Few places offer a wider selection of singular wines in the $10 to $20 price range — the sweet spot for great wine values — than Italy.

Italian Unknowns, From $10 to $20

An advance in prosthetic arms allows people to move them more automatically than ever.

In New Procedure, Artificial Arm Listens to Brain

Authorities are worried that a show probing human rights abuses might undercut official investigations.

On Trail of War Criminals, NBC News Is Criticized

The White House wants to entice financiers to take risks on troubled assets, but the investors are wary.

Washington Hopes ‘Vulture’ Investors Will Buy Bad Assets

From his speech delivery style, to the markets’ reception of his announcements, to pundit commentaries on television, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner did not receive great reviews.

For Geithner’s Debut, a Lukewarm Reception

As part of a settlement, Bayer is running ads that clarify the side benefits of its birth control drug, Yaz. Regulators say earlier ads played down the risks.

A Birth Control Pill That Promised Too Much

There are a few ways that American consumers can spend to help both their own finances and the country’s.

To Spend or to Save? Trick Question

The attacks underscored the deteriorating security in Afghanistan on the eve of a visit by the U.S. envoy.

20 Dead as Taliban Attackers Storm Kabul Offices

Bonuses of more than $1 million apiece went out to 696 people last year, New York’s attorney general said.

Nearly 700 at Merrill in Million-Dollar Club

The package includes tax cuts and $150 billion in spending on infrastructure but ended up smaller than either the House or Senate had proposed.

Deal Reached in Congress on $789 Billion Stimulus Plan

Eight of the nation’s top bankers faced off on Wednesday against lawmakers who questioned their use of tens of billions of taxpayer dollars.

Lawmakers Question Bankers on Bailout

Records show Ruth Madoff withdrew $10 million on the day before Bernard L. Madoff was arrested, and $5.5 million a few weeks before.

Wife Withdrew Millions Before Madoff’s Arrest

“Confessions of a Shopaholic” stirs up issues about the complex interplay of women, fashion, spending and identity.

Calming the Voices That Scream ‘Shop!’

Experts say many doctors implant too many embryos, leading to costly or sometimes dangerous multiple births.

Birth of Octuplets Puts Focus on Fertility Clinics

Just another Internet time drain, or better than e-mail and phone calls combined?

Twitter? It’s What You Make It

Deaf West Theater Company and the Center Theater Group in Los Angeles have collaborated on an aggressively saucy new revival of “Pippin.”

A Prince Without Direction, Facing Inner Demons Through Song and Sign

Anna Sui is emblematic of the talented designers looking to survive with the big names.

Testing Her Strong Suit

A Chicago boutique owner is the gatekeeper to the first lady’s closet.

Behind the First Lady, a Shadow Stylist

“Telephone” is an inspired and utterly original new tone poem of a play.

Bell’s Legacy: The Lonely Crowd of Voices Inside Each Head

Hannah Holmes, a science writer, recently remodeled her diminutive bungalow to accommodate a new husband and his two teenage children.

Biology, Romance and Renovation

An exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art mixes works from West and East Germany, often in ways that blur the distinction.

Art in Two Germanys Often Spoke the Same Tongue

Even when it’s couched as a matter of convenience, giving a significant other the key to your home often carries deep meaning.

Love at the Door

Divided for 60 years by war and political turbulence, the imperial art collection of China is now the focus of negotiations that could lead to at least a few of the works being exhibited together again.

China and Taiwan to Confer on Imperial Art Treasures Split by History

As oil and gasoline prices plunge and the economy slumps, the ethanol industry has seen its fortunes decline rapidly.

Ethanol, Just Recently a Savior, Is Struggling

Johnnetta Cole has been named director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, the Smithsonian said. Ms. Cole has served as president of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C., and Spelman College in Atlanta, and has been a professor of anthropology, women’s studies and African-American studies at Emory University. Her appointment is effective March 2. ... David Hyde-Pierce, Harvey Fierstein, Nathan Lane, Malcolm Gets and “Billy Elliot” cast members are among the performers who have joined the roster for “Defying Inequality: The Broadway Concert, a Celebrity Benefit for Equal Rights.” The event, scheduled for Feb. 23 at the Gershwin Theater, is a one-night benefit for various equal rights groups; the lineup also includes Lynda Carter, Rue McClanahan and Carson Kressley, as well as a performance of Marc Shaiman’s satirical “Prop 8  The Musical.”

Footnotes

Estelle Bennett was an American singer. She was a member of the girl group the Ronettes, along with her sister Ronnie and cousin Nedra Talley.

Estelle Bennett, American singer (born 1941)

Estelle_Bennett

Willem Johan "Pim" Kolff was a pioneer of hemodialysis, artificial heart, as well as in the entire field of artificial organs. Willem was a member of the Kolff family, an old Dutch patrician family. He made his major discoveries in the field of dialysis for kidney failure during the Second World War. He emigrated in 1950 to the United States, where he obtained US citizenship in 1955, and received a number of awards and widespread recognition for his work.

February 11, 2009

Headlines from February 11, 2009

Italian Unknowns, From $10 to $20

In New Procedure, Artificial Arm Listens to Brain

On Trail of War Criminals, NBC News Is Criticized

Washington Hopes ‘Vulture’ Investors Will Buy Bad Assets

For Geithner’s Debut, a Lukewarm Reception

Billboard 200

Working On A Dream

Fearless

I Am...Sasha Fierce

Dark Horse

808s & Heartbreak

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for February 11, 2009