Afternoon Update: Obama, Silent on Dissident, Urges Freedom in China

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April 30, 2012 Afternoon Update

TOP NEWS Obama, Silent on Dissident, Urges Freedom in China By STEVEN LEE MYERS and JANE PERLEZ President Obama pressed China on Monday to improve its record on human rights, while declining to discuss Chen Guangcheng, the blind lawyer who escaped house arrest. In Fight Over Obama Health Law, a Front in Minnesota By ROBERT PEAR An icy clash between Minnesota's Democratic governor and Republican lawmakers shows the politics involved in a crucial element of the new federal health care law. DealBook Microsoft to Take Stake in Barnes & Noble's Nook By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED and JULIE BOSMAN Microsoft announced on Monday that it would invest $300 million in the Nook division for a 17.6 percent stake. Shares Leap on Deal 10:39 AM Profiles in Science From the Minds of Babes By NATALIE ANGIER Elizabeth S. Spelke studies infants and toddlers to understand how the brain works by determining what, if anything, humans are born knowing. Video: Interview With Elizabeth S. Spelke The Caucus Romney Says He Would Have Order Bin Laden Killing By MICHAEL BARBARO and MICHAEL D. SHEAR "Even Jimmy Carter would have given that order," Mitt Romney said, dismissing a challenge by President Obama's campaign. • NYTimes.com Home Page »

N.Y. / Region At 92, a Bandit to Hollywood but a Hero to Soldiers By ALAN SCHWARZ Hyman Strachman found a fulfilling hobby after his wife died: sending hundreds of thousands of illicitly copied Hollywood hits to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Opinion Campaign Stops Culture Warriors Don't Win By GIL TROY Is Mitt Romney learning the right lessons from Ronald Reagan? Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich didn't.

BUSINESS DealBook Barnes & Noble Shares Leap on News of Microsoft Deal By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED The hedge fund Jana Partners and the billionaire Ronald Burkle are among the big winners as shares of Barnes & Noble surge on the Nook news. DealBook Energy Transfer to Buy Sunoco for $5.3 Billion By MARK SCOTT Energy Transfer agreed to buy the energy transportation and distribution company Sunoco for $5.3 billion, marking the latest deal in America's fast-expanding oil and natural gas industry. Agency Scandal Highlights Conference Contracts By MARTHA C. WHITE Meeting experts said the uproar over costs for the General Services Administration's 2010 conference shows negotiations for events are largely misunderstood. Wall Street Slips on Spending Data By REUTERS Stocks on Wall Street edged lower following data that showed Americans only modestly increased spending in March. Consumer Income and Spending Rise By REUTERS Household income in the United States rose in March, the Commerce Department said, but consumers only modestly increased spending. • More Business News »

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