Legislators and Students Await Governor’s Speech

Governor Fallin is scheduled to speak at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater Wednesday, taking on issues affecting education and skills development programs.

NYPD Intelligence Unit Seen Pushing Rights Limits

Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the New York Police Department has become one of America’s most aggressive gatherers of domestic intelligence. Its intelligence unit, directed by a retired CIA veteran, dispatches undercover officers to keep tabs on ethnic neighborhoods — sometimes in areas far outside their jurisdiction. The existence of the Intelligence Division [...]

What Is Bitcoin?

The U.S. has the dollar. Japan has the yen. Now some people are trying to invent a new currency that’s not tied to any country or government. It’s called bitcoin. Bitcoin is a lot like cash — for the online universe. It doesn’t actually exist in the physical world. You can’t hold bitcoins in your [...]

After Quake, Japanese Fishing Port Remains At Risk

At first glance, the Japanese fishing port of Kesennuma looks like it’s making a comeback from last March’s devastating tsunami. A half-dozen fishing boats arrive one morning in this city of 70,000 and unload tons of bonito onto a partially rebuilt port. The fish roll down a conveyor, beneath a fresh-water shower, and splash into [...]

Ala. Businesses Riled By State’s New Immigration Law

The dispute over immigration policy is being fought in an Alabama federal court Wednesday. The state’s Republican leaders say they passed the toughest immigration bill in the country to preserve jobs for Alabamians. But critics say the law goes too far, criminalizing all kinds of contact with undocumented residents and putting an extra burden on [...]

Medicare Trying Bundled Payments To Save Money, Improve Care

For all those who say there’s nothing in the Affordable Care Act that could reduce health care spending, this one’s for you. Medicare officials have unveiled the latest initiative to spring from last year’s overhaul, and it’s one some health economists have been lusting after for years: Bundling payments so that hospitals, doctors, and even [...]

‘Iron Crows’: Surviving In A Toxic Shipyard

“Well, it beats working in the salt mines.” Homespun expressions like these help people shrug off a tough day at the office. Because no matter how much they resent the grinding drudgery of filing paperwork or sitting through meetings or seeing the new Conan the Barbarian movie in 3-D, at least they’re not doing the [...]

Why A Quake In Virginia Isn’t As Rare As It Sounds

The earthquake that rattled the East Coast on Tuesday afternoon — from its Virginia epicenter to Washington, D.C., and the islands off Massachusetts — was, indeed, rare, geologists say. But only because of its size; at a magnitude of 5.8, it was the largest temblor to hit Virginia since 1897, when the largest quake on [...]

New Rules Aim For More Passenger-Friendly Skies

Anyone who flies on an airplane should like some new government regulations that took effect Tuesday. Passengers who get involuntarily bumped will be entitled to more compensation, and airlines face stiffer penalties for long tarmac delays on international flights. The new rules are aimed at making flying more convenient and hassle-free, according to the Department [...]