News Headlines: January 14, 2025
EDUCATION
A growing number of states are considering bills to ban cellphones in schools
https://tinyurl.com/267ps8s3
Project 2025’s Plan to Dismantle Public Education - And Hurt Disabled Kids; Nearly 9M students rely on DOE-backed disability accommodations
https://tinyurl.com/5twncb62
Top scholar says evidence for special education inclusion is ‘fundamentally flawed’
https://tinyurl.com/22zxje2w
As the Administration Changes, Will Fear Keep Newcomer Students From Schools?
https://tinyurl.com/2s4fhvc7
How Keeping 8th Graders from Taking Algebra Can Derail Their Futures in STEM
https://tinyurl.com/2cmntbxz
Financial Landscape Analysis of the Chicago Public School District: FY2025; The existing FY2025 CPS budget is structurally imbalanced, heavily relying on temporary revenues and lacking provisions for impending collective bargaining costs
https://tinyurl.com/bdhhjftc
Report: Chicago Public Schools on the ‘financial brink,’ state takeover not out of the question
https://tinyurl.com/mr35bm63
Chicago Public Schools should reject union demands for 9% yearly raises and implement a salary freeze instead
https://tinyurl.com/3juyfv6c
A civil rights complaint was filed against Community Unit School District 308, Illinois, alleging discrimination against students who do not identify as “Black, Biracial, or African American”; Complaint alleges that the district’s use of racial criteria for participation in an affinity group offering educational benefits constitutes discrimination
https://tinyurl.com/bdzd9uyx
On a Mission From God: Inside the Movement to Redirect $Bs of Taxpayer Funds to Private Religious Schools
https://tinyurl.com/5n6ann6y
New York governor proposes universal school meals
https://tinyurl.com/jey6tyx4
Universal child care for 2-year-olds? It’s what some New York City advocates and elected officials want
https://tinyurl.com/yc4czee3
When Parenting is Politicized; Without agreed-upon markers of adult maturity, society devolves to the point where moms are arrested for letting 10-year-olds walk down the street
https://tinyurl.com/rvzhtzyb
What Age Should Kids Legally Be Allowed to Play Outside? America’s “neglect” laws often underestimate kids
https://tinyurl.com/2njmhnab
Violent attacks on West Virginia teachers are most frequently in kindergarten classrooms; The state schools superintendent said the young kids’ violent behavior is a result of the ongoing opioid epidemic
https://tinyurl.com/mw3h4prs
Climate change threatens youth mental well-being. Here’s how to help them cope
https://tinyurl.com/35fztbvm
Understanding the Mission of Civic Thought; The impetus for the new schools of civic thought is a widely shared sense that higher education institutions have lost their way. What is the pedagogical way forward?
https://tinyurl.com/5uac2ezh
Biden announces student debt relief for 150,000 borrowers, bringing total helped to more than 5M
https://tinyurl.com/4u5b7pue
One-third of faculty report recent declines in academic freedom, survey finds; The results show an “alarming erosion” of faculty rights
https://tinyurl.com/3v9zntbz
Pro-Palestinian professor says she was forced out of Columbia University; Cited ‘toxic and hostile environment for legitimate debate around the war in Israel and Palestine’
https://tinyurl.com/2uu7wk8h
Anti-Israel student groups at the University of Illinois Chicago are slated to gather in the city and Trump’s inauguration
https://tinyurl.com/2p7j74pw
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown’s sideline read skyrockets to No. 1 hottest seller on Amazon; Brown casually ignored the action in Philadelphia’s NFL playoff game and flipped through the pages of Murphy’s book, “Inner Excellence”
https://tinyurl.com/4ft95v65
Oklahoma governor issues executive order regarding NIL rules; Executive order that will ensure college athletes “remain competitive in the evolving landscape of intercollegiate athletics”
https://tinyurl.com/ms3shmw3
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
The Economy Is Re-Accelerating; Momentum in the economy is strong, and the narrative that monetary policy is restrictive is wrong
https://tinyurl.com/5yxna5yx
Robust US economy may not need Trump's big reforms; Trump campaigned on promises of aggressive import tariffs, strict immigration curbs, deregulation and smaller government, but the economy he inherits next week may be screaming for something different
https://tinyurl.com/mpufwmcc
9 once-hot economic charts that cooled
https://tinyurl.com/ydxjsv8v
Global Bond Tantrum Is a Wrenching and Worrisome Start to New Year; The world’s biggest bond market and global bellwether is leading a reset higher in borrowing costs, with the prospect of a prolonged period of elevated rates carrying consequences for economies and assets everywhere
