The friendship between two children in a hospital — a Palestinian and an Israeli — has drawn their parents into a kinship that defies national struggle.

A Mideast Bond, Stitched of Pain and Healing

Ralph Alvarez’s departure is the second time in a little more than three years that the company’s No. 2 executive has left suddenly.

At McDonald’s, a Retirement Stirs Questions

In one of the most volatile years in stock market history, a rally replenished half the losses from the financial crisis.

Heart-Stopping Fall, Breathtaking Rally

The National Security Agency intercepted discussions of a plot by leaders of Al Qaeda in Yemen, but spy agencies did not combine the intercepts with other information.

Spy Agencies Failed to Collate Clues on Terror

Terrorism experts followed the Detroit story with dismay.

Shadow of 9/11 Is Cast Again

After months of plunging revenue and budget battles, New York owed nearly $1 billion on Wednesday.

New York State Has First Deficit in General Fund

The latest concern is that Greece or another weak economy might default on its sovereign debt, potentially fracturing the euro zone.

The Worst May Not Be Over for Europe

E. coli and salmonella have been found dozens of times in meat processed with a novel ammonia treatment.

Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned

For some very sound (if not grandma-pleasing) reasons, the first house often precedes the march down the aisle.

Come Buy With Me and Be My Love

Against some odds, Crosby Street has managed its revitalization without losing its character.

A Quiet Pocket of SoHo

Shares fell substantially on 2009’s last day, but that did not dampen enthusiasm over what was a comeback year.

A Volatile Final Minute in a Good Year for Stocks

In the last five years, four leading German automakers have opened or reworked the museums dedicated to each brand’s heritage and history.

Touring the Temples of German Automaking

Conservation organizations have taken advantage of depressed property prices and foreclosures to protect open space.

Preservation Groups Find Bargains in Housing Bust

The DBS exudes a powerful aesthetic appeal by managing to look fast but mature — no boy-racer scoops or wild stripes here.

Haute Couture Hooligan

As air travel gets generally more frustrating, some of the smaller airports in the New York region are trying to grow.

An Invitation to Fly Local

Several indicators suggest that travel into New York City in 2009 was on a pace to register its first annual decline in eight years.

Economy Stems the Flow of Tourists to New York

We denounce the Great Male Novelists of the last century for their sexism. But something has been lost now that innocence is more fashionable than virility, the cuddle preferable to sex.

The Naked and the Conflicted

After an Atlanta dialysis clinic closed, illegal immigrants who returned to Mexico have struggled to pay for care.

For Sick Illegal Immigrants, No Relief Back Home

Many aged 16 to 24 who took jobs when the Spanish economy was healthy are now out of work as the unemployment rate for the group nears 43 percent.

In Spain, a Soaring Jobless Rate for Young Workers

A federal judge has dismissed all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards charged in a deadly Baghdad shooting.

Judge Drops Charges From Blackwater Deaths in Iraq

The Critic sets out to consult a series of psychics, and is given a vision of the future full of vague generalizations.

The Future: Cloudy, With Platitudes

New York City’s indoor smoking ban has grown hazy inside some clubs.

Blowing Smoke at a Ban

A talent discovered on YouTube has navigated the path of a tween idol. Four singles from his debut release reached the Billboard Top 100, and he has been taken under the wing of the singer Usher.

Justin Bieber Is Living the Dream

An article on Dec. 12 about a higher rate of antipsychotic drug prescriptions for children on Medicaid than for children whose parents have private insurance, using information from a Food and Drug Administration analyst, gave an incorrect estimate of the number of people in the United States under the age of 18 who use such drugs. An F.D.A. official who made the estimate of 300,000 at a public meeting on Dec. 8 subsequently said she intended for that the number to apply to one leading drug. There is no authoritative or official count of youths under 18 using antipsychotic drugs, but it is believed to be much higher than 300,000.

Corrections

Cahal Brendan Daly KGCHS was a Roman Catholic cardinal, theologian and writer from County Antrim.

Cahal Daly, Irish cardinal and philosopher, Archbishop of Armagh (born 1917)

Cahal_Daly

Justin Pascal Keating was an Irish Labour Party politician, broadcaster, journalist, lecturer and veterinary surgeon. In later life he was president of the Humanist Association of Ireland.

Justin Keating, Irish surgeon, journalist, and politician, Minister for Industry and Commerce (born 1930)

Justin_Keating

A blue moon refers either to the presence of a second full moon in a calendar month, to the third full moon in a season containing four, or to a moon that appears blue due to atmospheric effects.

Both a blue moon and a lunar eclipse occur.

December 31, 2009

Headlines from December 31, 2009

A Mideast Bond, Stitched of Pain and Healing

At McDonald’s, a Retirement Stirs Questions

Heart-Stopping Fall, Breathtaking Rally

Spy Agencies Failed to Collate Clues on Terror

Shadow of 9/11 Is Cast Again

Billboard 200

I Dreamed A Dream

The Element Of Freedom

My Christmas

Fearless

Play On

Notable Deaths

Historical Events

Historical Context for December 31, 2009