You might thing that underfunding pension plans is the sole purview of unscrupulous local and state governments. Unfortunately, irrational optimism, an inability to accurately plan for the future, and avarice are all very human weaknesses exhibited by people in all walks of life—even faith-based and church-affiliated hospitals and charities.The AP has the story: Pension shortfalls […]

That war we don’t like to mention because we feel saying the name of the enemy only makes him stronger continues to bubble along, with good and bad news coming in. Across Africa, American forces leapt to action yesterday, carrying out lightning raids in Libya and Somalia against Al Qaeda and al Shabaab. FBI and CIA agents […]

The government shutdown was, for obvious reasons, the biggest news this week. The disruption gave the chattering classes plenty to talk about, but had us wondering if the whole thing matters at all. The real concern for Congress will be addressing the debt ceiling.In news out of Asia this week, the big chill between Japan […]

Russia has long relied on its enormous oil and gas reserves to not only heat and power its homes, but also to fund its government. But as blessed by resources as it has been, it has also displayed an impressive ability to stay behind the curve of an energy landscape that is changing now faster […]

BEIJING, CHINA – OCTOBER 02: People crowded to visit the Rubber Duck at the Summer Palace as the National Day Holiday starts on October 2, 2013 in Beijing, China. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

Wind and solar energy have plenty of obstacles to overcome before they can attain a significant share of the world’s energy mix, but their intermittency may be their biggest limiting factor in the long run. How can we keep the lights on in the middle of a windless night? The most likely solution is some […]

To get a sense of what the future might look like, watch the video above (h/t Kurzweil). It may look like a kid’s toy, but it’s something far more impressive: a self-assembling, autonomous robot with pieces that can move themselves (and jump) without any external moving parts. Obviously, at this point it can’t do much […]

Iceland is sitting pretty for what will likely be the world’s next oil boom. The USGS estimates that the Arctic circle holds roughly 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil, and as the world warms, that ice is melting, uncovering billions of barrels of black gold. Countries are licking their lips at the possibility of […]

Last February, Stafford Hospital in Staffordshire, Britain made news for shocking abuses of patients that routinely happened in its halls. At the time, many people treated it as an anomalous incident that didn’t tell us anything about the NHS more broadly, but a new long-form read on the NHS in the Washington Examinier argues that Stafford […]

Theocracy panic dies hard, and a recent NYT article on the Texas textbooks shows that it’s still alive and well at the Grey Lady. The article covers recent appointments to Texas’ textbook review panel and expresses alarm that the creationist members of the panel could compromise science nationwide: As Texas gears up to select biology […]