https://tinyurl.com/mr3kw445
Why Bond Yields Are Surging Around the World; Selloff in government debt is making it costlier to borrow
https://tinyurl.com/39ckcv45
Dollar stays strong as doubts about Fed rate cuts grow
https://tinyurl.com/5x92waas
In 2024, 686 companies filed for bankruptcy, up 8 percent from 2023 - and almost more than 2021 and 2022 combined. It also marks the most filings since 2010
https://tinyurl.com/2fsmy5x4
A Los Angeles-based company that owns more than a dozen hospitals in four states filed for bankruptcy, the second major system acquired by private equity to collapse in less than a year; Owners took hundreds of $Ms in payouts
https://tinyurl.com/3bw9m97p
Americans' Ratings of U.S. Professions Stay Historically Low; Nurses still easily top list of 23 occupations; clergy and judges have fallen the most, long-term
https://tinyurl.com/bddnhxsh
Ethically tainted: Gallup poll finds trust in U.S. professions stalled at record low; Lobbyists, members of Congress and TV reporters were the least trusted occupations last year, ranking just behind advertisers and used car salesmen
https://tinyurl.com/3femend3
Is capitalism falling out of favor? We analyzed 400,000 news stories to find out; Capitalism, communism and socialism are the world’s three major economic systems
https://tinyurl.com/3xwx2ycr
America’s working class barely scrapes by. An outdated image of them doesn’t help; Two-thirds of those without a four-year college degree - —the criterion that many demographers use to define the “working class” - are employed in services (including health care, retail, and hospitality), compared with one-third in manufacturing, construction, and related industries
https://tinyurl.com/bdhcjjxv
When New Jersey Hiked Minimum Wages, Fast Food Prices Rose; If politicians want stuff to be more affordable, they should stop implementing policies that have the opposite effect
https://tinyurl.com/bdefpsrw
Comparing the Strong Towns and YIMBY Approaches to the Housing Crisis
https://tinyurl.com/bdz2jtrw
Washington lawmakers revive plan for state cap on rent increases; The “rent stabilization” bill fell apart last year. In the upcoming legislative session, supporters say it has better odds of approval
https://tinyurl.com/ydjmtm6b
Skilled immigration is good; But bad housing policy can ruin anything
https://tinyurl.com/ms8a8yyc
Comcast and Harris Blitzer to build new NBA, NHL stadium in south Philadelphia; The agreement represents a reversal from previous plans to build an arena in the Center City district of Philadelphia
https://tinyurl.com/5bffpkkf
Will this Chicago office sale lead to world’s tallest teardown? Hines explores demolishing 65-story tower that the firm’s development partners agreed to buy
https://tinyurl.com/5xsmvwrr
California unveils $310B passenger rail plan; Governor Newsom seeks to shift 200M daily passenger miles from highways to rail with more zero-emissions trains
https://tinyurl.com/4j4vx7w8
People are rushing to install solar panels before Trump becomes president; The solar power industry is growing fast, accounting for more than half of all new electricity on the grid last year
https://tinyurl.com/mtjzcv2b
Solar energy is even cheaper than you think; How prevalent is solar power, really? It's already displacing fossil fuels in key energy markets around the world
https://tinyurl.com/ycavxj5b
Practical Steps for Green Energy to Succeed Under Trump; Instead of treating Trump as an adversary, advocates should recognize the opportunity to align their goals with his administration's priorities - advancing innovation, bolstering American manufacturing, and safeguarding national security
https://tinyurl.com/yc2bzswu
Big Oil and Big Ag are teaming up to turn cow manure into energy - and profits. The math doesn’t add up; US climate policy has led to a surge in manure-based “biogas.” Critics say it’s propping up factory farming
https://tinyurl.com/4z52amkd
Maps show damage, destruction of homes in Los Angeles-area fire zones
https://tinyurl.com/9y58nxde
Their Wealth Is in Their Homes. Their Homes Are Now Ash; Many of L.A.’s middle-class homeowners bought properties years ago, before prices exploded. Now, they’re figuring out what to do next, as fires accelerate the city’s crushing housing crunch
https://tinyurl.com/y4a2wxj9
Los Angeles Shouldn’t Rebuild the Same Way Again
https://tinyurl.com/27x9frn5
Experts say Southern Californians face hard choices and lifestyle changes as erratic weather patterns create dangerous conditions
https://tinyurl.com/4tjz45yy
Space executive-turned-congressman says Los Angeles fires are 'existential' threat to California; The freshman congressman speaks about what California, and the federal government, can do to combat out-of-control wildfires
