The future of the Trans Pacific Partnership hangs by a thread. Partnership members can’t settle severe disagreements on sensitive issues like rules on intellectual property, state-owned enterprises, agriculture, and much else. The TPP, for better or worse, has become the symbol of American economic engagement in the Pacific region. If the TPP fails it would be seen as a significant setback for Washington’s relationship with Asia at a critical time.

Argentinians’ purchasing power has been destroyed by the inflationary problem the government claims it doesn’t have, leading to a vicious cycle of poverty and protests. Despite some of the most abundant natural resources on the planet, Argentina is failing fast.

Time Magazine released its “Person of the Year” issue today, and from a short-list of finalists including Miley Cyrus, Edward Snowden and Bashar Assad, the editors choose Pope Francis for the annual honor. Francis still has a lot to do, but his reforms to the Vatican bank and his staffing changes suggest he intends to deliver on the mandate he was given when he was elected: clean up the Curia.

Social Security, Medicare, and 401(k)-style retirement programs are the three pillars of America’s retirement system, and all three have serious problems. Social Security discourages private savings, Medicare is a financial time bomb, and it’s difficult for the less well-off to take advantage of 401(k) plans. Meanwhile, it’s becoming harder for Black and Hispanic Americans to save on their own. We need to fix this, fast.

The Ukrainian government seems to have blinked in a showdown with protesters last night, and, maybe more significantly, the country’s leading churches seem to be backing the people against Yanukovich. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church doesn’t appear to be longing for a closer relationship with Moscow, and that substantially enhances the chances that Ukraine will eventually look west.

The LA Times reports that California’s state exchange gave insurers information on “tens of thousands” of California residents who browsed the site without asking to be contacted. In a paradox worthy of the ACA, however, when you do want insurers to have your data, then they might not be getting it. The ACA is still waiting for its Golidilocks moment, when it finally be able to hand over the “just right” data group to insurers.

Courts in the EU and the the US recently overturned spurious cases brought by secularists regarding displays of religious symbols on public property— two small victories for common sense against Kemalism run amok.

The European Parliament voted to fix its broken carbon market today by “backloading” new carbon permits. Brussels is hoping the move will inflate the bargain-basement price of carbon to a level that will actually encourage firms to reduce emissions, but it risks hurting Europe’s industry’s ability to compete.

Behind the protests in Kiev this week are signs of a new geopolitical world in which Iran, Russia, and China are taking advantage of the American bumbling to gain power around the margins. Two pieces from the AI archives show how this world has been a long time in coming.

Spooked by the uproar over canceled plans, the GOP is rethinking its support for policies that experts predict would cause even more cancellations.The federal government needs to rebuild public confidence in the concept of health care reform by way of discrete changes that make small but important improvements. In time, modest changes could point to larger, incremental approaches to guide federal policy.