Argentina's debt crisis, Ukrainian peace talks, medieval dance mania, and trees and climate change

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Argentina’s appeal on a lower court’s ruling that said Argentina needed to pay $1.5 billion to hedge funds that own bonds the country had defaulted on back in 2001. In 2001, Argentina stopped payment on bonds worth $80 billion, which at the time was the biggest default in history. Argentina says it can not afford to repay the hedge funds while it is also repaying other lenders. Argentina has been running ads in newspapers around the world which say "paying the vulture funds is a path leading to default." Stephen Nelson, a professor of political science at Northwestern University who specializes in the politics of debt, explains the case and its potential repercussions.
Then, in the midst of a fragile ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, today a government army helicopter was shot down. This comes as pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian government met for the first time yesterday in efforts to work out a permanent peace agreement. And as the West plans stronger sanctions against Russia for its assumed role in the crisis in eastern Ukraine, today Russian President Vladimir Putin has requested that Parliament strip him of the power it gave him to invade Crimea. While many observers view the move as a step towards peace, some skeptics view the move as cynical. Mychailo Wynnyckyj, an associate professor of sociology at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, took part in the Maidan protests in Kiev and has been writing about the continually shifting events. He’ll tell us what he thinks about the apparent movements towards a ceasefire.
And, in 1374 a dance craze swept through medieval Europe. People were obsessed with the dance, and even left their families and jobs to do it. The dancing involved spinning around in circles for hours until the dancers began to hallucinate. Historian John Schmidt tells us what happened.
Then, the science is clear that trees help reduce the effects of climate change because they remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. For our EcoMyths segment, Kate Sackman joins us to talk with Robert Fahey from Morton Arboretum. They say they want people to understand that“treehugging is cool” for us and the environment. Fahey studies forest ecosystems and urban forestry and admits to hugging trees, but clarifies that it's "usually for research purposes."

(photo: Brokers work at the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, June 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Eduardo Di Baia))