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No one got fired, but Timesmanaging editorDean Baquet tells InsideClimate New's Katherine Bagley that the dedicated environment desk will fold over the next few weeks. "We have not lost any desire for environmental coverage," Baquet assures, saying that environment stories will be embedded in business, national, and local coverage. "This is purely a structural matter." There's no word yet on the fate of the , which has been edited from the environment desk.

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Lots ofand weren't happy about the news.TheGuardian'sUS deputy editor Staurt Millar was one of the many critics who noticed a symbolic disconnect between the paper's announcement and its current front page, teasing aabout extreme weather becoming the new normal in countries around the world.

On day NYT closes environment desk, it runs this on front page - extreme weather becoming more frequent and intense

But others thought this might be a good move for the paper's environment coverage, freeing up reporters and better integrating coverage with the rest of the paper. Quartz science reporter Christropher Mimsthe move could take climate coverage out of isolation, andScientific American blog editor Bora Zivkovic agreed.

Topic/beat that is ghettoed in its own newspaper section is easily recycled without reading... mix it up! Throw it at unsuspecting readers.

Environment reporting in general has been declining in recent years. But the Times has been running more environment stories than ,according to a recent study by theCenter for Science & Technology Policy Research. On Wednesday, theTimesran aprovocative above the front-page fold, alonside the news that 2012 saw the hottest U.S. temperature average on record.

Thirty-five years later, divine providence intervened and our paths have crossed again. Jenny and I are now talking, laughing, crying and loving together. Abby, please remind your readers that if they are having problems in their marriage to sit down and talk things over, with a counselor if necessary. Because we couldn't do that, we lost 35 years of good times.

We now see that neither of us ever lost that strong love we had for each other. She is still the prettiest grandmother I have ever laid eyes on. I never stopped loving her, and we have never been as happy as we are now. -- OLDER BUT WISER IN CALIFORNIA

DEAR OLDER BUT WISER: What you lost so many years ago you and Jenny have gained in life experience. Communication is the key to successful relationships, and I'm pleased that you have achieved it now. Your letter is an important one, and I hope my readers will take it to heart. May you both enjoy many more happy years together.

DEAR ABBY: How does one send a thank-you note for a really, really bad "re-gift"? This Christmas I received a battered box with old, wrinkled, ripped tissue paper thrown in with a couple of items that appeared to be part of another gift. It looked like a food gift basket had been divided and piecemealed out to make more gifts.

It is hurtful and insulting to be on the receiving end of something that's not even "giftworthy." I say, why bother at all. Please advise. -- ANONY-MISS OUT WEST

DEAR ANONY-MISS: The person may have felt obligated to give you something and been strapped for money for gifts. A gracious way to respond would be to thank the individual for thinking of you at such a meaningful time as Christmas. You do not have to lie and say the gift was "fabulous."

DEAR ABBY: I work in an office with a woman who is a grandmother. She's very sweet but tends to get sick several times a year. As the mother of younger children, I have learned the "new school rules" on illness, like coughing or sneezing into your arm instead of your hand in an effort not to spread germs.

It seems my co-worker never got that memo, and I can't think of a tactful way to spread the message. Because cold and flu season is here, could you remind all your readers that this is a good preventative measure to reduce the spread of germs. Thanks! -- TRYING TO STAY HEALTHY IN NEW JERSEY

DEAR TRYING: Consider it done. However, a tactful way to get the word out would be to ask your boss or your supervisor to send a memo around the office -- and provide anti-bacterial wipes so that shared equipment and door and cabinet knobs can be sanitized after a sick employee uses them.

DEAR READERS: Today we remember the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who was martyred in the cause of civil rights in 1968. His words ring as true today as when he first uttered them: "We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope." His was a voice of reason in a time of insanity, silenced too soon.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS and getting along with peers and parents is in "What Every Teen Should Know." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)

The King County sheriff's office said crews combed roughly 9 miles of an area near Mount Si for 29-year-old Kurt Ruppert but that the air search would continue.

