Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Nasiyah Isra-Ul
“People often ask me how I got so involved in writing and public speaking. I’ve been a passionate writer for most of my life, starting to journal, write short stories, and willingly craft essays in my homeschool program outside of what was required in the curriculum by age 11. By the time I was a teenager, I was writing curriculum, developing language arts training for students, and starting a blog. I was also eventually writing for college, as one of the youngest in my classes, and my professors always said they loved reading my papers first because they were ‘always so engaging and well-written.’ Now, in my early twenties, I’ve written graduate-level papers, gotten published in a variety of news outlets, blog frequently, authored multiple books, and often write for the Lab. This didn’t happen overnight. It took years of encouragement, learning, and lots of peer mentorship to get to this point.” (06/26/26)
“Four people have died due to flooding from thunderstorms in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said Saturday, and he declared a state of emergency with additional rainfall expected. Flash flood warnings were in effect Saturday for parts of Kentucky and Indiana amid heavy rainfall, according to the National Weather Service. The agency late Saturday afternoon said between 100 and 250 millimetres of rain had already fallen in some parts of southwestern Indiana, with more possible. Beshear’s office said up to 178 millimetres of rain were expected in parts of his state through the late evening.” (06/28/26)
“Like opponents of various other AI restrictions, [Alex] Stamos worries about handing an advantage to China — where, he noted, an impressive new model called GLM-5.2 had been unveiled that very week. ‘It is a great, great week for the Chinese AI industry, a fantastic week,’ he said, ‘and a huge own goal for the United States in the race to dominate the 21st century via domination of AI.’ I’m not sure what exactly it would mean for America to ‘dominate the 21st century’ — and I’m far from sure that living in a century without such domination would be as unpleasant as Stamos seems to think. But I do feel sure that the ‘race with China’ theme so often deployed in discussions of AI regulation has some downsides, and that this particular deployment is a good example.” (06/26/26)
“Southern California mega cannabis grower Glass House Brands has skyrocketed to a valuation of over $1 billion for the first time, a striking turn of fate for a company that was facing existential panic and the prospect of federal charges just a year ago. … Last July, the Trump administration targeted Glass House’s two massive growing facilities in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties with a militarized immigration raid that left one worker dead and over 360 workers arrested. … But instead of charging the company’s executives, the Trump administration sent Glass House a lifeline. In April, Trump’s attorney general signed an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, moving it to a far friendlier designation. While the exact impacts are complicated and not certain, it’s likely to cut taxes for companies and could lead to legal interstate sales of medical marijauna.” (06/26/26)
“The first space is home. It is where our domestic identity lives. Family, rest, intimacy, and routine. The second space is work. It is where we contribute, produce, and create value. The third space exists in between. It is the neutral, shared place where people gather informally, without obligation or performance. Historically, these were cafés, churches, town squares, barber shops, libraries, local diners, pubs, and markets. Places where you could show up, be recognized, and belong without needing to achieve or prove anything.” (06/26/26)
“An icon of the Italian way of life, the Vespa was celebrating its 80th birthday on Saturday, as thousands of riders paraded through Rome on the legendary scooters. A few donned biker jackets despite the scorching heat while others opted for t-shirts, the hum of their machines filling the capital with a colourful buzz. … The Vespa, which means ‘wasp’ in Italian – a reference to the sound of its engine – was born on 23 April 1946, when the first patent for its manufacture was filed in Italy by Piaggio. It is still produced at the Pontedera site in Tuscany. … Thousands of ‘Vespisti’ from all over the globe turned up in the scooters, which are instantly recognisable because of their rounded lines, their brightly coloured metal bodywork and their round headlight mounted on the handlebars.” (06/27/26)
