Israel is applying the military insight it gained from the 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, but diplomatic lessons do not seem to have been so well applied.

For Israel, 2006 Lessons but Old Pitfalls

Sonja Kohn, who gathered billions for Bernard L. Madoff from investors in Russia and across Europe, has disappeared from view.

Austria’s ‘Woman on Wall St.’ and Madoff

A top aide for Andrew M. Cuomo urged labor leaders and upstate officials to refrain from embracing Caroline Kennedy for New York’s Senate seat.

Cuomo Aide Is Said to Try to Slow Kennedy Bid

A debate persists over the most effective form of stimulus and what role tax cuts should play.

Economists Warm to Government Spending but Debate Its Form

Bernard L. Madoff violated his bail agreement by sending jewelry to his friends and family, prosecutors argued.

Madoff Sent 16 Watches and Jewelry

Quest Diagnostics provided possibly erroneous results to thousands of people who had their vitamin D levels tested in the last two years.

Quest Acknowledges Errors in Vitamin D Tests

Urban institutions rethink their missions in a push for survival.

Museums Look Inward for Their Own Bailouts

When “24” begins its seventh season on Sunday with a two-night, four-hour premiere, much will have changed in the world since Jack Bauer was last on the job.

New Era in Politics, New Focus for ’24’

The photographer Gisèle Freund, whose work is on display in two different exhibitions in Berlin, wasn’t a great photojournalist, but she was a gifted pioneer.

A Berliner’s Portraits of People and Her Familiar, and Foreign, Home

Jack Terricloth is the driving force behind “Addicted to Bad Ideas: Peter Lorre’s 20th Century,” a self-described punk songspiel that is part of the Public Theater’s Under the Radar festival.

Addicted to Peter Lorre (That Voice, Those Eyes)

When every $100 counts, here are a few suggestions for using high-tech gadgetry to save you money.

Many Ways to Plug In to Tech Savings

A strikingly simple concrete, glass and steel house in Idaho makes the most of the constantly changing desert scenery.

Surrendering to the Landscape

Much has been made of the growing importance of the home office, which very often is nothing more than a desk, or a desk-substitute.

In Search of the Just-Right Desk

With three Balanchine works, New York City Ballet opened its eight-week post-“Nutcracker” season on Tuesday at the David H. Koch Theater.

The Twirling Kaleidoscope That Is Balanchine

Seventh Avenue hopes Michelle Obama will be the lifeline to revive the fashion industry in a recession.

U.S. Fashion’s One-Woman Bailout?

In Michel Faber’s novel based on the Prometheus myth, a linguist discovers what appears to be a fifth Gospel, a new account of the Crucifixion.

A 5th Gospel Can Be Like a 5th Wheel

The city’s reinvented economy, driven by health care and education, is proving resistant to downturns.

For Pittsburgh, There’s Life After Steel

Dousoeur de Paris Patisserie Salon is an elegant little bakery that Corine Fina and Diane Cepeda, Parisian twins, have opened in Clinton.

However You Say It, You Won’t Make a Mistake

Mild cheeses and smoked salmon are other worthwhile toppings for tender crackers made in Northern Ireland.

Just Add Butter, Cheese or Salmon

Poured over ice or into a crystal flute, Golden Star White Jasmine Sparkling Tea can carry the cocktail hour with grace and charm.

A Cocktail Hour in Sobering Times Need Not Be Dull

Restaurant openings, closings and chefs on the move.

Off the Menu

Restaurant month in Staten Island, the 50th anniversary of the Four Seasons and eight courses of pork.

Dining Calendar

Not one major bank has agreed to handle the planned $460 million initial public offering of the parent of Penthouse magazine.

A Lucrative I.P.O., Too Hot to Handle

“Fearless” (Big Machine) by Taylor Swift remained No. 1 on the Billboard album chart for the fourth week in a row, and fifth week over all, with 90,000 sales, according to Nieslen SoundScan. With no major new releases the Top 10 was mostly reshuffled from the previous week, as Beyoncé’s “I Am ... Sasha Fierce” (Columbia) held at No. 2 with 77,000, and Kanye West’s “808s and Heartbreak” (Def Jam) rose two spots to No. 3 with 71,000. Most albums lost sales last week, but one had a big gain: “All Wrapped Up” (Hollywood), a Target exclusive with Christmas songs by the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and others, jumped to No. 10 from No. 88 with 40,000 sales, a 112 percent increase.

Taylor Swift Stays at Top

Shepard Fairey’s ubiquitous illustration of Barack Obama has found a home: The National Portrait Gallery.

January 7, 2009

Headlines from January 7, 2009

For Israel, 2006 Lessons but Old Pitfalls

Austria’s ‘Woman on Wall St.’ and Madoff

Cuomo Aide Is Said to Try to Slow Kennedy Bid

Economists Warm to Government Spending but Debate Its Form

Madoff Sent 16 Watches and Jewelry

Billboard 200

Fearless

I Am...Sasha Fierce

Circus

Dark Horse

808s & Heartbreak

Historical Context for January 7, 2009