Report Sees U.S. as Top Oil Producer, Overtaking Saudi Arabia, in 5 Years

Charlie Riedel/Associated PressIncreased oil production and new policies to improve energy efficiency mean that the United States will become “all but self-sufficient” in energy in about two decades, the International Energy Agency predicted. Above, an oil rig near Greensburg, Kan. The United States will overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s leading oil producer by about 2017 and will become a net...

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Changing of the Guard: Chinese Communist Party Faces Calls for Democracy

BEIJING — As the Communist Party’s 18th Congress approached, Li Weidong, a scholar of politics, made plans to observe a historic leadership battle in one of the world’s great nations. Instead of staying in Beijing to monitor China’s once-a-decade transfer of power, Mr. Li boarded a plane. “I’m going to the United States to study the elections,” Mr. Li said in a telephone interview...

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10 Adorable Clips of Sesame Street Satire

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Oregon is No. 1 in AP Top 25; K-St 2, Notre Dame 3

NEW YORK (AP) — Oregon is No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll after Alabama gave up the top spot following a loss to Texas A&M.The Ducks have 45 of 60 first-place votes. Kansas State is No. 2 with 14 first-place votes. Notre Dame is third and received one first-place vote.The Crimson Tide, which had been No. 1 for 10 straight weeks, dropped to fourth after a 29-24 loss to the Aggies...

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Mind Faded, Darrell Royal’s Wisdom and Humor Intact Till End

Three days before his death last week at 88, Darrell Royal told his wife, Edith: “We need to go back to Hollis” — in Oklahoma. “Uncle Otis died.” “Oh, Darrell,” she said, “Uncle Otis didn’t die.” Royal, a former University of Texas football coach, chuckled and said, “Well, Uncle Otis will be glad to hear that.” The Royal humor never faded, even as he sank deeper into Alzheimer’s...

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Hurricane Sandy and the Disaster-Preparedness Economy

Jeffrey Phelps for The New York TimesAn assembly line at a Generac Power Systems plant. Generac makes residential generators, coveted items in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. FOLKS here don’t wish disaster on their fellow Americans. They didn’t pray for Hurricane Sandy to come grinding up the East Coast, tearing lives apart and plunging millions into darkness. But the fact is, disasters are good...

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In Soldier’s Hearing, Afghans Tell of Horror

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. — Through a live video feed from half a world away in Afghanistan, in an extraordinary night court session, descriptions of chaos and horror poured into a military courtroom here as if from an open spigot. Lois Silver/FR 170774 Associated Press, via Associated PressIn a courtroom sketch, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, lower right, is shown during testimony on...

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Nationals bring back manager Johnson for 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals are bringing back Davey Johnson for one more season as their manager.Johnson will move into a role as a consultant to the club in 2014. The Nationals announced the arrangement Saturday.At 70 years old, Johnson will be the oldest manager in the majors in 2013.Last season, he led the Nationals to their first NL East title and a majors-high 98 wins. Washington...

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The New Old Age Blog: The Emotional Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

Let’s talk about the emotional aftermath of the storm that left tens of thousands of older people on the East Coast without power, bunkered down in their homes, chilled to the bone and out of touch with the outside world.Let’s name the feelings they may have experienced. Fear. Despair. Hopelessness. Anxiety. Panic.Linda Leest and her staff at Services Now for Adult Persons in Queens heard this...

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DealBook: In Unusual Move, the Delaware Supreme Court Rebukes a Judge

As the chief judge of the Delaware Court of Chancery — the country’s most influential court overseeing business cases — Leo E. Strine Jr. has been called an activist. He has also been called an iconoclast, a genius and a humorist.But this week, Delaware’s highest court called him out of bounds.The Delaware Supreme Court issued a stinging rebuke of Judge Strine on Wednesday, criticizing him for what...

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