New data is out on the 2.2 million people who signed up for insurance by the first signup deadline (December 24th), and the pool is much older than the general uninsured population. Insurers hoped that the percentage of non-elderly adults under 35 would be closer to 40 percent, rather than the 25 percent we actually see. Before this data came out, health care think tank the Kaiser Family Foundation insurers hoped that the percentage of non-elderly adults under 35 would be closer to 40 percent, rather than the 25 percent we actually see. said that it would be a “worst-case scenario” if only 25 percent of non-elderly enrollees were in the 18-34 age group by the end of open enrollment on March 31st of this year.

Fish too much, and you get fewer fish. That’s neither new nor surprising, but a new study suggests that overfishing’s depletion of fish populations can have permanent effects.

Detroit may be able to keep its priceless art collection after all. In what is being called a “grand bargain,” the bankruptcy judge is allowing foundations to purchase the art from the city, moving it to a public trust that would keep the art on the walls. The city would use some of the proceeds from the sale to fund pension payments for retirees. So far, $330 million has already been pledged from various foundations, but the art is valued at $866 million, and time is running out to seal the deal.

PhD reform was a hot topic at the recent MLA convention last weekend, yet speaker after speaker managed to avoid the obvious fix: shrinking the size of their programs. But while professors are burying their heads in the sand, a number of schools are already beginning to cut back.

After the Volcker Rule was passed in December, there was much misplaced rejoicing. The real issues behind the successful regulation of banks are only now being debated.

Melting polar ice is thrusting the Arctic Circle into the geopolitical limelight. The frigid region is estimated to contain nearly a third of the world’s undiscovered natural gas and 15 percent of its undiscovered oil, and the Arctic countries—Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, and, thanks to Alaska, the United States—are eying those resources as they jockey for position. But thawing ice will also expose new shipping lanes, and nations like the United States will have new responsibilities to keep those routes safe for commerce.

Israel faces graver threats these days than inane resolutions drafted by misguided academics. But the Modern Language Association’s recent panel on boycotting Israel and its impending vote to condemn the Jewish state is, like the ASA’s recent boycott, part of a larger trend that should be resisted.

Brussels will sketch out its 2030 green targets next week, and there’s a strong possibility that its renewable energy goals will be more suggestion than mandate. In March, the European Commission will vote on a plan for 2030, and the mood is decidedly less optimistic than it was when targets for 2020 were put in place, thanks to rising electricity costs.

When it comes to passing massive trade deals with Europe and the Pacific, Obama’s biggest obstacle may not be France or Japan, or even his Republican opponents in the House, but his allies in the Democratic Party. A number of Democratic senators and congressman reacted negatively to efforts to fast-track the legislation through Congress, and there are now questions as to whether the measure will have the votes to pass. Is Obama losing influence in his own party?

A mysterious report claiming that China plans to invade an island in the South China Sea that is controlled by the Philippines emerged over the weekend. The report, translated from “Chinese media” and appearing at a site called China Daily Mail, appears to threaten the Filipino forces occupying Pag-asa Island. Pag-asa is known as Zhongye Island in China and Beijing claims the Philippines has illegally occupied it for years. At about a tenth of a square mile, the island is one of the larger ones in the Spratly Island group and is the only one with an airstrip long enough to accommodate larger planes. It has a civilian population of 300 souls.