Tennis for the Blind, the End of Foie Gras, and Here Comes Venus

A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.

Now that The New York Times pay wall is live, you only get 10 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.

Top Stories: Recent violence in Baghdad is part of an ongoing dispute between Shia and Sunnis over the rebuilding of the Askariya Shrine, which was bombed in 2006. The re-birth of Silicon Valley is raising (again) fears of overpriced real estate and too much political clout for tech firms in the Bay Area.

Opinion: Joe Nocera argues that our growing economic divide is directly related to the decline of labor unions. Philosophy was not invented by the Greeks, but it still retains a heavy Western bias.

U.S.: There's a land boom in Ohio thanks to oil and gas companies on the hunt for new wells and leasing rights.

Science: What can we learn from today's transit of Venus across the Sun? A former spy satellite may be re-purposed to study dark energy elsewhere in the universe.

New York: Everett and Evelyn Ortner built the brownstone renaissance in Park Slope Brooklyn, that is now one of the hottest markets in the city. What was the secret for the handful of mom-and-pop stores that survived the "extreme gentrification" of Greenwich Village?

Religion: The Vatican has denounced an American nun who wrote a book that "attempted to present a theological rationale for same-sex relationships, masturbation and remarriage after divorce."

Technology: "Big Data" has created a parallel world with its own "biology" and "physics" that we in the real world barely understand. Related: A look at the business behind storing and organizing all that data.

Health: Anti-inflammatory drugs may be a key to treating epilepsy amid new theories on how brain inflammation fuels seizures. Many doctors continue to practice medicine their preferred way, even when evidence shows that over-testing may do more harm than good.

Food: Chefs in California are fighting back against a foie gras ban that takes effect July 1.

Books: Michiko Kakutani reviews David Maraniss' head-turning book on Barack Obama's early years.

Sports: Blind people can now play tennis by using their ears to track a ball that rattles when it bounces.

Photo Gallery of the Day: Photos from the (now controversial) Hot 97 Summer Jam concert.