Massachusetts has the most severe pensions crisis in the nation, and now it could get even worse: State legislators are debating dumping profitable pension investments.

America still has far more would-be lawyers than the legal profession can employ, but college grads seem to have taken note: fewer and fewer are applying to law school.

Anti-government protestors vow a “final push” to rid the country of Shinawatra influence, but the Shinawatra supporters are sending perhaps 100,000 marchers in a “show of force.” Bangkok is bracing for a confrontation.

India contains 13 of the world’s 20 smoggiest cities, and its capital’s air is, on average, more hazardous than any other city’s in the world. Indian officials are disputing the specifics, but it’s clear that India, like China, has a massive pollution problem to contend with.

What to make of Putin’s call for the pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine to postpone their referendum? Nothing, except perhaps that it represents a shift in tactics.

C-sections are both more expensive and riskier than natural births, yet doctors perform them far more often than necessary. The fee-for-service model is to blame.

Six links for your Thursday.

After an initially timid U.S.-EU response to the Ukraine crisis, tougher sanctions against Russia and better coordination are making an impact. More, please.

For a long time now, the West has lived off its Cold War reputation in Eastern Europe. But this reputation is now spent, thanks to Western complicity in offshore finance’s pillage of post-Soviet states.

Syrian rebels have been defeated in the city of Homs, a stronghold they’ve held on to for three years. As they depart the city under a brokered government ceasefire, some are wondering whether this marks the beginning of the end for the revolution.