today

'Fat and happy, that's my motto:' Scott Conant dishes up decadence at USA TODAY Wine & Food Experience in Chicago

From creamy gnudi to champagne macarons, the dishes at USA TODAY's Wine & Food Experience in Chicago didn't disappoint.

      





today

Julie Hesmondhalgh: I hope I wouldn't be offered role of Hayley Cropper today

Hesmondhalgh said she did a "decent job" of playing Corrie's first trans character - but would not take the part now




today

What is today's Google Doodle? Everything you need to know about Earth Day 2020

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day




today

Wizz Air flights resume from London Luton today

The government is still advising Brits not to travel abroad




today

SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath’ Coming May 26th, ‘Slayin 2’ and Today’s Other New Releases, the Latest Sales, and More

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for May 7th, 2020. Like most Thursdays, today is mostly about …




today

SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Fury Unleashed’, ‘Stone’, and Today’s Other New Releases, the Latest Sales Featuring ‘Saints Row IV’ and More

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for May 8th, 2020. Today was basically a nightmare scenario for …




today

Premier League clubs meet again today with proposal to conclude season by June 30 set to put on the table

Premier League clubs will hold another online meeting again today with a proposal expected to put on the table for the 2019-20 season to be finished by June 30.




today

Uefa meeting today: Update expected on plans to finish the 2019-20 football season

Uefa will hold a video conference call today where there will discuss updated plans to conclude the 2019-20 football season amid the coronavirus pandemic.




today

Lionel Messi scored his first Barcelona goal 15 years ago today

May 1, 2005 is a date for the history books – a day when everything changed for FC Barcelona as a 17-year-old Lionel Messi scored his first official goal for the Catalan club.




today

The Premier League proposals being discussed today at Project Restart meeting

Premier League clubs will meet today to discuss the options to resume the 2019-20 season.




today

National League meeting today to discuss whether play-offs will be held

The National League board will meet today to discuss whether to hold play-offs – but a decision is likely to be delayed until there is more clarity from the EFL.




today

Today we pledge to give the climate crisis the attention it demands | Katharine Viner

The Guardian’s editor-in-chief explains why support from our readers is crucial in enabling us to produce fearless, independent reporting that addresses the climate emergency

At the Guardian we believe the climate crisis is the most urgent issue of our times. And we know that Guardian readers are equally passionate about the need for governments, businesses and individuals to take immediate action to avoid a catastrophe for humanity and for the natural world.

Today the Guardian is making a pledge to our readers that we will play our part, both in our journalism and in our own organisation, to address the climate emergency. We hope this underlines to you the Guardian’s deep commitment to quality environmental journalism, rooted in scientific fact.

Continue reading...




today

Can today’s hottest sustainable building method actually slow climate change?

Cross-laminated timber draws praise -- and skeptics.




today

UK Weather Forecast: Warm sunny spells and scattered showers today and tomorrow.

Warm sunny spells and scattered showers today and tomorrow.




today

UK Weather Forecast: Warm sunny spells for many today, Sunday colder and windier.

Warm sunny spells for many today, Sunday colder and windier.




today

Workers are due their superannuation today but many employers are struggling to pay

Today is the deadline for employers to pay superannuation they owe workers for the first quarter, but many may struggle to do so amid the COVID-19 economic shutdown.




today

'Nothing changes today': Victorians must wait until Monday to learn when shutdown measures will ease

Premier Daniel Andrews says his Government will explain changes to the state's coronavirus restrictions on Monday, after the National Cabinet agrees to a three-step process of lifting restrictions to create a "COVID-safe economy".




today

Joint Statement by Secretary Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder on Today’s Signing of a DEA-ICE Drug Trafficking Enforcement Agreement

"Giving ICE agents the authority to investigate drug trafficking cases, enhancing information sharing capabilities between ICE and the DEA, and ensuring full participation in intelligence centers will strengthen our efforts to combat international narcotics smuggling, streamline operations and bring better intelligence to our front line personnel."



  • OPA Press Releases

today

Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the Justice Department’s Tax Division Announced Her Departure from the Department Today, Effective as of June 5, 2014

Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division, will leave her post at the Department of Justice effective June 5, 2014, she announced today.



