Russell Shorto’s gifts include a keen eye for individual little stories that add a delicious depth to his writing, and thus to our understanding of times and events in Amsterdam; A History of the World’s Most Liberal City; The Virgin of Bennington becomes a meticulous and admiringly recorded history of Betty Kray’s dedication, imagination, and development of the Academy of American Poets; DVD Tips include a look at Doc Martin's long-waited Season 6 and the beginning of filming for Foyle's War's next season

California, which is home to more assisted living facilities than any other state, currently maintains one of the loosest regulatory regimes in the country, with minimal fines (as little as $150 in cases of fatal neglect or abuse) and infrequent inspections (required once every five years). state rules have been broadened to allow people with "virtually any medical condition" to reside in assisted living facilities, yet the division of the department that monitors those operations "has no staff with medical expertise."

The First Lady dunks with the Miami Heat. Perhaps she'll join her brother, Craig, coaching basketball as well teaching preparation of healthy meals. First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia also prepared burritos while volunteering at the DC Central Kitchen in Washington, DC, on Martin Luther King Day

Aside from a picture owned by Queen Elizabeth II of England, this is the only other Vermeer known to be owned privately. It is also the most recent to be firmly attributed to the master. In addition to myriad investigations in the 1990s and after, recent analysis has found that it was painted on canvas cut from the same bolt of cloth that Vermeer used for The Lace Maker, which today hangs in the Louvre.

Opening January 23, 2014, Gridiron Greats: Vintage Football Cards in the Collection of Jefferson R. Burdick will feature some 150 football cards printed between 1894 and 1959. The Collection Amassed by Burdickwho began collecting American ephemera when he was ten years old, is the finest collection of American trade cards in the United States, ranging from ads for women's clothing and shoes, pianos, candy, to postcards and playing cards, greeting and souvenir cards, to paper dolls.

Jeff Gerth and T. Christian Miller: As documented in a ProPublica series last year, the FDA has delayed for decades enacting tougher rules on acetaminophen. While generally considered safe when taken as recommended, relatively small overdoses have been shown to cause liver damage and even death. Ninfa Redmond, a toxicologist who helped carry out the 1977 panel’s exhaustive, three-year study, said she was surprised that such big doses continued to be sold 40 years later.

Pamela Prah writes: After four years of a fragile and uneven recovery, the US job machine is likely to kick into high gear in 2014. Even recession-battered states such as Arizona and Florida are expected to generate jobs at a healthier clip. Overall, the economy is projected to generate 2.6 million jobs in 2014 year, up from 2.2 million last year, largely on the strength of the country’s booming health care, energy and high-tech sectors.

Dr. Susan Wood, director, Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, School of Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University, testified about the impact of [H.R. 7] on the private insurance market. "It is the nature of health insurance that insurers may no longer provide plans that include coverage which would come with burdensome regulatory requirements such as proposed in H.R. 7. Since approximately 60 percent of women of reproductive age, or 37 million women, get their health coverage through private insurance, this legislation could have a profound effect." On January 9, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice held a hearing on the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” (H.R. 7). Speaking in support…

Roberta McReynolds takes us on another of her adventures: "I allowed the cake to cool and readied myself for the process of turning my cake into two even layers. It seemed that the cake didn’t understand its role. The pieces falling off the sides of the cake as I attempted to side the wire through reminded me of icebergs calving off glaciers."

Rose Mula writes: A very weird thing has happened. A strange old lady has moved into my house. I have no idea who she is, where she came from, or how she got in. I certainly didn't invite her. All I know is that one day she wasn't there, and the next day she was. She's very clever. She manages to keep out of sight for the most part; but whenever I pass a mirror, I catch a glimpse of her there; and when I look into a mirror directly to check on my appearance, suddenly she's hogging the whole thing, completely obliterating my gorgeous face and body.

