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Satyam Shares Plunge on Scandal. Shares in Satyam Computer Services Ltd. , an Indian company that counts many Fortune 500 companies among its clients, dropped more than 72 percent after its chairman resigned.

Ukraine Says Russia Halts All Gas to Europe. All gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine were shut down as the pricing dispute between it and Russia escalated.

Israel Ponders Truce Plans as Conflict Enters Its 12th Day. A day after Israeli mortar shells killed as many as 40 Palestinians outside a U.N. school in Gaza, Israel was under pressure to accept a pause in the fighting.

Flames 5, Sharks 2. After getting pounded in their last meeting, the Calgary Flames were determined to get off to a fast start against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.

Ducks 3, Kings 1. Samuel Pahlsson and Bobby Ryan scored power-play goals, and Jonas Hiller made 17 saves Tuesday night to lead the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

Hornets 116, Lakers 105. David West scored 15 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, Chris Paul added 32 points and 15 assists, and the New Orleans Hornets beat Los Angeles 116-105 on Tuesday night to snap the Lakers' 15-game home winning streak.

International Real Estate: For Sale in Mexico. A four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath house with a garden in the Corpus Christi neighborhood of Cozumel.

Property Values: What You Get for ... $600,000. A four-bedroom home on Great Diamond Island in Maine, a four-bedroom compound on the eastern coast of Hawaii’s Big Island and a cottage two blocks from the beach in Encinitas, Calif.

In Egypt, Living on a Farm. After her husband died and her children moved away, Maryanne Stroud Gabbani built a home on a 2.5-acre lot in a village in the Old Nile Valley.

Television Review | 'The Real World': The Show That Put the ‘Real’ in Reality TV. “The Real World: Brooklyn” the latest version of the reality television progenitor that has aired on MTV for 17 years, places its young cast in a loft in Red Hook.

Networks to Usher In Historic Presidency. With less than two weeks to go until a historic presidential inauguration, more television networks than usual are finalizing ambitious coverage plans.

Television Review | 'Damages': Suspenseful Corporate Litigation Returns (if It Ever Left). “Damages,” a hit in its first season for FX, is back but the intrigue is not as intriguing the second time around.

Art Review | Philip Pearlstein: It Is What It Is: Portraits of the Human Figure. The painter Philip Pearlstein’s seven-decade career is the focus of a small, surprisingly varied exhibition at the Montclair Art Museum.

Author of ‘Conversations With God’ Admits Essay Wasn’t His. A personal Christmas tale posted online by the author Neale Donald Walsch turns out to belong to someone else — the writer Candy Chand, who first published it 10 years ago.

Books of The Times: When Labels Fought the Digital, and the Digital Won. Steve Knopper’s stark accounting of the mistakes major record labels have made in the digital era suggests they are largely responsible for their own demise.

Dance | Dance on Camera: Showing Dance on Film, Kirov to Busby Berkeley. The Dance on Camera festival does a stalwart service in bringing together a selection of new features and shorts.

Judging an Elusive Artist by His Distinctive Covers. Barney Bubbles’s lusciously witty artwork for bands like Hawkwind and Elvis Costello and the Attractions has made him a hero to young designers.

Music Review: Revisiting the Rare, in Search of a Surprise. Among the works on the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players’s Monday program at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church were unusual glimpses of Glinka and Puccini.

Prosecutors Urge Polanski to Surrender in Sex Case. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office told a court what it expects Roman Polanski to do if he really wants the case against him dismissed: surrender first.

Music Review | Christian McBride: Part Concert, Part Chat: Two Guys Talking Music. The bassist Christian McBride kicked off “Conversations With Christian,” a yearlong series of onstage dialogues, with words and music, at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola on Monday.

Television Review | '13 Fear Is Real': ‘Boo!’: Reality TV Puts on a Fright Wig. “13 Fear Is Real,” a fizzled effort at scaremongering that begins Wednesday on CW, reveals just how badly reality television can go astray when the casting fails to get creative.

Want to Copy iTunes Music? Go Ahead, Apple Says. Apple said it would begin selling song downloads without anticopying measures and change its pricing structure.

Betty Freeman, Patron of New Music, Dies at 87. Ms. Freeman was one of the most influential patrons of contemporary composers over the last 40 years and long the keeper of a famously gracious musical salon in Los Angeles.

Richard Seaver, Publisher, Dies at 82. Mr. Seaver defied censorship and conventional literary standards to bring works by rabble-rousing authors like Samuel Beckett, Henry Miller and William Burroughs to American readers.

