U.S. Evaluating Government Programs More Than Ever
A new report finds that Washington's recent — but still limited — interest in rigorously evaluating government programs is both encouraging and unprecedented.
Spy Agency Seeks Digital Mosaic to Divine Future
The U.S. intelligence community wants to mine lots and lots of the tidbits bopping around on the Internet to suss out trends before they make the news.
Sex Offender Registries Not Working With the Hardcore
While giving the public notice of sex offenders living in their midst reduces sex crime overall, it doesn't seem to keep convicted offenders from striking again.
Assessing Cigarettes’ Right to Free Speech
How far can federal regulators go in cramming ugly — if accurate — messages onto packs of cigarettes over the objections of the tobacco companies that sell them?
Budget Hawks, Enviro Doves Offer Budget Cuts
As the U.S. Congress prepares to weigh a new round of massive budget cuts mandated by this summer's deal on the deficit, some odd bedfellows offer a suite of suggestions for saving green by being green.
Welfare Rates Almost Unchanged During Recession
Welfare reform, 15 years old this week, was designed to get the structurally poor into jobs. What happens when there are lots more poor and lots fewer jobs?
Rescuing Endangered Languages Means Saving Ideas
While saving the world’s threatened languages may seem informed more by nostalgia than need, federally funded researchers say each tongue may include unique concepts with practical value.
Report: U.S.-Mexico Border More Secure Than Ever
Despite cries to crack down on illegal immigration, a new analysis suggests that border crossings from Mexico have been falling for years and border crimes are less common than national average.
Perhaps Veterans Don’t Need Special Job Help
While the Obama administration pushes forward the idea of a "reverse boot camp" for veterans mustering out, economists say these unemployed vets aren't all that different from civilian jobless.
Obama’s Social Innovation Group Tabs Five Programs
Program to bring an entrepreneurial approach to social problems doles out some more money from its small kitty.