The Environmental Working Group's report reveals that a consumer using a Beauty Balm or Color Correcting cream would typically be exposed to an average of 40 chemical ingredients, while someone using three separate products — foundation, moisturizer and sunscreen — would be exposed to an average of 70 chemical ingredients.

This time of year brings up the ghosts of thoughts/actions/decisions past. Sometimes they are energizing, sometimes they are tinged with regret. Yet the seasons always shift, the days move on, and we are presented with new options. It is tempting to make resolutions for the new year, decisions that frequently disappear almost as soon as they are made, that become the ghosts of the future. They are too definitive, I think.

What's a Polar Vortex? Want to know more about the frigid blast of air that's been sweeping the country this week? Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology offers a two minute explanation well illustrated.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released additional resources for consumers as part of its campaign to educate the public about the new protections provided by the Bureau’s mortgage rules. These new materials include sample letters that consumers can send to their mortgage servicers.

Jane Gitschier reviews science-related books. "I bow to Richard Rhodes, author of my all-time favorite science narrative The Making of the Atomic Bomb. Do not be intimidated by a little nuclear physics. This book is a lucid page-turner: the story is both magnificent, speaking to the genius and industry of men and women working under the incredible pressure of war, as well as terrifying in its implications, and we feel the tension in it."

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, unless something changes rapidly, there will be a shortage of 45,000 primary care doctors in the US (as well as a shortfall of 46,000 specialists) by 2020. Today nearly 20% live in areas with an insufficient number of primary care doctors; 16% live in areas with too few dentists and a whopping 30% are short of mental health providers.

In the late 17th C., European high society began commissioning luxurious specialized furniture from craftsmen and furniture makers. The poudreuse in France, and the low boy, Beau Brummel, and shaving table in England served as models for the dressing table. During the 19th C., dressing tables were made in many revivalist styles including the Gothic, Elizabethan, Rococo, Renaissance, and Colonial revivals.

New characters, old emnities, revelations, complicated relationships, romances, London literati, hardships ... where do the the plot twists and infatuations end? Not for a while, as Season 4 begins and beyond that, a planned-for Season 5 lies.

Elaine S. Povich writes: A wide-ranging collection of new state laws went into effect Jan. 1, including legalized pot, a puppy "lemon law" and a ban on unauthorized drone surveillance. One new law protects the "Possum Drop," a Brasstown, NC, New Year's Eve event. According to the National Conference of State Elaine S. Povich writes: Legislatures, states enacted nearly 40,000 laws and resolutions during 2013 legislative sessions, and many of them take effect on Jan. 1. Many of the laws made headlines when they passed. Now state residents will feel the effects.

Elaine Soloway writes: I have a theory as to why Tommy picked today — eight days after my birthday. I believe he wanted to separate himself from the crowd — make his gift and card more special than the rest. He wanted to let me know he cared more for me than anyone else, more than the first-thing-in-the-morning well wishers or card and gift senders.

"The names Tiepolo, Canaletto, and Guardi are almost synonymous with the time and place, and their paintings and frescoes are the works most commonly associated with the Settecento in Venice. The drawings in this exhibition, chosen entirely from the Morgan’s collection, bring to light the full spirit of eighteenth-century Venetian art and the many extraordinary individuals who participated in the resurgence of cultural activity that characterized the final years of the Republic."

ProPublica reporters, using Medicare's own data, identified scores of doctors whose prescription patterns within the program bore the hallmarks of fraud. The cost of their prescribing spiked dramatically from one year to the next — in some cases by millions of dollars — as they chose brand-name drugs that scammers can easily resell.

Margaret Cullison writes: I suffered from cake envy after attending a friend’s birthday party when I was six or seven years old. She had an April birthday, and her cake that year looked like a lamb with white frosting and coconut curled fur. The cake completely enchanted me. I knew my friend’s mother hadn’t made the cake herself. We always had homemade birthday cakes at home, but that didn’t impress me nearly as much as the magic of Sandy’s lamb cake.