What's that? You'd like some actual news? Okay, here are a few quick updates on some of the stories we've been following recently.

• China: "Thousands of Chinese, many wielding sticks, clubs and knives, marched today through Uighur neighborhoods of the northwestern city of Urumqi chanting 'blood for blood' and singing the Chinese national anthem. Chinese police and paramilitaries deployed by the thousands struggled to contain escalating tensions in the worst outbreak of ethnic violence the country has seen in years. The marchers, who appeared to be ethnic Han, the majority in China, were demanding revenge for rioting by the Turkic-speaking Uighurs on Sunday in which 156 died." The New York Times profiles Rebiya Kadeer, the exiled Uighur businesswoman accused by the Chinese of "masterminding" the riots.
• Honduras: "Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was due to meet U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday just over a week after he was toppled in a coup that has pushed the Central American state into international isolation. The high-profile meeting with Washington's top diplomat will shore up support for Zelaya after troops foiled his attempt to fly back into Honduras on Sunday and clashed with his followers in the capital city. At least one person was killed." The interim government in Tegucigalpa remains defiant, even in the face of the country's suspension from the Organization of American States.
• Liberia: This one's kind of a shocker for me, since I've held her in high esteem-or as much esteem you can hold for someone when you don't really know much about a country and its politics-but: "Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended Monday that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf be banned from holding public office for 30 years because of her alleged role in a civil war. In its final report, the panel investigating Liberia's successive 1989-2003 civil wars included Sirleaf's name in a list of people it accused of being 'the financiers and political leaders of the different warring factions.'"
• Italy: As leaders of the Group of 8 prepare to meet in L'Aquila, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is worried about further scandalous revelations concerning his conduct. Oh, and earthquakes. Actual earthquakes.
• And here at home, both California and New York continue their pathetic descents into insolvency and farce.

So, yeah. Aren't you happy you asked?