  • OPA Press Releases

today

The Hill today highlights the recent recommendation by Europe's chief drug regulator to suspend 700 generic drugs

Posted by Roger Bate My op-ed with Dinesh Thakur in The Hill today highlights the recent recommendation by Europe's chief drug regulator to suspend 700 generic drugs whose approvals were based on flawed – or forged – clinical studies conducted by GVK Bio, an Indian contract research organization. We urge U.S. Federal regulators to follow Europe’s lead and move to rescind market approval for these drugs while conducting their own investigation. You can read the op-ed here [...]




today

Rising Leaders Conference Set for Nov. 18-19: Reserve Your Place Today!

March 12, 2020 —[Note: Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the Conference has been rescheduled from May.] Healthcare was already the top issue for voters—and the coronavirus pandemic only intensifies the focus heading into a hotly-contested election. Both parties want to “do something” about the cost of healthcare and especially drug prices, and what happens when […]




today

What Happened Today: Health Care System Crumbles, Testing Questions

Marc Lipsitch, a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, answers questions about access to testing for COVID-19, false-negative results and the challenges of mass testing.




today

WWII forces would 'admire' U.K. today, queen says on 75th anniversary of war's end in Europe

"We are still a nation that those brave soldiers, sailors and airmen would recognize and admire," the monarch said.




today

HHS Secretary Sebelius is the Big Loser in Today's Filibuster Game-Changer


HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius may lose the most from the Senate’s rule change on the filibuster—and the Affordable Care Act may be healthier for it. I wrote last month on the FixGov blog that “Republicans are the Reason Secretary Sebelius Won’t Resign” (or be fired). That argument is no longer valid. My claim—the president’s inability to get her successor confirmed because of filibustering Republicans—is nullified by the Senate’s rule change, and the benefits may reach far beyond Obamacare.

The Implications of Filibuster Reform for Healthcare

Problems exist in HHS. No one denies it. However, for many appointees in the Department, the Senate rules served as a life preserver in a torrent of poor implementation, managerial failures, and bad PR. So long as the president faced the prospect of long-term vacancies among appointees overseeing ACA, the HHS leadership would be spared.

Today, that all changed. Moving forward, President Obama needs the support of only 51 Senate Democrats to replace top-level political appointees throughout the executive branch. This offers the president substantial breathing room. Nominees no longer need the support of every Democrat and a scarcely identifiable five Republicans. Instead, nominees can draw the ire of as many as four Democrats and still be confirmed.

Maybe Kathleen Sebelius is not to blame for the botched healthcare marketplace roll out. Maybe her Office did not give the thumbs up for the President to repeat “if you like your plan you can keep it.” Maybe she did not contribute to the poor salesmanship of the legislation from the start. However, if she was to blame (and perhaps if she wasn’t), her days in the president’s cabinet may well be numbered. The same may be true for deputies and other administrators in the Department who oversaw the weaker areas of the roll out of this law.

By repositioning HHS personnel or breathing new life into a Department facing continued struggles, the president may well ensure the administration of his signature legislation accomplishment improves. The right appointees can coordinate and communicate policy needs and goals up and down the bureaucratic hierarchy. Rather than settling for a program that meets or falls short of expectations, there is an opportunity to build an effective ACA.

Good Governance beyond Obamacare

The first half of October showed us that political actors in Congress contributed to a broken legislative branch. The second half of October showed us that political actors in the Administration contributed to a broken executive branch. Now is the time for the president to start anew and fix one branch, in the shadow of a Senate trying to fix itself.

In my piece from last month, I also argued that the filibuster rules in the Senate allow for the continuation of poor management and governance. If weak appointed personnel are causing policy problems, communication miscues, and other headaches for the president, the ability to replace them with something other than the word “ACTING” was limited by the 60-vote threshold.

President Obama, who has faced a string of personnel and management issues over the past year, now has greater freedom not simply to oust problematic appointees, but to install talented, effective leaders. With this ability comes a tremendous opportunity to jumpstart an administration that is sputtering.

Filibuster reform will not be the magical elixir that cures all of the ills in the Obama administration. Yet, it’s a good start. The President should channel the flashiness of his campaigns and loftiness of his rhetoric into a focus on real issues of governance.

Authors

Image Source: © Jason Reed / Reuters
      
 
 




today

Amped in Ankara: Drug trade and drug policy in Turkey from the 1950s through today

Key Findings Drug trafficking in Turkey is extensive and has persisted for decades. A variety of drugs, including heroin, cocaine, synthetic cannabis (bonsai), methamphetamine, and captagon (a type of amphetamine), are seized in considerable amounts there each year. Turkey is mostly a transshipment and destination country. Domestic drug production is limited to cannabis, which is […]

      
 
 




today

What does “agriculture” mean today? Assessing old questions with new evidence.


