More than a dozen leaders at major law firms declined to discuss rate increases on the record, though some said privately that the increase in associate rates could be caused in part by step increases as junior lawyers gain in seniority.

WSJ: Law Firms Raise Rates, but Ease Blow With Discounts

Meanwhile, teachers, school secretaries, and health aides must step in to fill the gap, and the potential for mistakes increases.

CNN: Are school nurses disappearing?

Government oversight: Insurers must report how much they spend on medical care versus administrative costs, a step that later will be followed by tighter government review of premium increases.

NPR: What Are The Immediate Effects Of Health Bill Passing?

But Met Office critics went a step further: if it has under-estimated the natural forces holding back temperature increases, maybe the Earth is more resilient in the longer term to greenhouse gases than previously thought?

BBC: Flooding in York

Mr Darling moved a step closer to spelling out the painful clampdown on public spending that lies ahead by saying he would cap pay increases in the public sector in those two years at 1%.

ECONOMIST: The chancellor��s fiscal statement was all about politics