Arts, Briefly: Barenboim Cancels Middle East Concerts. Daniel Barenboim, right, has canceled two concerts in the Middle East because of safety concerns, the BBC reported. Mr. Barenboim had been scheduled to conduct the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the Arab-Israeli group he founded with the writer Edward Said, in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday and in Cairo the following Monday. But on Tuesday Mr. Barenboim said those concerts had been canceled “due to the escalating violence in Gaza and the resulting concerns for the musicians’ safety,” according to the BBC. The orchestra will instead begin its tour in Berlin on Monday, followed by scheduled performances in Moscow, Vienna and Milan. Mr. Barenboim, who was born in Argentina and raised in Israel, is an outspoken advocate of Palestinian rights and announced last year that he had accepted honorary Palestinian citizenship.

Arts, Briefly: Winehouse Drops Drug Appeal. Amy Winehouse has dropped her appeal of a drug possession charge in Norway, The Associated Press reported. Ms. Winehouse, the British soul singer, was expected to appear in court in Bergen, Norway, next Monday to answer charges of drug possession, after an incident in October 2007 when she, her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, and her hairdresser were found with marijuana at a hotel, according to the police. At that time the three were held overnight and paid a fine of about $428. Ms. Winehouse later said that the police had made errors in the case and appealed the fine. But on Tuesday a lawyer for Ms. Winehouse said she had decided to accept the fine. A Norwegian prosecutor confirmed that Ms. Winehouse had withdrawn the appeal and would not appear in court. “That means the fines stand,” he said, according to The A.P.

Arts, Briefly: Enter the Museum: Bruce Lees Home Saved. More than 35 years after the death of the martial-arts legend Bruce Lee, below, fans will once again be able to get their kicks from him following the approval of a plan to turn his Hong Kong home, above, into a tourist attraction, Reuters reported. In July Yu Panglin, a real estate tycoon and philanthropist, reversed his decision to sell Lee’s 5,600-square-foot town house in the Kowloon area of Hong Kong and instead donated it to that region’s government for use as a museum. On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said it had agreed to preserve the “original outlook of the building and its features,” according to Reuters. Parts of the home, including Lee’s study and training hall, will be restored; Mr. Yu has said he wants to add a movie theater, a library and a martial-arts center.

Arts, Briefly: Broadway Grosses Rose in 2008. An up-and-down year for Broadway ended with at least one high note, as gross sales for 2008 were slightly higher than in 2007, the Broadway League said. Broadway’s total grosses for the 2008 calendar year (which was measured from Dec. 31, 2007, through Dec. 28, 2008) were more than $940 million, with total paid attendance exceeding 12.31 million; the previous calendar year, total grosses were about $938 million and total paid attendance about 12.29 million. Christmas and New Year’s week grosses were also up, to $50.99 million in 2008 from $49.06 million in 2007. An additional week of performances was recorded in 2007 because of the method Broadway uses to measure its calendar, but the industry was also shut down for 19 days that year because of the stagehands’ strike.

Arts, Briefly: Suspension Ending for Talk-Show Host. The British talk-show host at the center of a recent controversy will return to the airwaves this month after a three-month suspension.

Arts, Briefly: Winfrey Web Site Notes Fabricated Memoir. Oprah.com, the Web site of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” has posted a disclaimer acknowledging that Herman Rosenblat admitted he had invented portions of his Holocaust memoir.

Arts, Briefly: Springsteen Songs Free (legal, Too) Online. As true fans know, to properly experience Bruce Springsteen, below right, you must see him live, yet the Boss has been ramping up his online and digital efforts as the countdown to his next album continues. On Tuesday Mr. Springsteen’s song “Life Itself” was made available for free download from Amazon.com; it’s the third song to have been released from his coming album “Working on a Dream,” which he recorded with the E Street Band. That album will be released on Jan. 27; on the same day, Billboard reported, Mr. Springsteen’s songs “Born to Run” and “My Lucky Day” (another track from “Working on a Dream”) will be released as downloads for the video game Guitar Hero: World Tour. Those downloads will be free until Feb. 4, after which they will cost $2 each.

Arts, Briefly: ‘Pal Joey’ Extends. The Roundabout Theater Company has extended its limited-run production of “Pal Joey” by two weeks, the company announced.

Op-Ed Columnist: Sweet on Caroline. Caroline Kennedy is smart, cultivated, serious and unpretentious. The Senate, shamefully sparse on profiles in courage during Dick Cheney’s reign of terror, would be lucky to get her.

Op-Ed Columnist: The Mideast’s Ground Zero. Barack Obama’s goal has to be a settlement in Gaza that eliminates the threat of Hamas rockets and opens Gaza economically to the world, under credible international supervision.

