September 25, 2013 | BusinessWeek

So-called intelligent machines increasingly communicate among themselves and with people. Mobile devices allow round-the-clock interconnectivity. Computers crunch terabytes of data. Such innovations have convinced some economists that the stage is set for a wave of productivity gains to rival the one spawned by the 10-year Internet boom that began in 1995.

September 27, 2013 | New York Times

For the first time, the world’s top climate scientists on Friday formally embraced an upper limit on greenhouse gases while warning that it is likely to be exceeded within decades if emissions continue at a brisk pace, underscoring the profound challenge humanity faces in bringing global warming under control.

September 27, 2013 | Washington Post

Most of the 50 local governments with the largest pension debt have worker retirement liabilities that are greater than their annual tax revenue, according to a new report from the credit-rating firm Moody’s. The pension burden posed by current and future municipal retirees is significant and apparently troublesome for many local governments, the report says.

September 24, 2013 | Time

Crowdfunding has enabled millions of people to donate money to make prototype products a reality and support artistic projects, among other proposals. In exchange, supporters have received free gifts, verbal thanks, even hugs. Now the stakes are about to increase dramatically thanks to a law paving the way for direct investment in startup businesses. In the week since the SEC put its conditional OK on crowdfunding, the LCW editor has watched a minimum of 50 entrees a week to start seeking funds for all sizes and shapes seeking funds...the large and the small, public and private, expected and unusual.

October 1, 2013 | USA Today

More than three years after Congress passed the Affordable Care Act and President Obama signed it into law, the most controversial piece of the law begins today — the requirement that uninsured Americans buy health insurance — and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the government is ready.