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More than three million New York households — over half the state’s renters and one-third of homeowners — cannot afford their homes, the state comptroller’s office disclosed.

The companies and their advisers worked through the weekend on the deal in which Men’s Wearhouse will acquire Jos. A. Bank for $65 a share. The deal brings together the two leaders in affordable menswear.

Worldwide bafflement at the disappearance of an airplane has challenged Malaysia’s paternalistic political culture and exposed its elite to withering judgments.

Many Californians are facing the reality that in the arid West, a water-gobbling swath of lawn is no longer realistic.

Rockstar Games steps into the spotlight for a weekend-long Steam publisher sale, bringing price drops for L.A. Noire and the Grand Theft Auto series, among other deals. Starting today, Steam members can pick up the DLC-bundled Complete Edition of...

Tony Haile, CEO of Chartbeat, writing for Time:

Chartbeat looked at deep user behavior across 2 billion visits across the web over the course of a month and found that most people who click don’t read. In fact, a stunning 55% spent fewer than 15 seconds actively on a page. The stats get a little better if you filter purely for article pages, but even then one in every three visitors spend less than 15 seconds reading articles they land on. The media world is currently in a frenzy about click fraud, they should be even more worried about the large percentage of the audience who aren’t reading what they think they’re reading.

The data gets even more interesting when you dig in a little. Editors pride themselves on knowing exactly what topics can consistently get someone to click through and read an article. They are the evergreen pageview boosters that editors can pull out at the end of the quarter to make their traffic goals. But by assuming all traffic is created equal, editors are missing an opportunity to build a real audience for their content.

Solid piece, and I’m largely in agreement with his main point: measuring advertising value by counting clicks and pageviews has led the entire web astray. But as the CEO of a data analytics company, I think Haile is naturally biased towards advanced analytics as the way out of this mess. It’s hard to measure quality — but that’s what ought to be valued.

Whoa.

As part of its new direction, Eater is about to make an ambitious leap into the realm of restaurant criticism for the very first time in its nine-year history. To that end, the blog's New York site is bumping up the venerable Robert Sietsema's job duties to include food criticism of popular and far-flung places all around the five boroughs. Beginning next month, veteran editor and food critic Bill Addison will take on the role of the site's restaurant editor, for which he will roam the country and review the most essential restaurants. Finally, current Bloomberg critic Ryan Sutton has been hired to be the site's New York City head critic, a role that will encompass "data analysis and modern metrics to the often opaque world of restaurant and nightlife pricing," in addition to reviews. [Eater, Related]

Read more posts by Hugh Merwin

Filed Under: the other critics, bill addison, eater, food critics, robert sietsema, ryan sutton

A movement to start high schools later has gained momentum, bolstered by a growing body of research on the adolescent body clock.

Matthew Shaer, writing for New York Magazine’s Daily Intelligencer:

But despite his newfound personal courtesy, none of Taibbi’s anger at the “toothlessness” of the media has dissipated. “I think it’s a lost art in this country — developing that narrative voice where readers connect with you as a human being,” he says, harpooning a stray piece of scrambled egg. “They want to see how you react individually to things. And if you think something is outrageous, and you write about it in a tone without outrage, then that’s just deception, you know?”

David Cay Johnston, writing for Newsweek:

After making a big, bold promise to wire every corner of America, the telecom giants are running away from their vow to provide nationwide broadband service by 2020. For almost 20 years, AT&T, Verizon and the other big players have collected hundreds of billions of dollars through rate increases and surcharges to finance that ambitious plan, but after wiring the high-density big cities, they now say it’s too expensive to connect the rest of the country. But they’d like to keep all that money they banked for the project.

This is sanctioned corruption, pure and simple.

When we think of the future of the military, we think of bigger and better weapons. Laser canons and the like. But what about the people operating those lasers? How can a behemoth like the Navy ready its future sailors for the high-tech combat of tomorrow? Believe it or not, with an Oculus Rift.

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A new game set in Wyoming? That's Firewatch, a nifty-sounding PC game just announced by indie outfit Campo Santo. They say you'll play as a fire-lookout in the Wyoming wilderness, drawn out of your watchtower by strange events and tethered to humanity only by the voice on the other end of your radio. More info at the game's official site.

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Apple has effectively cut the return period for iPhone purchases in half today, dropping the window from a generous 30 days to 14 days. The change was quietly made at the company's online store and is effective immediately. A 14-day return policy brings Apple closer in line with US wireless carriers, though customers can still return the device without facing any sort of restocking fee. Other products sold by Apple (including Macs, iPods, and accessories) have long adhered to the two week window, but the company saw fit to give iPhone customers more time to try out the device. In 2010, Steve Jobs trumpeted the lengthy 30-day return window during the iPhone 4 "antennagate" press conference. Now, nearly seven years after the iPhone first...

