Topic: Chicago

Key health care senators have industry ties

Senator Chris Dodd, among other senators involved in upcoming health care legislation, have family ties or financial investments in the industry they are meant to reform.

Obama on healthcare reform: Mr. Flexible

His idea of a public insurance plan to compete with private ones is meeting resistance. Will the alternative of health insurance 'cooperatives' suffice?

Push is on for a 'common' education standard for US schoolchildren

The state-by-state system leaves many students 'inadequately prepared,' Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Wednesday at a Monitor breakfast.

Across Middle East, a sense of possibility after Obama speech

While they expect action, many warmed to words that bespoke a knowledge and appreciation of Islamic culture.

How an immigration raid changed a town

Tiny Postville, Iowa, struggles to regain its footing one year after the largest immigration sweep in US history.

Battle over the baby bottle: Should containers with bisphenol A be banned?

A number of states are moving to curtail the sale and use of bottles that have this chemical. But industry groups say BPA's risks are overblown.

Today's Monitor: Obama in Europe, North Korea sanctions, Sotomayor and the Senate

Jobless rate hits 9.4 percent, a 25-year high

A silver lining is the US economy shed fewer jobs in May than forecasters had predicted.

Obama's speech in Cairo: full text

The president, speaking at Cairo University, called for a 'new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world.'

Varying views on a high-profile cookbook

Good ways to deliver bad news

Open talk, empathetic listening make staff cuts more than a cold exercise in cost saving.

Firms that retool and rebound

A handful of Midwest manufacturers find ways to adapt and save jobs.

Burris tape stokes skepticism in Illinois

New recording raises fresh doubts about whether the senator used pay-for-play politics to get his seat.

Today's agenda: North Korea's capacity, Palestinian summit, rights in China

Opinion: Secretary Clinton: Dutiful diplomat? Or 2012 candidate?

So far, she's hewed so close to the Obama party line that she sounds like a clone of the president.

This summer's gas price forecast better than last

The higher prices, linked to rising oil costs, are still lower compared with last Memorial Day.

Difference Maker How to clean up a lake? Floating islands might be the answer.

Man-made islands can remove ammonia, heavy metals, and other chemicals from the water.

New auto standards: the start of Obama's green revolution

The new regulations on fuel economy and tailpipe emissions announced Tuesday are 'part of a far larger effort,' he said.

New Orleans asks: 'What recession?'

After Katrina, the Big Easy is slowly attracting newcomers and rebuilding its economy.

What another woman would bring to Supreme Court

Expectations are high that Obama will nominate a woman. Though female jurisprudence is not much different from that of male judges, women tend to be more pro-women's rights and to tilt more toward plaintiffs in sex-discrimination cases.

High hopes for high speed

A $13 billion proposal could lay high-speed tracks in the midwest, California, and Florida.

Catholics astir over Obama's speech at Notre Dame

Opposition to his appearance at Sunday's commencement puts new attention on Catholic sensibilities – and on the president's stance on abortion and stem-cell research.

In tough times, graduates (and parents) assess the worth of a liberal arts education

At one Vermont college, commencement's joys trump worries about debt, job prospects.

Opinion: Shanghai's 2010 Expo: the 'Economic Olympics'

World Expos have been a snooze in the West for decades. But China's first one ever next year will be a wake-up call.

Job hunting? This week’s unusual openings.