Ten Words from Today's NY Times - September 19, 2012

The comments were Mr. Romney’s attempt to find some benefit in the political furor after the disclosure of statements he made at a closed fund-raiser in Florida in May, where he spoke of nearly half of Americans who pay no federal income taxes and, in his analysis, would never vote for him.

He suggested that a two-state solution for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians — longstanding United States policy — was not feasible.

Two Republican Senate candidates in hard-fought races in the Democratic territory of the Northeast, Senator Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts and Linda McMahon of Connecticut, disavowed the remarks.

Russia also increased the penalties for libel and slander — a step that seemed intended to intimidate critics of government officials.

Reaction was swift in Washington to what was widely perceived as an affront, with Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican, urging the White House to condemn the Kremlin.

The forgiveness step, which has been in the works for many months, would help clear the way for Russia to make new investments in North Korea — a development that runs counter to American-led efforts to economically ostracize the North over its expanding arsenal of nuclear weapons.

At stake are the Arctic’s abundant supplies of oil, gas and minerals that are, thanks to climate change, becoming newly accessible along with increasingly navigable polar shipping shortcuts.

At stake are the Arctic’s abundant supplies of oil, gas and minerals that are, thanks to climate change, becoming newly accessible along with increasingly navigable polar shipping shortcuts.

This once-obscure body, previously focused on issues like monitoring Arctic animal populations, now has more substantive tasks, like defining future port fees and negotiating agreements on oil spill remediation.

The United States has been hampered in the current jockeying because the Senate has refused to ratify the Convention of the Law of the Sea, even though both the Bush and Obama administrations have strongly supported doing so.