“The parliament [sic] in the West African junta-run nation of Burkina Faso has adopted a new penal code reinstating the death penalty for crimes including terrorism, espionage and treason. … The development ends the abolition of the death penalty, which had been in effect since 2018 under the previous and democratically elected president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore. The last known execution in Burkina Faso took place in 1988, according to Human Rights Watch. The junta’s Council of Ministers approved a bill reinstating capital punishment in December, prompting a backlash from human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which criticized the move as repressive and an effort to suppress dissent.” (10/21/26)
“Host Megan McArdle is joined by David Weigel, a national politics reporter at Semafor, to discuss the DSA’s rise and the question it raises for Democrats: Is democratic socialism the future of their party?” (10/21/26)
“The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the Trump administration cannot enforce a new policy that restricts treatment for transgender inmates in federal prison. The justices in a brief order rejected an emergency application filed by the administration that sought to block a lower court injunction against the proposal. There are about 1,000 transgender inmates in federal custody. … The court order included no explanation, saying only that two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, would have granted it.” (10/21/26)
“The war in Ukraine can be ended permanently on terms that protect Ukraine’s statehood, meet Russia’s security concerns, and lay the foundation for a durable European security order. As another round of negotiations gears up in Norway, I propose a settlement concluded as a single package, signed by Ukraine and Russia, adopted by a vote of the United Nations Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter. It would be guaranteed jointly by the five permanent members of the Council together with other states that choose to join. The proposal rests on the principle of indivisible security set out in the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris. The package would have four core commitments.” (10/21/26)
“A protest by Italian truck drivers over fuel prices and the cost of living is causing food shortages in shops, with deliveries disrupted and fresh produce rotting, retailers said on Wednesday. The protests, which began in southern Italy last week, have also disrupted operations in two regional airports in Calabria because they cannot get deliveries of aviation fuel. With traffic snarled in various parts of the country, long queues formed on the A1 motorway near the southern city of Naples after truckers restricted access. … The protests come as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government deals with unrest last weekend in northern cities including Milan where gangs of mainly young people went on the rampage. The ANCD-Conad group, representing retailers operating under the Conad supermarket brand, said large quantities of perishable products including fruit and vegetables, as well as milk and meat were stranded on trucks and in warehouses.” (10/21/26)
“Governments at all levels have enacted laws that violate the right to contract. In every state, for example, licensing laws obstruct contractual freedom by preventing individuals who do not have a license from contracting with people who nevertheless want their services. Consider a law in North Dakota stating that only those who have obtained a license to teach from the state may enter into contracts to teach — not only in public schools, but also in private ones. Why shouldn’t the head of a private school be free to employ anyone he regards as capable of teaching? He, after all, has the strongest possible incentive to make sure that parents who pay for schooling will receive the best instruction. That is precisely the issue in a lawsuit brought by Capstone Classical Academy, a private school, along with a parent and a teacher, challenging North Dakota’s licensing law.” (10/21/26)