The Lake City, Fla., man hasn't been seen since he jumped out of a helicopter at 6,500 feet on Thursday. He was wearing a special wing suit with fabric under the arms to allow him to glide like a flying squirrel.

The jumpsuit is brown and green, which will likely blend into the terrain.

Crews narrowed their search area Saturday, based on data from Ruppert's cellphone and the helicopter's flight path.

Authorities know the flight pattern of the aircraft, but a number of factors have made it difficult to find Ruppert, including the suit, which could allow him to travel large distances in a short time, sheriff's Sgt. Cindi West has said.

Searchers were hoping Ruppert was stuck in a tree with his parachute or perhaps lost in rugged state-owned land around the 4,200-foot high Mount Si, which is east of Seattle, West said.

Mount Si, which is covered with trees on steep slopes, is popular with hikers even though it can be treacherous. West said the searchers have checked areas that could reached by foot.

Ruppert was skydiving with two friends, and they were taking turns jumping from the helicopter. The friends were waiting at a grassy landing area, but no one saw whether Ruppert's chute deployed.

Friends say Ruppert has been skydiving seven or eight years and is good at handling a wing suit.

The Serbian world number one played 171 minutes of cat and mouse with his British rival before pouncing when the U.S. Open champion blinked and racing away to a 6-7 7-6 6-3 6-2 victory.

There was no ripping off of the shirt and no victory roar like Rod Laver Arena witnessed last year, but there was no disguising Djokovic's delight at claiming a fourth title at Melbourne Park.

His three successive titles were a first since Roy Emerson won his fifth straight in 1967, while a quartet of crowns matches Roger Federer and Andre Agassi, the latter being on hand to present him with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.

"What a joy, it's an incredible feeling to win this trophy again. This is definitely my favorite grand slam. I love this tournament. I love this court," said Djokovic, who lost to Murray at Flushing Meadows in September.

"Every tournament, especially the major tournaments, is very special (but) winning it three in a row, it's incredible."

The similarity of playing style meant the match, although studded with some brilliant rallies, was not the classic that fans have come to expect from grand slam finals in the golden age of men's tennis.

So little separated the two 25-year-old baseliners, however, that two hours and 51 minutes of the contest had passed before the first break of serve.

Crucially, it went to Djokovic and 49 minutes later he was celebrating his sixth grand slam title.

For Murray, hampered by a badly blistered toe, distracted at a key moment by a white feather and physically compromised by his four-hour semi-final against Federer, it was a third final defeat in four years in Australia.

The Scot took some solace from the fact that this match was a much tighter affair than his defeats by Federer in 2010 and Djokovic in 2011.

"There's going to be some obvious reasons for me feeling a little bit better," said Murray, who was hoping to become the first Briton to win the title since Fred Perry in 1934.

"The last few months have been the best tennis of my life. I made the Wimbledon final, won the Olympics, won the U.S. Open. I was close here as well. It was close.

"I know no one's ever won a slam the immediate one after winning their first one. It's not the easiest thing to do and I got extremely close."

SLIGHT EDGE

Djokovic needed nearly six hours to beat Rafa Nadal in last year's final and few were betting on a pre-midnight finish after the first two sets on Sunday took 133 minutes to get through.

The Serbian's aggression gave him a slight edge in the first set and he claimed five break points only for Murray to save them all and then scoot through the tiebreak 7-2.

Murray took the momentum into the second set, where he won the first seven points to earn his first three break points but he fluffed his chances and Djokovic saved his serve.

"After that I felt just mentally a little bit lighter and more confident on the court than I'd done in the first hour or so," said Djokovic.

A white feather which drifted down from the birds nesting in the rafters distracted Murray when he was serving during the tiebreak and he double faulted on his way to losing it 7-3.

"At this level it can come down to just a few points here or there," said Murray. "Probably my biggest chance was at the beginning of the second set, I didn't quite get it.

"When Novak had his chance at the end of the third, he got his."