Op-Ed Contributor: City of Cold Shoulders. It has become clear that the Senate’s power to reject Roland W. Burris is, at best, highly debatable. The wisest course for the Senate is to end the dispute by accepting the appointment.

Op-Ed Contributor: A Job Too Big for One Man to Fill. When governors fill Senate vacancies without directing new or special elections, this frustrates the whole democratic thrust of the 17th Amendment.

Editorial: Mr. Bush’s Monument. It’s strange but true. President Bush, who has been indifferent to the health of continents, is going down in history as a protector of the oceans.

Editorial: Reversing Discrimination. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act merits passage, along with the Paycheck Fairness Act, which also combats gender-based wage discrimination.

Editorial: America’s Colonial Capital. A bill that gives Washington’s Congressional representative full voting rights deserves approval, and Congress also must give the city budgetary and legislative autonomy.

Editorial: News From Home. This is a wonderful thing about astronomy. Our understanding of the galaxy undergoes a shift, and the only real change is the new terrain that opens up inside our heads.

Letters: How Do We Fix the Financial Mess?. To the Editor:.

Letters: Israel’s War in Gaza, and the War of Words. To the Editor:.

Letter: E.P.A. and Clean Air. To the Editor:.

Letter: The Road to Tyranny. To the Editor:.

F.D.A. to Reconsider Plastic Bottle Risk. The agency was accused of failing to adequately consider research about the dangers of a substance known as bisphenol-A.

F.D.A. Commissioner and Other Top Health Officials Plan to Step Down. Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach said he would resign on Inauguration Day.

Insurers Seek Presence at Health Care Sessions. Insurance lobbies, health care trade groups and medical societies are encouraging their members to attend Obama house parties.

Azerbaijan Bars Foreigners From Use of Its FM Band. The move to enforce a law that bans foreign companies from broadcasting in the country effectively bans Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America and the BBC.

London Journal: Atheists Decide to Send Their Own Message, on 800 Buses. An ad campaign for atheism in London is aiming to counter religious ads, one bus billboard at a time.

Austria’s ‘Woman on Wall St.’ Now Out of Sight. Sonja Kohn made few friends gathering billions for Bernard L. Madoff from wealthy investors in Russia and across Europe. Now she’s disappeared from public view.

Russia Cuts Gas; Europe Shivers. Russia’s gas price dispute with Ukraine escalated, disrupting deliveries to the European Union in the midst of a bitter cold spell.

The Costly Compromises of Oil From Sand. Environmental groups in the U.S. and Canada are pushing for a slowdown to oil sands development.

Facing Losses, Billionaire Takes His Own Life. Adolf Merckle’s speculation in volatile Volkswagen shares pushed his sprawling empire to the edge of ruin.

Toyota to Shut Factories for 11 Days. Toyota Motor will idle its plants in Japan for 11 days in February and March to reduce output in the face of steeply declining global vehicle sales, the company said Tuesday.

China Criticizes Google and Others on Pornography. The Ministry of Public Security and six other agencies would work together “to purify the Internet’s cultural environment,” the government said in a statement.

Itineraries: Help in Hot Spots. For business travelers facing sudden illness or acts of terrorism, several companies offer help.

Waterford Wedgwood Is in Receivership. High manufacturing costs, declining demand for luxury goods and a weak dollar overstretched the finances at the Irish maker of luxury crystal and ceramics.

The Irish Economy’s Rise Was Steep, and the Fall Was Fast. The Irish developer Sean Dunne, who became a symbol of the country’s boom, faces a foundering economy.

Manufacturing Reports Show Depth of Global Downturn. New reports from the world’s leading economies showed manufacturing continuing to slump amid the worst slowdown since the Great Depression.

Worldwide, a Bad Year Only Got Worse. After a catastrophic year for global markets, analysts are cautioning investors not to expect the big rebound that usually follows a sharp downturn.

Austria Picks Overseer for Bank in Madoff Case. The management of Bank Medici, which has emerged as one of the largest victims of the Madoff scandal, resigned, leaving day-to-day operations in the hands of an overseer.

Madoff Investor’s Suicide Leaves Questions. Relatives said Rene-Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet — who committed suicide in the wake of the Madoff scandal — felt personally responsible losing his clients’ money.

Contradictions in China, and the Rise of a Billionaire Family. The story of Liu Yongxing — a former factory worker who is now listed by Forbes as the wealthiest person in China — is a peek into the changes facing China.

Economy Blunts Korea’s Appetite for Plastic Surgery. An indicator of the economic doldrums in South Korea: Seoul’s obsession with plastic surgery is waning, and once-crowded clinics are closing.

Citing Obama’s Win, European Ad Chief Is Hopeful. Maurice Lévy, chief executive of the Publicis Groupe, is facing a difficult economic environment with acquisitions in digital media and developing countries.

