National News

The Associated Press and the New York Times are reporting that the reformist-backed candidate, Hasan Rowhani, has surged to a wide lead in the early vote counting in Iran on Saturday.

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Calling for reform of America's immigration laws, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said, "Immigrants are more fertile, and they love families, and they have more intact families." His speech stressed immigrants' role in America's economic future.

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The Associated Press says in an exclusive that 94-year-old Michael Karkoc was a top commander in SS units that massacred civilians in Ukraine and Poland.

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Question: If the median price for a single-family home in Massachusetts is $313,000 and two Boston parking spaces sell for $560,000, how many other spaces does the buyer already have? Answer: Three.

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Though the regulation proposed by the Fish and Wildlife Service would make it more difficult to use chimpanzees for research purposes, that may not be a problem, some scientists say. Scientific advances show the animals are less medically useful than previously thought.

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The Australian researchers found a jungle-covered metropolis that predates the country's famous Angkor Wat complex by some 350 years.

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Sebastien de la Cruz sang the national anthem at a second game of the NBA Finals after his first performance spurred a flurry of racist tweets.

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The Federal Reserve's economic stimulus has helped keep mortgage rates at record lows in the years since the Great Recession. But rates are ticking upward, leaving some investors worried that the nascent housing recovery will suffer if the Fed unravels its policies too quickly.

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Keeping tabs on the arm of government that constantly invokes national security to justify its opaqueness can be a frustrating experience for members of Congress.

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Since the early days of Morse code, the Navy and Marines have been using all uppercase letters in official fleet communications.

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Disgusted by reports that members of the Australian Army emailed videos and pictures that degrade women, the service's leader says its time to change. "If you're not up to it, find something else to do with your life," Lt. Gen. David Morrison says.

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British Prime Minister David Cameron has put tax evasion high up on the agenda at next week’s G8 summit in Northern Ireland. This won’t be an easy issue for him: tax evasion is flourishing in Cameron’s own backyard. Ten of the world’s top tax havens are British.

Take the British Virgin Islands (or BVI) . Located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico, this tiny archipelago is widely regarded as one of  the best places to stash illicit cash.

“Time and time again when I’m trying to track dirty money, embezzled funds, out of Egypt or Algeria, for example, I find that a British Virgin Island company is involved,” says John Christensen, a forensic accountant who runs the Tax Justice Network.

The BVI -- with a population of only 27,000 people -- has 800,000 registered companies on its books. Like other self-governing British financial centers in the Caribbean -- the Caymans, Turks and Caicos, Bermuda, Anguilla and Montserrat -- BVI offers secrecy, very light regulation and low -- or no -- taxation.

Christensen describes these offshore havens as relics of the British Empire that still serve Britain’s purposes: “You have to look at these British tax havens as conduits for capital flowing out of other continents -- North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia -- through these tax havens en route to London. London is the ultimate destination,” he says. London has grown rich processing this incoming capital.

So why is Prime Minister David Cameron now trying to curb the global tax evasion which keeps the havens in business? The answer lies in the financial crisis and the sharp deterioration in the public finances of many countries. The prime minister has come under intense pressure to act from governments around the world that are struggling to cut their budget deficits and desperately need extra revenue.

Emma Seery of the Oxfam aid agency says Cameron is also taking heat from voters and taxpayers at home.

"People are sick and tired of suffering austerity here in this country whilst others prosper by hiding their money offshore,” she says.

Oxfam estimates that British tax havens are harbouring  more than $6 trillion, some of it dodging tax in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, and some of it plundered from Africa. The aid agency argues that, in the process, poor countries have been deprived of tens of billions of dollars that could have been invested in teachers, doctors and nurses.

Prime Minister Cameron has urged the British tax havens to drop their cloak of secrecy and be more open about the identities of their customers and how much they are depositing. He has the power to force the havens to become more transparent. But if he uses that power London’s financial center may suffer. And the British havens may face a not-so-sunny future.

There’s a lot of suspicion in Silicon Valley since the news of PRISM broke. Employees at the so-called PRISM companies are clearly on lock down. After the news broke, I staked out a Google shuttle bus stop in Berkeley.

I asked about a dozen Googlers, what’s the mood like at the office? Most of them avoided me like I had some disease. The ones who did talk? Well, it was basically, uh, no comment.

