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Brian Cathcart reports on the stunning scope of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/31/news-of-the-world-scandal-murderer-robert-thompson-s-phone-may-have-been-hacked.html

A new art exhibition in Washington, D.C., explores the place where racial identity and national identity intersect.

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A Saudi woman will be whipped for driving. David Keyes says it's still a gender-apartheid dictatorship. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/27/saudi-woman-sentenced-to-lashes-for-driving.html

In his book Sad Monsters, Colbert Report writer Frank Lesser explores "monsters who are sad, misunderstood, discouraged, lonely, and in many cases demonized, particularly the demons." Lesser's 39 essays include two that originally appeared in Slate, "The Yeti Wears Prada" and "How To Find the Genie of Your Dreams." In the piece excerpted below, he delves into the secret world of unicorns. Read more at sadmonsters.com.

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Mozilla's latest release reduces Firefox's memory use and speeds up HTML5 animations.

One thing that makes Once stand out from some of the other iPad photo mags is its revenue sharing model for its contributors. The founders hope it will pave the way for photographers to start benefiting financially from the digital revolution instead of being crushed by it.

Windows Mango makes some notable improvements to search, web browsing, and the way it uses hardware sensors. It's available as an upgrade on all Windows Phone 7 phones today.

Check out these cool pendant necklaces from the Open Hardware Summit. Becky writes:

Open Hardware Summit co-chair Alicia Gibb brought a wonderful surprise to this year’s event – handcrafted silver pendants made by her father, James Gibb. This is my new favorite necklace! James cut each of ten Open Hardware logo gears to make these beautiful pendants, wouldn’t you like one? Show support in the comments if you’d like to see these made more widely available.

Naturally, the logo design files are available in every imaginable format at the official OSHW logo repository.

 

At sundown tomorrow night, the Jewish community here in the United States and all over the world will gather to celebrate the start of the new year. Rosh Hashanah offers us an extraordinary sense of possibility because it provides us an opportunity to shape our world for the better.

In his video greeting for the High Holy Days, President Obama says: 

As the High Holidays begin, we look back on all the moments during the past year that gave us reason to hope.  Around the world, a new generation is reaching for their universal rights.  Here in the United States, we’ve responded to our challenges by focusing on the things that really matter – friendship, family, and community. 

But this last year was also one of hardship for people around the world.  Too many of our friends and neighbors continue to struggle in the wake of a terrible economic recession.  And beyond our borders, many of our closest allies – including the State of Israel – face the uncertainties of an unpredictable age. 

That is why my Administration is doing everything we can to promote prosperity here at home and security and peace throughout the world – and that includes reaffirming our commitment to the State of Israel.  While we cannot know all that the New Year will bring, we do know this: the United States will continue to stand with Israel, because the bond between our two nations is unshakable.

 As Jewish tradition teaches us, we may not complete the work, but that must never keep us from trying.  In that spirit, Michelle and I wish you, your families, and all who celebrate Rosh Hashanah a sweet year full of health, happiness, and peace.

From the White House, we wish everyone a happy and sweet New Year.

It's about time. Apple is hosting its next iPhone event at its Cupertino, California headquarters on Oct. 4. Press invites landed in media inboxes first thing this morning, with a very enticing tag line: "Let's Talk iPhone." Tim Cook is expected to be master of ceremonies at the event now that he is Apple's CEO. The ...

Until now, the exact mechanism that miraculin proteins in miracle fruit use on your taste receptors, allowing it to magically turn sour into sweet, has been a mystery to science for almost four decades.

To celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary last year, my husband and I spent the weekend at a funky motel in the Catskills. We arrived Friday night, poured some wine, put on Bonnie and Clyde, and exchanged gifts. The T-shirt I gave Adam featured a bear fighting a shark; he gave me earrings shaped like shark teeth (we often have similar ideas). Then we noticed there was a fly buzzing around the room, so Adam started chasing it, doing ninja moves in his underwear.

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Today, we received two updates on health insurance premiums. The Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual survey on health insurance looked back at the premiums insurers charged businesses and families in 2011, while the Office of Personnel Management looked ahead to 2012 and provided some important insight into the premiums large employers are negotiating with insurers for the coming year.

First, the Office of Personnel Management announced that the average premium for the 8 million people enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program will increase by 3.8 percent in 2012, nearly half of the 7.3 percent increase in premiums for 2011.  The premium increase for the popular Blue Cross Blue Shield Standard Plan will be only 1.6 percent for 2012. 