As Trade Slows, China Rethinks Its Growth Strategy. In the last two weeks, Chinese officials have announced a series of measures to help exporters.

Former Head of Chinese Dairy Pleads Guilty. The former chairwoman of one of China’s biggest dairy producers pleaded guilty to selling fake milk powder.

UBS Sells Its Stake in Bank of China. The Swiss banking giant said that it had sold its stake at a discount and would book a gain of a “few hundred million dollars” in the fourth quarter.

Chinese Court Convicts 11 in Microsoft Piracy Case. Eleven people were convicted of roles in a counterfeiting ring that distributed pirated software around the world.

China Plans to License 3 Wireless Standards. The move opens the way for cellphone users in China to have faster downloads of video, data and Web-browsing services, and for companies to charge more for their high-speed services.

Iraq to Open More Oil Fields to Bidding. Iraq announced that it would launch a second round of bids to license international oil companies to develop 11 oil and gas fields, some of which are shared with Iran and Kuwait.

Iranian President Proposes Ending Energy Subsidies. Faced with falling oil prices and a weakening economy, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proposed what would be a major change of course for the oil-producing country.

World Business Briefing | Europe: Germany: Regulators Still Reviewing Airline Merger. The European Commission, Europe’s competition watchdog, said it had extended its review of a bid by Lufthansa to buy a smaller Belgian rival, Brussels Airlines.

World Business Briefing | Asia: India: G.M. To Increase Car Prices. The Indian unit of General Motors will raise its car prices by 1 to 2 percent to cover rising costs and does not expect the market to improve in the first half of 2009, a senior official said on Tuesday.

World Business Briefing | Asia: India: Credit Suisse Invests in Finance Unit. Credit Suisse said it had injected 7.94 billion rupees ($164 million) into the operations of its nonbanking financial company in India.

World Business Briefing | Africa: Kenya: 2 Countries Plan Railway. Kenya and Uganda plan to build a new railway from the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa to cope with increased trade among the East African countries and their landlocked neighbors, officials said.

Vows: Rochelle Lichtman and David Deckelbaum. They met as college freshmen, going through friendship, courtship and breakups on the way to marriage.

Lauren Jenkins and Richard Chung. The couple were married Saturday at Calvary Episcopal Church in Manhattan.

Jerald Kovacic and Daniel Kiser. Jerald J. Kovacic and Daniel J. Kiser were married Tuesday in Greenwich, Conn. Elizabeth Bonsal, a justice of the peace for the State of Connecticut, officiated at her home.

Dena Imbesi and Edward Faccio. Dena Imbesi and Edward Faccio were married Wednesday at Our Lady of Mercy Roman Catholic Church. The couple work at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York.

Laurel Martin-Harris, Myles Nye. Laurel Martin-Harris and Myles Andrew Nye were married Wednesday at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco. The ceremony was led by Lynn Kaufman, the couple’s Weight Watchers meeting leader who became a Universal Life minister to officiate.

Irene Vallye, Quinn Martin Jr.. Irene Vallye and Quinn William Martin Jr. were married Saturday at Bridgewaters, an event space in Manhattan. Robert J. Berson, the leader of the Ethical Culture Society of Northern Westchester, officiated.

Sarah Holmes, John Morris Jr.. Sarah Burgwin Holmes and John Burnett Morris Jr. were married Thursday at the Strathmore Mansion, a historic house in Bethesda, Md. The Rev. Susan Flanders, an Episcopal priest, officiated.

Laura Smith, Thomas Winner Jr.. Laura M. Smith, a daughter of Paula Smith and Donald G. Smith, both of New York, was married Wednesday evening to Thomas H. Winner Jr., a son of Anne Winner and Mr. Winner Sr. of Ridgewood, N.J. The Rev. Dr. Jim Covington, a Unitarian Universalist minister, officiated at the Central Park Boathouse in New York.

Jaime Teitelman, Howard Wachtel. Jaime Michelle Teitelman and Howard Allan Wachtel were married Wednesday evening at Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael in Springfield, N.J. Rabbi Aaron D. Benson performed the ceremony.

Michele DeFalco, Michael Werner. Michele Nicole DeFalco and Michael Jared Werner are to be married Sunday at Carlyle on the Green, a caterer at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y. Justice Thomas Feinman of State Supreme Court in Mineola, N.Y., is to officiate.

Tamar Schwartz, David Wise. Tamar Schwartz, the daughter of Sylvia and Joshua Schwartz of Brooklyn, will be married Sunday evening to David Reuven Wise, a son of Batya and Michael Louis Wise of Lawrence, N.Y. Rabbi Kenneth Hain will perform the ceremony at Temple Israel of Lawrence, with assistance from Rabbi David Halpern.

