In case it wasn’t clear already, we now know what the 2012 election will be about: how fast to cut federal spending, whether to raise taxes and what to do about healthcare, especially Medicare.President Obama’s awkwardly named “deficit reduction framework,” unveiled Wednesday, has the usual list of flaws of any long-term budget proposal. It doesn’t tie up every loose end. It includes a couple of “

In the week and a half since the Chinese government detained artist Ai Weiwei on suspicion of “economic crimes,” Western governments and the global arts community have condemned China’s repression of free speech. Regular Americans, too, should care about China’s habit of stifling information that it doesn’t like to hear. China is applying the same habit to another type of speech, economic speech.

NEW YORK (AP) ― Republican Tim Pawlenty disclosed his 2012 presidential aspirations on Facebook. Rival Mitt Romney did it with a tweet. President Barack Obama kicked off his re-election bid with a digital video emailed to the 13 million online backers who helped power his historic campaign in 2008.Welcome to The Social Network, presidential campaign edition.The candidates and contenders have embra

Polls show widespread dissatisfaction with how P.M.’s cabinet dealt with disasterTOKYO (AP) ― A blueprint for ending radiation leaks and stabilizing reactors at Japan’s crippled nuclear plant drew a lackluster response Monday, as polls showed diminishing public support for the government’s handling of the country’s recent disasters.The plan issued by Tokyo Electric Power Co. over the weekend, in r

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Reports of sleeping air traffic controllers highlight a long-known and often ignored hazard: Workers on night shifts can have trouble concentrating and even staying awake.“Government officials haven’t recognized that people routinely fall asleep at night when they’re doing shift work,” said Dr. Charles Czeisler, chief of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.Cz