https://tinyurl.com/36kttr9e
Maybe It Was Never About the Factory Jobs; If there was any place in America where Biden’s economic agenda ought to have won him votes, it would have been Lordstown, Ohio
https://tinyurl.com/bcjsxnaf
Biden signs law easing rural broadband projects; The E-BRIDGE Act, included in a sweeping water infrastructure package, makes those projects eligible for certain federal grants and allows recipients to use private sector expertise in their development and deployment
https://tinyurl.com/mpkckx57
China's exports in December up 10.7%, beating estimates as higher U.S. tariffs loom
https://tinyurl.com/37xba7eu
China’s Trade Surplus Reaches a Record of Nearly $1T; China’s vast exports in 2024 exceeded its imports on a scale seldom seen anywhere except during or immediately after the two world wars
https://tinyurl.com/mk57bhcw
CEOs are bracing for Trump tariff disruption: survey
https://tinyurl.com/2ua5ay2v
US tightens its grip on AI chip flows across the globe; The U.S. government said it would further restrict artificial intelligence chip and technology exports, divvying up the world to keep advanced computing power in the United States and among its allies while finding more ways to block China's access
https://tinyurl.com/3bceyscy
US splits world into three tiers for AI chip access; While close US allies get unrestricted AI chip access, the rest of the world has numerical limits
https://tinyurl.com/v98ehdk9
Why the Biden administration is proposing new rules for exporting AI chips; Mexico, Portugal, Israel, and Switzerland are among the nations that could have limited access to existing chips used for data centers and AI products
https://tinyurl.com/3b6bmywh
Trump opposes Biden’s subsidies for Taiwanese semiconductor giant
https://tinyurl.com/5n7dm2eu
The Biden administration prepared new action to regulate artificial intelligence before Trump takes office, forcing the incoming administration to make quick decisions about restricting emerging technology
https://tinyurl.com/3auy7u3u
OpenAI laid out a series of new artificial intelligence policy proposals, encouraging U.S. development of the emerging technology to stay ahead of China while minimizing its risks
https://tinyurl.com/2rddnn6t
These bills would regulate high-risk artificial intelligence use in Virginia; Virginia lawmakers will weigh legislation to shape policy on AI authentication, developer responsibilities
https://tinyurl.com/5fe4byu3
Can the U.S. Power Grid Handle the Data Center Boom? The US power grid is under stress due to aging infrastructure and changing energy consumption patterns; The rise of renewable energy and electric vehicles presents challenges for grid management and infrastructure
https://tinyurl.com/52zw4t33
Serious concerns raised over proliferation of Ohio data centers; Massive tax cuts, meager job creation, large power requirements, and delayed action on climate change were among the concerns
https://tinyurl.com/2x8rx8rd
Oregon lawmakers craft bill to shield consumers from the cost of powering data centers
https://tinyurl.com/24vyk5pc
PUBLIC SAFETY
Is it seasonal influenza or bird flu? Here's how to tell; Public health experts weigh in on the current state of testing for bird flu amid rising cases of influenza A
https://tinyurl.com/bdfcutse
Flu activity is high and expected to remain so for several weeks, CDC says
https://tinyurl.com/yezxc9ay
Minnesota emergency departments seeing longer wait times amid ‘quad-demic’; Minnesota hospitals are experiencing “unprecedented visits” due to a spike in illnesses, including influenza, RSV, COVID-19 and norovirus
https://tinyurl.com/36fcycav
Falling Child Vaccinations; U.S. vaccination rates against once-common childhood diseases are falling
https://tinyurl.com/hj4nywjt
The people fighting to get through to anti-science Americans: ‘It’s just talking to each other’; As science misinformation takes hold in the White House, those seeking to set the record straight need to meet people where they are
https://tinyurl.com/mr3ykcw2
1M U.S. adults will develop dementia each year by 2060, study says
https://tinyurl.com/bd3jhss5
Up to 4 in 10 people could develop dementia after 55. What you can do to lower your risk
https://tinyurl.com/39xhytn9
America's Alzheimer's hotspots: New map shows zip code lottery
https://tinyurl.com/95jvcv3z
The gap between living long and living healthy is growing; There was a 9.6-year gap between years lived in good health and total lifespans among people living in 183 countries, and the United States had the greatest “healthspan”-lifespan gap of any of them
https://tinyurl.com/3urrtzbb
Chronic Pain Is an Epidemic. It’s Time for a Revolution; As many as 2B people suffer from it. Can science finally bring us relief?
