“Mr. Carson, a retired pediatric neurosurgeon, has set off a prairie fire of rank-and-file conservatives urging him to run for the Republican nomination. He liked the think tank’s idea, but he knows that he excites supporters because he is an unscripted outsider.
These are the 10 best colleges in Pennsylvania
USA TODAY: Pennsylvania is home to some of the top colleges in the country, including College Factual’s #1 ranked school in the country, the University of Pennsylvania. The state is home to many historic educational institutions, as well as newer colleges, both public and private.
Rich Russians head for UK in record numbers
FINANCIAL TIMES: …In the first nine months of the year, 162 investor visas were granted to Russians, compared with 96 in the same period of 2013, the figures show. The whole of 2013 saw only 118 investor visas granted to Russians, according to the data, which were first reported by The Sunday Times. Falling oil […]
IRS warns: We’re nearly crippled
THE HILL: …The IRS wants both taxpayers and its staff to know this: It’s only going to get worse… After absorbing a $346 million budget cut, IRS officials are warning taxpayers not to expect their phone calls to get answered or their refunds to be delivered quickly. Employees shouldn’t count on overtime pay, or for […]
“I’m not done”: Obama swaggers his way into 2015.
And as much as White House aides gloat about the recent run of good news that’s fed the sense of a turnaround — “It gets better,” was the year-end message Obama stressed as he closed up the press conference and got ready to head to Hawaii for two weeks — they admit that they’ve gotten lucky in the timing.
Chinese Annoyance With North Korea Bubbles to the Surface
NEW YORK TIMES: When a retired Chinese general with impeccable Communist Party credentials recently wrote a scathing account of North Korea as a recalcitrant ally headed for collapse and unworthy of support, he exposed a roiling debate in China about how to deal with the country’s young leader, Kim Jong-un.
The language of bribery from the Philly legislative sting case
The informant for the Attorney General’s Office, Tyron Ali, a native of Trinidad, was smooth talking and savvy. He owned a day care center in Philly. Investigators busted him for fraud, first estimated to total nearly a half-million dollars but eventually determined to be less than $100,000.
US Troops Fight ISIS in Western Iraq, Al Jazeera Says
NEWSMAX: U.S. soldiers clashed with ISIS militants, helping the Iraqi army repel attacks against the town of al-Baghdadi in the Western Anbar province, Al Jazeera TV reported Saturday, as Kurdish forces advanced in the north. The U.S. troops were from al-Assad military base, the biggest in Anbar, First Lieutenant Muneer al-Qoud from the Iraqi police […]
Treating more than just addiction
Francesca Barnett, who runs the Portland, Ore., residential mental health and addiction treatment facility where Ayala works, says she has never seen anyone seek treatment for drug addiction who didn’t also have underlying mental health conditions.
Gay Marriage In Florida To Proceed After Supreme Court Refuses To Block
HUFFINGTON POST: The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday refused to block gay marriages in Florida, the latest of about three dozen states allowing same-sex weddings. In a one-paragraph order, the court decided not to step into the Florida case. A federal judge previously declared Florida’s ban on gay marriage unconstitutional and said same-sex marriage licenses […]
Life expectancy grew six years since 1990, global study finds
CBC: Global life expectancy has risen by more than six years since 1990 thanks to falling death rates from cancer and heart disease in rich countries and better survival in poor countries from diarrhea, tuberculosis and malaria. In an analysis from the 2013 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, health researchers said, however, that while […]
Polar Opposites: “Birdman” and “Foxchaser”
Two energetic and entertaining films that take on the struggle of artists to transcend their quotidian lives top the list of “must see” releases for early winter. Right now I’ll focus on “Birdman,” because it’s playing on a local screen. The second movie, “Whiplash,” a winner of two awards at this year’s Sundance festival, won’t be arriving for several days, so I’ll talk about that in the next column.
Obama Unbound
NEW YORK TIMES COLUMN: …in normalizing relations with Cuba, on a surprising climate change initiative with China, on an immigration gamble that’s working, and executive orders to protect the world’s greatest wild salmon fishery in Alaska or try to root out gender pay disparities, Obama is marching ahead of politicians fighting yesterday’s wars. In setting an aggressive agenda, he has forced opponents to defend old-century policies, and rely on an aging base to do it…
U.S. Declares Bank and Auto Bailouts Over, and Profitable
NEW YORK TIMES: Six years after President George W. Bush began the auto bailout, the Obama administration on Friday declared a profitable end to the sweeping federal interventions in Wall Street and Detroit, saying a final sale of stock from General Motors’ former finance arm had closed a turbulent chapter of the financial crisis… Tea […]