EU leaders approved a €90 billion (over $100 billion) interest-free loan backed by unallocated EU budget funds as collateral for collective borrowing, ensuring Ukraine avoids running out of money by April amid ongoing defense needs. The deal, reached after 16 hours of talks, bypassed using €210 billion in frozen Russian assets due to legal concerns and opposition, while allowing opt-outs for Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic in a historic shift from unanimity requirements. Leaders hailed the agreement as a strong unity signal against Russia, with Zelenskyy noting it demonstrates collective strength, though some like Hungary's Orbán criticized it as a bad decision. And here the strongman dictator is absolutely correct; this is a terrible decision by the EU, and their collective incompetence is going to cause the world to fall into full-on world war if something does not change soon.

The federal government initiated the largest gun buyback since the 1996 Port Arthur reforms, targeting hundreds of thousands of surplus, newly banned, and illegal firearms in response to the Bondi Beach terror attack where the perpetrator legally owned six guns. Accompanying state measures include capping most recreational shooters at four firearms (with exemptions for farmers and sports shooters up to 10), banning belt-fed magazines, and reclassifying fast-shooting models to stricter categories, amid over 4 million legally owned guns nationwide. Costs, potentially exceeding $1 billion, will be shared federally and by states, with Prime Minister Albanese stressing bipartisan support to close urban gun law gaps without targeting responsible owners. So as we see it, tragedy occurs, government then steps in. First they undermine free speech protections, suggesting it's a necessary step in ensuring safety; next they undermine the right to possess arms, similarly with the justification that the current arrangement is unsafe.

Private individuals and philanthropic foundations pledged €860 million (equivalent to $1 billion) to fund the Future Circular Collider, a 91-kilometer circumference machine set to succeed the Large Hadron Collider in the mid-2040s for deeper Higgs boson studies and new physics discoveries. The project aims to advance understanding of the Standard Model while spurring innovations in medicine, computing, and sustainable energy technologies. This marks CERN's first major private sector investment in a flagship research initiative, highlighting growing societal recognition of fundamental physics benefits. CERN is increasingly the stuff of modern-day lore as their research has spawned a plethora of conspiracy theories regarding the actual purpose of their research agenda and the effects they create with their experimentation. That aside, it is interesting to see them attract significant private capital to conduct research that doesn't clearly have a practical and profitable orientation.

Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and pro-Trump podcaster with no prior FBI experience, announced his January resignation from the unusual co-deputy director role shared with Andrew Bailey amid a contentious tenure involving clashes over high-profile cases like Jeffrey Epstein files. His time was marked by internal tensions in the newly led bureau under Director Kash Patel. President Trump praised Bongino's service, suggesting he may return to broadcasting. All sides of the political spectrum are responding to this decision by Bongino, but it does appear that he will be returning to producing content, and his return, we think, will undoubtedly have significant consequences for the tenor of political discourse in 2026.

The executive order directs agencies to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III, acknowledging its accepted medical uses for severe pain, cancer, seizures, neurological issues, and chronic conditions affecting veterans and seniors, while indicating lower abuse potential than Schedule I substances. This shift eases research barriers, allows cannabis businesses to deduct expenses under IRS rules, and improves banking access without legalizing recreational use. It also launches an April Medicare pilot for doctor-recommended, tested CBD products for eligible seniors, potentially opening federal healthcare to cannabis-derived therapies and attracting pharmaceutical competition. This is the only move that makes sense, so it is good to see the president use executive powers to rapidly remove marijuana from the Schedule I class of drugs.

The Department of Homeland Security indefinitely paused the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, which lotteries up to 50,000 green cards annually for applicants from underrepresented countries, following the December 13 Brown University shooting that killed two students and injured nine. The suspect, 48-year-old Portuguese national and former Brown Ph.D. student Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, entered the U.S. on the program in 2017 after obtaining permanent residency and is also linked to a separate professor murder. The suspension, ordered by President Trump and implemented by Secretary Kristi Noem, aims to prevent further risks from the program. This is the type of reactionary politics which can cause governments to totally lose the trust of the people. Knee-jerk reactions won't get the situation under control but will stir an insatiable spirit amongst the people, and that often leads to chaos and decay.

Starting January 1, approximately 55,750 SNAP recipients aged 18-64 without young children must log 80 hours monthly in work, education, or volunteering, with potential benefit loss after three non-compliant months and over 20,000 at risk of disqualification. The expanded rules remove prior automatic exemptions for veterans, homeless individuals, and former foster youth, now limiting exceptions to groups like the disabled, caregivers for young or incapacitated dependents, pregnant women, and certain tribal members. Requirements apply upon next application or renewal to align with federal standards. We probably won't cover every instance of work requirements being attached to entitlements, but it is noteworthy how rapidly many states moved to institute them as soon as the federal government made it possible.

The council enacted Bill 9 to phase out over 6,200 grandfathered short-term vacation rentals in apartment-zoned districts, many on the Minatoya List from pre-1989 permits and largely owned by non-residents occupying 21% of housing stock. West Maui units must convert to long-term housing by January 2029, with South Maui following by 2031, freeing units for locals displaced by the Lahaina wildfire that destroyed over 2,200 structures. The measure directly tackles the severe housing shortage worsened by tourism-driven short-term rentals. This makes a lot of sense for the community to use public power to benefit those actually in the community as opposed to allowing significant profiteering from investors who don't have to deal with the consequences of an unreasonably priced housing market.

The city council renewed a two-year, multimillion-dollar contract with Flock Safety to maintain and expand AI-powered automated license plate reader cameras across public streets and integrate private ones. The technology has driven significant crime drops, including sharp reductions in vehicle thefts and aided investigations through real-time alerts and data sharing. Privacy protections include data retention limits, audit requirements, and restrictions on non-criminal uses to balance public safety gains. It will be in distressed cities like Oakland that they will perfect AI surveillance, but in short order we'll have to think about what it means to live in a world where surveillance is constant and communication is instantaneous.

The council approved the delayed 20-year Comprehensive Plan guiding growth to 2044, easing development of small multiplexes in three-quarters of residential land previously restricted to single-family homes and designating 30 new neighborhood centers for future density. Major 2026 battles will focus on precise zoning for these centers and transit corridors to lift apartment bans, addressing affordability by reconciling past exclusionary policies. The plan exceeds projected population needs to ease rents and homeownership barriers, with potential enhancements under the incoming mayor for more housing incentives. As we continue to see intense urbanization, it will be interesting to see how cities develop themselves in the metro areas they need to house millions of residents.