https://tinyurl.com/4b6344du
How functional medicine is revolutionizing healthcare; Moving from symptom relief to root causes, wellness and holistic health trends are gaining steam
https://tinyurl.com/34rmcjrj
Ms of new cases of diabetes and heart disease every year are caused by sugary drinks, according to newly published research
https://tinyurl.com/4hf3c66m
The business of selling booze is under pressure; The surgeon general wants Americans to drink less alcohol - but we didn’t even need the nudge
https://tinyurl.com/5ck3pp2t
“Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS)” warnings were made to grab attention in tornadoes, hurricanes, and now wildfires
https://tinyurl.com/3e25d8a8
Los Angeles wildfires have leaders fighting on two fronts: Nature and politics
https://tinyurl.com/377nv56d
Our inability to work together will ultimately be our undoing, and the fires in Los Angeles remind us that politics as usual doesn’t fly when the flames are that high
https://tinyurl.com/3y3yx5yy
As Los Angeles County suffers the worst disaster in its history, California governor Newsom keeps acting like he’s facing a messaging problem
https://tinyurl.com/z56cyn68
California's Fire Catastrophe Is Largely a Result of Bad Government Policies; This year’s deadly wildfires were predicted and unnecessary
https://tinyurl.com/3dj68tyr
California’s Fires Show Environmentalist Policies Can Have Deadly Results; Ignoring basic forest stewardship while crying ‘climate change’ is nothing more than a convenient excuse for inaction
https://tinyurl.com/4mvfpn97
The Los Angeles Wildfire Tragedy; The dry and windy conditions would have challenged even the best public officials, but better preparations could have mitigated the catastrophe
https://tinyurl.com/yanvdcxv
California’s fires are a scorching indictment of misguided governance; California touts itself as a leader in environmental policy, but its approach often lacks the pragmatism needed to address real-world challenges
https://tinyurl.com/4d3d98u2
Three Hard Truths About California’s Fire Crisis; Climate change makes fires more dangerous. Government competence matters. And preventing catastrophic fires requires expensive, unpopular measures
https://tinyurl.com/4x3b5ba6
Prescribed Burns Are The Only Way For California To Avoid Another Catastrophic Fire
https://tinyurl.com/russnck9
In Los Angeles, as Palisades Fire burns, resilience begins to take hold; Natural disasters can destroy places but reveal the strength of people who live there
https://tinyurl.com/yckef7je
Health-Care AI Requires a Lot of Expensive Humans; Artificial intelligence systems require consistent monitoring and staffing to put in place and to keep them working well. The need for people and more machines to make sure new tools don’t mess up is leading to increased costs for hospitals
https://tinyurl.com/5fv8fmmn
Democratic states train non-doctors on providing abortions to expand US access; From Washington to Connecticut, pharmacists and healthcare workers pioneer efforts to limit abortion barriers
https://tinyurl.com/2v2kze2d
Exceptions in South Carolina’s abortion ban are too vague and infringe on physicians’ religious beliefs, a group of doctors is claiming in a federal lawsuit
https://tinyurl.com/4sxjp5dp
Montana asks Supreme Court to review challenge over parental consent for abortions
https://tinyurl.com/mryar9jv
Inside the Black Box of Predictive Travel Surveillance; Behind the scenes, companies and governments are feeding a trove of data about international travelers into opaque AI tools that aim to predict who’s safe—and who’s a threat
https://tinyurl.com/2ute5cr8
Prison abuse, deaths and escapes prompt calls for more oversight; Jails and prisons are less safe because of overcrowding, understaffing
https://tinyurl.com/ynty25ee
‘Tough love’: Lawmaker eyes forced detoxes, mass arrests to combat San Francisco’s opioid crisis
https://tinyurl.com/3npaub46
A tough-on-crime approach is back in US state capitols
https://tinyurl.com/3455en97
Ohio governor approves firearm privacy, insurance prohibitions; The measures provide protections from requirements gun owners were unlikely to face
https://tinyurl.com/y5p6wvy9
