When corporate CEOs in your state are ready to exchange HQs with Pacific Ocean views for those of a landlocked desert, you know you’re doing something wrong. That’s what’s happening in California, where nearly two dozen firms are considering dumping the Golden State for its drab and arid neighbor, Arizona.Like Texas, Arizona smells the blood […]

Russian counter-terrorism forces pulled off a successful raid against an Islamist militant forest outpost in Derbent, Dagestan, killing five. A sixth was killed in a shoot-out at his village home in Ingushetia. In the restive North Caucasus, this is par for the course, as Reuters notes: A suicide belt, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher and grenades […]

Watson, IBM’s flagship supercomputer, is now officially in the health care business. Forbes reports that the company has reached an agreement with Memorial Sloan-Kettering and WellPoint to allow their health care providers to use Watson’s vast analytical powers to help make treatment decisions.Dr. Watson will analyze patients and give doctors several treatment options ranked according to probability as well as the reasoning […]

How much is that college degree really worth? It’s not just a question for students and parents anymore, but for Congress and for state officials as well, says the WSJ. This week Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) are expected to re-introduce a bill to force states to provide more information about college […]

Iran’s politicians are engaged in an epic squabble that threatens to turn the country upside down just a couple weeks before national elections. Over at Foreign Policy, Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar does a great job summarizing what’s happening: During an unprecedented debate at the parliament, which ended in mayhem and the dismissal of the labor minister, Ahmadinejad […]

North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in six years this morning, literally and figuratively sending shockwaves through the Asia Pacific. Experts are saying this most recent test was larger than the previous two, perhaps in the six to seven kiloton range.The Nork nuke test challenges both Xi Jinping and Barack Obama for different reasons. For […]

The Lone Star state boasts all-star status when it comes to job creation and economic growth. Writing for City Journal, Wendell Cox brings us a great in-depth look at one of the healthiest state economies in the U.S. Texas job creation is well above the national average, with the number of jobs having grown 31.5 […]

Persistent droughts have plagued U.S. ethanol this year, as a poor corn crop has put pressure on supply chains. The Boston Globe has the story: The Renewable Fuels Association, a trade group, provided data showing that of the nation’s 211 ethanol plants, 20 have ceased production over the past year, including five in January. Most remain […]

Beppe Grillo isn’t joking anymore. The wrinkled, floppy-haired former comedian addressed thousands of his Italian supporters who braved freezing air in the foothills of the Alps a few days ago. Just as he has done for many months across the country, he poured scorn on his country’s politicians. Against all odds, he has become a political […]

It’s game on in the UK. A legal report released today by the British government argues that if Scotland votes for independence, it will have to renegotiate its membership in the EU and other international organizations. Scottish independence advocates were understandably aggravated. The NYT reports: “For the U.K. government to argue that the U.K. will be […]