Source: Property and Environment Research Center
by staff
“A coalition of sportsmen’s and other conservation organizations today celebrated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed rule for grizzly bear management, calling the bear’s recovery one of the most significant wildlife recovery achievements in the history of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Service’s proposal a model for adjusting policy as conservation progresses. The proposal recognizes the extraordinary recovery of the grizzly bear, including in the Greater Yellowstone area, where bears have grown from 136 animals in 1975 to more than 1,000 today—a success built through five decades of cooperation by states, landowners, sportsmen, and conservation groups. Under the proposed rule, states are provided a path to managing areas that exceed local recovery objectives while the grizzly remains federally listed.” (07/15/26)
https://www.perc.org/2026/07/15/a-bear-sized-step-forward-for-grizzly-recovery-conservation-groups-celebrate-novel-solution-to-incentivize-conservation/
Source: United Press International
“The United States attacked Iran on Wednesday, and Iran struck U.S. assets across the region into Thursday morning, marking the fifth straight day of strikes between the two nations as they fight over the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command launched two waves of attacks seeking to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten vessels transiting the vital chokepoint between Iran and Oman. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said early Thursday that it was conducting missile and drone strikes targeting U.S. assets at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. … The IRGC-aligned Fars News Agency reported early Thursday that U.S. bases and facilities in Bahrain, as well as in Kuwait, were being struck. It separately said it was attacking U.S. assets at the Al-Azraq Base in Jordan.” (07/16/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/07/16/strikes-iran-fifth-straight-day/7321784162066/
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Connor O’Keeffe
“[I]t’s easy to understand why many have increasingly come to consider the United States to be a gerontocracy, or a society ruled by old people. As with just about anything online, there are sophisticated and unsophisticated versions of this observation. The unsophisticated version simply points to the multitude of examples of politicians remaining in office long after most people would have retired from just about any line of work and concludes that the prevalence of exceptionally elderly politicians is hampering the government’s ability to function properly. … The more sophisticated version of the ‘America is a gerontocracy’ narrative focuses less on the politicians themselves and more on what the government is doing. … government programs are actively transferring vast amounts of wealth from younger generations to older generations who are, on average, much wealthier.” (07/15/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/americas-gerontocracy-goes-deeper-aging-politicians
Source: Bet On It
“In economics, Phil Magness is probably most famous for his synthetic control paper (with Michael Makovi) showing that Marx only became a socialist superstar after his fanatical followers conquered Russia. In this conversation, Phil and I discuss my recent pieces on ‘How socialist was Nazism?'” (07/15/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/nazi-economics-ideas-and-policies
Source: Reuters
“Top Russian energy companies have approached Indian refiners for more gasoline after Ukrainian strikes knocked out a significant portion of Russia’s refining capacity, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. India is the biggest buyer of Russian seaborne crude oil, making Moscow’s bid to secure Indian gasoline an unusual reversal in the countries’ energy trade relationship, highlighting the extent of the disruption caused by the Ukrainian attacks. Moscow is witnessing its worst gasoline crisis. At least one cargo of Indian gasoline has already sailed to Russia and more are expected, with nearly 40% of Russia’s refining capacity unlikely to return for at least two months if there are no further attacks, one of the sources with knowledge of the matter said.” (07/15/26)
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-seeks-more-gasoline-india-after-ukraine-attacks-refineries-sources-say-2026-07-15/
Source: The Next Move
by Sarah McLaughlin
“You’re relaxing with a cup of tea, winding down from your day, and thinking about tomorrow’s errands. And then you hear a ring at the doorbell. Followed quickly by another. And another. When you finally open the door, you’re shocked to see not a neighbor or a delivery driver, but a federal agent. He knows what you said about the government on Instagram, and he’s here giving you notice to shut up. A chilling encounter like this might dissuade even the most dogged critic from speaking their mind. In the United States, home of the First Amendment—a uniquely robust protection against censorship compared with other democracies’ rules—this kind of incursion should be unimaginable. These days, it isn’t, as a new lawsuit against Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials makes painfully clear.” (07/15/26)
https://www.thenextmove.org/p/america-is-failing-its-own-free-speech
Source: NBC News
“House Republicans kicked off their plans for a third party-line spending bill Tuesday, releasing a budget resolution that calls for $90 billion in new money for the military and election-related measures. With no plans to seek Democratic votes, it will be a herculean task to pass through the narrow Republican majorities, given the unpopularity of the Iran war, the lack of spending cuts to offset the new spending, which is already angering conservative hardliners, and the limits of the budget process. … It contains $12 billion for the Agriculture Committee, which is set to be used for farm assistance as the industry suffers from higher food and fertilizer prices resulting from the Iran war and the inability of ships to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.” (07/15/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-republicans-push-90-billion-iran-war-election-measures-farm-aid-rcna587635
Source: Eastern New Mexico News
by Kent McManigal
“There are times you’ll begin, or join already-in-progress, a project and discover it’s bigger, more difficult, and is going to take longer than you expected. Often, much longer. Sometimes you’ll realize it won’t be completed in your lifetime – if ever. And it’s still worth it. Your part is to be a vital link in a long chain of people down through the years, working toward something you’ll never see the benefit of. Think of all those nameless laborers who helped build awe-inspiring Medieval cathedrals. Such is the case with spreading liberty. It turns out, spreading a love for liberty is a bigger job than I’d thought. A lot harder, too. As many before me had also discovered.” (07/15/26)
https://www.easternnewmexiconews.com/story/2026/07/15/voices/opinion-takes-time-to-build-liberty-cathedral/233822.html
Source: Spectrum News
“YouTube has appealed the verdict of a [frivolous] social media addiction lawsuit in Los Angeles, seeking to challenge the jury’s determination that the company designed its platform to hook young users without concern for their well-being. Lawyers representing YouTube filed a notice of appeal Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, less than a week after Meta, which was also a defendant in the case, filed its own notice of appeal. The lawyers are expected to provide their arguments related to the appeal in later court filings. The case centered on a 20-year-old woman who said she became addicted to social media as a child and that it worsened her mental health struggles. The jury found that negligence by both Google-owned YouTube and Meta was a substantial factor in causing harm to the young woman, identified in court only by her initials, KGM, and her first name, Kaley.” (07/15/26)
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/public-safety/2026/07/15/youtube-meta-appeal-social-media-addiction-verdict
Source: The Atlantic
by Vivian Salama
“The U.S.-Iran war was supposed to be over when President Trump signed a memorandum of understanding last month at a dinner table in the Lower Gallery of Versailles. But Trump has a famously flexible definition of what constitutes a binding contract, Iran feels that it has little to lose from further hostilities, and the two nations have essentially remained at war ever since. The agreement was designed to make permanent a cease-fire and to usher in a negotiating period of up to 60 days to settle the many disputes at the root of the conflict. About halfway through the 60-day window, the memorandum’s 14 terms have been honored almost entirely in the breach. The only clause that took immediate effect that has not been violated is the one that says the two sides will keep talking. (Even that requires an asterisk …)” (07/15/26)
https://archive.is/YNvhH
