“U.S. colleges received more than 5 billion dollars in reportable foreign gifts and contracts in 2025, according to a new website from the U.S. Education Department. The release is part of a push by the Trump administration to make foreign influence in colleges and universities more transparent. Among the biggest recipients, the data show, are Carnegie Mellon University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. Qatar was the largest foreign source of funds to schools, making up more than 20% — or about 1.1 billion. Other sources include the United Kingdom, China, Switzerland and Japan.” (02/12/26)
“The America First Global Health Strategy is an operating model that emerged after the United States withdrew from the World Health Organization and needed a way to remain active internationally without WHO governance. Instead of working primarily through multilateral institutions, the US is now signing five-year bilateral health memoranda with dozens of low- and middle-income countries, overwhelmingly in sub-Saharan Africa. These agreements bundle longstanding programs on HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and surveillance into large government-to-government compacts, often involving hundreds of millions — or billions — of dollars. In substance, this is continuity more than rupture; what has changed is the structure.” (02/12/26)
“The CIA has released a new Mandarin-language recruitment video aimed at Chinese military officers, portraying a fictional, mid-level People’s Liberation Army officer grappling with corrupt leadership and ultimately choosing to contact the American intelligence agency. The video is the latest installment in a public-facing recruitment campaign targeting China, which CIA Director John Ratcliffe has described as the agency’s top intelligence priority amid what he has called a ‘generational competition’ with Beijing. In the short film, the central character watches as qualified officers are removed and replaced by political loyalists lacking military credentials. Troubled by what he sees as corruption, and concerned about the impact on his young family, the officer decides to reach out to the CIA.” (02/12/26)
“Prediction markets, including Kalshi and Polymarket, are exploding in popularity. Kalshi alone saw over $1 billion in trading volume on Super Bowl Sunday. Remarkably, more than $100 million was wagered on what song Bad Bunny would play first during his halftime show. That kind of market has raised concerns about insider trading. Not only is Bad Bunny in control of which song is played, but this information is also known in advance by dancers, musicians, crew, and anyone who happened to be around during rehearsals. This is likely why, just before the big game, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour announced a laundry list of efforts to crack down on insider trading.” (02/12/26)
