This is presidential? They bicker, interrupt, talk over the moderator. To some, the Obama-Romney rematch was squirm-inducing. But shedding some dignity probably won’t cost the candidates much. Since both President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney came out swinging, neither was likely to claim a decisive advantage among viewers who thought the debate smacked of […]

What are the major national security threats facing the United States? When, where and how should the U.S. use military force? How are national security and homeland security connected? What can the U.S. president do to prepare for a potential disaster?

So it looks like President Obama got the message. In his second debate with Mitt Romney, the president delivered a comeback performance that will stand as a model for future debaters of how to right a listing ship. Obama was as good in Hempstead as he was bad in Denver. In fact, this may have […]

Up to half of new graduates, by some estimates, are finding themselves jobless or underemployed. Why? As Andrew Sum, the director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University said, “Simply put, we’re failing kids coming out of college.” Recent pieces in The Atlantic and The Weekly Standard (claiming that the proponents of […]

With only a few weeks remaining until the election, it’s still not clear how Mitt Romney would manage our jobs crisis. There aren’t many lessons from his term as the governor of Massachusetts — the economy was comparatively healthy back then, and the unemployment rate was fairly low. His current economic platform lays out broad […]

BOSTON — In the ongoing fungal meningitis outbreak tied to a Framingham pharmacy, federal health officials now warn that anyone given an injectable drug made by the pharmacy could be at risk for infection. 14,000 people were already considered to be at risk in the outbreak after receiving injectable steroids made by the New England […]

Voters dislike negative advertising. And voters don’t like super PACs very much. But perhaps I repeat myself. Check out this animation of spending by super PACs over time from Northeastern University’s Lazer Lab, last seen in this space with another infographic on fundraising. This video breaks super-PAC money down by both partisanship (Democratic vs. Republican) […]

Daniel S. Medwed of Northeastern University School of Law writes about the state of criminal justice in New England.

While ratings for almost everything on television have sunk, big spectacles that hold some promise of spontaneity — N.F.L. games, the Olympics and various singing competitions — continue to thrive.

Firefox had to yank the new Firefox 16 this week because of a security problem. The flaw could have let hackers see a user’s browsing history. Firefox has issued a patch, but it’s still not out of the woods. Now, I use Firefox. I’ve resisted the allure of Google’s shiny Chrome browser because I’m worried […]

Add another chapter to the illustrious history of freewheeling vice presidential debates. At Centre College in Kentucky, Joe Biden and Paul Ryan engaged in what might euphemistically be described as a lively exchange of ideas. In reality it felt more like a testy verbal brawl between father and son. Consider these key 5 moments from […]

AUDIO: Thursday night may be Representative Paul Ryan’s first debate on a national television stage, but Vice President Joe Biden is an old hand. Four years ago he debated Sarah Palin, and before that he was on stage in the presidential primaries.