A class-action lawsuit over the strategies that Merck used to market its painkiller Vioxx in Australia is earning the American drug maker some bad publicity.

Trial Puts Spotlight on Merck

A.M.D. cheered the European ruling, but the history of antitrust cases against big technology companies suggests that little will change in the marketplace.

A Ruling Against Intel, Unlikely to Drag It Down

Two months into a plan to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, only about 55,000 have enrolled.

Slow Start to U.S. Plan for Modifying Mortgages

The indictment of Hank Morris, a well-known political consultant, offers a glimpse into his business activities.

Pension Inquiry Reveals a Power Broker’s Web

The state inspector general found that the panel’s director shared confidential information about an inquiry into the Spitzer administration with a top Spitzer aide.

Paterson Asks Ethics Panel to Quit

An affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America is training young people to confront terrorism and border security.

Scouts Train to Fight Terrorists, and More

President Obama cited concerns that the photos of U.S. military personnel abusing prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan could further antagonize enemies.

Obama Moves to Bar Release of Detainee Abuse Photos

The carmaker sent letters to 789 of its 3,200 American dealers revoking their franchises.

Chrysler Plans to Shut 1 in 4 of Its U.S. Dealers

“Angels & Demons,” without being particularly good, is nonetheless far less hysterical than “The Da Vinci Code.”

Holy Mystery! Mayhem at the Vatican

The season that just ended with the announcement of the Tony nominations was, by its conclusion, fully alive and functionally adult.

Such a Great Show With That Last Act

What was Mooney’s Pub, which closed in a rent dispute last June, is now Sharlene’s Bar.

A Bar — a Bar! — Where the Pub Used to Be

The private equity firm agreed to pay $20 million under an agreement with the state’s attorney general.

Carlyle Settles With New York in Pension Case

While defaults are concentrated in the poorest areas, wealthy places are not immune.

Foreclosure Crisis in Westchester Crosses Economic Boundaries

Economic downturn? What economic downturn? There are no hard times on the red carpet at Cannes, where they know how to party like it’s 1788.

A Less Crowded Cannes, and Perhaps a Silver Lining

Makers of processed foods have increased their efforts to eliminate pathogens, but with uneven results.

Food Companies Are Placing the Onus for Safety on Consumers

Mortgage defaults are on the rise, especially where subprime loans were heavily marketed.

In New Jersey, Dreams of a Better Life Dashed by Foreclosure Crisis

Alison Pill, the actor, and Sarah Treem, the playwright, bonded through the character they created together for “In Treatment,” the HBO therapy drama starring Gabriel Byrne.

Young Talents Entwined ‘In Treatment’

The number of civilians killed by U.S. airstrikes in Farah Province last week may never be fully known, but villagers tell stories of devastation.

Afghan Villagers Describe Chaos of U.S. Strikes

Many advertisers are being unusually outspoken and provocative to reach consumers hit hard by the recession.

Angry Ads Seek to Channel Consumer Outrage

The M3 is a car that you can commute in every day and then use on a track on weekends, and thoroughly enjoy in either milieu.

BMW M3

The casino operator plans to use the money to reduce its $14 billion in debt and help it avert bankruptcy.

MGM Mirage to Sell $2.5 Billion in Stock and Bonds

Micromanagement and publicity like the punitive bonus tax Congress tried to impose on A.I.G. make bad policy. Better to keep politics out of pay regulation and focus on broader, commonsense rules.

Taking Long View on Pay at Banks

Because of an editing error, an article on Saturday about underlying conditions that may put swine flu victims at greater risk of hospitalization or death misstated the dates of a poll about swine flu taken by the Harvard School of Public Health. The poll was conducted in telephone interviews on May 5 and 6, not May 2 and 3. 

Corrections

An article on Tuesday about the possible nomination of Judge Diane P. Wood to the Supreme Court misidentified the organization that filed a lawsuit about picketing at abortion clinics, a case on which Judge Wood ruled. It was the National Organization for Women, not Planned Parenthood.

An article on Sunday about Levi Leipheimer, a top American cyclist competing at the Giro d’Italia, misstated the performance of Andy Hampsten on a stage in the Italian Alps at this race in 1988, when he went on to become the first and only American to win the overall event. Hampsten finished second in the stage, not first.

May 14, 2009

Headlines from May 14, 2009

Trial Puts Spotlight on Merck

A Ruling Against Intel, Unlikely to Drag It Down

Slow Start to U.S. Plan for Modifying Mortgages

Pension Inquiry Reveals a Power Broker’s Web

Paterson Asks Ethics Panel to Quit

Billboard 200

Together Through Life

Hannah Montana: The Movie

Unstoppable

Deeper Than Rap

The Fame

Historical Context for May 14, 2009