NEW THINGS

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Opinion

A Robot in My Place

May 29th 2015

A professor suggests a use for the device that would save him some grief.

Robots and Robotics

The department faculty meeting sets the agenda for the next year.

There is no substitute for human attention if the curriculum could be changing.

World

Great Barrier Reef Is Not ‘in Danger’ but Needs Care, U.N. Experts Say

By MICHELLE INNIS | May 29th 2015

A report cited climate change, water pollution and the impact of coastal development as major threats to the reef, a World Heritage site.

Reefs; Global Warming; Mines and Mining; Water Pollution

"WWF-Australia, an environmental advocacy group, said in a statement that the United Nations was placing Australia on probation. “The draft decision acknowledges progress, but keeps the pressure on the Australian government to turn their commitments into real actions and results, or find themselves having to explain to the World Heritage Committee in 2017 why they’ve failed to meet their commitments,” the statement said. The group said the government had not allocated enough money to the reef protection plan."

Dredge spoil can be barged offshore.

Real Estate

Homes for Sale in Connecticut and New York

By MICHELLE HIGGINS | May 29th 2015

This week’s properties include a farmhouse in Stamford, Conn., and a five-bedroom in Glen Cove, Long Island.

Real Estate and Housing (Residential)

I keep looking at the pictures.

U.S.

Massachusetts: Sentencing Date Is Set for Boston Bomber

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE | May 28th 2015

The judge in the Boston Marathon bombing case set June 24 as the date he will formally sentence Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the convicted bomber, to death.

Sentences (Criminal)

There is nothing for me to add.

We will see how the appeals shape.

Food

Video: Green Garlic Toast

Meghan Gourley | May 29th 2015

Melissa Clark makes compound butter with green garlic to spread on toast, among things.

Garlic; Cooking and Cookbooks

Certainly.

Science

Ancient Skull Suggests an Early Murder

By SINDYA N. BHANOO | May 27th 2015

The 430,000-year-old skull has two penetrating lesions above the left eye, either one of which might have been lethal, scientists report.

Skull (Body Part); Archaeology and Anthropology; Murders, Attempted Murders and Homicides; Science and Technology

We know people kill.

Business Day

New Class of Drugs Shows More Promise in Treating Cancer

By ANDREW POLLACK | May 29th 2015

A study sheds light on why the new medicines seem to work for some cancers and not others.

Drugs (Pharmaceuticals); Lung Cancer; Tumors; Research; Colon and Colorectal Cancer; Clinical Trials

Part D needs changes.

Real Estate

Homes for Sale in Brooklyn and Manhattan

By MICHELLE HIGGINS | May 29th 2015

This week’s properties are in the West Village, on the Upper West Side and in Manhattan Beach.

Real Estate and Housing (Residential)

Windows cost.

Windows with a view and light cost more.

World

U.N. Reports About 200 Million Fewer Hungry People Than in 1990

By RICK GLADSTONE | May 27th 2015

The global count of hungry people has fallen from about one billion 25 years ago to 795 million today, the United Nations says, or about one person out of every nine.

Millennium Development Goals; Famine; Population

It looks good.

I think there are some selective statistics in the data set.

Your Money

Appeal of Savings Bonds Wanes in Ultralow Interest Environment

By ANN CARRNS | May 28th 2015

With Series I savings bonds currently earning zero percent interest, even a Treasury official acknowledges that little is there to motivate a purchase.

Government Bonds; Personal Finances; Savings; Interest Rates; Inflation (Economics); Gifts

Hold bonds if deflation and bank failures are expected is the old rule.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/last-exit-before-chaos/

World

South Korea: Health Officials Confirm Two More Cases of MERS Virus

By REUTERS | May 28th 2015

The number of people confirmed to have contracted Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, increased to seven on Thursday.

MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome)

We will watch for a bloom.

U.S.

Arkansas: Stringent Abortion Limit Struck Down

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | May 27th 2015

A federal appeals court agreed with a lower court that a state law unconstitutionally burdens women by banning abortions after the 12th week of pregnancy if a doctor can detect a fetal heartbeat.

Abortion; Decisions and Verdicts

The fight goes on.

Technology

Downloading Mac App Updated Automatically

By J. D. BIERSDORFER | May 29th 2015

The Mac can install any updates it finds when it checks in daily with Apple’s servers.

My modem router from Verizon works with my old wireless router.
Verizon was helpful.
I unplug the cable often.

14

The Upshot

Shrinking Economy? No, but It’s Not Surging Either

By JUSTIN WOLFERS | May 29th 2015

A less well-known but more reliable measure suggests the economy grew in the last quarter, although not by very much.

Gross Domestic Product; Statistics; United States Economy

"Given the statistical fog, the best forecast I can muster is to expect uncertainty to continue to cloud the outlook."

Sports

FIFA Officials Arrested on Corruption Charges; Blatter Isn’t Among Them

By MATT APUZZO, MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT, WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and SAM BORDEN | May 27th 2015

As FIFA leaders gathered for a meeting, Swiss law enforcement officials arrived unannounced and made arrests at the Justice Department’s request on charges including racketeering and money laundering.

Soccer; Ethics and Official Misconduct; Corruption (Institutional)

There is nothing we can do.