Headlines from January 4, 2010

In November, Switzerland voted to ban new minarets; in protest, a shoe chain owner affixes one atop his warehouse.
Op: As bases close and American units leave Iraq...the Iraqi government seems to have sabotaged that achievement.
Morocco uses kissing to control crime.
Taiwanese pleasure dens cater to fetish and fantasy with jail-, manga-, and Batman-themed rooms.
Photos: In Japan, fantasy hotel-goers prefer Hello Kitty and bondage.
Though tourism drooped across the U.S., New York slid into first place, finally beating Las Vegas and Orlando.
More than smoking, quitting smoking raises your risk of diabetes--the culprit is post-cessation weight gain.
Biomedical researchers insert cells into printer cartridges, hope to one day print out organs.
The most important medical breakthroughs of the 2000s.
Russia drafts secret plans to divert asteroid that could hit Earth by 2032.
Meet the "preppers," the new wave of survivalists that's moved beyond guns and can openers.
A high school senior films a short of Kevin Fanning's "The Vanishing Act"--originally published here.
In classic literature every time somebody drinks undiluted wine they do something terrible, like murder somebody. Glenn O'Brien, at the bar.
Bernanke wants stronger regulation to prevent excessive speculation, which could fuel a new economic crisis.
The Mediterranean Sea was plagued by blobs. Harper's Yearly Review.
Why women writers aren't as celebrated as men may have more to do with relevance than gender.
Sarah Hepola almost joins the "my year as..." book trend, which doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon.
Op: The pantheon of great male novelists continue to incense readers with brutal sex; guys today write cuddle fiction.
The leading expert on the !Xóõ developed a lump on his larynx from learning to make their sounds. The world's hardest languages.
The secret world of Denver's feral cats.
Why we slip.
How to dispose of old electronics so their hazardous components don't pollute developing countries.
Earth's magnetic poles slinking toward Russia.
Lines go all over the place.
Former TV host takes us on a tour of his collection of photos from the '70s.
Audio: A montage of more than 40 minutes of Fugazi stage banter.
If I allow a stray limb to be misplaced...I shall suffer the agonies of the damned later in the night. Tony Judt, who suffers from ALS, on going to bed.