Nevada court blocks police from using federal loophole for civil forfeiture; The Nevada Highway Patrol had argued was a legal loophole, allowing officers to seize property under state law and process it federally while receiving up to 80% of the proceeds
https://tinyurl.com/42e3uatm
Englewood, Colorado, holds off ordinance decision to seize cars for street racing
https://tinyurl.com/4b4f4ky3
This police unit put away its riot gear. Now it walks and talks with protesters; American police often use force to manage unruly crowds. Reforms from Europe emphasize talking to protesters. Some U.S. police departments are giving it a try
https://tinyurl.com/2s37ykzx
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
What is a sanctuary city? A primer on the immigration showdown; A core underlying question is how best to keep communities safe
https://tinyurl.com/3cppf4av
Why Has the US Homeless Population Been Rising? While individuals may become homeless for many reasons, overall variations in homelessness are closely associated with the availability of affordable housing
https://tinyurl.com/mu5mw3x9
Planting the wrong trees in the wrong places can diminish their cooling benefits; In the first comprehensive global study of the effect of trees on urban temperature, researchers discovered that in hot, compact cities, narrow species and sparse planting strategies work best
https://tinyurl.com/mua7jwxa
New York to Unveil First-Ever Customer Experience Report; The report, which is slated to go live on the recently launched New York Experience (NYX) website, aims to make the state’s progress transparent for the customers being serve
https://tinyurl.com/2rke3r2t
Generative AI in government: What to expect in 2025; 2025 may be a major year for generative AI adoption across government
https://tinyurl.com/46nut9p9
How to Work for a Hands-Off Manager When You’re Fully Remote; Three ways to get the clear and consistent communication you need
https://tinyurl.com/32vf76ne
STATE & FEDERAL
Governor Newsom and California Democrats reach $50M agreement to Trump-proof the state; The first-of-its-kind agreement would fund litigation against the incoming White House and protect against a potential mass deportation of immigrants
https://tinyurl.com/2rzsn9a3
Trump tax cuts, if made permanent, stand to benefit highest income earners, Treasury analysis shows
https://tinyurl.com/2s9482h7
How Democrats can turn Trump’s ‘DOGE’ against him; They should make the case that rooting out waste doesn’t mean gutting SS, slashing Medicare or ignoring bloated defense budgets. It means making government work better for everyone
https://tinyurl.com/3e5dp3yb
Under Trump, Medicaid Faces a 'Reset Moment'; The nation's largest health insurance program is likely to be cut in Congress this year to pay for other priorities. That could have profound ramifications for state budgets and the health-care system
https://tinyurl.com/yt7tu96h
Republicans Considering SNAP Benefit Cuts As Part Of Deficit Reduction Plan; The proposed cut would reverse a permanent boost put in place by Biden
https://tinyurl.com/3wk7pbr4
House Speaker Johnson confirms 'discussions' on tying wildfire aid to debt limit
https://tinyurl.com/yf3aduw2
House Speaker Johnson is backing placing conditions on disaster assistance for California in the wake of the destructive wildfires blazing around the Los Angeles area, a position already drawing opposition from Democrats
https://tinyurl.com/2n2zbaez
Trump wants congressional Republicans to figure out a way to avoid a default on the national debt after venting his frustration with the Senate GOP over its failure to raise the debt limit as part of a government funding package last month
https://tinyurl.com/4p6kzeub
Trump’s impending downfall: The promises he will never be able to keep
https://tinyurl.com/yj3r7t3u
Both houses and a supreme court supermajority: how Trump’s power compares historically; Trump’s second term will be marked by a rare level of influence in Congress and the highest court
https://tinyurl.com/bdffkvud
Why Trump is getting more popular; 47.2 percent of American adults have a favorable view of the president-elect, compared to 47.4 percent who have an unfavorable view
https://tinyurl.com/3da794mk
