In The News

Jane Lubchenco, D. James Baker and Kathryn D. Sullivan September 10, 2019
Accurate weather forecasting saves countless lives and prevents property damage. The agriculture, defense, transportation, energy, travel and other industries rely on accurate forecasts and an expensive infrastructure of observational equipment, supercomputers and models, and researchers. Also, the National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration contribute to global...
Matthew Goldstein, Danny Hakim and Jan Hoffman September 10, 2019
The United States strives to bring an end to the opioids crisis, preventing addition and punishing pharmaceutical companies, distributors and physicians that doled out pills in alarming numbers. Purdue Pharma is in negotiations with litigators, but the owners “want to keep selling OxyContin and other drugs abroad for as many as seven more years, through another company they own, Mundipharma,...
September 9, 2019
The Bahamas is a disaster zone after Hurricane Dorian, and this is a story of globalization in many ways: climate change, immigration, international aid and a global race to the bottom on taxation. The country reports widespread property damage and 45 deaths, with many more anticipated. Researchers suggest that climate change, due to the world’s reliance on fossil fuels, has intensified such...
September 9, 2019
The United States has been at war in Afghanistan since October 2001. For almost a year, US negotiators have met with Taliban leaders to work out a peace deal. All the while, the Taliban extremist refused to work with the Afghan government. “The revelation of planned peace talks with the Taliban leaders and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at Camp David and the cancellation of the meetings are the...
Lindsay Wise September 8, 2019
Skilled foreigners with US job offers obtain green card approvals, but wait years for permanent status. “The logjam stems from U.S. rules that limit any one country to 7% of all employment-based green cards,” reports Lindsay Wise for the Wall Street Journal. “More than 660,000 of those approved but waiting are from India.” US Congress, polarized over comprehensive immigration reform, generally...
Ben Kritz September 7, 2019
Agriculture’s tremendous success in producing more food than the world needs with fewer resources is also reducing prices. Even as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization suggests that 30 percent of the world's food goes wasted, the agriculture industry represents an increasingly smaller share of economic growth and jobs for both advanced and emerging economies. The industry carries great...
Dirk Kurbjuweit September 6, 2019
The rise of antagonistic nationalism triggered World War II – and a wake of destruction with more than 60 million dead worldwide. Fears emerge that another wave of nationalism, with disregard for minorities and democratic institutions and emphasis on competition, could put an end to 75 relatively peaceful years. Writing for Spiegel Online, Dirk Kurbjuweit summarizes the events leading to the...