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Apparently blind to rising consumer unrest around the deal, Time Warner Cable CEO Rob Marcus acted as a cheerleader for the proposed merger between his company and Comcast during a speaking engagement today. "The combination truly is a dream combination," he said at the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet & Telecom Conference. Last month, Comcast — the largest cable provider in the US — announced its intent to acquire second-place Time Warner Cable for $45 billion. If approved, the merger would allow Comcast to offer service (either cable or internet) to two-thirds of American households.

"We don't compete with each other."

The companies hope to close the deal by year's end, and Marcus didn't seem concerned about hitting any roadblocks...

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Arnold Schwarzenegger has a tank. His tank can crush things, and he wants you to ride around in it with him and crush a taxi, or a piano, or bubble wrap, or something equally crunchy — all to benefit charity. This seemingly absurd scenario will be made real for one person through Omaze, a charity-organizing website that allows donors to receive Kickstarter-style tiers of rewards along with a chance to win one major experiential prize when they donate to a charity campaign. Schwarzenegger's is benefitting After-School All-Stars, which provides free after-school programs to children. He's also taking part in another campaign to benefit the same group, with donors bidding for a chance to make and eat a meal with Schwarzenegger and...

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Amazon is about to raise the price of its Prime membership service for the first time ever in the US, bringing the cost up to $99 per year, $20 above where it's been for nearly a decade. The price change goes into effect on April 17th, and those signing up or renewing their service before then will still be able to pay the original, less-expensive price for a final year.

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Google started life as a research project in 1996 to crawl the internet and create a search engine. 18 years later, Google is now removing the last of the design left over from that era. Starting today, the '90s-style underlined links are being removed from Google search results. It truly marks the end of an era of the web, with underlined links a familiar method used by web developers to highlight links on sites like Geocities, Altavista, and pets.com. It’s the biggest visual change today, but Google is also tweaking other parts of its desktop search results.

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The moment that a notoriously pro-surveillance member of Congress spent nearly an hour excoriating the CIA for breaking into Senate computers, a Daily Show sketch became inevitable. Jon Stewart doesn't disappoint. On Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), chair of the Intelligence Committee:

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When the fossils of Nanuqsaurus hoglundi were discovered in the Arctic three decades ago, scientists thought they belonged to a whale, reports the AFP. But a second, more recent look from researchers in Texas revealed that the fossils actually belonged to a diminutive Tyrannosaurus rex relative that roamed Alaska's north over 66 million years ago.

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From Serious Eats: New York

The flagel at Bagel Boss. [Photographs: Andrew Coe, unless otherwise noted]

The loaf bread, great as it is, does not fit all purposes. Sometimes you want something custom-made for wrapping, dipping, or chewing. Flat breads are the answer, and not just pocket-filled pita. So here I present my favorite flat breads, many from the city's ethnic bakeries, whose whose customers understand the value and flavor of the 2-D loaf.

Flagel at Bagel Boss

The flagel, or flattened bagel, is the newest of my favorite flatbreads. It was probably invented in Brooklyn two or three decades ago. The trademark on the name is owned by Adam T. Rosner, owner of Bagel Boss out on Long Island. My preferred Flagel ($1.75) comes from Bagel Boss on Manhattan's First Avenue, which appears to have different management. This is a dense and flattened torus heavily covered with seeds. It's the bread I turn to when I want something for my teeth to grip into and chew. Smeared with cream cheese and jam, it makes a ruminative breakfast.

Onion Board at Chiffon Kosher Cake Center

Eastern European Jews have long understood the value of foods that you can chew and savor and chew some more. At the city's best kosher bakery, Brooklyn's Chiffon Kosher Cake Center, the most chewable flatbread is its Onion Board ($3.50), aka "pletsl." This is an 11-by-14 inch rectangle of thin dough liberally coated with finely chopped fried onions. Tear off chunks and enjoy the sweet onion flavor as you chew.

M'smen at Hot Bread Kitchen

strong>Hot Bread Kitchen offers breads from all around the world—wherever their bakers come from. My favorite flatbread from its ovens is its Moroccan M'smen ($2.50), made from organic wheat flour, semolina, and butter shaped into a paper-thin sheet of dough that's folded over on itself and griddled. Lightly warmed, it's a soft and gooey treat, perfect for either drizzling with honey or wrapping around a hot merguez sausage.

Lavash at Brooklyn Bread House

Another of my preferred wrapping breads is Brooklyn Bread House's Lavash ($1.50), which is flat enough to give your tongue a paper cut. Made from just flour, salt, and water, then barely cooked, it has a delicate floury flavor. You can use it for wrapping, say, spinach with melted Armenian cheese, or for dipping and crumbling into soup when it dries.

Nan-e Qandi at Hot Bread Kitchen

Other flatbreads are made for dipping, such Hot Bread Kitchen's Nan-e Qandi ($3). Made from unbleached wheat flour, milk, butter, honey, baking powder, and yeast, this disc is topped with sesame seeds. A favorite of Persian children, it's usually eaten for breakfast or tea, perfect for dipping into yoghurt, honey, or jam.

Pide at Taskin Bakery

[Photograph: Rabi Abonour]

For a more rustic dipping and swabbing bread, I recommend the Pide from Taskin Bakery in Paterson, NJ, and available at some markets in New York. From Newark west, a broad swath of Northern New Jersey is dotted with Turkish and Middle Eastern bakeries. What makes Taskin's product stand out is that its bakers don't use preservatives with their pide; it's made from just flour, water, yeast, and salt. The result is a soft and fluffy hole-filled disc that's perfect for tearing apart and using to dip into oil, baba ghanoush, yogurt, and so on.

About the author: Andrew Coe is the only reporter covering the city's bread beat.

From Serious Eats: New York

VIEW SLIDESHOW: How Num Pang Makes Their Pork Belly Sandwich

[Photographs: Laura Togut]

We're big fans of Num Pang, which has been quietly taking over New York with it's Cambodian-style bahn mi since the first shop opened in 2009. There are now five locations around Manhattan, which means there's a good chance you're not far from your fix.

One of the most popular sandwiches on the menu is the five spice-glazed pork belly, served with picked Asian pear in addition to the classic banh mi toppings. We got a peak into the kitchen to see how it's made—click through the slideshow to see!

They're changing the SAT and the New Yorker's Cora Frazier has a rundown of some of the modifications made to better reflect "skills they need to succeed in college and afterward".

11. Improving sentences. You receive the following text message: "You're an animal." This is an autocorrection of:

(a) "You're almost at Ludlow."

(b) "Young Leo DiCaprio."

(c) "Do we need eggs?"

(d) No autocorrection.

Tags: Cora Frazier   education   NYC   SAT

Now is the absolute worst time for Xbox Live to be down. Today marks the debut of Titanfall, the game that could make or break the Xbox One game console. It's a masterpiece of mechanical manslaughter, and Microsoft pulled out all the stops for its release, delivering new system updates, new peripherals and even a "fix" for the Xbox One game controller ahead of its launch today. But now, as prospective US players return home from work to play the Xbox One's killer app, many are finding themselves unable to sign into their consoles and actually play the game.

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Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Blizzard's free-to-play digital card game, is available now for PC and Mac in North and South America. Support for iPad is on its way, followed by Android, iPhone and Windows tablets. The open beta for Hearthstone...

Hearthstone is "like, really fun," Blizzard just announced in a press release. Also, the card game is out of beta now, and free-to-play for all.

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Those ducks hanging in the windows of Chinatown restaurants may look questionable, but after years of fining restaurants to no avail, the DOH actually conducted a study on the safety of the meat several years ago. It determined that the way the ducks are cooked is, as one former inspector put it, "pretty much foolproof," and now allows restaurants to keep them hanging for four hours after cooking. Restaurants do, however, have to navigate some bureaucracy to prove they're doing it right. [Open City]

President Obama has no need to worry about Game of Thrones spoilers: as it turns out, HBO sends him the episodes before they air for everyone else. “One perk of being the most powerful man in the world: yes, you get to see episodes early," Game of Thrones co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss tell Vanity Fair in an email. While we knew that Obama had asked HBO chief Richard Plepler for early episodes of True Detective and Game of Thrones last month, we now know that he got at least one of them. There's no word on whether presidential powers have landed him advanced episodes of other series, but in some cases it appears that Obama is actually behind the curve: to watch Breaking Bad, he's reportedly had to pick up a box set on...

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James Surowiecki, writing for The New Yorker:

The I.P.O. is no surprise, given King’s domination of the booming mobile-game business, but it’s likely to end badly, because King is part of a venerable tradition: the one-hit wonder. Like Coleco, with Cabbage Patch Kids, or Ty, Inc., with Beanie Babies, King’s business is dependent on its one star product; although the company has more than a hundred titles, almost eighty per cent of its revenue comes from Candy Crush. King has done a great job of making money from the game, and of keeping it fresh, but Candy Crush is still a fad, and, like all fads, it will fade. Indeed, as King’s filing makes clear, the number of people who pay for the game has already begun to taper off, as have sales and profits. […]

The company Harmonix, which launched Guitar Hero and Rock Band, games that in their day were as huge as Candy Crush, ended up being sold, after a few years, for fifty bucks and a pile of debt.

Titanfall will be propped up by dedicated servers. As much was made known last June, but what may not be so clear to players is that post-launch hiccups are primarily Microsoft's responsibility. Respawn engineer Jon Shiring recently explained to...