Rollback

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration says it will consider a new call to force food makers to gradually cut the salt hidden inside their products — but don’t expect less salty soups, pizzas, or pastas any time soon. Americans eat about 1.5 teaspoons of salt daily, more than double what they need for good health and high enough to increase risk of high blood pressure, strokes, and other problems. Most of that sodium doesn’t come from the table salt-shaker — it’s hidden inside common processed foods and restaurant meals.

After more jockeying, all major U.S. airlines rolled back fares to about the same prices they were charging before federal ticket taxes expired two weeks ago. US Airways said it reduced fares late Monday, joining Southwest, AirTran, Delta, American, JetBlue, United, Continental and Frontier. The airlines gave up fare increases of more than 7.5 percent that they had rushed to enact after federal excise taxes on tickets expired July 23. By raising prices to match the amount of the expired taxes, the airlines got more money but consumers paid the same total price for tickets.

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s health care law would let several million middle-class people get nearly free insurance meant for the poor, a twist government number crunchers say they discovered only after the complex bill was signed. The change would affect early retirees: A married couple could have an annual income of about $64,000 and still get Medicaid, said officials who make long-range cost estimates for the Health and Human Services department. Up to 3 million more people could qualify for Medicaid in 2014 as a result of the anomaly.

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s health care law would let several million middle-class people get nearly free insurance meant for the poor, a twist government number crunchers say they discovered only after the complex bill was signed. The change would affect early retirees: A married couple could have an annual income of about $64,000 and still get Medicaid, said officials who make long-range cost estimates for the Health and Human Services department. Up to 3 million more people could qualify for Medicaid in 2014 as a result of the anomaly.

Diplomats from six world powers offered Iran new proposals Wednesday to ease international concerns about its nuclear program, but appeared to reject Tehran's appeals to ease economic sanctions to help move along talks. The proposal by the U.S. and its negotiation partners focused on Iran's highest-level uranium enrichment — at 20 percent — which many world leaders fear could be quickly turned into warhead-grade material. Other details of the plan were not immediately disclosed.

BALI, Indonesia - Countries will have to increase significantly their pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions if there is any hope of preventing the catastrophic effects of climate change, according to a UN study released yesterday. Sixty nations - including China, the United States, and the 27-member European Union - met a Jan. 31 deadline to submit pledges to the UN for reducing the heat-trapping gases as part of a voluntary plan to roll back emissions. Together the countries produce 78 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases from burning...

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is committed to making its tax cuts permanent at the same time it intends to cut the budget deficit in half within five years, Treasury Secretary John Snow said yesterday. Snow warned that Congress would threaten the economic recovery if it rolled back the administration's tax cuts, something that President Bush's Democratic opponents are urging because of the exploding budget deficit. Instead, Snow said, the administration would focus on getting Congress to make the tax cuts permanent, saying this would be at the "very center" of...

Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey said yesterday that she would consider suspending the state's gasoline tax to give drivers a break, a position that again put her at odds with Governor Mitt Romney as she appeals to voters ahead of fall elections. Asked about the gas tax by a reporter at a press conference arranged by Romney to renew his call for a state income tax cut, Healey, a Republican candidate for governor, said she disagreed with Romney's opposition to a temporary waiver of the gas tax. "This is a place where the governor and I may part company.

With seating for 30 in a private dining room wired with projection equipment, Dalya’s Restaurant at Bedford Farms was well equipped to host dinners put on by pharmaceutical companies for doctors they hoped would use their products. Owner Frans von Berkhout said doctors liked to come to his restaurant in Bedford because they knew they were in for a good meal. But in 2008, when the Legislature made such gatherings illegal as part of a broader effort to limit the relationship between physicians and marketers, Dalya’s lost about 10 percent of its business, he said.

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats in the first weeks of the new Congress plan to establish a dedicated fund to promote renewable energy and conservation, using money from oil companies. That's only one legislative hit the oil industry is expected to take next year as a Congress run by Democrats is likely to show little sympathy for the cash-rich, high-profile business. Whether the issue is rolling back tax breaks -- some approved by Congress only 18 months ago -- pushing for more use of ethanol and other biofuels instead of gasoline, or investigations...

With seating for 30 in a private dining room wired with projection equipment, Dalya’s Restaurant at Bedford Farms was well equipped to host dinners put on by pharmaceutical companies for doctors they hoped would use their products. Owner Frans von Berkhout said doctors liked to come to his restaurant in Bedford because they knew they were in for a good meal. But in 2008, when the Legislature made such gatherings illegal as part of a broader effort to limit the relationship between physicians and marketers, Dalya’s lost about 10 percent of its business, he said.

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration says it will consider a new call to force food makers to gradually cut the salt hidden inside their products — but don’t expect less salty soups, pizzas, or pastas any time soon. Americans eat about 1.5 teaspoons of salt daily, more than double what they need for good health and high enough to increase risk of high blood pressure, strokes, and other problems. Most of that sodium doesn’t come from the table salt-shaker — it’s hidden inside common processed foods and restaurant meals.

BALI, Indonesia - Countries will have to increase significantly their pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions if there is any hope of preventing the catastrophic effects of climate change, according to a UN study released yesterday. Sixty nations - including China, the United States, and the 27-member European Union - met a Jan. 31 deadline to submit pledges to the UN for reducing the heat-trapping gases as part of a voluntary plan to roll back emissions. Together the countries produce 78 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats in the first weeks of the new Congress plan to establish a dedicated fund to promote renewable energy and conservation, using money from oil companies. That's only one legislative hit the oil industry is expected to take next year as a Congress run by Democrats is likely to show little sympathy for the cash-rich, high-profile business. Whether the issue is rolling back tax breaks -- some approved by Congress only 18 months ago -- pushing for more use of ethanol and other biofuels instead of gasoline, or investigations into...

Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey said yesterday that she would consider suspending the state's gasoline tax to give drivers a break, a position that again put her at odds with Governor Mitt Romney as she appeals to voters ahead of fall elections. Asked about the gas tax by a reporter at a press conference arranged by Romney to renew his call for a state income tax cut, Healey, a Republican candidate for governor, said she disagreed with Romney's opposition to a temporary waiver of the gas tax. "This is a place where the governor and I may part company.

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is committed to making its tax cuts permanent at the same time it intends to cut the budget deficit in half within five years, Treasury Secretary John Snow said yesterday. Snow warned that Congress would threaten the economic recovery if it rolled back the administration's tax cuts, something that President Bush's Democratic opponents are urging because of the exploding budget deficit. Instead, Snow said, the administration would focus on getting Congress to make the tax cuts permanent, saying this would be at the "very center"...

After more jockeying, all major U.S. airlines rolled back fares to about the same prices they were charging before federal ticket taxes expired two weeks ago. US Airways said it reduced fares late Monday, joining Southwest, AirTran, Delta, American, JetBlue, United, Continental and Frontier. The airlines gave up fare increases of more than 7.5 percent that they had rushed to enact after federal excise taxes on tickets expired July 23. By raising prices to match the amount of the expired taxes, the airlines got more money but consumers paid the same total price for tickets.

By Deirdre Fernandes, Globe Staff Newton aldermen on Monday night approved a $313 million fiscal year 2013 budget that includes a handful of new positions, no layoffs, and salary increases for employees, including the mayor. Mayor Setti Warren's salary will increase to $125,001 starting in July, a $27,125 raise from its current $97,876. Other city employees will receive between a 1.6 to 4 percent pay raise. A local commission recommended in 2005 that Newton's mayor be paid $125,000, to bring the salary in line with what similar communities paid and...