“A US federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a new visa cap for international students, visiting scholars and foreign journalists, saying the Trump administration’s national security justification ‘borders on the absurd’. Judge F. Dennis Saylor in Boston said the rationale for the restriction was ‘exceptionally weak’, and the connection between the rule and the problems it purported to address was ‘exceptionally attenuated’. … Under the new rule, which was scheduled to take effect on Tuesday, foreign journalists would be limited to 240 days in the US …. The rule would limit international students’ stays to four years and restrict programme changes, transfers and second degrees at the same academic level.” (09/15/26)
“When one party controls the White House and both chambers of Congress, the midterm elections are a referendum on the party in power. With President Donald Trump’s approval ratings falling into the 30s and affordability remaining a top issue for voters, it is rational for Republicans to direct attention to how much worse the economic pain will be under Democrats. Fortunately for congressional Republicans, the Democratic base is obliging them by nominating candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, whose platform includes defunding the police and abolishing the U.S. Senate. Unfortunately, the socialist attack would be more potent if the GOP offered a clear contrast. Instead, the last two years of Republican rule have ushered more government intrusion into the marketplace than a socialist congressional caucus could ever deliver.” (09/15/26)
“Nick Reiner will not be given the death penalty if he is found guilty of murder — and has his slain parents to thank. Prosecutors have taken the steep punishment off the table for the alleged killing in part because of the views of Rob and Michele Reiner, both were against capital punishment, according to LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who held a press conference before Reiner’s hearing Tuesday. His siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, also would have had a difficult time coping with potentially playing a role in executing their brother, TMZ reports. Hochman also revealed he discussed the decision to take the death penalty off the table with Reiner’s siblings before making the announcement. Reiner was indicted on August 12 for the murder of his parents, with a special circumstance of lying in wait added.” (09/15/26)
“If you were a conspiracy theorist, you might think President Trump is trying his best to get Republican candidates defeated in the November midterm elections. That’s because the tariffs he recently imposed on Canadian imports, and Canada’s response by imposing tariffs on U.S. imports, hit several red states very hard, which is fueling voters’ anger.” (09/15/26)
“Thailand and Cambodia ’s foreign ministers exchanged opening statements in Singapore on Tuesday at the first meeting to settle a sea border dispute under a U.N. agreement on maritime law for compulsory conciliation. At issue is territory claimed by both that is believed to contain large, exploitable amounts of natural gas and other hydrocarbons. The decision to take the matter to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, was triggered by Cambodia in June after Thailand terminated a 25-year-old memorandum of understanding meant to resolve overlapping maritime claims.” (09/15/26)
“When central banks make decisions about inflation, interest rates, or financial stability, they rely heavily on economic research. But where does that research come from? And whose ideas end up shaping the global conversation? A new IREF Working Paper by Tom Bugdalle and Moritz Pfeifer takes a fascinating look at these questions by analyzing more than 330,000 economics articles and millions of citations between them. The results reveal a striking hierarchy in the world of economic research.” (09/15/26)
