Trimming the Times: GOP Debate; College and Race

A guide to what's in the New York Times for those worried about hitting its pay wall

Now that the New York Times pay wall is live, you only get 20 free clicks a month. For those worried about hitting their limit, we're taking a look through the paper each morning to find the stories that can make your clicks count.

Leading the home page, of course, we get a report on last night's Republican presidential debate (but you already read all about that, didn't you?). Just below that, a feature from Syria explores how the growing unrest there may fracture the country along sectarian lines. But for us, the feature on multiracial college applicants puzzling over those weirdly limited demographic questions was a top choice in today's paper.

World: Speaking in Ethiopia Monday, Hillary Clinton had some stern words for African dictators, but you can catch that news elsewhere to save a click. The more classic Times features are worth reading today, including this look at capital punishment abroad through India's search for a hangman, and a whimsical report on a British artist who works in the medium of chewing gum.

U.S.: Don't miss the feature on confusion among college applicants confronted with inflexible race reporting in their applications. In a bit of lifestyle news that is timely with a pending gay marriage decision in California and another likely in New York, census data shows that more gay couples are adopting children. And as an interesting aside, a trend in courtrooms toward judges excessively using the dictionary weirdly annoys lexicographers.

Business: The big news is on Christine Lagarde and Agustín G. Carstens being named frontrunners to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the head of the International Monetary Fund, but you can catch that anywhere. Rather, get your blood going this morning by checking out Joe Sharky's report on rising fees in U.S. airports.

Technology: There's a great report detailing how hackers got into Citigroup through its main customer Web site. And speaking of massive cyber-attacks, check out the Q and A with Sony Computer Entertainment of America CEO Jack Tretton.

Science: The lead story profiles Dr. Nora D. Volkow, the neuroscientist in charge of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and a "general in the drug war." Also of interest, a Cambridge researcher is trying to quantify evil not as the presence of bad, but the absence of empathy, a scientifically viable trait.

Health: Following the debacle of U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, Tara Parker Pope looks into the frequency and ramifications of digital flirtations. And in a worthwhile feature on obesity, we get a look at one city's uphill, but successful fight to slim its population.

Sports: As the Stanley Cup finals continue, catch the game story on the Bruins' victory over the Canuks, which will extend the series to seven games. And a great profile on third generation U.S. Open contestant Marc Turnesa examines a golfing dynasty.

Opinion: In the lead op-ed, David Reynolds re-examines the actual Uncle Tom from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, and reminds us that he's the opposite of the sell-out his name evokes in current popular culture.

Arts: Obviously, whether you care for Bono, the Edge, Spiderman, or not, you're going to want to read the musicians' accounts of the difficulties in making the troubled musical Spiderman, Turn off the Dark.