Update: Detroit files for bankruptcy. More thoughts tomorrow. Below is our post from earlier today.Detroit, one of the 20th century’s great American cities, is now almost certain to stagger through the early 21st century in Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The WSJ reports that the chances of out-of-court settlement are scant. Emergency manager Kevyn Orr is unlikely to […]

Yesterday the House passed a measure to delay both the employer and the individual mandate, but its timing may be a bit off. The vote came one day after New York city officials reported that health care premiums under Obamacare will be “at least 50 percent lower on average than those currently available in New York.” Needless […]

The World Bank has released a report estimating that India’s environmental problems are costing the country $80 billion every year. The report blames pollution and land degradation for the country’s limited food and water supply, child deaths, expensive medical problems, and even environmental disasters such as last month’s flooding. India has largely ignored the environmental […]

On Sunday Japan’s Parliament will hold upper house elections, and the ruling party of nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to win comfortably. If that’s the case, it will be a strong endorsement of his policies in the eight months since he assumed office. Those policies—a stronger military and a more nationalist, more antagonistic […]

Calpers has shown rare signs of recovery, and other public employee pension plans may be getting some pain relief, as well. Recent statements by both Fitch and S&P confirm that average funding levels for public pensions fell by 1 percent in 2011 (the most recent year for which data is available). That is a continuation of a […]

Christians are increasingly unlikely to think their clergy contribute to the well-being of society. That data point comes form a new Gallup poll on attitudes towards professions. The results contain some stark numbers for men and women of the cloth: Just 37% of Americans surveyed think the clergy make a big contribution to society, about […]

It’s not just the left that’s keen on promoting nascent green technologies; Republicans in farm states apparently love renewables, as long as they come with jobs for their constituents. The WSJ reports: There is no federal requirement to use renewable energy, so the wind and solar industries rely on states to help them take market share from […]

After a weeks-long standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the rarefied atmosphere of the Himalayas, policymakers in Delhi must have realized that they need to do a better job protecting the mountainous border region against Beijing’s encroachment.According to official sources quoted by the Press Trust of India, Delhi will create a border protection force […]

It’s getting harder and harder to find financing for new coal plants. In his much-talked-about climate change speech last month, President Obama outlined, among other things, a plan to phase out US government financing of new coal plants abroad in cases where there are “economically feasible alternatives.” The World Bank has followed suit, announcing similar […]

Researchers at Imperial College in London have created a smart surgical “iKnife” that knows when tissue being cut is cancerous or not with effectively perfect accuracy. The AP has the story: Surgeons often find it impossible to tell by sight where tumors end and healthy tissue begins, so some cancer cells are often left behind. A […]