More than 20 percent of water treatment systems have violated key provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Millions in U.S. Drink Dirty Water, Records Show

With Bank of America trying to recruit a new chief executive, it needed to repay the bailout moneys so it would be able to offer a competitive compensation package.

Bailout Refund Is All About Pay, Pay, Pay

Experts say that Washington’s overhaul of the Big Three credit rating agencies is not going far enough.

Debt Raters Avoid Overhaul After Crisis

The Obama administration warned that if Pakistan does not act aggressively, the U.S. will use more force on the Pakistani side of the border.

Pakistan Told to Ratchet Up Taliban Fight

The Securities and Exchange Commission said New Century executives must have known from in-house reports that the company was hemorrhaging money.

Civil Suit Says Lender Ignored Own Warnings

During the automaker’s slide into bankruptcy, it had to suspend some of its investments. But the new chief seems eager to play aggressive offense.

A Flush G.M. to Lavish Cash on New Vehicles

The deliciously sour “So Help Me God!,” a long-lost comedy from 1929, provides the same startled pleasure that comes from discovering a good, precode Hollywood film.

Fasten Your Seat Belt, Would-Be Diva

Jesus Leonardo says he makes about $45,000 as a stooper, cashing in on other people’s discarded betting slips.

Picking (Up) Winners Without Placing a Bet

President Obama presented a series of initiatives aimed at turning around the nation’s beleaguered job market.

Obama Offers Help for Small Businesses

A building damaged on 9/11 and then abandoned has become a prayer space, envisioned as a future Islamic cultural, educational and recreational center.

Muslim Prayers and Renewal Near Ground Zero

Payments to settle claims about revenue in American Indian trust funds could end one of the most complicated class-action lawsuits ever brought against the U.S.

U.S. Will Settle Indian Lawsuit for $3.4 Billion

Prosecutors in San Diego say kidnappers and hit men operated for years after splitting from a drug cartel.

How U.S. Became Stage for Mexican Drug Feud

Cleverly conceived and vividly performed, this new musical about Andy Warhol ultimately comes across as canned camp.

Who Shot Warhol? Uh, Gee, That’s No Mystery

In his new work for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Matthew Rushing tries to bring to life the Harlem Renaissance.

Turn on the Victrola and They’ll All Dance

In Finland, Japan and other locations around the world, choirs make whining a pleasant sound.

Turning Complaints Into Art

The 54-year-old soap, which will end in September, drew dwindling ratings that couldn’t justify its production costs.

CBS Cancels ‘As the World Turns,’ Procter & Gamble’s Last Soap Opera

Next month, the bankrupt restaurant Tavern on the Green’s famous treasures will be up for sale to the highest bidder.

Lions and Tigers and Debt: Auctioning Off Tavern on the Green

Letter: Grand Canyon in Winter

The 36 Hours column on Nov. 29, about Austin, Tex., misidentified an area of limestone hills, meadows and wineries west and south of the city. It is Hill Country; it is not Hill County, which is north of Austin. 

Corrections

The cover article on Nov. 29, about hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon in winter, misidentified the designer of El Tovar, a hotel there. It was Charles F. Whittlesey; it was not Mary Colter, an architect who was the interior decorator for some of the interior spaces.

The New York attorney general is focusing on testimony by Greg Curl, the bank’s chief risk officer and a leading candidate for C.E.O., about a merger with Merrill Lynch.

Bank of America Executive Under Scrutiny

An article on Nov. 28 about mourners in Baghdad who visit graves for those killed in the Iraq war mistranslated the name of the holiday, Id al-Adha, that they were marking at the cemeteries. It literally means “the Feast of the Sacrifice”  not “the Great Feast,” although many Iraqis use the latter term when referring to the holiday.

An article on Nov. 27 about the race to succeed Senator Edward M. Kennedy gave an incorrect location for a debate involving the Democratic candidates. It was at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum  not the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, which has yet to be built.

An article on Saturday about the announcement by the mayor of Houston, Bill White, that he would run for governor of Texas misstated a position he held in the Energy Department under President Bill Clinton. Mr. White was the deputy secretary of energy, not the energy secretary.

An article in some editions last Tuesday about an increase in class sizes in the New York City public schools this year misstated the size of high school English and science classes in the previous school year. The average English class had 25.6 students in 2008-9  not 24.7  and the average science class had 26.8 students, not 26.1. The article also incorrectly rendered an enrollment statistic for kindergartners provided by Class Size Matters, an education advocacy organization. Twenty-six percent of kindergartners citywide  not 38 percent  are in classrooms with 25 or more students, not “more than 25 students.”

Luis Díaz Portorreal, best known as Luis Días, was a Dominican Republic musician, composer and performer of popular music.

Luis Días, Dominican singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1952)

Luis_Días_(composer)

Baghdad is the capital and largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the most populous cities in the Middle East and Arab world and forms 22% of the country's population. Spanning an area of approximately 673 square kilometres (260 sq mi), Baghdad is the capital of its governorate and serves as Iraq's political, economic, and cultural hub.

Bombings in Baghdad, Iraq kill 127 people and injure 448 others.

December 8, 2009

Headlines from December 8, 2009

Millions in U.S. Drink Dirty Water, Records Show

Bailout Refund Is All About Pay, Pay, Pay

Debt Raters Avoid Overhaul After Crisis

Pakistan Told to Ratchet Up Taliban Fight

Civil Suit Says Lender Ignored Own Warnings

Billboard 200

Battle Studies

My Christmas

The Fall

Until The Whole World Hears

Before I Self-Destruct

Notable Deaths

Historical Events

Historical Context for December 8, 2009