Sarah Bagley, Jadrien Steele. Sarah Elizabeth Bagley and Jadrien Ford Steele were married Saturday evening in New York. The Rev. Jonathan M. Erdman, an Episcopal priest, performed the ceremony at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue.

Katherine Shaw, Lawrence Schack. Katherine Elaine Louise Felicity Shaw and Lawrence Leonard Schack were married Wednesday evening. Msgr. Vincent Kelly performed the ceremony at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with the Rev. Gerald Fogarty, a Roman Catholic priest, taking part.

Amanda Nelson, Charles Wells. Amanda Lynwood Nelson, a daughter of Julie Dozier Nelson and James F. Nelson of Sacramento, was married there Wednesday to Charles Brooke Wells, a son of Diana Wells and Charles A. Wells of Newtown, Pa. Bill Linwood Dozier, a retired judge of the Superior Court of San Joaquin County, Calif., and a great-uncle of the bride, officiated at the home of the bride’s parents.

Caroline DiQuollo, Geoffrey Weinstein. Caroline Leigh DiQuollo and Geoffrey Neal Weinstein were married Wednesday at Gallows Point Resort on St. John, the United States Virgin Islands. The Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Jaggernauth, a Baptist minister, performed a nondenominational ceremony.

Kathleen Leicht, Peter Matsoukas. Kathleen Conaty Leicht, a daughter of Mary Kay Leicht and John G. Leicht of Indianapolis, was married Saturday to Peter Edmund Matsoukas, a son of Amelia S. Matsoukas and Peter N. Matsoukas of New York. The Rev. James R. Bonke, a Roman Catholic priest, performed the ceremony at St. Luke Catholic Church in Indianapolis.

Frugal Traveler: Skiing in Vermont, by Bus. With the recession cutting into vacation budgets, the Alps are an extravagance few can afford. But from New York City, you can still find several low-budget day trips to Vermont resorts.

Heads Up: A Budding Revival in the Land of Obama’s Roots. The beleaguered tourism industry of Kenya is hoping that Obamamania will result in a resurgence of visitors to the ancestral homeland of the president-elect.

Practical Traveler: Stuck in Paradise, Needing Medical Help. Before embarking on an overseas vacation, travelers should check their medical policy to see what is covered or get special travel insurance.

Frequent Flier: To Reach These Destinations, the Nonstops Are Rare. As far as some travelers are concerned, making the best of travel means meeting new people.

Basics: A Large-Size Focus on Life Lived Small. The Audubon Insectarium in New Orleans is the largest museum in the nation devoted solely to insects and their arthropod relations.

Footsteps: Kyoto Celebrates a 1,000-Year Love Affair. This city, known for its shrines and blazing autumn hills, is celebrating the millennial anniversary of an ancient book about love and loss among the imperial set.

Canada’s Quiet Star. Wintertime visitors to Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies are there for the abundant snow and the spectacular mountain views. Glitz and glamour are elsewhere.

36 Hours in Maui. Visitors to Hawaii’s second-biggest island, known for its sparkling coastline, fertile green interior and high-end resorts, will find bargains everywhere.

Journeys: Mumbai Finds Its Resiliency. Three weeks after the terrorist attacks, life in this sprawling city in India is getting back to normal, or close to it.

Surfacing: What Mexico Once Was. The scrappy village of Puerto Morelos has managed to push back against the mega-developers and sustain something that feels like the real Mexico.

Globespotters: Paris Goes on Sale. From department stores to pricey boutiques, get a bargain-hunting guide to navigating this year’s winter sales, which start Jan. 7.

Readers’ Picks: Airport Restaurants. The Travel section published the account of one traveler’s gastronomic journey through the country’s busiest airports, and more than 100 readers commented.

Foraging: Moscow: Valenki Boots. These days, valenki, thick wool boots, are making a stylish comeback in Russia’s capital, with the city’s young and fashionable.

Check In, Check Out: Hotel Review: Donovan House in Washington, D.C.. If you’re in town on business, you’ll be the coolest kid at the convention by staying at this 193-room hotel. But expect a few kinks.

Comings and Goings: High-Speed Trains Cut Travel Time in Italy. The new service, which runs between Naples and Milan, reduces travel time from Rome to Milan to three and a half hours.

Ski Guide: Sugarbush. Sugarbush has succeeded in upgrading its lodging and services with a new base village without losing its New England authenticity. See other Ski Guides.

Datebook: New York, London and Chicago. Art shows in New York and London and a Harry Potter exhibition in Chicago.

