In 2000, the British newspaper The Independent ran an article about the end of snow, quoting one of the world’s more prominent climate scientist like so: According to Dr. David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia, within a few years winter snowfall will become […]

When people think of Sonoma County’s beautiful and lucrative wine country, they likely think of endless vineyards, rolling hills and the wealthy elite there to enjoy it. They probably don’t think of miles and miles of decrepit roads with potholes so many and massive that bikers and drivers can barely avoid accidents. But as Reuters […]

Edward Tenner at The Atlantic is worried that the boomers are getting a bad rap. The flapper generation, which came of age in the 1920s, was an equally controversial cohort, but they were able to dwindle off into old age in peace, while the boomers have become a punching bag for those complaining about American decline. […]

“It seems we must make a special effort on southern Libya,” said France’s Foreign Minister on a recent trip to the new focal point of the global war on terror: Africa. Libya is the “new Mali,” Reuters reports. (Wasn’t Mali the “new Libya” not all that long ago?)“The south of Libya is what the north of Mali was […]

The dominos keep falling on the California ACA story. Last week the state released official estimates about the cost of premiums under Obamacare, and the law’s supporters were jubilant.One the one hand, wonks like Matt Yglesias and Ezra Klein were happy that the estimates came in lower—in some cases, much lower—than the rates originally predicted by the Congressional Budget Office when […]

A pair of Russian opposition leaders is alleging that Kremlin cronies pocketed more than $30 billion in funds earmarked for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. This is hardly the first report of corruption related to the games, but these latest numbers, if true, are staggering. “The expenses for the Winter Olympics in Sochi turned out to be […]

The US Transportation Department has finally weighed in officially on driverless cars, and the verdict is good news for the tech’s supporters. Though officials don’t think the cars are ready for commercial use, they do recommend that states proceed with testing them. Moreover, the statement released by the department states that semiautonomous and driverless cars will significantly increase driver safety when they are eventually […]

After an abortive attempt by Governor Pat Quinn to pass a pension reform bill in January, it almost seemed like things were looking up: The Illinois House and Senate each passed different reform bills early this month.It didn’t take long for the news to turn sour again, however. Now it’s looking doubtful that the two bodies […]

What happened to the BRICS?India’s economy has grown at the slowest rate in a decade—4.8 percent in the year to March 31—according to a new government report. South Africa (which sometimes makes an appearance as the “S” in BRICS and is the largest economy in Africa) had just 0.9 percent economic growth in the first quarter […]

China is leading the solar industry in a race to the bottom, and concern about defective solar panels is growing. In one case in California, solar panels that were supposed to last 25 years began falling apart just two years after being installed, causing fires and disrupting business. The NYT reports: Most of the concerns over quality […]