National News

President Obama is expected to once again address Election Day problems in his State of the Union address, this time with some possible solutions. But some worry that involving Congress will just make things worse. And one MIT professor says it's not yet clear what would fix the problem.

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The 41-year-old Florida senator will deliver the official Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night. It's a chance for a party that has fared badly with both young and Hispanic voters to showcase a new stance on immigration.

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Jack Lew is known as a smart, unassuming budget wonk who has spent most of his career in government policy-making jobs. Lew, President Obama's nominee to be Treasury secretary, is expected to face questions about his management years at Citigroup before the government bailed out the banking giant.

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In the past, security researchers who stumbled on a software flaw would typically report the flaw to the software's manufacturer. But that changed when cyberweapon designers started looking at these flaws as vulnerabilities that could serve as a back door into a computer network.

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Most fisheries certified by the MSC system have conditions that spell out how they have to change their operations to comply with MSC standards. But they can still be labeled "certified sustainable seafood" even though they have years to comply.

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North Korea says it has tested a "miniaturized" nuclear device in defiance of U.N. orders to stop building atomic weapons. Official state media reported Tuesday that it was conducted in a safe manner.

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An ISU official is calling for a hearing before the institutions disciplinary commission, which may look at further violations of the ISU's Code of Ethics.

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What looked like a piece of metal protruding from a piece of rock had tongues wagging. It turns out, it's a piece of shiny rock — a lot like some we see here on Earth.

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With new data showing a narrowing of the U.S. trade deficit, in part because of a drop in oil imports, few dispute the massive impact that the fracking boom could have on American energy fortunes. Instead, the conversation turns to the size and scale of this boom. A number of analysts have suggested the shale revolution will turbo-charge the economy for years, a development on the order of the steam engine or the Internet.

Citigroup's Ed Morse has authored a report claiming: Energy 2020: North America, the NewMiddle East? 

Check out this jobs chart from that report:

Or this quote: "—Surging supply growth could transform North America into the new Middle East by 2020, driven by growth in shale oil and gas, deepwater and oil sands resources." Harvard research fellow Leonardo Maugeri, in the meantime, has authored a similar report entitled Oil: the Next Revolution.

A more moderated view is offered by our podcast guest this week. Trevor House of the Rhodium Group has a new report out suggesting "the long-term benefits are modest." To Houser, history suggests resource booms create manufacturing winners (resource sector) and losers (non-resource sectors). Here's his chart on how a resource surge affected Canada: blue bars winners, green bars losers. 

A worldwide Catholic conversation that effectively stopped when Benedict XVI was elected pope eight years ago has been rekindled by his plan to resign. Issues include celibacy, the role of women in the church, and the spectacular shift in Catholic population to Latin America, Africa and Asia.

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The latest bit of North Korea propaganda portrays a nuclear missile strike on the U.S. Such crude efforts seem to date from an earlier era.

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The distillery says it must lower its bourbon's alcohol content to meet demand. The company says consumers won't notice the change, but in bourbon country, Maker's Mark fans aren't too happy about the plan.

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Emails between Sen. Robert Menendez's office and the Department of Homeland Security suggest that the New Jersey Democrat urged action that would help a company holding a port security contract in the Dominican Republic, The New York Times reported Monday.

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Police detained 10 women for donning prayer shawls at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Monday. They are part of the group Women of the Wall, which is fighting to worship in the same manner as men do at Judaism's holiest site.

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When researchers asked hospitals how much a total hip replacement would cost a 62-year-old woman paying cash, a surprising number couldn't or wouldn't say. Health care could learn something from the car industry about working with consumers, critics say.

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The ad features the former congresswoman front and center and begins airing the week a group of bi-partisan lawmakers are scheduled to unveil new, stricter measures on background checks.

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Manure from pig farms doesn't just contain residues of antibiotics used in livestock. It also carries high concentrations of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a new study of Chinese pig farms finds. And researchers say "it's a global problem."

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Two years ago today, after a month of sometimes violent protests, Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign as the president of Egypt. There is now a new president, but not much more political stability. And, depending on the day, just as much unrest on the streets, protesting the new regime.

It's a continuing challenge for Egypt's already struggling economy, and a disappointment for business leaders who once had hope for more political and economic change. "It has been two years since the revolution, but it all hasn't been tragic -- there are times worse than now and some better than now -- but the economy is suffering badly, especially tourism, which is 11 percent of the GDP," said Hisham Fahmy, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt. "All our friends from around the world who are waiting to support Egypt are on hold --  and that is precarious."

Despite the problems, he says people still need to buy food and other products, which has been a boon to multi-national companies like Proctor & Gamble and GM. "There are people reaping opportunities," he says. "Unfortunately, [the unrest] has affected smaller companies -- people who can't afford to pay their employees."

In corporate-speak, what Pope Benedict XVI did today is succession planning. The surprise resignation announcement isn’t good practice by business-world standards. But at the Vatican, the move is revolutionary, something no pope has done in six centuries. Only death could end the tenure of most popes. If you think of him as the CEO of a global faith, the move can be seen as bold, forward-thinking management.

“To have said to the church, ‘we need people who can do this faster, better and be more nimble than I can at 85,’ I think that’s a profound statement of a manager,” says Thomas Harvey of Notre Dame’s business school, a former CEO of Catholic Charities USA.

The Pope’s resignation is getting high marks from church watchers. But other management moves fell short. He made cleaning up shady Vatican finances a priority. But that task, which has challenged other popes, is far from finished. Critics also say his leadership was weak on confronting sexual abuse scandals.

Even supporters who praise his towering intellectual legacy concede that his managerial skills were lacking.

“He will be rated as a better teacher than he was a manager,” says Boston College theology professor Thomas Groome, who teaches students seeking MBAs in church management.

Pope Benedict faced greater competition to Catholicism from the growth of Pentecostalism in developing countries. Groome says the pontiff didn’t inspire donations the way his predecessor did.

“I’m not sure that this man has been able to raise the monies that perhaps John Paul II had attracted,” he adds. “Financially, he probably doesn’t leave the church in a very strong position.”

But popes aren’t ultimately measured by revenue or as technocrats. And even if a future pope prioritized bringing sweeping change to a labyrinthine bureaucracy, longtime Vatican observers say he would be frustrated.

“A pope doesn’t come in like a CEO and change up the whole management,” explains veteran Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher. “On the whole, the people that work in the Vatican work for life.”

All the management skill in the world is little match for the traditions and history of a 2,000-year-old faith with a billion-strong flock.

Cardinals, conclaves, ballots and smoke. Understanding what comes next when the Vatican needs to name a new pope to lead the Catholic Church.

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