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Bigwigs Out At Microsoft And Apple. Now What?

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Steven Sinofsky introduces a new Microsoft tablet computer and Windows 8 software to the media in Shanghai on Oct. 23. The former president of Microsoft's Windows division has since left the company.

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Scott Forstall demonstrates the new map application featured on iOS 6 during the 2012 Apple WWDC keynote address in San Francisco in June. Apple announced in October that he will leave the company.

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Originally published on Wed November 14, 2012 7:58 am

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In less than a month, two instrumental figures at two of the world's biggest tech companies have left their positions. Now industry watchers wonder whether the departures at Microsoft and Apple will mean dramatic changes of direction for the tech giants.

4:43 pm

Tue November 13, 2012

Man Who Made Accusations Against Elmo Puppeteer Recants

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Puppeteer Kevin Clash and Elmo.

By Eyder Peralta

The man who accused the voice of Elmo of having sex with him while he was underage has recanted his allegations.

According to The New York Times, which broke the story, the law firm representing the man said he and Kevin Clash had a sexual relationship but it "was an adult consensual relationship."

4:26 pm

Tue November 13, 2012

Calif. To Begin Rationing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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California begins a new plan to ration greenhouse gas emissions from large companies on Wednesday. Big companies must limit the greenhouse gases they emit and get permits for those emissions. Above, the Department of Water and Power San Fernando Valley Generating Station, in Sun Valley, Calif., in 2008.

Credit Christopher Joyce / NPR

New energy-efficient dormitories at the University of California, Davis.

Credit Christopher Joyce / NPR

Stuart Woolf, managing director of Los Gatos Tomato Products, says he has already taken many major steps to increase his company's efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint. But he says California's new climate law is introducing new uncertainty and costs into the business.

By Christopher Joyce

Originally published on Tue November 13, 2012 5:18 pm

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California begins a controversial experiment to curb climate change on Wednesday: The state will start rationing the amount of greenhouse gases companies can emit.

It's the most ambitious effort to control climate change in the country. Some say the plan will cost dearly; supporters say it's the route to a cleaner economy.

Here's how the climate deal works. Big companies must limit the greenhouse gases they emit — from smokestacks to tailpipes — and they have to get permits for those emissions. The clock starts Jan. 1.

4:20 pm

Tue November 13, 2012

Petraeus Scandal Raises Concerns About Email Privacy

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David Petraeus, then-CIA director, testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee in January. Petraeus resigned Friday after acknowledging an extramarital affair.

By Carrie Johnson

Originally published on Tue December 4, 2012 9:44 am

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The FBI review of sensitive email messages between former CIA Director David Petraeus and his biographer-mistress Paula Broadwell has been raising big questions about Big Brother.

One of them: When can federal law enforcement review a person's private communications?

To Julian Sanchez, a research fellow at the Cato Institute, the real scandal over the Petraeus affair is not the extramarital sex, but the invasion of privacy.

4:16 pm

Tue November 13, 2012

For The Military, A Possible Fall From Grace

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Soldiers of the U.S. Army V Corps conduct a color casing ceremony to mark the departure of V Corps headquarters from Europe on May 10, 2012, at the U.S. Army base in Wiesbaden, Germany.

By Alan Greenblatt

Although the story so far is of a personal failing, it's possible that the widening sex scandal surrounding retired Gen. David Petraeus will begin to affect the military's reputation as a whole.

"David Petraeus suddenly falling that far off that high a pedestal is feeding into the question: Have we been giving these guys too much of a pass?" says Barbara Bodine, who teaches public affairs at Princeton University.

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4:47 pm

Tue November 13, 2012