China’s state-run oil companies announced plans to develop gas fields in the East China Sea, just inches away from territory claimed by Japan. On the hunt for cleaner, cheaper sources of energy, Beijing will invest $5 billion to explore for natural gas, Reuters reports. Until recently China had avoided the area, honoring an agreement signed with […]

Jihadists from Russia’s Caucasus region are fighting alongside the rebels in Syria, and their numbers are growing. About 200 fighters from Dagestan have joined the battle against Assad, says the head of the regional branch of Russia’s security agency, the Associated Press reports. And just a few hours up the road from Dagestan, construction and […]

RWE—one of the UK’s biggest power utilities—recently announced that the country’s push into renewable energy sources is going to mean electricity bills nearly 20 percent higher for its customers. This news comes shortly after the company was given permission by the UK government to build the Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm, which with with a maximum […]

One of the most important and interesting conversations happening in America today centers around the future of employment. The rise of “job-stealing robots” has a lot of worried wonks and policy scholars asking whether millions of Americans will be left without any work to do in the future.The MIT Technology Review has a must read piece on […]

There appears to be some movement on the Israeli-Palestinian issue due to the efforts of Secretary of State John Kerry late this week. The New York Times is reporting that face-to-face negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians may resume soon pending the release of several Palestinian prisoners by Israel’s government—a deal Kerry apparently reached with […]

A recent Stanford report on charter schools is a good read for those following the education reform debate. The report is a follow-up to a notable 2009 study that found charter schools to be lagging behind traditional public schools in both reading and math—a set of findings that were quickly latched on to by various […]

Detroit’s bankruptcy has just teed up one of the most consequential court cases in recent memory. As part of the plan to help the city exit bankruptcy, the government will likely cut pensions promised to city workers, a move allowed under federal law. But there’s a catch: the state constitution of Michigan forbids it. Citing this fact, […]

Recent college grads or rising seniors worried about the tough post-college job market should take a look at Venture for America, a nonprofit organization aimed at entrepreneurs. As its name would suggest, Venture for America aims to do for entrepreneurship what Teach for America did for teaching: namely, take high-quality college graduates and pair them […]

We may have finally found a cure for dementia: more work. French researchers have released the results of the largest study to date on retirement and mental health. They found that older participants who delayed their retirement were less likely to get dementia than those who retired earlier. The AP has more: “For each additional […]

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawklings-Blake introduced new legislation this week that would transition Baltimore from a defined benefit pension system to a 401k style retirement plan. This is part of the city’s effort to address a system which hasn’t been fully funded since 2003. If the plan works as promised, it could save the city $8 million […]