9 August 2010: Afternoon By The Morning News — 09 Aug 2010 Heatwave and wildfire smog double the usual number of bodies in Moscow's morgues. Wheat prices hit highest level in the U.S. in two years after Putin bans all exports. How Churchill may have caused the Bengal famine that killed three million for lack of wheat. Concluding of NPR's Mexico drug war series: Mexico may want to resume its universal kickback system. Lunchtime long read: New Yorker's Jon Lee Anderson interviews Ahmadinejad and Iran's opposition. Investigation into Citibank's mysterious S. Larson, customer service rep with a "remarkably stalled career." Smartphone sauntering and stopping has replaced the quintessential New York jaywalking strut. Three days at a Polish Pynchon conference: pale, pitiful creatures worshipping a man about whom they know nothing. Story of Roald Dahl's worst decade--beginning with his child's trauma, ending with his wife's stroke. Web-nerd gold: Following an Arcade Fire show, Brooklyn writer's bicycle is stolen then recovered thanks to web research and police. Web-nerd video: Tilt-shift London. Books find new life as decorative objects, art, and Kindle holders. Google explains how it counted the world's 126 million books. In defense of fast food, which has democratized cuisine for millennia.