Second, the Kaiser Family Foundation released its annual survey on health insurance premiums, which found that that premiums increased by 9 percent in 2011.When evaluating the Kaiser study, it’s important to remember a few important facts:

• High Insurance Company Profits. The Kaiser report shows that premiums increased 9 percent in 2011. These premiums were generally set in 2010, when insurance companies thought medical costs would be significantly higher than they turned out to be. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the health insurance employer cost index (a measure of the price of health care services) was the lowest it has been in over 10 years in the first half of 2011. Additionally, some insurers assumed  that the Affordable Care Act would dramatically raise their costs. In the end, both assumptions were wrong – but insurance companies still charged high premiums and earned impressive profits. Wall Street analysts’ review of results from the first quarter of 2011 found that 13 of the top 14 health insurers exceeded their earnings expectations, with profits that were over 45 percent higher than estimated.
• Policies to Hold Insurance Companies Accountable Kicking In. Key Affordable Care Act policies are starting to take effect that make insurance more affordable. For example, insurance companies that want to raise premiums for 2012 by more than 10 percent will have to publicly justify their rate hikes. And a growing number of States have the power to reject unjustified premium hikes. Additionally, insurers are required to spend at least 80 percent of your premium dollars on medical care, rather than advertising, overhead and bonuses for executives. If they fail to meet that standard, they will be required to provide a rebate to their customers.
• Premium Growth is Slowing. The data released by Kaiser cover 2011, but signs indicate that premium growth will slow significantly in 2012. On September 20th, Mercer, a well-known independent benefits consulting firm released a survey of employers showing that  their health insurance cost increases will average 5.4 percent for 2012, the smallest increase it has measured since 1997.  Goldman Sachs reported “Widespread anecdotal observations suggest health reform may be a factor contributing to slower growth in per capita health spending.”
• Exchanges Work. The Affordable Care Act established Affordable Insurance Exchanges – State-based marketplaces where consumers will be able to purchase affordable, private health insurance. Examples of these kinds of marketplaces already exist and in two important cases, premium growth is falling.
  • As noted earlier, the average premium for 8 million Americans who get their insurance through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program will increase by 3.8 percent in 2012. The FEHBP was a model for the Affordable Insurance Exchanges included in the Affordable Care Act. 
  • CalPERS which insures 1.3 million California workers and retirees through a marketplace that is similar to the Exchanges reported that premium growth in 2012 would be 4.1 percent, down from 9 percent in 2011.

These examples only underscore what independent experts have already told us: Exchanges and other tools in the law will help save money for middle-class families.

• Other Key Statistics: Millions Already Helped by Reform. Other key statistics from the Kaiser report include:
  • 2.3 million young adults were added to their parents’ plan as a result of health reform.  This number is larger than the 1 million uninsured young adults who gained insurance since it includes those switching from an individual market plan. 
  • 47 million Americans who get insurance at work were helped by the Affordable Care Act rule that ensures preventive care is covered without a co-pay or deductible. 31 percent of workers were in plans that added preventive services and 23 percent were in plans that lowered their cost sharing due to the Affordable Care Act. 
  • Contrary to what opponents of the Affordable Care Act claimed would happen, 60 percent of employers continue to offer health insurance to their employees – compared to 59 percent in 2009. And when the law is fully implemented, employers will have new tools that will make it easier for them to provide benefits to their workers.

The Kaiser report is informative, but it’s a look backwards. When we look to the future, we know that the Affordable Care Act will help make insurance more affordable for families and businesses across the country.

This week, Farhad Manjoo and Emily Yoffe discuss listener questions about two issues of email etiquette: Is it all right to send one-word messages, and what's the polite way to end an electronic note. Listen to Episode No. 22 using the audio player below or by opening this player in a new tab.

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I recently learned that I had "killed American lit."

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Why the highest-paid doctors are the most vulnerable to automation.

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Click the arrow on the audio player to hear Edward Hirsch read this poem. You can also download the recording or subscribe to Slate's Poetry Podcast on iTunes.

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Fels-Naptha is old school soap that works great when it comes to stains. I had a pair of khakis that I got old chain grease on, washed them regularly about 3-4 times. Regular wash didn't get the stain out, so I called it a bust. Then 3-months later I used a little elbow grease and Fels-Naptha, just rubbing the fabric against itself for 5 minutes, and sure enough, the grease came right out. The soap is good for plenty more as well.

-- Tanner

[After Tanner suggested Fels Naptha for getting bike grease out of a pair of Khakis, I tried it out on some grease stained pants and it worked perfectly. It does take a bit of effort, but the results are worth it. I also managed to get rid of some pesky collar stains.--OH]

Fels-Naptha
$4.20

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Fels-Naptha

Mayor Michael Hancock of Denver, Colorado says there is no more important initiative that any elected official can be focused on than "trying to get America back to work, right now."

Hancock believes that "this Job Act is an opportunity for all elected officials at every level but particularly here in Washington, in Congress and the White House, to finally put aside our differences and stand again for the people of America and begin to put them to work."

President Obama will be in Denver today to speak about the American Jobs Act, his plan that will immediately put workers back on the job and put more money in the pockets of working Americans, and Hancock says that what benefits Denver in the package is "going to be the same thing that benefits all cities across this country large and small, you give employers the incentive to bring people on the payroll."

Watch President Obama speak at Abraham Lincoln High School today at 4:15 pm EST at www.whitehouse.gov/live

 

 

Bestselling author Sam Harris explains his current solution to the strange new media world—and why he’s publishing short ebooks. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/27/sam-harris-on-the-future-of-the-book.html