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The article discusses the comparative costs of medical procedures in the U.S. versus countries such as Spain, and uses the cost of colonoscopies as an illustrative case study. Costs versus quality of medical care in the U.S. are discussed, as well as insurance costs, financing of surgical versus office care, and research on gastroenterological procedures. The costs of hip replacements, angiograms, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are also mentioned.

The article reports on what are known as justice courts in the state of New York. According to the article, many decisions made in these courts take place under dubious legal proceedings. Only one quarter of the judges actually have law degrees, and many lack a complete high school education. After a year of research, "The New York Times" determined that for many years leading up to and including 2006, it has been a common practice in the system to deny individuals their basic legal rights.

The article discusses a report released by the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services on May 8, 2013 which found that hospitals across the country charge Medicare differing amounts for the same procedures. According to the authors, the study should increase the debate over hospitals' pricing methods that had previously intensified following President Barack Obama's health insurance reforms. Pricing based at academic medical centers or those with older patients is also explored.

The author reviews New York Police Department records on every murder that has occurred in the city over the last three years. The author reviews how the numbers point to homicide trends in New York and provide clear-cut answers related to who kills and who is killed. Details of the homicide report are reviewed.

Reports that in New York State, degree-granting profit-making institutions of higher education are growing far faster than public and nonprofit colleges and universities, but remain small. The soaring enrollments for such schools, which are booming nationwide; Reasons for the boom, including the rise of education conglomerates and the growth in education via the Internet; How students at these schools study to prepare for careers in business, culinary arts and design, and to become medical technicians or paralegals; Questions about the quality of education at some of these institutions; Findings by the New York State comptroller's office in recent audits; Observation that much of the growth at such schools depends on attracting students eligible for financial aid; Why New York State is an especially lucrative market; Issue of what students are getting in return; Measures of how well colleges serve their students; Graduation rates.

The article reports that the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and the Brent crude benchmarks for global oil prices are showing different figures as the WTI reflects the surge of petroleum production in the U.S.

The author explains why the energy consumption in U.S. homes remained on the same level for almost 30 years despite efforts to reduce the use. Topics discussed include more households using energy, losing the savings generated by energy-efficient homes and appliances, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of building technology Leon Glicksman's citing of the rebound effect and decline in the average residential energy use but overall consumption remained unchanged.

The article discusses whether stricter voter-identification laws in the U.S. cause disenfranchisement of eligible voters and voting research by political scientist Michael McDonald at the University of Florida that shows voter turnout for U.S. presidential elections has increased since 2008.

The article discusses various aspects of the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) as of 2014, focusing on concerns about health risks, the reportedly low number of young people who signed up for the health insurance program, and the costs associated with health insurance.

The article reports on the financial disclosure filed by the campaigns of 2012 U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney on October 25, 2012. According to the data, the candidates are both on pace to raise more than $1 billion with their parties by the day of the election. The source of the funds is noted to reflect the divisions between Obama and Romney and their parties over issues including abortion rights, government's role in regulating industry, and economic future.

The article reports on U.S. presidential Mitt Romney's $34 million advantage in campaign funds. According to disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission, Romney and the Republicans began in October 2012 exceeding President Barack Obama and the Democrats due to heavy spending. It also notes that the Republican National Committee has raised a fund of $183 million in cash compared to $149 million of the Democratic National Committee which ended in September 2012.

President Obama has spent more campaign cash more quickly than any incumbent in recent history, betting that heavy early investments in personnel, field offices and a high-tech campaign infrastructure will propel him to victory in November. Since the beginning of last year, Mr. Obama and the Democrats have burned through millions of dollars to find and register voters. They have spent almost $50 million subsidizing Democratic state parties to hire workers, pay for cellphones and update voter lists. They have spent tens of millions of dollars on polling, online advertising and software development to turn Mr. Obama's fallow volunteers corps into a grass-roots army. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the housing bubble burst, Nevada has been plagued with record foreclosures, the nation's steepest drop in home values and its highest unemployment rate. Iowa, on the other hand, may have missed out on some of the boom but was spared the worst of the bust: its housing prices have stayed relatively stable, and it now has the fifth-lowest unemployment rate in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]