The police in Quebec arrested three men in connection with the theft of six million pounds of syrup from Canada’s global strategic maple syrup reserve.

In $18 Million Theft, Victim Was a Canadian Maple Syrup Cartel

Municipalities claim they will have to pay more to finance construction projects if the president’s plan to tax some interest on municipal bonds is approved.

Municipalities Fight a Proposal to Tax Muni Bond Interest

After a 1989 schoolyard shooting, it took five years of legislative slogging to pass a federal assault weapons ban. But the price of passage was a host of compromises.

Lessons in Politics and Fine Print in Assault Weapons Ban of ’90s

UBS scrambled until the last minute to avoid having its subsidiary plead guilty to fraud.

Leniency Denied, UBS Unit Admits Guilt in Rate Case

At the Sand Castle apartment complex, the days after the storm included hardship, wild rumors — and the last hours of an 89-year-old veteran living alone.

A Queens High Rise Where Fear, Death and Myth Collided

Knight Capital agreed to be purchased by Getco in a $1.4 billion deal that could create a dominant force in several stock markets.

High-Speed Trade Giants to Merge

The combination did not protect against heart attacks and strokes in a large clinical trial, and the company said it would no longer pursue its approval in the United States.

Merck Says Niacin Drug Has Failed Large Trial

Classical music critics from The Times select their favorite recordings of the year.

A Hit Parade of Small Labels and Upstarts

A couple — with their nice jobs, nice house, nice daughters and nice income — bemoan their troubles in “This Is 40,” directed by Judd Apatow (and starring his own wife and daughters).

Happy Birthday, You Miserable Achievers

Speaker John A. Boehner abruptly halted efforts to pass fallback legislation to prevent a fiscal crisis after conservative Republicans refused to allow taxes to rise even on the most affluent.

Boehner Cancels Tax Vote in Face of G.O.P. Revolt

Holiday questions about blowing Santa’s cover; meeting the parents; reaching out to a former friend, and other holiday-related issues.

Hoping for a Silent Night

The lead character in “Barbara,” a doctor in 1980s East Germany, tries to adjust after being transferred from Berlin to a more remote location as a punishment.

Pushed and Pulled, a Doctor Wants a Way Out

For two decades, Japan has provided stark evidence that chronic deflation is possible in a modern economy. Now, its central bank appears ready to do whatever it takes to get inflation.

In Japan, a Test of Inflation Targets

Peter Madoff, Bernard L. Madoff’s younger brother, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday for his role in enabling the extensive fraud that swindled investors out of billions of dollars.

Peter Madoff Is Sentenced to 10 Years for His Role in Fraud

Sellers and their brokers and lawyers across the country have been scrambling to close deals and avoid January tax increases that will eat into their profits.

A Mad Dash to Avoid a Bigger Tax Bite

The owners of Big Sandy, a coal-fired facility in eastern Kentucky, said it was too expensive to retrofit the plant to conform to new environmental rules.

Power Company Loses Some of Its Appetite for Coal

Jacques Carcanagues is to close his gallery of exotica at the end of February, after 40 years.

A SoHo Pioneer, With a Warehouse of Global Treasures, Pulls Up Stakes

Quotation of the day for Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012.

Quotation of the Day for Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012

Corrections appearing in print on December 20, 2012.

Corrections: December 20, 2012

The publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary said it was sorry for what it called “a coincidence of the worst kind” after the dictionary’s Web site named “bloodbath” as its word of the day on Tuesday, following last week’s deadly shootings in Newtown, Conn.

An Apology for the Oxford English Dictionary’s Ill-Timed Word of the Day

The hiring of Mr. Wiesenthal as chief operating officer could help the company expand through acquisitions and compete more handily against the music world’s two corporate giants, Universal and Sony.

A Top Deal Maker at Sony Will Join Warner Music

AFAR introduced a mobile app that allows travelers to organize posts into “wanderlists” and download them onto smartphones.

Reading (and Composing) ‘Wanderlists’ With an App

The Broadway musical “Newsies” has recouped its $5 million capitalization, becoming the fastest of any Disney musical on Broadway to turn a profit, the show’s producers said.

‘Newsies’ Recoups Initial Investment

Rock and pop musicians die prematurely more often than the general population, a British study found.

Shorter Stairway to Heaven: Rock Stars Die Younger, Study Finds

In his 23 years working in the newspaper’s newsroom — as opposed to delivering its copies — Mr. McGrory has been a reporter, columnist and metro editor. He succeeds Martin Baron.

Brian McGrory Rises From Boston Globe Paperboy to Become the Paper’s Next Editor

Stanley Charlton was an English footballer and manager. Charlton featured as a right back with clubs Bromley, Leyton Orient and Arsenal. As a manager he was one of the longest serving at Weymouth.

Stan Charlton, English footballer and manager (born 1929)

Stan_Charlton

Robert Litchfield Juniper, AM was an Australian artist, art teacher, illustrator, painter, printmaker and sculptor.

Robert Juniper, Australian painter and sculptor (born 1929)

Robert_Juniper

Victor Karpovich Merzhanov was a Russian pianist, honoured as People's Artist of the USSR in 1990.

December 20, 2012

Headlines from December 20, 2012

In $18 Million Theft, Victim Was a Canadian Maple Syrup Cartel

Municipalities Fight a Proposal to Tax Muni Bond Interest

Lessons in Politics and Fine Print in Assault Weapons Ban of ’90s

Leniency Denied, UBS Unit Admits Guilt in Rate Case

A Queens High Rise Where Fear, Death and Myth Collided

Billboard 200

Red

O.N.I.F.C.

Merry Christmas; Baby

Take Me Home

Christmas

Notable Deaths

Historical Context for December 20, 2012