President Trump established the Board of Peace as a new multilateral organization with himself as lifelong chairman holding unilateral veto power and announced a $10 billion U.S. commitment over 10 years to support Gaza rebuilding efforts including ordnance removal, temporary housing, security and medical aid managed by the World Bank. Additional pledges exceeded $6.5 billion from Gulf states like the UAE and Saudi Arabia along with troop commitments for an International Stabilization Force from smaller participating countries while major European powers largely declined formal membership. With declining interest in maintaining the United Nations, it will be interesting to see how this board develops over time and more importantly how influential it will be in global affairs.

Major labor unions staged a 24-hour general strike that brought Buenos Aires to a near-standstill and disrupted transportation, schools, hospitals, ports, factories, banks and airlines in protest against President Milei’s labor overhaul easing hiring and firing, reducing severance pay, extending workdays to 12 hours and limiting strike rights. The lower house passed the reform bill 135-115 despite protests and police clashes, sending it to the Senate for final approval next week as Milei attended Trump’s Board of Peace meeting in Washington where the U.S. president endorsed him. It's always important to stand with labor as typically their demands are reasonable. Beyond that general rule, what's going on here is the tension a country experiences when it tries to dramatically overhaul its economic system in short order.

The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Poland agreed to jointly develop lightweight affordable surface-to-air missiles and autonomous drones drawing directly from Ukraine battlefield lessons to develop the capacity to counter low-cost drone and missile threats cost-effectively. The E5 group initiative involving multimillion-dollar commitments from each nation will be formally announced at a defense ministers meeting in Poland with a focus on NATO and EU industrial cooperation for the first project targeted within a year. The new world order requires increased cooperation amongst European powers and much of that shared agenda will look like establishing cost-sharing agreements like this one.

In a 6-3 decision written by Chief Justice Roberts the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by imposing broad reciprocal country-specific and fentanyl-related tariffs. Steel and aluminum tariffs imposed under separate laws remain in place while the decision triggered stock market rallies, business calls for $130 billion in refunds and Trump labeling it a disgrace with backup plans already prepared. We remain pro-tariffs as a useful political tool to use economic leverage to advance diplomatic solutions but find this ruling by the Supreme Court relatively sensible. It appears the tariffs will probably remain in place but the other powers will have to be invoked to sustain them.

President Trump directed the Pentagon and other government agencies to release all classified files on UFOs, unidentified aerial phenomena and any potential alien or extraterrestrial life citing tremendous public interest. Trump stated he does not know if aliens are real and has no opinion on the matter but emphasized full transparency following recent public discussions around former officials’ comments. Transparency is an essential element of good governance so it's good for the government to be taking this step. The current climate of silence and secrecy is a recipe for conspiratorial thought and deep suspicion of what information the government has that the general public does not.

The Department of Veterans Affairs immediately halted a new rule that would have based disability compensation ratings on veterans’ functional ability while taking medication rather than their underlying unmedicated impairment. Major veterans groups including the VFW, American Legion and DAV had warned the change would unfairly penalize those following medical advice for service-related conditions and could discourage necessary treatments such as for PTSD or chronic pain.

Bernie Sanders rallied support for California’s proposed ballot initiative imposing a tax on billionaires’ assets to address wealth inequality while Washington state advanced its governor-backed millionaire income tax projected to raise billions annually. Opponents in both states intensified campaigns warning of wealthy residents and businesses fleeing as Democrats in Washington faced messaging challenges over the new state income tax amid divided public opinion. We are seeing different states go radically different directions in response to taxes with more progressive blue states aggressively moving towards significant taxes on wealthy households. We'll have to see if those with money flee to states with more lax tax policies or if they stick around places like California and Washington.

New Mexico authorities reopened a criminal investigation into possible sexual abuse and sex trafficking at Jeffrey Epstein’s former Zorro Ranch property based on newly unsealed FBI files. The probe originally closed in 2019 will now coordinate with a state truth commission seeking additional unredacted documents on the remote site’s activities.

Idaho’s legislative budget committee chairmen defended new cuts of up to 5 percent across most state agencies including Medicaid reimbursements, mental health programs and wildfire response staffing citing recession risks and the need to align spending with revenues following major tax reductions. Governor Brad Little affirmed the legislature’s constitutional role in setting the budget while officials and local leaders highlighted unintended consequences for public safety and essential services. I think Idaho is making the right move here as it is better to make these types of cuts up front when the situation is still somewhat under control than run at enormous deficits and be faced with unsustainable and undesirable options much later.

Long Beach closed the prior fiscal year with a $40 million deficit and now projects an $80 million structural shortfall next year driven by shortfalls in sales, property and utility tax revenues plus rising personnel and liability costs. The city directed departments to identify 3 percent savings through immediate spending restraint while the school district prepares for teacher layoffs and broader service reductions to close the gap. Long Beach has found itself in a tough spot at this point.