Headlines from January 2, 2014

In China, one in five children—about 61 million kids—live in rural villages without their parents.
Isn’t fox meat more expensive than donkey meat anyway? Wal-Mart China’s latest scandal.
Photos document the new identities of buildings that used to be Pizza Huts. #photography
Twenty years after the Zapatista rebellion, indigenous Mexican tribes still denied entry or service in posh restaurants and stores.
Cord Jefferson’s must-read round-up of America’s year in racial amnesia.
Writers, editors, and thinkers decide what were the most important events of 2013 and what were the most trivial. #tmn
See also: TMN’s editors choose their favorite stories of the year.
What does DNA stand for? National Dyslexia Association. Scientists share their favorite jokes.
Facebook uses two pieces of data—hometown and current city—to track global migration patterns.
Considering the enormous value of the information he has revealed, and the abuses he has exposed, Mr. Snowden deserves better than a life of permanent exile. #opinions
Spike Jonze’s Her predicts the future to be all about software, not hardware.
Related: “I, Glasshole: My Year With Google Glass.”
Computer models suggest green corridors once crossed the Sahara, allowing mankind to do so, too, about 125,000 years ago.
Speed metal’s fastest drummers find themselves unable to keep up with the pace of electronic drum machines.
Related: The lost art of the cutaway illustration.
2014’s first Astronomy Photo of the Day: Venus in a crescent phase above Quebec City.
Do we not know what boat we’re on until the iceberg informs us? Adam Gopnik assesses the last 100 years.