congressional district — and a congressman — synonymous with African-American culture.

Well: The Faces of Alzheimer's

Well: The Faces of Alzheimer's: A new book and photo exhibition this month in New York shows another side of Alzheimer's, one in which people with the disease can still be engaged, lead active lives and experience love and joy.

The Doctor’s World: Dick Cheney’s Medical History Traces Milestones in Heart Care

The Doctor’s World: Dick Cheney’s Medical History Traces Milestones in Heart Care: Since his first heart attack, Dick Cheney has benefited from nearly every treatment available to those with his condition.

Financial Outlook Dims for Social Security

Financial Outlook Dims for Social Security: The trustees for the Social Security trust funds said they would be exhausted in 2033, three years earlier than they had projected a year ago.

News Analysis: A Europe Tired of Cutbacks Has Few Alternatives

News Analysis: A Europe Tired of Cutbacks Has Few Alternatives: Budget-cutting pain is fueling support for far-left and nationalist parties, but many European leaders simply cannot afford to spend more.

Mexican Immigration to U.S. Slowed Significantly, Report Says

Mexican Immigration to U.S. Slowed Significantly, Report Says: The Pew Hispanic Center said that not only did immigration come to a near halt after years of growth but also the number of Mexicans leaving rose sharply.

U.N. Observers in Syria Do Not Deter Attacks

U.N. Observers in Syria Do Not Deter Attacks: Syrian government forces engaged in an extended game of cat and mouse against United Nations observers, with the military attacking cities like Hama after the monitors left.

At Virginia Tech, computers help solve a math class problem

At Virginia Tech, computers help solve a math class problem:
BLACKSBURG, Va. — There are no professors in Virginia Tech’s largest classroom, only a sea of computers and red plastic cups.
In the Math Emporium, the computer is king, and instructors are reduced to roving guides. Lessons are self-paced, and help is delivered “on demand” in a vast, windowless lab that is open 24 hours a day because computers never tire. A student in need of human aid plants a red cup atop a monitor.
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Fears of extremism taking hold in Syria as violence continues

Fears of extremism taking hold in Syria as violence continues:
BEIRUT — As Syria’s revolution drags into its second year amid few signs that a U.N.-mandated cease-fire plan will end the violence, evidence is mounting that Islamist extremists are seeking to commandeer what began as a non-ideological uprising aimed at securing greater political freedom.
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Some question whether sustainable seafood delivers on its promise

Some question whether sustainable seafood delivers on its promise:
Seafood counters used to be simpler places, where a fish was labeled with its name and price. Nowadays, it carries more information than a used-car listing. Where did it swim? Was it farm-raised? Was it ever frozen? How much harm was done to the ocean by fishing it?
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Cartagena’s night life spelled trouble for Secret Service

Cartagena’s night life spelled trouble for Secret Service:
Whatever really happened here in the neon bordellos, salsa clubs and king-size beds at the Hotel Caribe — between the male Secret Service officers and their new female friends — one thing is apparent: The agents were in the right place to get into trouble.
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N. Korea threatens military strike against S. Korean president

N. Korea threatens military strike against S. Korean president:
TOKYO — North Korea issued an ominous new threat Monday in its campaign against South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, vowing to carry out a special military attack that would reduce parts of Seoul to ash “in three or four minutes ... by unprecedented peculiar means and methods of our own style.”
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Library of Congress’s collection preserves history of American culture

Library of Congress’s collection preserves history of American culture:
The librarians of the nation kick off Preservation Week today, the Holy Week for collection specialists, a time of dusty tomes and deacidification spray and the other niche materials used to preserve the great documents of our country: our presidential papers and Lincoln Bibles and notes handwritten by Emily Dickinson.
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Reports of Medicare’s death are greatly exaggerated

Reports of Medicare’s death are greatly exaggerated:
Around this time last year, Americans got a dire warning: Medicare was heading into the red, quickly. “Medicare to go broke in 2024,” one headline proclaimed. “We know,” Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) told Fox News, “that Medicare is going broke by 2024.”
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Palestinian hunger strikes draw attention to Israeli detention practice

Palestinian hunger strikes draw attention to Israeli detention practice:
ARRABA, West Bank — A stream of visitors passes through a simple concrete house in this sleepy village, bearing tribute plaques, floral bouquets and plaudits for a soft-spoken man who has become the latest icon for the Palestinian cause.
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OPM offers online telework course

OPM offers online telework course:
For some workers, teleworking is as easy as turning on the home computer, maybe downloading company software, and getting to work.
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Obama announces sanctions for tech used in human rights abuses in Iran and Syria

Obama announces sanctions for tech used in human rights abuses in Iran and Syria:
President Obama issued an executive order Monday that allows U.S. officials for the first time to impose sanctions against foreign nationals found to have used new technologies, including cellphone tracking and Internet monitoring, to help carry out grave human rights abuses.
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Mitt Romney’s secrets

Mitt Romney’s secrets:
MITT ROMNEY’S contemptuous attitude toward the importance of public disclosure is increasingly troubling. Whether it involves the details of his personal finances or the identity of his big fundraisers, the presumptive Republican is setting a new, low bar for transparency — one that does not augur well for how the Romney White House would conduct itself if he were elected.
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Pentagon creates new espionage unit

Pentagon creates new espionage unit:
The Pentagon is planning to ramp up its spying operations against high-priority targets such as Iran under an intelligence reorganization approved last week by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, a senior defense official said Monday.
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Facebook, Microsoft strike a patent deal

Facebook, Microsoft strike a patent deal:
Facebook and Microsoft announced Monday that they have struck a deal for over 1,000 patents, including some of the patents Microsoft recently acquired from AOL.
According to the release, Facebook will pay around $550 million in cash for the patents. Microsoft and AOL announced their patent deal on April 9, with Microsoft grabbing up over 800 of AOL’s patents for $1.1 billion.
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As users flock to iTunes, Hulu and Netflix, TV stations struggle to survive

As users flock to iTunes, Hulu and Netflix, TV stations struggle to survive:
As the audience for free television fades, federal regulators are wrestling over the future of the government-mandated broadcasts, which were originally intended to knit the nation’s disparate communities together.
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Opiates killed 8 Americans in Afghanistan, Army records show - CNN.com »Eight U.S. soldiers died of drug overdoses involving heroin, morphine or other opiates during deployments in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011, U.S. Army records say

Opiates killed 8 Americans in Afghanistan, Army records show - CNN.com »
Eight U.S. soldiers died of drug overdoses involving heroin, morphine or other opiates during deployments in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011, U.S. Army records say

U.N. Security Council authorizes team of up to 300 cease-fire observers in Syria »Agreement shows unity by the fractious Security Council in support of envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan.

U.N. Security Council authorizes team of up to 300 cease-fire observers in Syria »
Agreement shows unity by the fractious Security Council in support of envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan.