The Burma-China pipeline project has hit a snag just a few months before completion, Burmese officials report. Because the pipeline crosses territory where the state is battling armed independence armies, the pipeline won’t become operational for some time.The delay highlights the importance of the Strait of Malacca for energy-hungry Asian countries. The sheer amount of oil that […]

Young men will be the biggest losers in the transition to Obamacare, according to a new report by the actuarial and consulting firm Milliman. The report estimates that males as a whole will see an 11 percent increase in insurance premiums, while females as a whole will see a nine percent decrease. Men under 40 will face insurance hikes […]

After sixty years of growth, it looks like the American appetite for driving may finally be sated. A new report from US PIRG shows Americans are driving fewer miles for the first time in history, largely thanks to the changing habits of apparently car-shy millenials: Young people drove 23 percent fewer miles in 2009 than […]

Congress is considering legislation that seeks to hold American higher ed institutions accountable for results. On Thursday, a group of Senators proposed the “Student Right to Know Before You Go Act”, a bill that would create a federal database containing the career outcomes of graduates for every college in the country.Similar proposals have been tossed […]

The Pew Research Center’s latest survey on Europeans’ attitudes toward EU politics and economics brings across one message loud and clear: Europeans are not happy. People from every major country report extreme dissatisfaction with the economy and their political leaders. Increasingly, they also share a sense that the European Union and economic integration were mistakes for […]

It’s only Tuesday, yet it’s already shaping into a rough week for OPEC. Yesterday we heard that the American shale boom was hurting the petrochemicals industries of OPEC’s Middle Eastern members. Today a new International Energy Agency report suggests that the US may soon steal OPEC’s thunder in conventional energy as well. The report predicts that rising […]

Slimy, yet satisfying. Ban Ki-Moon is doing his best Marie Antoinette impression, telling the world’s hungry to eat bugs. The AP reports: A 200-page report, released at a news conference at the U.N. agency’s Rome headquarters, says 2 billion people worldwide already supplement their diets with insects, which are high in protein and minerals, and […]

The suicide rate for middle-aged Americans has risen by nearly 30 percent over the past decade. This news is depressing enough on its own, but the gender breakdown is where it gets disturbing: According to the New York Times, middle-aged American men kill themselves at nearly four times the rate that women do.W. Bradford Wilcox looks […]

The US shale boom has been great for the energy industry, obviously, but it has also produced ripple effects throughout other sectors of the economy. In particular, the boom has been a boon for the many chemical companies that rely on fossil fuels for production. In fact, it’s been such a game changer that many […]

If you’re currently an alcoholic, drug addict, or sex offender in California, don’t worry. There is one job you still check out for: drug and alcohol counselor. The Sacramento Bee reports on the results of a California State Senate investigation: The investigation identified at least 23 registered sex offenders certified as drug and alcohol counselors, a […]