The scariest thing about “The Lost Symbol” is that Dan Brown, who took on the Vatican in his previous novels, seems so desperate to ingratiate himself to the ancient sect at the center of this one: the Masons.

Capital Secrets

Experts on the Swiss system suggest it would deliver much of what Washington is aiming to accomplish.

Swiss Health Care Thrives Without Public Option

Two major companies are racing to develop the potentially next big thing in heart surgery: a replacement valve that can be implanted through thin tubes known as catheters.

A Race in Cardiology

For those who have turned their vehicles into wired offices, constant contact and work efficiency outweighs the risk of a wreck.

At 60 M.P.H., Office Work Is High Risk

Publishers are looking to “vooks,” which intersperse videos in electronic text that can be read — and viewed — online.

Curling Up With Hybrid Books, Videos Included

A narrative in the case of Najibullah Zazi was pieced together by the authorities largely on the fly in the last two weeks.

Rush for Clues Before Charges in Terror Case

In the modern world, including modern cinema, to broach the idea of Jewish identity is to invoke not one crisis but many.

Jewish History, Popcorn Included

The rescue activity was grim as authorities dug into collapsed hospitals, hotels, offices, homes and a school.

Rescuers Dig by Hand After Indonesia Quake

Iran agreed to open its newly revealed nuclear plant to inspectors and to send most of its enriched uranium to Russia to be turned into fuel.

Iran Agrees to Send Enriched Uranium to Russia

Tracy Letts’s “Superior Donuts” is a warm bath of a play that will leave Broadway audiences with satisfied smiles rather than rattled nerves.

Comedy With Sprinkles, Hold the Angst

Many economists expect China to replace Japan as the world’s second-largest economy next year, five years earlier than previously forecast.

Chinese Economic Juggernaut Is Gaining on Japan

Senator John Ensign may have violated ethics laws by helping an aide after having an affair with his wife.

Senator’s Aid After Affair Raises Flags Over Ethics

“A Serious Man” is, like its biblical source, a distilled, hyperbolic account of the human condition.

Calls to God: Always a Busy Signal

Turbulence, grief, rage, vandalism and general filmic chaos pepper the films in the New York Film Festival.

Festival Forecast: Lots of Sulfurous Clouds

George Sweeper, who has owned a 1968 Jaguar E-Type for 38 years, enjoys driving — briskly and far.

Turning Heads for 38 Years

The 2010 Chevrolet Equinox crossover has been notably upgraded, but there is still room for improvement.

Out of the Valley but Far From the Peak

A father remembers moments spent with his son as his son departs for his last year in college.

Life’s Travels for a Father and a Son

The apparel and footwear company broke with the group over its climate policy.

Nike Quits Board of U.S. Chamber

An article on Wednesday about the firings of 1,800 immigrant workers by a Los Angeles garment maker, American Apparel, because of irregularities in their identity documents misstated the number of garments the company produces each week in Los Angeles. It is 800,000, not 250,000.

Corrections

An article in some editions on Tuesday about the latest census figures on family income and poverty in the New York region misstated the 2007 and 2008 poverty rates for Connecticut and one of its largely suburban counties, Fairfield. The statewide rate was 9.3 percent in 2008, up from 7.9 percent in 2007  not 24.2 percent and 21.3 percent. The Fairfield County rate was 8.5 percent in 2008, up from 6.6 percent in 2007  not 20 percent and 15 percent.

A picture caption with an article in some editions on Monday about questions over whether New York City’s political runoff system is superfluous referred imprecisely to the candidate who defeated Mario A. Procaccino, a Democrat, in the 1969 mayoral election, the last one before the runoff system was adopted. Although the winning candidate, Mayor John V. Lindsay, was a Republican at the time, he ran on the Liberal-Fusion line that year, not the Republican one.

A managed funds group told lawmakers that, unlike big banks, hedge funds do not pose a systemic risk to the economy.

Funds Try to Ward Off New Regulations

An article on Sept. 22 about the shows that won the most Emmy Awards this year, including the PBS presentation of the mini-series “Little Dorrit,” misstated that show’s viewership. PBS estimated that 9.6 million people viewed some portion of the five-part series, not that the five episodes were viewed by a total of 9.6 million. It also estimated that an average of 3.5 million people watched each episode, not 1.9 million. The article thus also misstated the ratio of the number of viewers of the Emmy Awards ceremony to the average audience for “Little Dorrit.” The Emmy audience, nearly 13.5 million, was almost four times as large, not seven.

A music review on Wednesday about the violinist Jennifer Koh’s performance of Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor, at Columbia University’s Philosophy Hall, misstated the number of partitas Bach wrote for solo violin. It is three, not six. (His six works for solo violin include three sonatas along with the partitas.).

A music review on Monday about a concert featuring works by Mario Diaz de León, at Roulette in SoHo, rendered his surname incorrectly. It is Diaz de León, not de León.

Cintio Vitier was a Cuban poet, essayist, and novelist. Upon selecting him for the Juan Rulfo Prize, the award jury called him "one of the most important writers of his generation".

Cintio Vitier, Cuban poet and author (born 1921)

Cintio_Vitier

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases from Scotland. Otherwise, the Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, and the High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court, and are collectively known as the Supreme Courts of Scotland.

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom takes over the judicial functions of the House of Lords.

October 1, 2009

Headlines from October 1, 2009

Capital Secrets

Swiss Health Care Thrives Without Public Option

A Race in Cardiology

At 60 M.P.H., Office Work Is High Risk

Curling Up With Hybrid Books, Videos Included

Billboard 200

The Blueprint 3

I Look To You

The Resistance

Man On The Moon: The End Of Day

The Time Of Our Lives (EP)

Notable Deaths

Historical Events

Historical Context for October 1, 2009