Nation

Is WhatsApp really worth the $19 billion price tag?

By Colleen Shalby

On Wednesday, Facebook acquired messaging app WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock, a number that left many scratching their heads, including "The End of Big" author Nicco Mele. "The valuation is crazy to me," Mele said in…

Celebrating 10 years of 'hot' (or not) Facebook innovations

By Colleen Shalby, Frank Bi

Of all of Facebook’s most Facebook-y features from the past 10 years, we ask: Which do you “like”?…

New Obama budget proposal abandons Social Security cuts

By Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press

The White House says President Barack Obama's upcoming budget proposal will not include his past offer to accept lowered cost-of-living increases in Social Security and other benefit programs. Those had been a central component of his long-term debt-reduction strategy. Officials…

Despite cold spells in U.S., world had fourth warmest January on record

By Joshua Barajas

Even though large-scale winter storms have bombarded parts of the U.S. in the last few weeks, global temperatures in January were the fourth warmest on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Thursday.

Insured patients are often not transferred for better care, study finds

By Sarah Varney

Patients with insurance may not be transferred to specialized trauma centers as quickly as those without, a Stanford study has found…

The social impact bond wars: The defense responds and the prosecution rests

By Jane Hughes, Alisa Helbitz

Social impact bonds link the private, public and nonprofit sectors to deliver cognitive behavior therapy at Rikers Island. So are social impact bonds driving the efficient use of taxpayer dollars? Or is this a financing model easily exploited by corporate…

Study uncovers six basic types of Twitter conversations

By Bridget Shirvell

The Pew Research Center and the Social Media Research Foundation analyzed thousands of Twitter conversations and found distinct patterns in conversation and social structures.

Nebraska judge strikes down law allowing Keystone pipeline construction to move forward

By Ellen Rolfes

President Barack Obama has yet to make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, which would stretch 1,179 miles, and carry oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf Coast. But a court decision Wednesday could set back construction…