“Public confidence in American higher education has taken a fresh hit, erasing a brief period of recovery, as concerns over campus politics and financial value intensify, according to a new Gallup poll obtained by Fox News Digital. The latest data reveals that just 38% of U.S. adults maintain a ‘great deal’ or ‘quite a lot’ of confidence in higher education. The figure represents a noticeable drop from last year, when trust in the sector experienced a modest uptick to 42%. … The current 38% confidence mark underscores a steep, long-term decline from 2015, when 57% of Americans expressed solid trust in higher education. Significant drops followed in 2018 and 2023.” (07/14/26)
“The U.S. government just staged its [stolen] crypto for an exchange, and it took an extra hop to get there. Wallets tied to the government moved about $288 million in [stolen] bitcoin and ether onto Coinbase Prime over roughly half a day on Monday, blockchain data from Arkham shows. The ether went direct, while the bitcoin took a detour through intermediary wallets first. The movements are despite an executive order in March 2025 by President Donald Trump, which designated [stolen] bitcoin for the country’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and said it should not be sold.” (07/14/26)
“New York state regulators won’t issue environmental permits for large-scale data centers for the next year, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday. Hochul will sign an executive order implementing a ‘moratorium’ on new air permits for so-called ‘hyperscale’ data centers trying to tap into the Empire State’s electrical grid for up to a year. … Roughly half of New York voters polled by Siena University last month said they thought a one-year moratorium on large data centers was good for the state, while 21% said they thought it was a bad idea and 17% indicated they were somewhere in the middle.” (07/14/26)
“Israel’s parliament on Monday passed a law declaring the study of Jewish religious texts a ‘fundamental value’ of the state, a move widely seen as strengthening the ultra-Orthodox community’s case for exemption from mandatory military service. … For decades, most ultra-Orthodox Jewish men have avoided Israel’s mandatory military service by registering as full-time religious students. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled this exemption illegal, and the military—stretched thin after more than two years of war—has demanded more recruits. Rather than directly legislating an exemption, which the court would likely strike down, the coalition took an indirect route: drafting a ‘Basic Law’—a type of legislation with quasi-constitutional weight in Israel—declaring Torah study ‘a core national value’.” (07/14/26)
“The European Union (EU) has banned the purchase, import and transfer of gold from Sudan, saying the trade has become a key source of financing for the country’s civil war that erupted in April 2023. The conflict between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, forcing more than 14 million people from their homes. Sudan is one of Africa’s largest gold producers and its vast reserves have become a crucial source of revenue for both sides, according to rights groups. EU foreign ministers approved the measures alongside a ban on exports to Sudan of mercury and cyanide, chemicals widely used in gold mining.” (07/14/26)
“China has expelled Ma Xingrui, a former Politburo member, from the ruling Communist Party on corruption charges, making him the third sitting member of the elite decision-making body to be purged since 2025 as President Xi Jinping intensifies his anti-graft campaign. Ma, who also served as the deputy head of the central rural work leading group, was placed under investigation in April over suspected ‘serious violation of law and discipline’ – the party’s euphemism for corruption. Investigators found that Ma had sought benefits for others in the selection and appointment of officials and improperly arranged jobs for others, Xinhua reported.” (07/14/26)
“A bipartisan push to make Daylight Saving Time permanent is heading for a chamber-wide vote after clearing a key House hurdle. The House Rules Committee on Monday teed up a floor vote on the Sunshine Protection Act, which would allow states to enact Daylight Saving Time year-round — with an option to opt out. The committee approved the rule in a 6-4 vote. The measure has the support of many coastal lawmakers and President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged Congress to make Daylight Saving Time permanent and end the twice-a-year ritual of changing clocks — a practice currently observed by every state except Hawaii and most of Arizona.” (07/13/26)
“Inflation pulled back in June after surging in prior months due to the Iran war’s impact on energy prices throughout the economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said on Tuesday that the consumer price index (CPI) – a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost – declined 0.4% on a monthly basis in June and was up 3.5% from a year ago. The monthly decline was the largest since a 0.8% decrease in April 2020. Those figures were cooler than the estimates of economists polled by LSEG, who predicted a decline of 0.1% on a monthly basis and a 3.8% increase from a year ago. They also represent a cooling trend from the 0.5% monthly increase and the 4.2% annual rise recorded in the May edition of the report.” (07/14/26)
“Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a housing bill Monday that will change how the state finances and delivers new affordable housing units. … Assembly Bill 179 is a housing budget trailer bill, aimed at modernizing California’s affordable housing finance system and strengthening the state’s impact of housing investments. The bill will reduce the cost of building affordable housing by an estimated $60,000 to $70,000 per unit through one-stop shop financing reforms and impact fee changes. The legislative changes are designed to take out extra administrative steps and fees in the process for building affordable housing units across the state.” (07/13/26)
“Brazil’s Supreme Court has barred presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro from visiting his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, for 90 days after ruling that the pair had breached the terms of the former leader’s house arrest. Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the order on Monday after Flavio read a handwritten letter from his father during a social media livestream. Jair Bolsonaro – a far-right figure who was found guilty in September 2025 of plotting to overturn the result of the 2022 election that he lost to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva – is prohibited from using social media or communicating through third parties while serving his sentence under house arrest. The 90-day restriction will remain in place until after the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, scheduled for October 4, preventing Flavio from meeting his father during most of the campaign.” (07/14/26)
