“In an extraordinary military operation, the United States launched a large-scale military operation in Caracas, Venezuela, early Saturday, with Special Forces seizing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. There is a pending 2020 indictment of Maduro in the Southern District of New York, where he is expected to be taken to face prosecution. The operation comes not long after the 37th anniversary of the capture of Manuel Antonio Noriega on Dec. 20, 1989. Noriega was convicted of drug and money laundering offenses and sentenced to 40 years in prison. He was tried in Miami. Maduro was indicted in a four-count superseding indictment …” (01/03/25)
“A Kenyan elephant believed to have been one of Africa’s largest male tuskers has died of old age. The pachyderm, fondly known as Craig, died of natural causes on Saturday morning at Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya, conservationists confirmed. ‘Craig had just turned 54 years old. He led a long life and no doubt fathered many calves,’ said the Amboseli Trust for Elephants in its farewell message. Famed for his long tusks, Craig the elephant was a major attraction at the park near the Tanzanian border. In 2021, he was named an ambassador for the popular Kenyan lager brand Tusker – a name also used for adult male elephants with tusks. The Kenya Wildlife Service described Craig as an ‘icon’ of successful conservation.” (01/03/25)
“I do not mean this as a negative assessment when I say that what Zohran Mamdani’s inaugural address as mayor of New York reminded me most of was Woody Allen’s Manhattan (albeit with a more all-encompassing view of the city. Like Manhattan, Mamdani’s speech was a love-besotted tour of New York) though with a focus on the city’s multiracial working and middle class you can’t find anywhere in the Allen oeuvre. For Mamdani, this focus was intended to be a means of identification and reassurance (I am one of you, I know you), legitimacy (I represent all of you), and commitment (I will fight for you all). It was a homeboy speech. A local, not an express, was stopping at every other street corner to celebrate the halal carts and the delis.” (01/02/25)
“The Trump administration and California appear to have officially severed ties as the state moves forward with the long-delayed high-speed rail without the help of federal funds. On Dec. 23, the California High-Speed Rail Authority pulled the lawsuit it filed after the Trump administration scrapped $4 billion in funding this summer for the bullet train that would stretch from Los Angeles to San Francisco. The rail authority has now decided to seek funding from a private investor as early as summer 2026. ‘Moving forward without the Trump administration’s involvement allows the Authority to pursue proven global best practices used successfully by modern high-speed rail systems around the world,’ a spokesperson for the rail authority said in a statement.” (01/02/25)
“I don’t mean to imply, by the title of this article, that I think America is about to totally ‘destroy’ itself. I happen to believe that the United States, in some shape, form, or fashion, will be around for a long time into the future. I don’t know what shape, form, or fashion that will be; indeed, America has already monumentally changed, since 1789, from the virtuous, limited, constitutional government (a ‘confederacy,’ Alexander Hamilton called it), into a society with a dominant federal government that does whatever it can get away with. In effect, we have become, in a way, exactly what our Founding Fathers rebelled against. But time changes many things, and countries are among those things.” (01/03/25)
“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has named spy chief Kyrylo Budanov as his new chief of staff, just over a month after his previous top aide resigned in a corruption row. ‘At this time, Ukraine needs greater focus on security issues,’ Zelensky said in a social media post, alongside a photo of his meeting with Gen Budanov in Kyiv. The 39-year-old has until now led the Hur military intelligence, which has claimed a number of highly effective strikes against Russia. Zelensky also said he intended to replace his defence minister Denys Shmyhal, appointing his current minister of digital transformation Mykhaylo Fedorov to take up the post.” (01/03/25)
“Saikat Chakrabarti, a candidate who’s hoping to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi, is pitching a four-day workweek, citing Mark Zuckerberg’s new AI push as a warning sign. ‘We should be talking about four-day workweeks as a result of AI,’ Chakrabarti said in a video posted on New Year’s Eve on X. ‘But instead what we’re seeing is companies squeezing more and more work out of their workers with no extra benefits.’ Chakrabarti, a former tech engineer and now a bastion of progressive politics, is running for the coveted San Francisco House seat, which is open after Pelosi announced her retirement in 2025. Chakrabarti, who has a list of progressive policy reforms reminiscent of his former bosses, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is putting Meta in the hot seat after it was leaked that the company is implementing intense productivity standards for its employees.” (01/03/25)
“Critics warn that a rent freeze can actually make the housing crisis worse. Even if new housing construction is exempt, skeptics say the policy could discourage building in general as developers and investors scale back. Meanwhile, the real estate lobby argues that landlords would get squeezed by rising costs, which would lead to deferred building maintenance and more vacant units. Warnings against rent control policies often come wrapped in dire metaphors about ’destroying cities’ and ’halting investment’, but, politically, freezes are popular. More than three-quarters of voters support them, depending on the poll. Long term, we need more housing — but construction takes years and often faces fierce resistance. A thoughtfully designed freeze could protect renters against precarity while paving the way for a more comprehensive approach to the housing crisis.” (01/02/25)
“Israel on Tuesday said it had suspended more than two dozen humanitarian organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and CARE, from operating in the Gaza Strip for failing to comply with new registration rules. Israel says the rules are aimed at preventing Hamas and other militant groups from infiltrating the aid organizations. But the organizations say the rules are arbitrary and warned that the new ban would harm a civilian population desperately in need of humanitarian aid. … The new regulations included ideological requirements — including disqualifying organizations that have called for boycotts against Israel, denied the Oct. 7 attack or expressed support for any of the international court cases against Israeli soldiers or leaders.” (12/30/25)
“It would be easy to end this year discouraged. From campus unrest to ideological extremes at some of the most prestigious universities in America, 2025 gave us more than enough to lament. But as a university president, and as we approach this season of Christmas, a time marked by reflection, renewal and hope, I believe the full story of higher education this year was not just about collapse. It was also about conviction. This was a year when students spoke up. Parents got involved. Christian leaders stayed the course. And across the country, signs of renewal began to take shape. Not everywhere. Not perfectly. But undeniably. As I reflect on this year in higher education, I believe these five moments signal that a meaningful shift is already underway.” (12/29/25)