One of global society’s foremost structural changes underway is its rapid aggregate shift from farmbased to city-based economies. More than half of humanity now lives in urban areas, and more than two-thirds of the world’s economies have a majority of their population living in urban settings. Much of the gradual movement from rural to urban areas is driven by long-term forces of economic progress. But one corresponding downside is that city-based societies become increasingly disconnected—certainly physically, and likely psychologically—from the practicalities of rural livelihoods, especially agriculture, the crucial economic sector that provides food to fuel humanity.

The nature of agriculture is especially important when considering the tantalizingly imminent prospect of eliminating extreme poverty within a generation. The majority of the world’s extremely poor people still live in rural areas, where farming is likely to play a central role in boosting average incomes. Agriculture is similarly important when considering environmental challenges like protecting biodiversity and tackling climate change. For example, agriculture and shifts in land use are responsible for roughly a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions.

As a single word, the concept of “agriculture” encompasses a remarkably diverse set of circumstances. It can be defined very simply, as at dictionary.com, as “the science or occupation of cultivating land and rearing crops and livestock.” But underneath that definition lies a vast array of landscape ecologies and climates in which different types of plant and animal species can grow. Focusing solely on crop species, each plant grows within a particular set of respective conditions. Some plants provide food—such as grains, fruits, or vegetables—that people or livestock can consume directly for metabolic energy. Other plants provide stimulants or medication that humans consume—such as coffee or Artemisia—but have no caloric value. Still others provide physical materials—like cotton or rubber—that provide valuable inputs to physical manufacturing.

One of the primary reasons why agriculture’s diversity is so important to understand is that it defines the possibilities, and limits, for the diffusion of relevant technologies. Some crops, like wheat, grow only in temperate areas, so relevant advances in breeding or plant productivity might be relatively easy to diffuse across similar agro-ecological environments but will not naturally transfer to tropical environments, where most of the world’s poor reside. Conversely, for example, rice originates in lowland tropical areas and it has historically been relatively easy to adopt farming technologies from one rice-growing region to another. But, again, its diffusion is limited by geography and climate. Meanwhile maize can grow in both temperate and tropical areas, but its unique germinating properties render it difficult to transfer seed technologies across geographies.

Given the centrality of agriculture in many crucial global challenges, including the internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals recently established for 2030, it is worth unpacking the topic empirically to describe what the term actually means today. This short paper does so with a focus on developing country crops, answering five basic questions: 

1. What types of crops does each country grow? 

2. Which cereals are most prominent in each country? 

3. Which non-cereal crops are most prominent in each country? 

4. How common are “cash crops” in each country? 

5. How has area harvested been changing recently? 

Readers should note that the following assessments of crop prominence are measured by area harvested, and therefore do not capture each crop’s underlying level of productivity or overarching importance within an economy. For example, a local cereal crop might be worth only $200 per ton of output in a country, but average yields might vary across a spectrum from around 1 to 6 tons per hectare (or even higher). Meanwhile, an export-oriented cash crop like coffee might be worth $2,000 per ton, with potential yields ranging from roughly half a ton to 3 or more tons per hectare. Thus the extent of area harvested forms only one of many variables required for a thorough understanding of local agricultural systems. 

The underlying analysis for this paper was originally conducted for a related book chapter on “Agriculture’s role in ending extreme poverty” (McArthur, 2015). That chapter addresses similar questions for a subset of 61 countries still estimated to be struggling with extreme poverty challenges as of 2011. Here we present data for a broader set of 140 developing countries. All tables are also available online for download.

Downloads

Authors

     
 
 




today

India today: A conversation with Indian members of parliament


Event Information

October 7, 2015
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM EDT

Saul/Zilkha Rooms
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

Register for the Event

Over the last couple of years, a number of crucial political and policy-related developments have unfolded in India, as well as in U.S.-India relations. These developments have emerged as the next generation of Indian politicians, born after the country’s independence, is coming to the fore—including in parliament.

On October 7, The India Project at Brookings hosted a delegation of Indian parliamentarians to discuss the current state of Indian policy and politics. The panel featuring MPs from different political parties and states in India explored the state of the Indian economy and foreign policy, federalism, the role of regional parties, coalition politics, the role of the media and technology, and U.S.-India relations.

Join the conversation on Twitter using #IndianPolitics

Audio

Transcript

Event Materials

      
 
 




today

What does “agriculture” mean today? Assessing old questions with new evidence.