Letters: Letters: Mr. Obama’s Neighborhood. KNOWING A NEIGHBORHOOD.

Television Review | 'Homeland Security USA': Protecting Borders and Other (Not Necessarily) Hot Pursuits. “Homeland Security USA,” an ABC reality series about the men and women who police our borders, is more homage than reportage.

Better Than the Fall? A Host of TV Series, New and Not. The first few months of 2009 will be rich with new and returning shows.

Arts, Briefly: Football Tramples ‘Superstars of Dance’. The two-hour premiere of NBC’s reality show “Superstars of Dance” delivered 10.4 million viewers on Sunday.

Television Review | 'The City'; 'Bromance': West Coast Fashionista Takes On Manhattan, Manolos in Tow. The pleasures of the new series “The City” are greater than any attempted in “Bromance,” a completely unwatchable reality show.

Television Review | 'The Story of India': In a Rush of Images, a Panoramic View of Indian History. If you like the idea of watching a really good National Geographic article brought to life, you’ll love “The Story of India.”

Arts, Briefly: Who’s This New Who?. The BBC has announced its new Dr. Who: the 26-year-old actor Matt Smith.

Television: She’s Really Shy, but That’s a Secret. Kristen Wiig has emerged as a comic standout on “Saturday Night Live,” using oversize, wacky-yet-true characters to build an audience.

‘SNL’ Newbies Ride the Learning Curve. Inevitably there’s an adjustment for any newcomer to the late-night television institution.

television: Caution: The Story Line Is Slippery. The creators of “Damages,” an intricate legal drama on FX, favor an off-the-cuff writing style that has enthralled and alienated viewers while it surprises, baffles and aggravates its cast.

Questions for Joan Rivers: Cutup. The comedian talks about plastic surgery as a business decision, Barack Obama’s ears and getting a little work done in a recession.

Bernie Hamilton, TV Actor, Is Dead at 80. Mr. Hamilton played the no-nonsense police captain on the 1970s TV series “Starsky and Hutch.”

Music: A New PBS Special Revisits the Stax/Volt Revue’s 1967 European Tour. The black-and-white concert footage of “Sweet Soul Music: Stax Live in Europe 1967,” to be shown Monday on WLIW, is a chance to see Stax’s soul men at their youthful peak.

Television Review | 'Game Show in My Head': Humiliation for Sale, at New Low Prices. “Game Show in My Head,” which starts Saturday on CBS, is a new adventure in self-abasement that comes to us from Ashton Kutcher.

Arts, Briefly: CBS Starts 2009 in First Place. On the first night of the new year, CBS appeared to edge past its competitors in the prime-time ratings.

Arts, Briefly: Comedian’s Kinsman Pleads Not Guilty to Embezzlement. Darryl McCauley, the half-brother of the comedian and actor Dane Cook, has pleaded not guilty in a Massachusetts court to stealing millions of dollars from Mr. Cook.

Television Review | 'Tess of the d’Urbervilles': When a Ride in the Woods Could Wreck a Girl’s Life. “Tess of the d’Urbervilles,” which begins Sunday on PBS 0n “Masterpiece Theater,” is a wan, respectful adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel.

Arts, Briefly: Oprah Gives to Atlanta School. The Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta got an unexpected holiday gift from Oprah Winfrey: an unsolicited check for $365,000.

Television Review | 'Dear Genevieve': House Doctor Comes Calling, Wielding Grins and Glue Guns. “Dear Genevieve,” which has its premiere on HGTV on Thursday, is the latest offensive in Genevieve Gorder’s campaign to remodel every home in the United States to suit her personal tastes.

Arts, Briefly: Crime Show Rerun Tops Kennedy Honors. On Tuesday night, CBS’s broadcast of the 31st annual “Kennedy Center Honors” attracted an average of 10.5 million viewers.

As Another Memoir Is Faked, Trust Suffers. The most sensational parts of Herman Rosenblat’s memoir, “Angel at the Fence,” turned out to be fabricated — which means more embarrassment for Oprah Winfrey and book publishing.

Fee Dispute Threatens Some Cable Shows. Viacom, which owns Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, among others, says it might remove the channels from key markets on Jan. 1 if Time Warner Cable does not agree to an increase in rights fee.

‘Scrubs,’ Near Death, Is Given a Miracle Cure. In a rare move for network television, the hospital sitcom is moving from NBC to ABC beginning Jan. 6.

Arts, Briefly: ‘Arrested Development’ Slow to Reach Cinemas. So far, plans for a film spinoff of the late Fox television comedy “Arrested Development” are living up to that show’s title.

Arts, Briefly: ‘Sunday Night Football’ Beats the Trapp Family. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” edged past CBS’s lineup on Sunday, according to Nielsen’s estimates.