Djokovic opened the key third set game with a brilliant winner that just caught the back of the line at the end of a 36-shot rally.

He closed it out to go 5-3 ahead when Murray smacked a forehand into the net tape and then won seven of the next nine games to claim the title.

"I didn't expect an easy match," said Djokovic. "You never get the grand slam trophy in an easy way. You have to earn it."

There was more success for 25-year-olds earlier in the day when Australians Jarmila Gajdosova and Matthew Ebden clinched the mixed doubles title, beating Czech pair Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak 6-3 7-5.

The day belonged to Djokovic, however.

"I'm just trying to play this game with 100 percent of devotion, love, passion, and fun also," he said. "I mean, 25 years-old and I won six grand slams and have a lot of trophies.

"It's amazing. I'm just trying to embrace this moment and enjoy it as much as I can and see where tomorrow brings me."

(Editing by Mark Meadows)

"We are happy and humbled to announce that our name will continue to be Gilda's Club," the organization's executive director, Lannia Stenz, said in a statement. "Gilda Radner's iconic image will continue to help us welcome and support people affected by cancer."

Although the cancer support group never intended to remove the "Saturday Night Live" alum's likeness from their walls or spirit from their mission, board members voted last November to rename Gilda's Club Madison to Cancer Support Community Southwest Wisconsin. However, many of the organization's members, Radner's fans and her husband, Gene Wilder, weren't too happy about the decision.

"As her husband I could have told that I think it would hurt Gilda's feelings terribly if she were watching what you're doing and that there's no reason to hurt her or those who love her," Wilder told Web2Carz after being informed of the news last December. "There are millions of people who still love her."

According to Stenz, "many passionate voices" agreed.

"We heard a wide variety of feedback from members, community and folks outside our community," Stenz told TheWrap. "And the feedback was overwhelmingly asking us to keep the name."

"We heard from our members that the Gilda's Club name offered a great deal of warmth and welcomeness. That has made a difference to our members," she continued. "Gilda's story and her legacy is something that resonates with people living with cancer that walk through our door."

Radner was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1986 before dying from the disease in 1989. Through her experience at a Wellness Community in California, the comedian and actress understood the importance of emotional support during treatment.

"Gilda knew, and research has shown, that when people living with a cancer diagnosis receive the emotional support they need, they tend to have better treatment outcomes and an improved quality of life," Stenz explained.

It was for that reason that Wilder teamed up with Joanna Bull, Radner's psychotherapist, to launch Gilda's Club in 1995, which later merged with the Wellness Community in 2009 to create a global support network known as the Cancer Support Community.

The organization's name was derived from one of Radner's most famous quotes: "Having cancer gave me membership in an elite club I'd rather not belong to."

Thanks to the 53 Cancer Support Community branches around the world - 23 of which are known as Gilda's Club - over one million cancer patients who would rather not belong to the elite club have had access to an estimated $40 million a year in free care.

The more than 90 nominations for the 2013 "Designs of the Year" encompass seven categories and span the globe from London's newest landmark building, The Shard by Renzo Piano, to a non-stick ketchup bottle invented by a research group at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), the museum said in a statement this week.

The award was won last year by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby for their Olympic torch. This year, Thomas Heatherwick's Olympic cauldron was nominated alongside Microsoft's Windows phone 8, a basic computer for children, a Louis Vuitton collection designed by Yayoi Kusama and a "Donky Bicycle" for carrying heavy loads among other useful and unusual designs.

The seven categories are architecture, digital, fashion, furniture, graphics, product and transport. The designs will be on display at the Design Museum from March 20 until July 7.

Architect Louis Kahn's Four Freedoms Park in New York, which was finally completed at the end of 2012, will compete with Zaha Hadid's Galaxy Soho in Beijing, and the Windows phone 8 will test its design mettle against the Raspberry Pi, a tiny and cheap computer for kids developed at Cambridge University.

The winners from each category and one overall winner will be announced in April.

