In little Aurora, Missouri, "a town of 8,000 on the edge of the Ozarks," police have discovered a rise in meth from Mexico, reflecting the growth of Mexican "ice" as production heads south. NPR reports:
"The Hispanic population in town here is a hardworking bunch of people," Batson said. But "there are those in the group who go in the other direction. They have access to [meth] in Mexico, so they take advantage of that."
The piece comes with an interactive map. In Nashville, Tenn., L.A. Times writer Richard Fausset finds, "Music City USA" is going global:
For years, these wide streets played host to a utilitarian mix of used-auto lots, muffler shops and small restaurants whose signs were all in English. Today, Kurdish halal butchers share the streets with Mexican tire shops and Somali lunch counters blaring Al Jazeera TV. Rick Q. Vu, a Vietnamese American dentist, advertises in the Spanish-language newspaper, and draws 1 in 5 customers from the Latino community.
Down the street, a former Catholic Charities worker from Sri Lanka, Patricia Paiva, runs Aurora Bakery and Cafe, where she cranks out authentic Mexican pan dulce: mantecadas, guayabas, polvorones. She also assembles baklava, writes Amharic messages on birthday cakes, and offers English classes for her mostly Latino staff.
And in case you missed it, definitely spend some time with Xeni Jardin's fascinating series on technology in Guatemala, "Unearthing the Future."