One of global society’s foremost structural changes underway is its rapid aggregate shift from farmbased to city-based economies. More than half of humanity now lives in urban areas, and more than two-thirds of the world’s economies have a majority of their population living in urban settings. Much of the gradual movement from rural to urban areas is driven by long-term forces of economic progress. But one corresponding downside is that city-based societies become increasingly disconnected—certainly physically, and likely psychologically—from the practicalities of rural livelihoods, especially agriculture, the crucial economic sector that provides food to fuel humanity.

The nature of agriculture is especially important when considering the tantalizingly imminent prospect of eliminating extreme poverty within a generation. The majority of the world’s extremely poor people still live in rural areas, where farming is likely to play a central role in boosting average incomes. Agriculture is similarly important when considering environmental challenges like protecting biodiversity and tackling climate change. For example, agriculture and shifts in land use are responsible for roughly a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions.

As a single word, the concept of “agriculture” encompasses a remarkably diverse set of circumstances. It can be defined very simply, as at dictionary.com, as “the science or occupation of cultivating land and rearing crops and livestock.” But underneath that definition lies a vast array of landscape ecologies and climates in which different types of plant and animal species can grow. Focusing solely on crop species, each plant grows within a particular set of respective conditions. Some plants provide food—such as grains, fruits, or vegetables—that people or livestock can consume directly for metabolic energy. Other plants provide stimulants or medication that humans consume—such as coffee or Artemisia—but have no caloric value. Still others provide physical materials—like cotton or rubber—that provide valuable inputs to physical manufacturing.

One of the primary reasons why agriculture’s diversity is so important to understand is that it defines the possibilities, and limits, for the diffusion of relevant technologies. Some crops, like wheat, grow only in temperate areas, so relevant advances in breeding or plant productivity might be relatively easy to diffuse across similar agro-ecological environments but will not naturally transfer to tropical environments, where most of the world’s poor reside. Conversely, for example, rice originates in lowland tropical areas and it has historically been relatively easy to adopt farming technologies from one rice-growing region to another. But, again, its diffusion is limited by geography and climate. Meanwhile maize can grow in both temperate and tropical areas, but its unique germinating properties render it difficult to transfer seed technologies across geographies.

Given the centrality of agriculture in many crucial global challenges, including the internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals recently established for 2030, it is worth unpacking the topic empirically to describe what the term actually means today. This short paper does so with a focus on developing country crops, answering five basic questions: 

1. What types of crops does each country grow? 

2. Which cereals are most prominent in each country? 

3. Which non-cereal crops are most prominent in each country? 

4. How common are “cash crops” in each country? 

5. How has area harvested been changing recently? 

Readers should note that the following assessments of crop prominence are measured by area harvested, and therefore do not capture each crop’s underlying level of productivity or overarching importance within an economy. For example, a local cereal crop might be worth only $200 per ton of output in a country, but average yields might vary across a spectrum from around 1 to 6 tons per hectare (or even higher). Meanwhile, an export-oriented cash crop like coffee might be worth $2,000 per ton, with potential yields ranging from roughly half a ton to 3 or more tons per hectare. Thus the extent of area harvested forms only one of many variables required for a thorough understanding of local agricultural systems. 

The underlying analysis for this paper was originally conducted for a related book chapter on “Agriculture’s role in ending extreme poverty” (McArthur, 2015). That chapter addresses similar questions for a subset of 61 countries still estimated to be struggling with extreme poverty challenges as of 2011. Here we present data for a broader set of 140 developing countries. All tables are also available online for download.

Downloads

Authors

      
 
 




today

Enterprise Leadership: The Essential Framework for Today’s Government Leaders

Government leaders increasingly face complex problems that demand collaborative interagency solutions. Almost all of the major challenges confronting government today – from cyber security and food safety to veterans' homelessness and global climate change – require leaders at all levels that can coordinate resources beyond their immediate control. A new compilation of essays, Tackling Wicked Government Problems:…

       




today

What past oil crashes say about today’s slump

The oil industry is going through its third crash in prices since the formation of the OPEC cartel. Many are wondering when the market will recover and what oil prices will be when it finally does. The first price crash came in the mid-1980’s, a decade after OPEC’s formation. The second crash came at the onset…

       




today

Saban Forum 2015—Israel and the United States: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow


Event Information

December 4-6, 2015

Online Only
Live Webcast



On December 4 to 6, the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings hosted its 12th annual Saban Forum, titled “Israel and the United States: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” The 2015 Saban Forum included webcasts featuring remarks by Israel’s Minister of Defense Moshe Ya’alon, Chairman of the Yesh Atid Party Yair Lapid, National Security Adviser to President George W. Bush Stephen Hadley, Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (via video), and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The forum’s webcast sessions focused on the future for Israelis and Palestinians, Iran’s role in the Middle East, spillover from the war in Syria, and the global threat posed by the Islamic State and other violent jihadi groups.

