In Washington State, a group of legislators is taking steps toward a defined-benefit pension plan for public workers. A bill proposed today by a Republican State Senator would offer public-sector workers a $10,000 signing bonus if they switch from their defined-benefit plans to a defined-contribution plan. The bill is modeled after a similar measure going into effect at Boeing, and although it is modest in scope—limited to only 2,000 workers—it could be a sign of bigger things to come.

ITT Educational Services, one of the largest for-profit schools in the country, has gotten itself into hot water with the SEC and CPFB for its student lending practices, and the investigation could be a sign of big trouble ahead for the for-profit market. Like all for-profit higher-ed companies, ITT needs to make sure that no more than 90 percent of its income comes from federal loans in order to remain eligible for those loans. Unfortunately, the increasing student debt burden and declining wages have pushed up defaults, scaring off private lenders and making it more difficult for the school to meet this 90 percent threshold.

Germany’s turn towards green energy—its energiewende—cost consumers nearly $30 billion last year without actually making the country any greener. The Economist explains how a green energy policy has produced a browner energy landscape.

China’s Arabic-language television and radio outreach efforts don’t compare to America’s in traditional measures like audience size. But sometimes how many people are tuning in isn’t as important as who is tuning in.

For all of its bluster and expensive green energy policies, Europe is lagging behind the United States when it comes to going green. Thanks to the shale boom, America is outpacing supposedly green-minded Europe on reducing emissions.

When Ahn Jung-geun killed Hirobumi Ito in 1909, he immediately became a lasting icon in the history of Korean resistance to Japan, and he is celebrated as a hero to this day. Ito was a four-time prime minister of Japan and was serving as the first resident-governor of Japan’s colony in Korea when he was killed. Ahn shot him dead at Harbin train station in northeast China, and it is Harbin that is the focus of a fiery diplomatic fight over Ahn’s legacy.

Somewhere, somehow, someone wasn’t keeping their eye on the ball. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general announced that Iran was now invited to the Geneva peace conference on Syria, leaving the U.S. with a bit of a mess on its hands.

If Russian intelligence was in contact with NSA leaker Edward Snowden and helped him before this martyr for freedom took up residence in the civil liberties paradise of Putin’s Russia, we’ve got problems.

Ukraine’s Victor Yanukovich is stuck between a rock and a hard place. How he responds to the latest violence could fatally deepen rifts in an already divided country.

Good evening, TAI readers! We hope you’ve had a great weekend so far. As you prepare for the week ahead, take the time to look back on what you may have missed over the past week.