The Web: NBC Bridges Series Gaps With Online Minidramas. NBC and its sister cable channels in the NBC Universal family are the only reliable purveyors of true Webisodes.

TV News Winds Down Operations on Iraq War. With a presidential election and its aftermath dominating the news, the three broadcast networks have quietly cut back war coverage.

Arts, Briefly: Lennon’s Image Used to Promote a Charity. John Lennon is being posthumously featured in a television advertisement, Reuters reported.

Arts, Briefly: A New Kind of Role for Arizona Sheriff. Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona, added his name to the seemingly never-ending list of reality television show stars.

Rough Crossing. In Robin Romm’s account of her mother’s death from cancer, her fury is transformed into an instrument for pursuing truth.

Method and Madness. The first serious Brando biography since his death includes a survey of his posthumous legacy.

Reading Mom and Dad in Tehran. The author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran” fleshes out personal stories left untold or half-told in her earlier work.

Oh So ’80s. In Chuck Klosterman’s first novel: nostalgia, angst and football.

All American. In her new story collection, Louise Erdrich chronicles Native American ways, but also captures the voices of multitudes.

Woman’s Estate. A journalist reports on the family drama surrounding Brooke Astor’s decline.

Out of Egypt. The novelist Alaa Al Aswany places his emigré characters in post-9/11 Chicago.

The Reader. A tantalizing study of Hitler’s book collection and what it says about the man.

Don’t Start the Revolution Without Me. Graham Greene’s letters reveal a man in constant search of “the exciting thing” -- the insurgencies and coups of the world.

A Love Supreme. A passionate history of music’s path to cultural primacy, full of entertaining anecdotes and trivia from the worlds of classical, jazz and pop.

The Monstrous Anger of the Guns. The Somme was the bloodiest battle Britain ever fought, but Peter Hart argues that it was hardly senseless.

East Meets West, East Loses West. This novel traces the delightfully absurd affair between a Belgian language teacher and her Japanese student.

Water Damage. This novel examines the psychological aftermath of a boy’s loss of his mother in a flood.

Essay: America, ‘Amerika’. A new translation of Kafka’s unfinished first novel, set in a dream-world that is not quite America.

Up Front. When we asked Leah Hager Cohen to review “The Mercy Papers,” she “thought briefly of asking if I could write it jointly with my mother.”

TBR: Inside the List. Carrie Fisher’s “Wishful Drinking,” based on her one-woman stage show, is at No. 15 on the hardcover nonfiction list.

Browsing Books: Editors’ Choice. Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

Browsing Books: Paperback Row. Paperback books of particular interest.

Letters: Heresy, Part 1. To the Editor:.

Letters: Heresy, Part 2. To the Editor:.

Letters: ‘Not a Cult’. To the Editor:.

Orbiter, Finishing a Mission, Offers a Peek at Mars’ Wrinkles. Last month, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter wrapped up its two-year primary science phase, and Mars geologists are wallowing in a bounty of data.

Data Uncover Bigger Galaxy in Cosmos, and It’s Ours. Astronomers said Monday that the Milky Way is more massive than previously thought, expanding Earth's galaxy to roughly the heft of Andromeda.

Report on Columbia Details How Astronauts Died. Seven astronauts slipped into unconsciousness moments after the shuttle Columbia began spinning, according to a new report.

The Long Countdown: The Fight Over NASA’s Future. Is the next generation of spacecraft fundamentally flawed? Or are the troubles routine?

Scientist at Work: Robert W. Gaskell: Mapping Celestial Terrains, in All Their 3-D Glory. Dr. Robert W. Gaskell has developed the software to make mapping distant planets possible.

U.S. and Russian Crew Do Spacewalk. U.S. and Russian crewmen installed a probe aimed at tracking down problems with a module attached to the international space station during a six-hour spacewalk.

Dark Energy Stunts Galaxies’ Growth. After bulking up rapidly in the first 10 billion years of cosmic time, clusters of galaxies have grown very little during the last five billion years, astronomers said.

To the Heavens From the Jungle’s Edge. In French Guiana, a space base where the United States is the also-ran.

One Alien to Another: A Broadcast to the Stars. The makers of the new movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still” have arranged for it to be beamed into space.

Carbon Dioxide (No S.U.V.’s) Detected on Distant Planet. Astronomers have detected carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet 63 light-years away, but the planet is too hot for any possibility of life.

NASA Delays Next Mars Rover Mission. NASA has pushed back the launching of the Mars Science Laboratory by two years because of lengthening delays and lingering technical issues, officials announced.

