Rants

Illegal logging has been detected using satellite photos of a remote mountain range in Mexico. The unlawful logging is endangering millions of monarch butterflies that roost there for the winter.

The al-Qaida threat may be getting stronger, according to the U.S. military commander in charge of domestic defense. The group may be plotting more urgently against the United States to maintain its credibility and to boost recruitment.

Raves

Three U.S. universities — the University of Texas, the University of California Berkeley and Stanford University — are partnering with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. The graduate school has not yet been built.

About 150 women raced in stiletto heels down a street in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in hopes of winning a $15,000 prize. The race’s slogan: “Shopping is a Sport.”