Legendary Indian sitarist, composer Ravi Shankar dead at 92

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar, who helped introduce the sitar to the Western world through his collaborations with The Beatles, died in Southern California on Tuesday, his family said. He was 92.Shankar, a three-time Grammy winner with legendary appearances at the 1967 Monterey Festival and at Woodstock, had been in fragile health for several years and last Thursday underwent...

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Obama and Boehner get along fine; politics is the problem

WASHINGTON — In summer 2011, negotiations between President Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner over raising the debt ceiling...

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A Google-a-Day Puzzle for Dec. 11

Our good friends at Google run a daily puzzle challenge and asked us to help get them out to the geeky masses. Each day’s puzzle will task your googling skills a little more, leading you to Google mastery. Each morning at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time you’ll see a new puzzle posted here.SPOILER WARNING:We leave the comments on so people can work together to find the answer....

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“Homeland” creator: Stop using animals in military training

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Homeland” executive producer Gideon Raff is urging a cease-fire between the U.S. military and the animal kingdom.Joining with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Raff has sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, asking him to halt the use of animals in medical training exercises in favor of high-tech human simulators.In his letter, Raff – a...

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Concussion Liability Issues Could Stretch Beyond N.F.L.

Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee, via Associated PressInsurers could raise premiums with a higher risk of lawsuits for concussions, like the one 49ers quarterback Alex Smith sustained a month ago. As the N.F.L. confronts a raft of lawsuits brought by thousands of former players who accuse the league of hiding information about the dangers of concussions, a less visible battle that may have a more...

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DealBook: HSBC to Pay $1.92 Billion Fine to Settle Charges Over Laundering

2:07 a.m. | Updated State and federal authorities decided against indicting HSBC in a money-laundering case over concerns that criminal charges could jeopardize one of the world’s largest banks and ultimately destabilize the global financial system.Instead, authorities on Tuesday announced a record $1.92 billion settlement with HSBC. The bank, which is based in Britain, faces accusations that it...

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Plenty of smoke clouds the future of legalized pot in Washington

SEATTLE — Customers have been drifting into Jay Fratt's alternative pipe and tobacco shop, Smokin J's, in the days since Washington...

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A Google-a-Day Puzzle for Dec. 10

Our good friends at Google run a daily puzzle challenge and asked us to help get them out to the geeky masses. Each day’s puzzle will task your googling skills a little more, leading you to Google mastery. Each morning at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time you’ll see a new puzzle posted here.SPOILER WARNING:We leave the comments on so people can work together to find the answer....

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U.S.-Mexican singer Jenni Rivera dies in plane crash

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera died in a plane crash after the small jet she was travelling in went down in northern Mexico, her father said on Sunday.A spokesman for the state government of Nuevo Leon said investigators had found the remains of Rivera’s Learjet, which disappeared from the radar 62 miles from the northern city of Monterrey at about 3:30 a.m. local time/4.30...

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Interest Groups Push to Fill Margins of Health Coverage

The chiropractors were out in force, lobbying for months to get their services included in every state’s package of essential health benefits that will be guaranteed under the new health care law. “We’ve been in constant contact with our state chapters, just telling them, ‘Look, you’ve got to get in the room,’ ” said John Falardeau, senior vice president of government relations at the...

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