Bankrupt: The Detroit bankruptcy could set a precedent that excuses state and local governments from pension obligations they don’t have the money to pay.  In allowing Detroit to file Chapter 9 bankruptcy yesterday, Judge Steven W. Rhodes also granted an exception to Michigan law, letting Detroit skinny out of some of its $3.5 billion in unfunded pension commitments. He said pensions are a contractual right not eligible for special protection in a bankruptcy. That ruling may have implications for other bankrupt cities, including San Bernardino, Calif., which are wrestling with employee contracts and pension benefits they can no longer afford. Detroit is $18 billion in debt. In his ruling allowing the city to become the largest US city ever to file bankruptcy, Rhodes said, “This once proud and prosperous city can’t pay its debts.”

Pension Cut: Next door in Illinois, the legislature voted to cut benefits and increase state contributions for a pension system that is short $100 billion. Both Democratic and Republican leaders pushed for the bill, but the head of the Illinois teachers union said, “We call it theft.” 

Dozing?: The engineer in the fatal Metro-North train crash in the Bronx may have nodded off moments before the accident, investigators tell some news outlets. The NTSB said the driver tested negative for alcohol, but drugs tests are still pending. The investigators said there was no indication the brakes failed.

National: For the first time in 40 years, the majority of Americans think the US is less powerful and influential than it used to be, according to Pew Research. At the same time a 52% majority believes America should “mind its own business” and pay more attention to problems at home. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to think American influence is declining, according to the Pew poll.

World: The Bolshoi Ballet dancer who ordered an acid attack on the company’s artistic director has been sentenced to six years in a Russian penal colony. Pavel V. Dmitrichenko’s father said, “We had hoped it would be less.”

Ink: Bucking the trend of declining print journalism, Newsweek plans a return to paper in 2014. Newsweek merged with the Daily Beast website in 2010 and became no longer useful for wrapping fish. The magazine plans to rely on subscriptions rather than advertisements to pay the bills, but how it will compete in a world of 24-hour news remains to be seen … weekly.

Lost and Found: Scientists examining the ocean floor off Hawaii found a WWII Japanese submarine that had been sunk by the US at the end of the war. The 400-foot ship was one of the biggest non-nuclear subs ever built and was a technical marvel of its time. It could cruise one and a half times around the world without refueling and carried three folding wing bombers. Its sister ship, also scuttled to hide it from Russian inspection, was found in 2005.

Wheels: Bicycles outsold cars in European Union countries last year. More and more Europeans just can’t afford to buy and operate a car. Last year in Italy, home to Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Lamborghini, bicycles outsold cars 1.6 to 1.4 million.  

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