In Drought-Stricken Heartland, Snow Is No Savior

Matthew Staver for The New York TimesThin mountain snow in Colorado and across the West could signal another summer of drought and wildfire. DENVER — After enduring last summer’s destructive drought, farmers, ranchers and officials across the country’s parched heartland had hoped that plentiful winter snows would replenish the ground and refill their rivers, breaking the grip of one of the worst dry...

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Diane Lane signed divorce doc on Valentine's Day

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Court records show Diane Lane signed her filing to divorce Josh Brolin on Valentine's Day.Lane's petition to end the actors' marriage after eight and a half years was filed on Feb. 15.Her filing released Friday lists irreconcilable differences for the couple's breakup and lists Feb. 13 as their separation date. It does not indicate they have a prenuptial agreement.The actors have...

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Question Mark: Acne Common in Baby Boomers Too

Pimples are no surprise on babies and teenagers, but boomers? You no longer have to gaze over a school lunchroom, hoping to find a seat at a socially acceptable table. You don’t rush to get home at night before your junior license driving restrictions kick in. And you men no longer have to worry that your voice will skip an octave without warning. But if adolescence is over, what is that...

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Iglo and Birds Eye Pull Meals After Finding Horse Meat

LONDON — Another big food producer was ensnared in the scandal over horse meat in beef products Friday when the company that owns the Iglo and Birds Eye brands withdrew a dozen types of prepared meals from stores in four European countries. Iglo Foods Group, the parent company, said it took the action after a chilli con carne dish, produced by a Belgian company called Frigilunch and on...

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15 G.O.P. Senators Ask Obama to Withdraw Hagel Nomination

WASHINGTON — A group of 15 Republican senators is calling on President Obama to withdraw the nomination of Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary, the latest move in a contentious battle to block the confirmation of their former colleague. But even as Republican senators tried to throw up another obstacle, Senate Democrats were pushing ahead with plans to hold a vote on Mr. Hagel’s nomination...

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Ben Foster replaces Shia LaBeouf on Broadway

NEW YORK (AP) — Shia LaBeouf is out. Ben Foster is in.A day after LaBeouf stepped away from the play that would have marked his Broadway debut, he was replaced by Foster.Foster, whose film roles include "3:10 to Yuma" and "The Messenger" and who was on TV in "The Laramie Project" and "Six Feet Under," had auditioned for the revival of Lyle Kessler's play "Orphans" but had lost the role to the star...

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Living With Cancer: Arrivals and Departures

After being nursed and handed over, the baby’s wails rise to a tremolo, but I am determined to give my exhausted daughter and son-in-law a respite on this wintry evening. Commiserating with the little guy’s discomfort — gas, indigestion, colic, ontological insecurity — I swaddle, burp, bink, then cradle him in my arms. I begin walking around the house, swinging and swaying while cooing in soothing...

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Ramping Up U.S. Production, Ford Expands in Ohio

DETROIT — Ford Motor Company is adding 450 jobs and expanding an engine plant in Ohio to feed the growing demand for more fuel-efficient cars and S.U.V.'s in the American market. Ford, the nation’s second largest automaker after General Motors, said Thursday it would spend $200 million to renovate its Cleveland engine plant to produce small, turbocharged engines for use in its top-selling...

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Pistorius Defense Undermines Police Testimony at Bail Hearing

PRETORIA, South Africa — What began on Wednesday as a day for the prosecution to solidify what it had described as an irrefutable case of premeditated murder against Oscar Pistorius, the Paralympic champion, turned into a near-rout by the defense, which attacked the testimony of the state’s main witness, the chief police investigator. It was the second full day of a hearing to decide whether...

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'Twilight' author Meyer plots another trilogy

MIAMI (AP) — Stephenie Meyer's "The Host" doesn't have much in common with her Twilight series, except maybe the potential for a franchise.Meyer is working on a sequel to the 2008 novel she began writing as an escape from the editing of "Eclipse," the third book in the Twilight vampire saga. And now that it too has reached the big screen, she's got more books in mind."Once you've created characters...

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