Incoming senior Trump administration officials have begun questioning career civil servants who work on the White House National Security Council about who they voted for in the 2024 election, their political contributions and whether they have made social media posts that could be considered incriminating by Trump’s team
https://tinyurl.com/2s4s77av
Senate braces for 'train wreck' as hearings kick off for Trump Cabinet picks; Some are expected to have smooth confirmation paths, like Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, while others, like defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth, face headwinds
https://tinyurl.com/2ktrm4ye
GOP Senators Can Prove They Know What Time It Is By Confirming Trump’s Nominees Stat
https://tinyurl.com/mt865jca
Cabinet of the Canceled; Trump has chosen people who understand the threat of government coercion—because they have experienced it firsthand
https://tinyurl.com/5n8h7ejh
Let's Be Honest, Tulsi Gabbard And Bobby Kennedy Are Opposed By Lobbyists
https://tinyurl.com/mr2zr552
Why Hegseth nomination for Defense secretary is a milestone for the rightwing Christian movement he follows
https://tinyurl.com/2td67tut
Hegseth Is a Walking Dead Nominee; The debate over his suitability to run the Pentagon has just begun
https://tinyurl.com/t3hktr8c
Hegseth’s views on women in combat, infidelity and more - in his own words
https://tinyurl.com/3zyxbfj9
At Princeton, Pete Hegseth's views on feminism, diversity drove tension
https://tinyurl.com/3m2amt4u
Hegseth could lead troops who’d face getting fired for actions he’s done in the past
https://tinyurl.com/3emxsztm
Some military officers worry Pete Hegseth could turn a blind eye to U.S. war crimes
https://tinyurl.com/ysfeaxzz
Senate Democrats want to slow the roll on Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. intelligence community
https://tinyurl.com/yx84np83
Judge Clears Way For Release Of Special Counsel Report On Jan. 6 Riot; The Justice Department is allowed to publicly release Jack Smith’s investigative report on Trump’s 2020 election interference case
https://tinyurl.com/3f8fzfzy
JD Vance Leaves 'Gray Area' For How Trump Will Pardon Jan. 6 Prisoners; The VP-elect thinks those who "committed violence" that day shouldn't be pardoned - but not without some sneaky caveats
https://tinyurl.com/44ks28rd
Insurrectionists Melt Down After Vance Says Trump Shouldn’t Pardon Violent J6ers
https://tinyurl.com/3a3sdkxp
A New Monroe Doctrine, or a Federalized ‘Five Eyes’? Competing grand-strategic visions of Trump’s new American century are emerging
https://tinyurl.com/3zd9hj84
Crazy Like a Fox: Trump’s Greenland Pitch
https://tinyurl.com/n9jhyx2z
Trump's Republican allies in US House circulate bill on Greenland's purchase
https://tinyurl.com/bdd2ffru
Former ambassador to Denmark: NATO would be compelled to respond to Greenland invasion
https://tinyurl.com/mv67k799
Trump’s canal canard obscures a truth: Panama just wants to run its shipping passage without interference from China or the US
https://tinyurl.com/5n6exrc4
Fake news is driving us apart amid disaster - but slanted news is slowly drowning our democracy; And our efforts to eradicate fake news could inadvertently exacerbate the problem
https://tinyurl.com/4satmbh7
Florida Governor DeSantis calls special session to implement Trump immigration crackdown
https://tinyurl.com/49vkyfpy
Passage of Riley Act would be victory for common sense; It’s a sign of the times that 159 congressional Democrats believe that immigrants in this country illegally should be allowed to stay even if they’re arrested for theft or burglary. How is that defensible?
https://tinyurl.com/uw6ez787
Democrats Are Making Their First Big Mistake of the Next Trump Era; The Laken Riley Act will do nothing to prevent the horrific crimes that befell its namesake. But it will entangle Democrats in a right-wing power grab
https://tinyurl.com/2f3amfza
Mass deportations don’t keep out ‘bad genes’ - they use scientific racism to justify biased immigration policies
https://tinyurl.com/4upp95wu
For Immigration Hawks Trump and Musk, H-1Bs Are an Exception
https://tinyurl.com/y46bz4vh
The US Military Debates Possible Deployment on US Soil Under Trump; Trump has said he wants to use active duty U.S. troops to quell protests and round up immigrants. Will the military comply?