(Reporting by Paul Casciato; editing by Patricia Reaney)

The Pentagon also plans to formally notify Congress in the next few weeks that if further budget cuts take place on March 1, it will furlough most of its 800,000 full-time civilian employees, probably by asking them to take a day off per week for the last 22 weeks of the fiscal year, Carter said.

"Obviously this is a terrible thing to have to do to our employees and to the mission," Carter said. "But it's necessary because it'll save $5 billion and we have to find that money."

The cost-cutting steps come as the Pentagon tries to deal with budget uncertainty caused by the threat of $45 billion in across-the-board spending reductions on March 1 and Congress's failure to appropriate defense funding for the 2013 fiscal year.

The Pentagon currently is absorbing $487 billion in cuts to projected defense spending over 10 years that were agreed in the Budget Control Act of 2011. That law also required the additional across-the-board cuts by January 1, 2013, unless Congress agreed to an alternative.

Lawmakers failed to reach a new deal but did agree to postpone the across-the-board cuts until March 1 to give themselves more time. But March 1 is five months into the fiscal year, giving the Pentagon less time to absorb any cuts.

Defense officials had long resisted taking action in response to the threat of additional reductions, saying they were put in place to try to force Congress to reach an alternative.

But Carter said the congressional debate on U.S. financial issues in late December had been sobering, with little discussion of how cuts would affect the Pentagon or its mission. Postponing the decision for another two months reduced the time the department would have to respond.

"When we were marching up to January 1 we had more runway, more time to absorb cuts if we had to absorb cuts," Carter said. "Now we're running out of time and so for those two reasons, our risk calculus has to change ... and we need to begin acting."

Carter asked the military services two weeks ago to take steps to reduce their rate of spending. He said he asked them for detailed plans by February 1 on what they are doing to reduce short-term spending before the $45 billion in new cuts are due to go into effect on March 1.

He also asked for detailed long-term planning by February 8 on how the services will implement the $45 billion in across-the-board cuts if they go into effect.

BUDGET MESS

Congressional failure to allocate funding for defense for the 2013 fiscal year has complicated the Pentagon's budget mess. The department is currently operating on a continuing resolution that maintains funding at 2012 levels until March 27.

"The problem is that the money is in the wrong pots," Carter said. He said the Pentagon had planned to spend considerably more for operations and maintenance in 2013 than it did in 2012.

"We don't have enough money to operate the forces in the way we thought we were going to," Carter said. "That's the problem. And that's a more than $10 billion problem. And we're running out of time to eat that $10 billion and that's the reason that we need to act now."

To slow the rate of spending, the department has put a freeze on civilian hiring, he said. Usually the department hires 1,000 to 2,000 civilians a week, more than 44 percent of them military veterans and 86 percent of them living and working across the country, not in Washington.

The department's 46,000 temporary and contract employees are "all now subject to release," Carter said, meaning they will either be let go now or will not have their contracts extended. The only exception would be if they are performing jobs critical to the war or the department's basic mission.

The department also is cutting back on base and equipment maintenance, which costs about $15 billion per year. He said the Navy would cancel maintenance on 30 ships that had been planned for the third and fourth quarters this year.

"They're not going to sign those contracts with the shipyards that do that work," Carter said.

Carter said the Pentagon would have to do "more draconian things" if Congress allows the $45 billion in cuts to go into effect, likely leading to "a pervasive crisis in readiness."

He said the Army projected that if the cuts occur, two-thirds of its active brigades and all of its reserve brigades would be operating at reduced readiness. Funds for training would primarily be used to prepare troops deploying to Afghanistan, while others would largely do without, he said.

Most Air Force flying units would be at reduced readiness by the end of the year, he said. The Navy would have to cut back steaming days by 30 percent to 35 percent, affecting its presence in the Gulf and Asia-Pacific region. He said the cuts might affect the U.S. ability to keep two carriers in the Gulf.

(Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Vicki Allen and Doina Chiacu)

Recent X-branded names include prostate cancer treatment Xtandi, lung cancer drug Xalkori, and Xgeva for cancer that has spread to bone. The letter Z is also becoming popular for new drugs like Zaltrap for colon cancer, melanoma drug Zelboraf and prostate cancer treatment Zytiga.

"The X and Z trend was pretty hot and heavy eight or nine years ago - that's when we had names like Zoloft, Zyban and Zocor," said Vince Budd, senior vice president at brand consulting firm Addison Whitney's healthcare division, referring to popular drugs for depression and high cholesterol.

"It was seen as an opportunity to create something unique," said Budd. "I believe we have come full circle and we are back there again, especially in oncology."

Of the 15 drugs with "X" appellations approved by the Food and Drug Administration since 1995, seven were launched in the last two and half years.

Marketing and linguistics experts say the rarity of X and Z in most words make for memorable, unique names. They are also "fricative" letters that imply speed or fluidity.

"In terms of cognitive psychology ... they need a memorable, distinctive name that doesn't have negative associations," said Matthew Traxler, psychology and linguistics professor at the University of California, Davis. "They may be distinct in terms of sound, but also visually distinct."

ERROR-PROOFING REQUIREMENTS

There are more practical reasons for the names.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration as well as the European health regulator both have strict guidelines, not always overlapping, for what would be an acceptable name for a new medicine.

"You can't have a name look like or sound like another drug," said Scott Piergrossi, vice president, creative at Brand Institute Inc. "Someone could receive the wrong drug."

The concern extends to potential handwriting errors.

"Regulators want a lot of pen strokes up and down that provide a much more unique-looking name. It is more readable or interpretable if it has a lot of those letters," said Brannon Cashion, Addison Whitney's president.

Whether anyone can actually pronounce the name is of less concern.

"It's really about the novelty of the name," Piergrossi said. "Sometimes we get clients that can't pronounce names that start with X. Usually it creates a 'Z' sound."

Since patients rarely choose their drugs - at least those for serious diseases - drugmakers see the need to tailor names to a more narrow audience than general consumers.

"They are all going to be coined words," said Addison Whitney's Cashion. "Whoever creates the word basically defines how it is to be pronounced."

That is a much different strategy than you would see for a more consumer oriented drug product, such as Allergan Inc's eyelash-builder Latisse.

"Latisse is a more direct-to-consumer name. Patients will ask for it," Piergrossi said. "It is a coined form of Mattisse with "La" for lash. It is an image-driven, evocative name."

For a cancer drug, the main target audience is oncologists or medical professionals. "A pharma company may want to emphasize the drug's mechanism of action," Budd said.

Piergrossi said Xeljanz, a new Pfizer Inc drug for rheumatoid arthritis, is a great example of both innovative and practical naming forces at work.

"It includes both X and Z ... and the name is really key to the product profile," the Brand Institute executive said, explaining that the drug is designed to work by selectively blocking molecules known as Janus kinases. "For a doctor who is anticipating this product, when they see that JAN that might be the light bulb."

(Reporting By Deena Beasley in Los Angeles; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

UEFA was not available for comment but Lazio President Claudio Lotito told Italian radio the suspended ban, which will be enforced if a similar incident takes place, was a warning to his club's fans.

"For the fault of a few people, we all must pay the penalty. But now there is no more joking," he said.

Tottenham have a large contingent of Jewish fans. Lazio supporters, well-known for their right-wing views, also unfurled a "Free Palestine" banner at the game.

Ten Spurs fans were injured when they were attacked in a Rome bar the night before the match.

UEFA has been accused of being too soft on racist incidents, with pundits pointing out that Denmark's Nicklas Bendtner was handed a bigger fine for displaying an advertising logo on his underpants at Euro 2012 than national federations have received for instances of racism.(Writing by Mark Meadows in London; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

He's also running in a surprising third place ahead of this week's Czech presidential elections.

Vladimir Franz, an opera composer and painter, seems the most unlikely of candidates for a prestigious post previously held by beloved playwright-dissident Vaclav Havel and Vaclav Klaus, a professor credited with plotting the economic transition from communism to a free market.

