A gradual flow of economic power from West to East has turned into a flood, but some wonder whether China’s rise is sustainable.

As China Rises, Fears Grow on Whether Boom Can Endure

On the way to creating a statewide exit test for graduation, many states have softened standards, delayed the requirement or added alternative paths to a high school diploma.

As School Exit Tests Prove Tough, States Ease Standards

Lyudmila M. Alexeyeva, 82, provokes reverence, exasperation and the question of how a human rights movement will reshape itself when she is gone.

Russian Dissident’s Passion Endures Despite Tests

Automakers unveiled many hybrid gas-electric and battery-powered cars at the Detroit auto show, a sign of how much emphasis is being placed on the electrification of vehicles.

A Future That Doesn’t Guzzle

Used correctly, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission hearing on Wednesday could steer current reform efforts.

What the Financial Crisis Commission Should Ask

The most popular judge on “American Idol” says his other projects do not leave him with enough time to continue with the show.

Cowell Says He Will Leave ‘Idol’

Sergio Marchionne, the carmaker’s chief executive, said that the company had to endure a fallow period before it could refresh its vehicle lineup.

Low Profile for Chrysler After a Year of Change

Devices will soon be sold that allow people to flip TV channels or move computer files with hand gestures.

Now, Electronics That Obey Hand Gestures

Bank of America is negotiating with the staff of the New York attorney general to settle claims that the bank failed to adequately disclose the risks of the takeover to its shareholders.

Bank Is in Talks to Settle State Claims Over Merrill

The Judith Rothschild Foundation has defaulted on all 17 of its 2009 grants to artists’ estates and art organizations, according to several of the recipients.

Artists Miffed Over Rothschild Foundation’s Missing Grant Money

Plácido Domingo was back on Monday night for the revival of “Stiffelio,” last seen at the Met in 1998. But this time he was in the pit, conducting.

A Wife’s Betrayal, a Husband’s Internal Seething

With London all a-shiver from a crippling cold snap, it only made sense to visit two of the hottest women in town: Keira Knightley in “The Misanthrope” and Tamzin Outhwaite in “Sweet Charity.”

Frigid Londoners Line Up for Two Blasts of Heat

“Avatar” presents performance-capture and 3-D technology that is hard to imitate. Who will try?

For All Its Success, Will ‘Avatar’ Change the Industry?

In Eric Rohmer’s films, the subject is passion, but the method is reason.

Rohmer the Classicist, Calmly Dissecting Desire

Officials warned that casualties could be substantial from the 7.0-magnitude earthquake, which left the Haitian capital in a shambles.

Fierce Quake Devastates Haitian Capital

The move, coming after assaults from hackers on its computer systems, would be a highly unusual rebuke of China by a large and respected company.

Google, Citing Attack, Threatens to Exit China

Those who oppose smoking in movies aimed at young people planned to step up their assault on the science-fiction epic “Avatar.”

Ads to Protest Smoking in ‘Avatar’

The purchase of Femsa, valued at $7.6 billion, would further consolidate the global beer industry and give Heineken a much stronger hand in Latin America.

Heineken in Deal to Buy a Big Mexican Brewer

A planned fund would work like a private equity vehicle, buying slumping assets before selling them for profit.

Joint Effort in Europe Seeks Assets in Distress

McDonald’s, the fast-food company, said on Monday that it had promoted Don Thompson, the head of its United States division, to become its No. 2 executive.

McDonald’s Names U.S. Chief as Its No. 2 Executive

An article on Saturday about the effects of early winter storms on already strained state and local budgets misstated, in some copies, the current number of state troopers in Iowa, where officials say they do not have enough patrol officers to handle all accidents. It is 379, not 37 (down from 455 about 10 years ago).

Corrections

An article in some editions on Thursday about the indictment of a former Yonkers city councilwoman and two other people on federal corruption charges misidentified the position once held by Zehy Jereis, one of those indicted. He is the former chairman of the Yonkers Republican Committee and a former board member of the Westchester County Republican Party; he was not the “former leader” of the Westchester party.

An article on Friday about the New Jersey Senate’s defeat of a bill that would have allowed same-sex marriages misstated, in some editions, the length of time between 1915, the year that New Jersey voters rejected a referendum that would have allowed women the right to vote, and the year that the 19th Amendment was ratified, granting women the vote nationwide. The amendment was ratified five years later, in 1920, not three years later.

The City Room column in some editions on Dec. 31, about a State Senate proposal for referendums asking voters whether New York should be split into two states, misstated, in some copies, the year that the Constitution was ratified. It was 1788, not 1787.

An article in some editions on Friday about the F.B.I.’s seizure of a passport belonging to Adis Medunjanin, a Queens man who came under scrutiny during the investigation of what officials have said was a bomb plot by Al Qaeda, misspelled, in some copies, the surname of Mr. Medunjanin’s lawyer. He is Robert Gottlieb, not Gottleib. (Mr. Medunjanin was arrested on Friday on terrorism charges.).

Daniel Bensaïd was a philosopher and a leader of the Trotskyist movement in France. He became a leading figure in the student revolt of 1968, while studying at the University of Paris X-Nanterre.

Daniel Bensaïd, French philosopher and author (born 1946)

Daniel_Bensaïd

Hasib Sabbagh was a Palestinian businessman, activist, and philanthropist.

Hasib Sabbagh, Palestinian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Consolidated Contractors Company (born 1920)

Hasib_Sabbagh

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital.

An earthquake in Haiti occurs, killing between 220,000 and 300,000 people and destroying much of the capital Port-au-Prince.

January 12, 2010

Headlines from January 12, 2010

As China Rises, Fears Grow on Whether Boom Can Endure

As School Exit Tests Prove Tough, States Ease Standards

Russian Dissident’s Passion Endures Despite Tests

A Future That Doesn’t Guzzle

What the Financial Crisis Commission Should Ask

Billboard 200

I Dreamed A Dream

STRONGER withEach Tear

My Christmas

The Element Of Freedom

Fearless

Notable Deaths

Historical Events

Historical Context for January 12, 2010