Front page: Los Angeles Times | Sunday, September 14, 2014

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Cuts to defense budget threatened by battle against Islamic State

W.J. Hennigan, who covers the Pentagon and national security issues from the Washington, D.C., bureau, writes that the president's new, open-ended strategy to confront Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria is likely to eat away some of the $500 billion in spending cuts that were planned over the next decade. Read: New conflict may threaten defense cuts

Massive skylight will be skyscraper's signature element, but at what cost?

Thomas Curwen, award-winning staff writer for The Times, writes that architect David Martin called the skylight the signature element of the New Wilshire Grand project, a river of glass inspired by the Yosemite Valley. Construction manager Scott Borland wondered if it were even possible to build. Read: An architect's soaring design is pitted against financial realities

Americans express ambivalence over a new Mideast military plunge

Alana Semuels, who covers economic and national issues from the New York bureau, and Mark Z. Barabak, who covers state and national politics from San Francisco, writes that the fight against the terrorist group Islamic State evinces little of the righteous anger that followed the Sept. 11 attacks, much less the gung-ho fervor that swept the nation after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Read: Americans wary and weary over task of stopping Islamic State

USAID is incubating start-ups to tackle poverty problems

Evan Halper, who reports on a broad range of policy issues out of Washington, D.C., writes that many in the $20-billion international aid bureaucracy hope start-up firms can infuse the lumbering global development establishment with Silicon Valley ingenuity and confidence. Read: USAID turns to start-ups to tackle poverty

China seeks to fight smog by brainstorm: All ideas welcome

Julie Makinen, reporting from the Beijing bureau, writes that not a week goes by without a report on the latest whiz-bang proposal to help solve China's smog problem. Suggestions have included skyscrapers coated with a substance to "eat" air pollutants, giant shower heads to wash the smog out of the air and a giant vacuum-cleaner-type device to suck particulates out of the dirty skies. Read: Wacky clean-air ideas welcome