Congressional Democrats are reporting disenchantment among constituents with a long Afghanistan conflict, but national security hawks still back the president.

G.O.P. Support May Be Vital to Obama on Afghan War

White House officials are looking for ways to simplify and scale back the major Democratic bills, lower the cost and drop contentious but nonessential elements.

Obama Aides Aim to Simplify and Scale Back Health Bills

Diane Sawyer’s arrival at ABC’s “World News” will alter the image of an avuncular male nightly news anchor.

At ABC, an Anchor Shift; for TV, an Image Shift

Bankers oppose a buildup in capital cushions because it reduces the amount of money available for investing, and therefore eats into profits.

White House to Propose Big Reserves at Banks

Merck spent $7 million in the second quarter to defend itself in the first of at least 900 pending cases in which plaintiffs claim that taking Fosamax caused jaw injuries.

High Stakes for Merck in Litigation on Fosamax

In a book being published this month, Edward M. Kennedy does not shy from some unsavory aspects of his life.

Kennedy Memoir Doesn’t Ignore Lows

Potential retirees in the U.S. are clinging to jobs because of financial losses, while Europeans are retiring in lockstep.

A Reluctance to Retire Means Fewer Openings

The editor of a Catholic newspaper in Italy stepped down days after a paper tied to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi accused him of being a homosexual.

Editor Resigns Over Berlusconi-Tied Accusations

Some critics have wondered if Beijing’s crackdown on executives was an excuse by the Communist Party to eliminate rivals.

Politics Permeates Anti-Corruption Drive in China

The Fed chairman’s reputation will rest on whether he can right the economy without undermining confidence in the dollar.

Bernanke: Greenback’s New Father

Administration officials have begun what one called a “healthy debate” about what the priorities should be and whether more forces would help achieve them.

Advisers to Obama Divided on Size of Afghan Force

Mike Judge returns to the workplace with the comedy “Extract.”

Working in the Salt Mines: The Boss’s View

PBS’s “Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps,” the latest version of the animated series, has been updated to engage a new generation of young viewers and lead to an interest in dance and music.

Ballet Masters Put a Mouse on Her Toes

In Washington, about 80 percent of the calls handled by Engine Company 10 are for medical emergencies.

Firefighters Become Medics to the Poor

The government has released transcripts and taped conversations to back up its allegations that one trader, Optiver, profited by manipulating oil prices.

Inquiry Stokes Unease Over Trading Firms That Shape Markets

Conservative parents have accused the president of trying to indoctrinate their children with socialist ideas.

Some Parents Oppose Obama School Speech

Relations between China and India have soured over a patch of border land that has a Tibetan cultural heritage.

China and India Dispute Enclave on Edge of Tibet

A faulty air-speed indicator is seen as having played a role the crash of an Air France plane in the Atlantic Ocean in June.

F.A.A. Orders New Speed Indicators for Jets

An article on Aug. 14 about drugs to attack cancer stem cells referred imprecisely to the founding of OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, a pioneer of such drugs. While Dr. Michael F. Clarke started the firm, he did not do so alone; Dr. Max Wicha was a co-founder.

Corrections

An article on Tuesday about evidence of a bribery scheme connected to a lawsuit against Chevron that could reach into the family of Rafael Correa, Ecuador’s president, misstated the first name of Mr. Correa’s brother, a prominent businessman involved in other accusations of corruption. He is Fabricio Correa, not Patricio Correa.

An article on the Square Feet pages on Wednesday about distress in the commercial real estate sector incorrectly paraphrased a comment by Richard Parkus, a research analyst for Deutsche Bank, about recent market trends. He said that office vacancies are increasing and rents are decreasing, not the other way around. The article also misstated the dollar total of commercial mortgages that are due to expire by the end of next year and the total that had been due to expire this year but were extended. The amounts are $393 billion (not million) and $39 billion (not million), respectively. And the article referred incorrectly to Murray Hill Properties’ mortgage payments on the building it owns at One Park Avenue. The mortgage is current; the company has not missed a payment.

An article on July 29 about the author William T. Vollmann and his new book, “Imperial,” about Imperial County in California, and a picture caption with the article referred incompletely to the high level of salinity in the Salton Sea, a lake in Imperial and Riverside counties. Irrigation runoff is one of several factors contributing to the salinity level, not the only one.

An article on Tuesday about efforts to develop ever smaller successors to the transistor misstated part of the name of the device that is the current industry standard. Known as Mosfet, the device is the metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor not metal-oxide “silicon.”.

The Scientist at Work article on Tuesday, about the coastal geologist Asbury H. Sallenger Jr., author of “Island in a Storm,” a new book about a hurricane that struck Louisiana in 1856, rendered the name of the publisher incorrectly. It is PublicAffairs, not Public Affairs.

An obituary on Aug. 7 about Donald Marshall Jr., whose wrongful conviction for the 1971 murder of a friend and exoneration 11 years later led to a re-examination of Nova Scotia’s legal system and changes in Canadian rules of evidence, misstated the circumstances that led to the friend’s killing, which had actually been committed by an elderly man they had encountered in a park. While Mr. Marshall admitted he was with his friend during that encounter, he withdrew an earlier admission that they were trying to rob the elderly man; Mr. Marshall was never charged with robbery. The obituary also misstated a change in rules of evidence resulting from the case. The prosecution must now fully disclose to the defense any evidence it has; the defense must ensure that full disclosure from the prosecution takes place, and must fully disclose its own evidence only in establishing alibis. The rule change does not mean that both “the prosecution and the defense must now share evidence fully.”.

September 3, 2009

Headlines from September 3, 2009

G.O.P. Support May Be Vital to Obama on Afghan War

Obama Aides Aim to Simplify and Scale Back Health Bills

At ABC, an Anchor Shift; for TV, an Image Shift

White House to Propose Big Reserves at Banks

High Stakes for Merck in Litigation on Fosamax

Billboard 200

Keep On Loving You

Twang

Ursa Major

Only By The Night

The E.N.D.

Historical Context for September 3, 2009