Amid financial crisis, Detroit trustees hang out in Hawaii
HONOLULU - The city of Detroit may be facing a deepening financial crisis but that hasn't stopped four trustees of its public pension funds from spending $22,000 of retirement system funds to attend a conference in Hawaii this week. Full Article
Blackstone notifies Cohen's SAC it intends to pull money: pension consultant
- Billionaire hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen is losing the financial support of Blackstone Group Inc, the largest outside investor in his embattled SAC Capital Advisors, which is yanking much of its client money, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters.
Syrian opposition resumes tough talks on unity
ISTANBUL - Syria's opposition resumed talks aimed at creating a coherent front crucial to a proposed international peace conference, struggling under Western and Arab pressure to close their fractious ranks and elect a viable leadership. Full Article
Illinois House approves concealed guns bill
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - The Illinois House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to allow residents to carry concealed guns, taking the state one step closer to joining all others in allowing some form of carrying guns in public. Full Article
U.S.-Mexico neighbors reach across the fence
NACO, Mexico - As the U.S. pushes for tighter security along the Mexico border as part of efforts to overhaul immigration laws, residents on either side of the fence have taken the unusual step of working to strengthen neighborly ties. Full Article
Iraq violence presents new test for U.S.
WASHINGTON - Saddled with Middle East problems ranging from Iran to Syria and beyond, President Barack Obama now faces one that is both old and new: Iraq. Full Article
Academics back BP fight to cap oil spill payouts
LONDON - A group of accountancy professors is backing BP's fight to cap the U.S. oil spill compensation payouts it has to fund as the cash outflow threatens to add billions of dollars to its bill for the disaster. Full Article
In the spirit of a Franciscan Pope
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - With the election of a Latin American Pope and his chosen name of Francis, one Reuters photographer took a closer look at the Franciscans, young followers of Saint Francis of Assisi, who roam Rio's streets, helping the poor. Full Article
Residents clear up after Taliban attack
May 25 - Three confirmed dead after Taliban attack and shootout at a U.N. affiliated compound in Kabul. Julie Noce reports.
Latest Headlines
What war on the press?
The Obama administration's legal battering of the press, while real, hardly rises to the level of war. The leak crackdown - and there has been one - has been mostly on the supply side, in the bureaucracy where the government leakers dwell, and not the demand side in newsrooms. Commentary
Two cheers for the tech industry's goofy energy
It’s easy to dismiss Internet ecosystems as froth, whether in New York or Silicon Valley. Yet optimism and ambition are not just heady. They are essential for constructive change. Commentary
Obama's legacy could be moral, not political
Lately Obama seems like he's playing defense. One possible alternative, hinted at in a recent speech, is that Obama might take advantage of his prestige and moral authority to make the case for stronger American families. Commentary
Changing Assad’s calculus
Even as the international community discusses 'grand strategy,' Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is taking decisive action. Commentary
Some cracks in the technocrat cult
We are living in the age of the technocrats, but there are sound reasons why not to rely mechanically on technocratic solutions. That’s why it is worth reading a new paper by Daron Acemoglu of MIT and James Robinson of Harvard University. Commentary
Lessons of the London butchers
The cases of the butchers of London and the Boston bombers raise an even more fundamental question: What exactly is terrorism? Since 9/11, the central management of al Qaeda’s operation has been defeated and the duty to continue the Islamist fight has passed to individual jihadists. Commentary

