After striking out with the Googlers, I headed over to SOMA, San Francisco’s start-up district and found Ben Nelson, 24, standing in a long line in front of Sushirrito. It’s a take out joint that makes sushi burritos. He’s not too worried about PRISM.

“It’d be a bigger issue if we’d gone from perfect privacy to imperfect privacy,” Nelson, who’s an engineering intern at Year-Up said.

Nelson says we already know Facebook, Apple and Microsoft are tracking almost everything we do online. Now, we know the government is grabbing some of that data too.

“Since it’s just another kind of domino, people are going to care less,” he said.

At the co-working site Rocketspace, I met Zach Goldberg. 
There are about 130 startups sharing offices in the building and Goldberg, an ex-Googler, was there for a meeting. Like a lot of techies I spoke to, he doesn’t really trust the media.

“I would just hope that this doesn’t get too much publicity based on FUD,” he said. “FUD is Fear Uncertainty and Doubt, it’s a tactic that’s generally used to get people over-excited about something or perhaps overly scared than they should be.”

Goldberg says early press reports suggested that the NSA had a back door to the tech companies data servers and could take whatever it wanted. Later reports walked back that claim.

“There’s a lot of sensational headlines and I don’t really think there’s a clear story out there yet.   

But now tech companies are trying to take control of the story. Google, Facebook and Yahoo asked to be released from their gag orders so they could talk about PRISM.

Many in the tech community think Silicon Valley is taking the fall for the government, said Sina Khanifar, a tech entrepreneur and privacy activists who helped launch an online email campaign asking Congress to investigate. At the same time, he says, some developers are worried that the Valley is losing its independent spirit.

“Why did we not see somebody from one of these companies whose committed to privacy leak this?” he asked, echoing sentiments that have been bubbling up on some developer blogs. And he wonders if the valley has become a little too comfortable with invading our privacy.

An ex-con lends money to people in need; a group of friends creates a savings club. Even without banks, people often figure out how to get the money they need, when they need it.

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Cheerleading has become a competitive activity in its own right, and it carries a considerable risk of serious injury, including concussion, spinal damage and broken bones. American Medical Association delegates meeting in Chicago will consider a resolution to support the designation of cheerleading as a sport.

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Americans give generously. We give more to charity per capita than any other developed nation; more than $200 billion in 2011. But all that money may not be going where we think. The Tampa Bay Times and The Center for Investigative Reporting have released a list of "America's Worst Charities," 50 organizations that raised billions of dollars, but gave hardly any of it to the people who need it. In some cases, these charities gave no money at all. Instead, much of the money went to paying fundraising firms -- those people who bombard us with calls and direct mail. Kendall Taggart is a data reporter at the Center for Investigative Reporting.

"I think for a lot of these groups that are using outside fundraisers, it's an easy way to cover their own salaries and there's very little regulation to making sure that they follow through on the promises that they've made to donors," says Taggart.

Taggart says these charities provide help to the causes they are supposed to support with what's called "gifts in kind" -- things like medical supplies that they ship overseas. The problem is that there's no way to verify the value of those goods, so they can be used to inflate a charity's revenue on the books and what it looks like they're doing in terms of programs.

"The top of our list is an organization called Kid's Wish Network. They operate out of a metal warehouse in Holiday, Fla. Over the past decade they've raised millions of dollars. Of that, about 80 percent -- $110 million -- has gone to professional solicitors, $4.8 million has gone to the charity's founder and his consulting firm, and only $0.03 of every $1 that they've raised has actually spent directly on helping kids," says Taggart. "Most of the causes are popular causes that appeal to donors and may sound like a more well-known group."

To make sure that you're sending your money to good places, Taggart says there are many resources to research cahrities online.

The top 10 worst U.S. charities:

See the full list

Want to evaluate a charity you want to donate to? Check out these helpful websites:
Charity Navigator
CharityWatch
GiveWell

"Some basic steps that people can take if they get a phone call at home is to find out exactly who's calling, where their donation will go, what they'll do with your money and, if you get a call, know that there's a cost and they -- if you ask -- need to tell you what that cost is, whether the telemarketer is going to take $0.80 or $0.90 or that kind of thing," says Taggart.

She says you should ask the question: "How much of my donation is going to go to the charity versus your professional firm?" One last piece of advice: some watchdog groups say that if you receive a phone call asking for a donation, you should hang up; the best way to make sure that your money is going where you want it to go is to give directly.