Over the past twelve years, the Saban Forum has become the premier platform for frank dialogue between American and Israeli leaders from government, civil society, business, and the media. As a result, the Saban Forum is a seminal event, generating new ideas and helping shape the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Join the conversation on Twitter using #Saban15

Video

Audio

Transcript

Event Materials

     
 
 




today

Cyber Grand Challenge contrasts today’s cybersecurity risks

Cade Metz’s article for Wired titled “Hackers Don’t Have to Be Human Anymore. This Bot Battle Proves It” described a curious event that took place in Las Vegas on August 4, 2016. The first Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Cyber Grand Challenge witnessed seven teams compete for cyber security supremacy. Unlike traditional hacking contests,…

       




today

Today’s mayors are tackling new challenges

Alaina Harkness, fellow in the Centennial Scholar Initiative at Brookings and the Project on 21st Century City Governance, discusses the key findings from her report on the evolving role of mayors and their position on the frontlines of public policy challenges like refugee resettlement and workforce development. http://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/5998382 Also in this episode, Mark Muro, senior…

       




today

Jacques Tati's film Playtime was released 50 years ago, but has lessons for us today

We are still befuddled by technology but bumble along.




today

Drink Bottles Recycled Today in Times Square will be Converted into a School Garden (UPDATE)

Turn trash into a school garden in Harlem by recycling drink bottles in Times Square today.




today

Today is Boxing Day, a great idea that turned into wretched excess

Most of the english speaking world has the day off today, in what started as a tradition of helping and sharing, and ended up at the mall.




today

Centuries-Old State of the Art Still Useful Today

Outside the southeastern Turkish city of Mardin lie the 6th-century ruins of the Roman settlement of Dara,




today

Did You Eat Today? Thank a Food Worker

The most under-reported  and neglected aspect of the good food movement is the 20 million workers who toil every day harvesting fields, killing and cutting up animals, packing boxes, driving trucks, cooking meals, serving tables, and cleaning up the mess.




today

LEED-Bashing: USA Today Series Says It's Too Easy To Be Green (and a Whole Lot More)

The rating system is attacked in 2012 for its 2002 standard and the timing couldn't be worse.




today

Celebrate International Ride-Sharing Day Today!

There is a day for everything, and today we celebrate ride sharing.




today

The biggest energy-saving regulation the U.S. has ever seen was released today

The new rule is expected to save Americans $167 billion in energy costs.




today

The Rush-Bagot Treaty that demilitarized the Great Lakes is 200 years old today

It led to a series of other agreements that protected and cleaned up the Great Lakes environment




today

105 Years Ago Today: Roald Amundsen Stands On The South Pole

Lessons from Amundsen: travel fast and light with a small footprint.




today

Join Author David Orr for a Live Discussion on TreeHugger, Today at 3pm Eastern

This month, BookHugger presents Hope Is and Imperative by David Orr. Readers can order a discounted copy today and then join a live chat with Orr on May 25 at 3pm Eastern. (NOTE: The chat has been postponed one day and will




today

Join Authors Stephen Palumbi and Carolyn Sotka for a Live Discussion on TreeHugger, Today at 3pm Eastern

This month, BookHugger presents The Death and Life of Monterey Bay by Stephen R. Palumbi and Carolyn Sotka. Readers can order a discounted copy today and then join a live chat with the




today

Live Chat on Health and Urban Planning Today at 3:00e with Author Andrew Dannenberg

This month, BookHugger presents Making Healthy Places: Designing and Building for Health, Well-being, and Sustainability edited by Andrew L. Dannenberg, Howard Frumkin, and Richard J.




today

Jane Jacobs "Ideas That Matter" - Even More So Today (Book Review)

Jacob's unpublished writings, essays and speeches from half a century ago seem just as vital and current as the day they were written.




today

For Green Design To Be Good Design, It Must Be Beautiful and Functional Today, Tomorrow--and Yesterday

Apple remains our culture's most lauded example of great design. But could it be that the company considered to have reached the pinnacle of design is, in fact, an impostor? The definition of good design is changing. It used