Some have a nickname for Franz: 'Avatar.' And during a televised debate a caller compared him to "an exotic creature from Papua New Guinea."

But he's not short of admirers in a country where voters are increasingly tired of politicians they say are corrupt and failing to deliver on years of promises, more than two decades after the fall of communism.

Franz has no political experience and confesses to little knowledge of economics. He says he only threw his hat in the ring after a group of admirers established the Franz for President initiative and begged him to shake up the race through his shock factor. But he's stirred up such goodwill that a leading economist offered his services for free and his campaign workers are also volunteers.

He's only spent $25,000 from donations on his campaign and hasn't put up any posters.

Franz burst onto the political scene with an eye-catching 88,000 signatures at the end of 2012 far more than the 50,000 required by law.

Not affiliated with any party, he has campaigned mostly on a platform highlighting graft, the importance of education and the nation's moral standing.

"The (political) system is so enchanted with itself that it's lost the ability to self-reflect," he said in an interview with The Associated Press Tuesday. Czechs, he says, "are fed up with this crap."

He's proven particularly popular with young voters and those not yet eligible to cast a ballot. In a mock presidential election at 441 high schools across the country a month before the vote, Franz won by a landslide, garnering more than 40 percent of some 60,000 votes.

He's tipped to win around 11 percent in the first round on Friday and Saturday not enough to make the runoffs. But he may end up kingmaker as the leading candidates former prime ministers Jan Fischer and Milos Zeman would be eager to pick up his following if the vote goes to a second round.

Karel Strachota, who organized the school ballot, said young people no longer identify with existing parties.

Franz is seen as "a candidate who is not tainted by politics," Strachota said."They look with sympathy at his nonconformity and the way he presents himself."

And, perhaps surprisingly, few take issue with his tattoos.

"Personally, I wouldn't vote for him but (the tattoos) are not a problem at all," said Tomas Pistora, a 33-year-old IT specialist from Prague. "The young people prefer him because they don't have a better choice."

Many Czechs, especially in the capital, simply aren't shocked with Franz's look because the face of the 53-year-old professor at Prague's Academy of Performing Arts has been around for years.

"The tattoo doesn't make any difference," said Jakub Fisera, a student in Prague, adding a lack of experience in politics was more an issue.

Franz calls his tattoos body art. His face is a riot of green and red swirls against a background of blue. On his hands is a portrait of Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu, on his chest the crucified Christ.

"A tattoo is a sign of a free will and that does not harm the freedom of anyone else," he says.

For the first time, the Czech president will be elected in a popular vote a new system that makes it possible for independent candidates like Franz to run for the largely ceremonial post.

Vaclav Klaus, the incumbent, opposed the change. He called it "a fatal mistake" and said he feared the likes of Franz might succeed him.

A total of nine candidates are running. Unlike the Euro-skeptic Klaus who attacked the EU at every opportunity, the favorites, Zeman and Fischer, have a more moderate approach to the bloc which the country joined in 2004.

Zeman, the leftist premier in 1998-02, leads the polls with about 25 percent support. Fischer, a centrist and a former state bureaucrat, gained significant popularity when he led a caretaker government in 2009-10. He polls at about 20 percent.

As the campaign approached its end on Tuesday, eight candidates were busy on the stump. The ninth Franz had other matters to deal with: a final rehearsal of his opera "War with the Newts" at the State Opera.

Torn between art and politics, Franz cut short his appearance at an election debate to return to the opera house that is part of Prague's National Theater.

But he committed to staying to the end of Thursday's final televised debate. It wasn't an easy choice, but he realized his credibility demanded that he take part.

"For a Czech composer to have a world premiere in the National Theater is something extraordinary. I had to make a choice between a service to the public and the fulfillment of my life-long dream. I've made the choice and will be at the debate."

___

Associated Press video journalist Adam Pemble in Prague contributed to this report.