The ten-year T-note is up above two percent and rates are rising overall -- is this having any effect on our economy?

"I make two things of it, and they're contradictory," said CNBC's John Carney. "Some people worry that the positive signs we've seen in the economy means that the Fed is going to pull back on some of its low-rate policies, maybe QE [quantitative easing]...or it might mean that the economy is actually doing better and people are putting money to work in places other than the Treasury. So that's a good sign."

"The economy's still not in great shape," countered The New York Times' Catherine Rampell. "I still think there's reason to be concerned about where the economy is headed because of a lot of different factors, including what's happening to government budgets and uncertainty about Europe and various other things. So, it's not terribly surprising we're still seeing some concerns reflected in markets."

For more analysis, listen to the full audio above.

Meanwhile, Catherine Rampell offered these #longreads picks for the weekend:

• On the Chinese laborer who hid a written plea for help inside a box of Halloween decorations sold at Kmart.
• America's fastest-growing export is the "Real Housewives" franchise.
• What an $18 million maple syrup heist tells us about the economics of supply management.

A fraternal agriculture organization known as the Grange must bring in younger members to survive. But the new generation's interest in environmental issues and food politics is clashing with the Grange's support of industrial farms.

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A fraternal agriculture organization known as the Grange must bring in younger members to survive. But the new generation's interest in environmental issues and food politics is clashing with the Grange's support of industrial farms.

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What people buy is often dictated by what everyone around them is spending. And for many parents, keeping up with the Joneses is all about helping their kids stand out -- whether it's spending on tutoring, sports, or experiences.

So what does it cost to get your kid ahead? Tong looked at a middle class suburb of Washington, D.C. to find out. Charles County, Md., has a per capita income around $36,000 and a median home value of $341,000. It's a diverse, fast-growing place. Louis and Nikki Jackson live in the county and Tong spent a few days trying to keep up with the family and their three kids -- 11, 12, and 18. They are all sports, music, and academic stars.

Here's just a sampling of what the kids' extracurricular activities cost the family:
1. One season of elite baseball for an 11 year old -- $2,000 (not including travel-team costs)
2. Clarinet lessons -- $100/month
3. Five iPhones to keep track of everyone -- $300/month

And then there's 11-year-old Konner's baseball bat. The cost? $179.

"You've got to pay to play. Sometimes you do have to step up and buy a better baseball bat. It's a big difference from a $40, $50 bat," says Louis. "It's a big difference, man."

"The funny story is, I went into the store, he told me the price. After I fainted, I got up and made the purchase," says Nikki. "Louis says, 'You know what, I don't care how much the bat was. Every penny spent is well spent.'"

So how are the Jacksons paying for their lifetstyle? Louis Jackson works as a facility supervisor and makes $77,000. He heads to work at 4:30 a.m. so he can do his job and get home for the activities. He pays in his time, money, and potentially his savings. While their eldest child, Jayda, got a full academic ride to a nearby college, their other kids aren't guaranteed college scholarships.

What the Jacksons are doing to keep up is characterized by two University of Chicago economists as "trickle-down consumption." That is, folks in the middle class are spending so much to compete against everyone else, including the very rich who are so far ahead of a lot us. But what happens to people in the middle is that they save less and borrow more, and it creates a parental arms race.

For middle-class parents, raising children becomes a consumer arms race Trying to give your children an advantage in growing up makes consuming a competition. When everyone has a tutor, a trainer or a special baseball bat, you can't help but keep up.

Konner Jackson, 11, plays three sports and is in his all-county orchestra.

Is it worth it? For Nikki, the answer is yes.

"If I have to get another job, work two jobs to make sure they can go to college and be afforded that opportunity, I will do that." Nikki says. "And one thing I will tell you, this is sort of personal: I don't mind applying for loans."

"We're paying this now, you know the baseball bats, football equipment, fees, gas, so that they can have an opportunity to be noticed and recognized by these schools out here. To get them what they want and where they to be in life," adds Louis.

Nikki and Louis aren't alone. Tong has kids himself and he pays to help them get ahead. Among his costs: $65/hour on a math tutor and $3,000/year on soccer.

So what do you think? Is spending to give your kids a leg-up worth it? How much would you be willing to sacrifice? Leave a comment.