Big changes might be coming to Latin America. The Pacific Alliance, an historic trade agreement between Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia and soon-to-be Costa Rica has the potential to recolor Latin America’s economic makeup and introduce some new players onto the world stage.

Sunni militants in Pakistan recently kidnapped several Iranian border guards in a cross-border raid. Will Tehran’s increasingly belligerent demands to Islamabad for their return push Pakistan and Saudi Arabia even closer together?

Genetic modifications have vanquished the potato’s greatest enemy: blight. In a recent three-year-long study, a GM potato outperformed its more “natural” counterpart not only in yield (by a factor of two), but was also “fully resistant” to the vegetable’s most dangerous disease.

Democrats are significantly more likely than independents and Republicans to believe that astrology is scientifically based, according to NSF research. So much for the “party of science” meme.

Is Secretary Kerry waking up to the reality that Russian and American interests sharply diverge almost everywhere? Could be.

Last week’s unionization vote at a VW plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee failed when union supporters came up just short. The vote is far from shocking, but it has crushed the dreams of many on the left for a new, labor-friendly South.

Good evening, TAI readers! As you prepare for the week ahead, take the time to look back on what you may have missed over the last week:

The tandem technologies of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal well drilling haven’t just unlocked reserves of natural gas trapped in shale—they’ve also given America access to so-called “tight oil” trapped in shale as well. But the Economist argues that policy is lagging behind events, and makes the case for opening up America’s crude oil exports.

Tony Abbott is up in polls in Australia after vowing to crack down on labor union corruption. The labor movement’s troubles are not just found in the United States.

Vladimir Putin has been running circles around his Western counterparts lately, even though Russia looks nothing like a Great Power anymore.