Workplaces Feel The Impact of Obesity

Part of an ongoing series on obesity in America From cubicle farms to auto factories, accommodating larger and heavier employees has become a fact of life. One in three U.S. adults is obese, and researchers say the impact on business can be boiled down to a number: $1,000 to $6,000 in added cost per year [...]

Consumers Hesitant Even As Economy Grows

Consumer spending is up, and the economy is growing a bit. Unemployment is high, but at least it looks like it’s not going higher. Even Wall Street likes the Greek debt deal. But to say that the American consumer remains skeptical would be an understatement. Just ask Kim Brown, a 34-year-old kindergarten teacher from Caroline [...]

No COLAs Means More Viable Pensions

The Chairman of the State House Pension Oversight Committee is crediting a law passed last session with reducing the unfunded liability of state employee retirement systems.

Getting Ambulances to Rural Oklahoma

State Lawmakers got an earful from local officials and Emergency Medical professionals about the difficulty in getting ambulance services to rural parts of Oklahoma.

Rick Perry Will Create Jobs? Wait, We Thought Government Didn’t Do That

In Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s first paid ad which went up in Iowa this week, the candidate for the Republican presidential nomination makes a curious statement. He says as president he’d create millions of jobs. “As president, I’ll create at least two and a half million new jobs,” is the exact quote. Two odd things [...]

Herman Cain Winning GOP Nomination Is Unlikely But Not Impossible

There are people out there really saying it’s impossible for Herman Cain to get the Republican presidential nomination? Apparently there are and Nate Silver at the FiveThirtyEight blog warns them that it’s much safer to say it’s highly unlikely than impossible. I’ve been chastened enough by experience to know this first hand. I recall telling [...]

Will Rick Perry Skip Future GOP Debates?

Do you feel like there have just been too many presidential debates already? Well, Rick Perry might agree with you. Ray Sullivan, the Texas Governor’s communications director, told CNN’s John King this Wednesday night: There have been eight Republican debates so far, five since Governor Perry got in. We certainly respect the process, but when [...]

A Tweak To Health Law Would Eliminate Medicaid For Some

Should the middle class be eligible for Medicaid? The health program, funded jointly by the feds and the states, was devised to cover the poor. But if a provision in last year’s health law isn’t changed that could be the case for people with pretty healthy incomes. So today, the House approved a bill that [...]

One Husband, Three Wives: A True ‘Love’ Story

The family who helped inspire the hit HBO series Big Love has written a tell-all of sorts: a new book called Love Times Three: Our True Story of a Polygamous Marriage. In it, Joe, Alina, Vicki and Valerie Darger tell their story of plural marriage, parenting 23 children and living in a community where many [...]

After Army, NPR … Mel Ming Leads Sesame Street

H. Melvin Ming didn’t take the easy route to become the new chief of Sesame Workshop. He started in Bermuda and went through the U.S. Army and difficult times at NPR to join the small club of black CEOs in America. Ming replaces NPR’s newly hired CEO and former Sesame Workshop CEO Gary Knell. He [...]