5 billion cellphone calling records have been collected by the NSA as part of a location and data tracking system, according to The Washington Post.
Christmas gifts can be viewed as just another economic transaction. The warm feeling that comes from giving could hide a mundane investment in social relationships. A gift entails a hidden obligation to treat you nicely, creating a special bond between the giver and the recipient.
Metropolitan areas in the United States, Canada, and Mexico contain 77 percent of the three countries’ total population but generate 86 percent of their combined GDP.
The number of people worldwide living in extreme poverty—defined as living on $1.25 a day or less—was cut in half between 1990 and 2010. Yet more than one billion people still subsist at this level, and about three billion live at under $2.50 a day.
The MOOC learning provider Coursera has launched Coursera Learning Hubs that seek to facilitate learning in Internet-enabled physical locations around the world. The U.S. State Department is "lending a hand" to Coursera as one of its learning partners. The Learning Hubs will cover 30 embassies, American Spaces, campuses, and other locations globally.
Mug shots are merely artifacts of an arrest, not proof of a conviction, and many people whose images are now on display were never found guilty, or the charges against them were dropped.
In 1798, Thomas Malthus posited that the world's food supply grew arithmetically while it's population grew geometrically, leading to the dour conclusion that certain natural correctives like starvation, war and pestilence would be inevitable.
Unfortunately our species is prone to imaginary distractions like ghosts, goblins, vampires, heaven and hell...none of which exist. On the other hand, we spend scant attention to real matters like poverty, violence, and ignorance.
In the last six years, American higher education institutions conferred nearly 3.5 million more degrees than they had over the previous six years. By last year, 29.8 percent of men and 37.2 percent of women ages 25 to 29 possessed four-year college degrees.
Believe it or not, when gambling online any given day, the chances of emerging a winner aren't too bad—about 30%. But continuing to gamble is a bad bet. Just 11% of players ended up in the black over an extended period, and most of those pocketed less than $150.
Last year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce published a report, “Why Business Should Support Early-Childhood Education,” that includes a summary of efforts by some groups to promote early childhood education on the state and local level.
Recently, the Los Angeles Unified School District embarked on a $1 billion initiative to place an iPad in the hands of each of the more than 600,000 students in the nation's second largest school district. But while Apple counts its coin, the district is learning a hard lesson in security and how technology can create as many problems as it solves.
Want to know more about the lifestyle of the Rich and Famous? Then enjoy watching the video profile of the Sage of Omaha, Warren Buffett, who happens to be worth billions.
Scientists working on a landmark U.N. climate change report are struggling over how to address a wrinkle in the meteorological data that has given ammunition to global-warming skeptics: The heating of Earth's surface appears to have slowed in the past 15 years even though greenhouse gas emissions keep rising.
Two-year community colleges enroll 37 percent of American undergraduates. The Center on International Education Benchmarking reports that only 13 percent of students in two-year colleges graduate in two years and that figure rises to a still-dismal 28 percent after four years.
Four-year college degrees still pay off; however, one-quarter of recent college graduates are unemployed or underemployed. Meanwhile, total student debt now exceeds $1 trillion. And heavily indebted students face risks.