Out of Yemen, U.S. Is Hobbled in Terror Fight

NEW YORK TIMES: The evacuation of 125 United States Special Operations advisers from Yemen in the past two days is the latest blow to the Obama administration’s counterterrorism campaign, which is already struggling with significant setbacks in Syria, Libya and elsewhere in the volatile region, American officials said Sunday. The loss of Yemen as a […]

Tom Wolf’s Rendellian moves

PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE COLUMN: …Some Republicans say his tactics are “Rendellian”: • Shortly after taking office, firing Republican Gov. Tom Corbett’s late-term appointee Erik Arneson as director of the Office of Open Records. • Telling lawmakers that his budget, with numerous components and working parts, has to be considered as a whole. “The Republicans are cherry-picking […]

Russia delivers nuclear warning to Denmark

FINANCIAL TIMES: Russia has threatened Denmark with a nuclear strike if it takes part in Nato’s missile shield, in some of the most incendiary comments yet directed at a member of the military alliance. Russia’s ambassador to Denmark wrote in a newspaper opinion piece that the Nordic country had not fully understood the consequences of […]

Pennsylvania unemployment rate seen as plus in February

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE: Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.2 percent in February, down from 6.2 percent in the same month a year ago, the state Department of Labor and Industry reported on Friday. During that same time, employers reported that they added 73,100 jobs. The February unemployment rate was slightly higher than January’s, even […]

Time served: Sentencing policy must be driven by public safety

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE EDITORIAL: Corrections officials have argued that criminal justice and sentencing policies, and the funds that support them, should be driven by rational principles such as public safety, not emotions such as rage and revenge. That sound idea should dramatically change the sentencing laws that state officials and Congress enact. Such policies have fueled […]

Can Washington’s Gift Economy in Marijuana Work?

[Professor Mark] Kleiman warns that full-scale commercial legalization comes with costs of its own. The main risk is that marijuana businesses will — as alcohol and tobacco companies did — successfully market their products to heavy users who would be better off using less, and that they will resist regulations that discourage problem use.

Newscaster and reporters are only paid what?

AOL …. Reporters and Correspondents Description: “Collect and analyze facts about newsworthy events by interview, investigation, or observation. Report and write stories for newspaper, news magazine, radio, or television.” Annual Wage: $44,360… Radio and Television Announcers Description: “Speak or read from scripted materials, such as news reports or commercial messages, on radio or television. May […]