Oprah Winfrey Network Still Finding Its Footing

Ratings have been a major disappointment for the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), but that could change now that Oprah Winfrey is about to debut her own show on the cable channel. When Winfrey ended her longtime show on broadcast TV earlier this year, there were lots of tears and endless tributes to the queen of [...]

Fla.’s Economic Pain, Anger Could Shape 2012 Race

Florida is once again poised to play an important role in selecting the president in 2012. Its Republican primary on Jan. 31 is the nation’s fourth nominating contest. But Florida is a very different state than it was four years ago. It is reeling from the housing collapse — more than 200,000 homes are facing [...]

Coconut Water Companies Sell Image, Not Taste

A couple of years ago if you wanted to drink coconut water, you had to buy your own coconut, bring it to your kitchen, and start whacking away with a knife. Today, you can find packaged coconut water in a convenience store, Wal-Mart or your friendly neighborhood yoga studio. “I think it was a great [...]

In China, Finding A New Way To Eat In Times Of Plenty

As people’s incomes rise in a developing nation, so does the amount of food they eat. That’s what has been happening in China for the past 30 years. But many people, especially in the the middle class, are discovering that you don’t have to eat and eat just because there’s plenty of food available. Still, [...]

Happy Holidays? Indeed, For Some Stuck At Work

It’s the last workweek of the year, and just about half of American workers have been in the office. If that sounds like a drag, well, meet Louise Tucker-Mitchell. She works for Enterprise Rent-A-Car at Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport. For her, at least, being stuck at work between the holidays is a secret pleasure. [...]

U.S. Military Tests Out Green Tech In Afghanistan

The heavy, mine-resistant vehicles that almost all U.S. military personnel use to move about Afghanistan are gas guzzlers. And even though the U.S. military buys that fuel at a reasonable price, the energy it takes to fly it and truck it to remote parts of Afghanistan drives the price into the stratosphere. There’s also a [...]

In Syria, Arab League Observers Caught In Crossfire

Despite the presence of an Arab League monitoring mission, Syrian security forces shot dead at least 40 protesters on Thursday, according to activists. The opposition movement in Syria has been critical of the Arab League, saying they appear to be more sympathetic to the government. But with the monitors in at least a couple of [...]

Transplants Bring New Faces In 2011

If there’s a medical advance that seized the public imagination this year, we’d venture to say it was facial transplant surgery. Three transplants gave severely injured patients completely new faces in 2011. Now the doctors involved have revealed details about the complex cases in the New England Journal of Medicine. In March, Dr. Bohdan Pomahac [...]

What The World Eats For A Better, Luckier 2012

Many cultures greet the New Year with a feast that symbolically sets the table for the year ahead. As they sit down to traditional dishes, people often try to literally eat their hopes and goals for the coming year. We here at The Salt did a quick survey of New Year food traditions around the [...]

‘It’s A Great Day In South Carolina’ – If You Have A Job

South Carolina has an unemployment rate of 9.9 percent, above the current national figure. But that’s not the message you’ll get if you call Republican Gov. Nikki Haley’s office, where you’ll be greeted with a cheery message: “It’s a great day in South Carolina…” And that’s the same message you’ll receive when calling call any [...]