While reading over an analysis of decades-old studies of LSD as a treatment for alcoholism last week, I found that the so-called number needed to treat was 6 to prevent alcohol misuse. In other words, treat six people and one would benefit.

A day before he begins serving his prison sentence, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich will give one final press conference. As The Chicago Tribune puts it, talking into a microphone was, after all, one of his favorite things to do as governor.

The disgraced governor was sentenced to 14 years in prison back in December, after he was convicted of, among other things, trying to sell President Obama's vacated Senate seat.

The $18 billion foreclosure settlement announced last month for struggling California homeowners could take years to materialize. The nation's five largest mortgage servicers have three years to deliver mortgage relief to troubled borrowers, with no penalties for noncompliance until 2015...

These days, a college degree far from assures you'll land a good job. Indeed, a degree has been described as a mere hunting license.  And conventional wisdom is that without a degree you're likely doomed to a McJob.

That hasn't been the case for Linda Seabright, who will be my guest on Work with Marty Nemko on April 1, 2012. Without a degree, she has held each of the following positions:

Brian Jones' goal was never to run his own business. He always wanted an 8 to 5 job with benefits, and to retire as early as possible. That's not quite how it worked out. And no, it's not the typical rags to riches story.

He'll tell his story on Sunday, March 25, plus you can call in for a three-minute career makeover, on Work with Marty Nemko, Sundays from 11 am to noon on 91.7 FM, KALW San Francisco.

I think everyone can agree that the Republican Party's search for its presidential nominee has been a long, strange trip. For me, one of the strangest things about it is that, after all this time, I barely know who's running Mitt Romney's, Rick Santorum's and Newt Gingrich's campaigns. You see, over the past 30 years, political strategists have gone from being shadowy figures to being celebrities in their own right.

According to new research, 3.7 million Americans who live at elevations close to high tide could face more frequent flooding because of the sea rise caused by global warming.

The New York Times reports:

The cacophony of hoots being directed at Mitt Romney Wednesday for his poor performances in Alabama and Mississippi primaries is somewhat curious, especially since it was the conventional wisdom as recently as last week that the Deep South was likely to be very tough going for him.

After U.S. troops inadvertently burned Qurans in Afghanistan last month, Afghans staged nationwide riots that left 40 dead and hundreds injured in unrest that lasted days.

In the days since 16 Afghan civilians were shot dead on Sunday, apparently by a lone U.S. soldier, the Afghan reaction has been relatively restrained so far.

Why such different responses? It can seem especially confounding to Americans, who consider the shooting a far graver offense than the Quran burnings.