https://tinyurl.com/3twuvxrf
The Pentagon Keeps Losing Equipment and Buying Stuff It Doesn't Need; Losing $85M in inventory? That's a job for the U.S. military
https://tinyurl.com/2ur2nmva
Biden defends foreign policy record despite ongoing crises
https://tinyurl.com/32w4rsjy
What’s realistic for foreign policy under Trump 2.0; It is clear that Trump foresees a more forceful U.S., with a focus on the Western Hemisphere and ensuring that neither Russia nor China encroach on America’s near-abroad
https://tinyurl.com/229nm38f
How to DOGE US Foreign Aid; A plan of accountability and innovation for US anti-poverty efforts abroad
https://tinyurl.com/y9jr8932
Venezuelan President Maduro has called for a campaign for the "liberation" of Puerto Rico from the United States
https://tinyurl.com/3yzfdnh7
Trump Backpedaling On Key Campaign Promise; Trump has repeatedly claimed he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office or even sooner
https://tinyurl.com/4arw5paw
Ukraine not yet in strong position for peace talks: NATO chief
https://tinyurl.com/b32tueup
Ukraine losing ground on the battlefield as Trump team pushes ceasefire
https://tinyurl.com/uuznurzz
The All-Female Teams Rebuilding Homes in Ukraine; In a country at war, women of all ages and professions are learning construction skills and defying stereotypes
https://tinyurl.com/ytkhtbp6
A spate of alleged sabotage operations against undersea cables in the Baltic Sea has raised the prospect of a dangerous 2025 in NATO's northern theater, with allied leaders vowing closer surveillance of and tougher action against Russian- and Chinese-linked and other ships accused of nefarious efforts there
https://tinyurl.com/bd52uz8w
Biden says Israel and Hamas on the brink of sealing ceasefire agreement; US president says agreement that could pause more than 14 months of fighting matches a proposal he made months ago
https://tinyurl.com/3k7f7phr
Final draft of Gaza truce agreement presented to sides after 'breakthrough', official says
https://tinyurl.com/muc4f6ba
Some Israeli soldiers refuse to keep fighting in Gaza; While the movement is small - some 200 soldiers signed a letter saying they’d stop fighting if the government didn’t secure a ceasefire - soldiers say it’s the tip of the iceberg and they want others to come forward
https://tinyurl.com/3b26bvc6
Fifteen months of Israeli bombardment leave conditions in Gaza ‘unimaginable’; As hopes of a ceasefire grow, hunger and cold are adding to the suffering for the Ms of Palestinians in the strip
https://tinyurl.com/4m6pnd62
The Middle East’s new ‘cold war’: Gulf states against neo-Ottoman Turkey; The Middle East is undergoing a profound transformation as new rivalries reshape its geopolitical order
https://tinyurl.com/7dzcxb5x
Sudan, Africa’s third-largest nation by area, is engulfed in a brutal war that has catapulted its 50M citizens into extreme despair. While the world is focused on Ukraine and the Middle East, the devastating conflict in Sudan struggles to capture global attention
https://tinyurl.com/yc3fxm2c
China constructing ‘D-Day style’ barges for possible Taiwan invasion; Taipei considers recruiting foreign fighters while Beijing’s new sea vessels draw inspiration from the 1944 Normandy landings
https://tinyurl.com/bp6x7uzx
The Supreme Court turned away challenges from fossil fuel companies over a Hawaii court green lighting lawsuits against them over the effects of climate change
https://tinyurl.com/268bkx5b
Supreme Court allows Hawaii lawsuit against fossil fuel firms’ misinformation; Honolulu officials had filed a lawsuit against the companies for an alleged decades long misinformation campaign
https://tinyurl.com/4c2vvbsf
Why doesn't the world have a climate police force? We know we need to take care of the planet, but not all countries are willing to contribute. Why can't they be punished?
https://tinyurl.com/33jxb3z9
Jeff Bezos, owner of aerospace company Blue Origin, expressed optimism about the incoming Trump administration’s space policy, emphasizing he is not concerned about competitor Elon Musk’s allyship with the president-elect
https://tinyurl.com/4bhse9bs
Moon over Mars? Congress is determined to kill Elon Musk’s space dream; The Trump ally wants the U.S. to forgo the lunar surface for the red planet. He faces one problem: Congress
https://tinyurl.com/4p75vkxf
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.”
--Charlie Munger