Endeavour Lands in California, Avoiding Florida Weather. The shuttle landed in the Mojave Desert, diverted from a planned Florida landing by low clouds and high crosswinds.

Observatory: Blanket of Soil May Hide Vast Martian Glaciers. New evidence suggests that pure ice in the form of glaciers may be buried under a thin layer of soil and rock on the red planet.

World Briefing | Asia: India: Nation’s First Lunar Probe Lands. The first lunar probe from India landed on the moon and has been transmitting images back to Indian space control, the Indian Space Research Organization said.

Holiday Books: Far Out. Through dozens of short essays, each prompted by one of science’s visual creations, John D. Barrow conducts his own personal tour of the universe.

Scientist at Work | Rob Holman: So Much to Learn About the Oceans From Sand. Rob Holman’s collection of sand from around the world is a valuable teaching tool for how the oceans operate.

Japan Seeks Australia’s Help to Thwart Whaling Opponents. Japan said Tuesday that it would formally ask Australia to keep anti-whaling activists and their ship, the Steve Irwin, from refueling at Australian ports.

Dot Earth: China’s Power Slowdown. China’s recent explosive growth in generation of electricity has reversed, and emissions of carbon dioxide are presumably dropping, too.

Food Dance Gets New Life When Bees Get Cocaine. To learn more about the biochemistry of addiction, scientists are giving bees cocaine and have found the insects react much like humans do.

At the Stove, a Dash of Science, a Pinch of Folklore. Shirley O. Corriher, a biochemist turned folksy food scientist, helps answer some kitchen curiosities.

Second Opinion: Should Patients Be Told of Better Care Elsewhere?. The quality of cancer care at different hospitals is uneven and raises thorny questions about what informed consent should mean.

Mind: Some Protect the Ego by Working on Their Excuses Early. Recent research has helped clarify not just who is prone to self-handicapping but also its consequences -- and its possible benefits.

Cases: The Instincts to Trust Are Usually the Patient’s. Doctors can’t explain it, but every day in medicine there are people who know they are near death, no matter what the tests show.

Blood Sugar Control Linked to Memory Decline, Study Says. As the body loses its ability to regulate glucose, parts of the brain involved in memory lose blood flow, researchers find.

Observatory: For a Bacterial Species, ‘Sibling’ Competition Can Turn Deadly. Among the bacterial species Paenibacillus dendritiformis, sibling colonies take competition to a deadly level.

Global Update: Hemorrhagic Fever Reappears in Congo. The Ebola virus, which causes a deadly hemorrhagic fever, has surfaced for the second time in less than two years in south-central Congo.

Vital Signs: Early Weight Problems Often Undiagnosed. Researchers said that especially with young patients who were overweight but not yet obese, doctors might be missing a good chance to intervene.

Vital Signs: Gasping Misunderstood in Heart Attacks. A new study reports that the heart attack victims who gasp are more likely to survive -- especially if they are given chest compressions right away.

Vital Signs: A Note to the Wise on MySpace Helps. Teenagers often use social networking sites like MySpace to post intimate personal information they come to regret.

Observatory: To Assist in Fusion, Researchers Arrange for Cells to Meet Cells. New technology may make cell fusion, which is an important tool in biological and biomedical research, more efficient.

Vital Statistics: Accidental Injuries Higher in Rural Areas. There is a much higher rate of hospitalization for most kinds of accidental injury in rural areas than in cities, a new report indicates.

Bush to Protect Vast New Pacific Tracts. The action will protect vast tracts of American-controlled islands, reefs, surface waters and sea floor from fishing, mining, oil exploration and other commercial activity.

Posting: A Cleaner Way to Keep the City Running. A new building with affordable rents in the Bronx will be powered partly by 10 wind turbines, which should cut its utility bills for common areas in half.

Observatory: Pink Iguana Is Distinct in Other Ways Too. The pink iguana of the Galápagos was seen for the first time in 1986. Now researchers have shown that it is a distinct species.

Q & A: Microwaves and Leaks. Could cooking oil, spices or canned foods stored next to a microwave oven be receiving unhealthy doses of microwave emissions?

Personal Health: More Isn’t Always Better in Coronary Care. Ira’s story is a classic example of invasive cardiology run amok.

Really?: The Claim: Some Men Are More Likely to Father Boys. Men who want to know whether they’re more likely to father a boy or a girl may garner clues from their family tree.

Well: With the Right Motivation, That Home Gym Makes Sense. Behavioral scientists are fascinated by why people buy exercise machines, only to let them rust.

Letters: A Ration of Gruel (1 Letter). To the Editor:.

Letters: Religion and Resolutions (2 Letters). To the Editor:.

Letters: Of Bees and Caterpillars (1 Letter). To the Editor:.