In their new operating systems, Windows 8 and Mountain Lion, Microsoft and Apple are heading up the effort to make computers more like mobile devices.

Smartphones Have Led, and Desktops Will Follow

Senator Olympia J. Snowe’s decision to leave the Senate, announced as a divisive vote on health care coverage loomed, reflected growing unease among moderates.

After Many Tough Choices, the Choice to Quit

The arrest of Don Vaccaro, the head of TicketNetwork, has sent his political supporters scattering as the online ticket industry faces increasing scrutiny.

Black Eye for Ticket Reseller

The tech industry is doubling down on efforts to speed up the Web as people refuse to wait even 250 milliseconds for a page to load.

For Impatient Web Users, an Eye Blink Is Just Too Long to Wait

While Republicans point to the country’s ills, President Obama is presenting a message of optimism, which some say could backfire if the economy declines.

President Offers Theme of Nation Seeing a Comeback

Wilbur L. Ross Jr. provided some indication of the future of his firm, W. L. Ross, in a letter to investors, but, like many aging business titans, the line of succession has been a looming question.

Turnaround King Tries to Convince Investors He Hasn’t Lost a Step

Prices typically rise about 20 cents in the summer, and a major disruption in oil supplies could add another 50 cents a gallon, analysts say.

Tensions Raise Specter of Gas at $5 a Gallon

The defeat of insurgents in an embattled city set the stage for elite soldiers to turn to other redoubts of Syria’s uprising, as international demands for a cease-fire intensify.

Syrian Forces Overwhelm Stronghold of Rebels in Homs

José Antonio Abreu, the founder and influential leader of a classical music education program in Venezuela called El Sistema, engenders deep respect.

Venerated High Priest and Humble Servant of Music Education

Even before a tornado tore through this small southern Illinois city, killing six people, Harrisburg had seen trouble. And they have had to rebuild, over and over.

Illinois Town All Too Versed in Taking a Hit

The pace of auto sales last month was the highest in four years, and all three Detroit carmakers reported sales gains.

Auto Sales Pick Up Pace Despite Rising Gas Prices

“Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,” the movie version of the children’s book, is a noisy, useless piece of junk, reverse-engineered into something resembling popular art.

How the Grinch Stole the Lorax

The Senate killed an effort to let employers and health insurance companies deny coverage for services they object to on religious or moral grounds.

Senate Rejects Step Targeting Coverage of Contraception

The presidential candidate would cut taxes for almost everybody and everything — except, it seems, for single mothers, soldiers and municipal bond investors.

Parsing Santorum’s Proposals

Zynga, the creator of FarmVille, Words With Friends and Mafia Wars, announced a new gaming platform on Thursday that will match up players who do not know each other.

Zynga Seeks to Match Up Players for Online Games

In Amber Dermont’s debut novel, a talented young sailor at a New England boarding school tries to cope with the death of a friend.

In Knots

A close circle of friends, relatives, associates, colleagues from the security services and longtime advisers have grown fabulously wealthy during Vladimir V. Putin’s 12 years as Russia’s paramount leader.

Midas Touch in St. Petersburg: Friends of Putin Glow Brightly

Kristin Chenoweth and Annie Potts star in the new ABC “GCB” that sends up sex, sin and Southern Baptists, or at least a group of pious women in Dallas.

You Don’t Mess With Them

The Carpetbagger says adieu to the awards season, and asks if the Oscars can be saved.

Academy Wishes Its Future Really Did Belong to the Young

The company announced a new suite of advertising products intended to insert more ads into Facebook’s traditionally clean interface.

Substantial Growth in Ads Is on the Way to Facebook

Ace Hardware is running a playful campaign for Clark+Kensington, a new line of private-label paints.

A Splash of Romance in the Search for Paint

Corrections appearing in print on March 1, 2012.

Corrections: March 1

“Downton Abbey” and the older faces for cosmetic brands are finally giving permission to age.

Farewell to Youth, but Not Beauty

Led by two stores for teenagers, the Buckle and Zumiez, a measure of retail sales increased 4.7 percent last month.

Helped by Springlike Weather, Retail Sales Beat Estimates

Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, had one of his shortest and least contentious appearances on Capitol Hill since the recession started five years ago.

Bernanke Has a Day of Sedate Testimony

Andrew James Breitbart was an American conservative journalist and political commentator who was the founder of Breitbart News and a co-founder of HuffPost.

Andrew Breitbart, American journalist and publisher (born 1969)

Andrew_Breitbart

Germano Mosconi was an Italian sportswriter, news presenter and a television personality.

March 1, 2012

Headlines from March 1, 2012

Smartphones Have Led, and Desktops Will Follow

After Many Tough Choices, the Choice to Quit

Black Eye for Ticket Reseller

For Impatient Web Users, an Eye Blink Is Just Too Long to Wait

President Offers Theme of Nation Seeing a Comeback

Billboard 200

21

Whitney: The Greatest Hits

NOW 41

19

2012 Grammy Nominees

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for March 1, 2012