In Reversal, Florida to Take Health Law’s Medicaid Expansion

MIAMI — Gov. Rick Scott of Florida reversed himself on Wednesday and announced that he would expand his state’s Medicaid program to cover the poor, becoming the latest — and, perhaps, most prominent — Republican critic of President Obama’s health care law to decide to put it into effect. It was an about-face for Mr. Scott, a former businessman who entered politics as a critic of Mr. Obama’s...

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Hacking Victims Edge Into Light

Steve Ruark for The New York TimesAlan Paller of the SANS Institute said recently hacked companies were seeking safety in numbers. SAN FRANCISCO — Hackers have hit thousands of American corporations in the last few years, but few companies ever publicly admit it. Most treat online attacks as a dirty secret best kept from customers, shareholders and competitors, lest the disclosure sink their stock...

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India Ink: Quel Brouhaha! A Diatribe on Unions Irks the French

PARIS — “How stupid do you think we are?” With those choice words, and several more similar in tone, the chief executive of an American tire company touched off a furor in France on Wednesday as he responded to a government plea to take over a Goodyear factory slated for closing in northern France. “I have visited the factory a couple of times,” Maurice Taylor Jr., the head of Titan...

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Honda to Offer Customers a Home Solar System Option

Automakers have long resorted to incentives like zero-percent financing, rewards points and rebates to inspire customer loyalty. Now Honda is offering a different deal: inexpensive home solar power systems for customers. Through a partnership with SolarCity, a residential and commercial installer, Honda and Acura will offer their customers home solar systems at little or no upfront cost,...

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Well: No Consensus on Plantar Fasciitis

Phys EdGretchen Reynolds on the science of fitness.There are more charismatic-sounding sports injuries than plantar fasciitis, like tennis elbow, runner’s knee and turf toe. But there aren’t many that are more common. The condition, characterized by stabbing pain in the heel or arch, sidelines up to 10 percent of all runners, as well as countless soccer, baseball, football and basketball players,...

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Well: No Consensus on Plantar Fasciitis

Phys EdGretchen Reynolds on the science of fitness.There are more charismatic-sounding sports injuries than plantar fasciitis, like tennis elbow, runner’s knee and turf toe. But there aren’t many that are more common. The condition, characterized by stabbing pain in the heel or arch, sidelines up to 10 percent of all runners, as well as countless soccer, baseball, football and basketball players,...

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Bits Blog: Tech Predictions for 2013: It's All About Mobile

If there is one theme that will be the topic of digital business this year, it is mobile.ComScore, which tracks Web and mobile usage, published a report about what happened in 2012, and what to expect in 2013.It shows that the effects of a movement toward mobile are everywhere, from shopping to media to search. According to the report, “2013 could spell a very rocky economic transition,” and businesses...

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IHT Rendezvous: Concerns Grow About 'Severely Polluted' Water in China's Cities

HONG KONG — The recent headlines about China’s pollution problems — many are now calling it a crisis — have focused on the worsening air pollution in Beijing and other major Chinese cities, drawing worldwide attention to the issue.But another peril, potentially just as dangerous, lurks — one that is also drawing increasing notice: the poor condition of China’s water supplies. On Tuesday, a report...

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DealBook: Morgan Stanley Strives to Coordinate 2 Departments Often at Odds

Several hundred Morgan Stanley retail branch managers descended on the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes resort in Florida early this month for a retreat. They were greeted by an unlikely colleague, Colm Kelleher, who runs the company’s sales and trading and investment banking departments.Traditionally, traders and investment bankers think of themselves as the elite of Wall Street and look down on...

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National Briefing | South: Abortion Curbs Clear Senate in Arkansas

The State Senate voted 25 to 7 on Monday to ban most abortions 20 weeks into a pregnancy. The measure goes back to the House to consider an amendment that added exceptions for rape and incest. The legislation is based on the belief that fetuses can feel pain 20 weeks into a pregnancy, and is similar to bans in several other states. Opponents say it would require mothers to deliver babies with fatal...

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