Nationwide protests demanding regime change and the ouster of the Islamic government have spread to multiple cities, with crowds chanting "Death to Khamenei" and "freedom, freedom," leading to violence including demonstrators setting fire to cars and buildings while security forces respond with tough measures. Monitoring groups reported an abrupt nationwide internet blackout to restrict communication, following previous restrictions, as the supreme leader dismissed the unrest as wanton destruction and judicial heads warned of severe repercussions. Illegitimate governments who sustain their rule through dominating and repressing their people deserve to be toppled. Hopefully the revolutionary energy being expressed here is an organic consequence of growing frustration amongst the Iranian people.

Chinese destroyer and replenishment ship, Iranian forward base ship, and a Russian naval vessel have docked for the week-long "Will for Peace 2026" exercises led by China, aimed at exchanging best practices, improving joint operational capabilities, and enhancing maritime safety including anti-piracy efforts along shipping routes. The maneuvers involving BRICS nations off the South African coast risk further straining Pretoria's relations with Washington amid accusations of the BRICS alliance being "anti-American," especially following alliances like Iran's drone support to Russia in Ukraine. BRICS is absolutely showing force here in the wake of increased rallying by the European powers and aggressive shows of force by the United States. BRICS is anti-American in the sense that they are the critical counterbalance to the system that allowed the U.S. to function as the Western imperial hub from approximately 1945 until sometime in 2024.

EU member states provided provisional approval for the long-delayed agreement with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, establishing a massive free trade zone covering over 700 million people and facilitating reduced tariffs across vast markets. Despite widespread protests from European citizens and farmers concerned about competition and environmental standards, the deal progressed with incorporated safeguards to protect agricultural sectors. This is the type of neoliberal logic that is currently causing the world to unravel. Creating these types of absurd trade agreements fosters a world that doesn't work very well for people but makes it easier for consumerism to take hold by bringing the price of goods down.

In a bipartisan rebellion, more than a dozen House Republicans joined all Democrats to approve a three-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, directly challenging GOP leadership. The legislation prevents sharp premium hikes for millions that would occur if subsidies expired at the end of 2025, though its fate in the Senate remains uncertain amid ongoing partisan divisions. It seems like it makes sense to provide this type of band-aid solution as opposed to letting the system collapse without a clear alternative framework being ready.

A record 23 billion-dollar weather and climate events struck the United States in 2025, resulting in damages exceeding $100 billion and significant loss of life across various extreme events. The escalating costs highlight intensifying impacts from climate change, continuing a trend of high-annual totals driven by severe storms, wildfires, and other disasters. Making choices which mitigate the amount of damage incurred by these types of storms is critical. Perhaps it should increasingly be an important aim of creating quality infrastructure.

The new National Fraud Enforcement Division, led by an assistant attorney general, will centralize efforts to investigate, prosecute, and remedy widespread fraud targeting federal programs, benefits, businesses, nonprofits, and private citizens. Priorities include addressing alleged rampant abuses in welfare and social-service systems, with recent actions like freezing funds to several states underscoring the administration's aggressive stance. This seems responsive and not reactionary as it seems that as a nation we have to rationalize our approach to dealing with instances of fraud as opposed to turning a blind eye or relying on crude policing tactics to deal with these types of activities.

During a targeted vehicle stop in Portland, agents fired after the driver, Venezuelan national Luis David Nico Moncada suspected of Tren de Aragua gang ties, allegedly attempted to run them over, wounding him in the arm and his passenger wife Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras (also linked to the violent gang) in the chest. The incident, amid heightened immigration enforcement, prompted state investigations into federal authority, protests outside the ICE facility with arrests, and calls from local leaders for operations to halt pending review. Enforcing the law is a dangerous job and once again we see the perils of having law enforcement engage criminal actors who see no reason to acquiesce to the authority of American law enforcement agents.

In his final address as the governor of California, Governor Gavin Newsom touted achievements like a 9% drop in unsheltered homelessness (the first in over 15 years), record education investments yielding academic gains, double-digit crime reductions with historic low homicides in major cities, and leadership in clean energy and infrastructure projects. He sharply criticized federal overreach as enabling chaos and retaliation against states, while outlining plans for further progress in housing affordability, mental health treatment, public safety, and ethical AI regulation. It will be interesting to see how Newsom's tenure as governor will be remembered in the long term. But perhaps even more importantly, it will be interesting to see how this track record affects his bid to become a permanent member of the American political class.

Attorney General Phil Weiser filed suit claiming unconstitutional retaliation for Colorado's refusal to release convicted elections clerk Tina Peters or alter its mail-in voting system, including withholding funds for needy families, threatening transportation money, dissolving a climate research lab, and relocating U.S. Space Command. The amended lawsuit seeks to protect state sovereignty, marking another in a series of legal challenges against perceived federal coercion. This will likely be difficult to win in court but in part it seems like Weiser is most interested in waging lawfare in an attempt to keep the Trump administration mired in legal controversies.

State officials are pursuing a USDA waiver to prohibit SNAP benefits for soda, energy drinks, and pure sugar candies like gummy bears starting in 2028, while permitting hot prepared foods such as rotisserie chicken to promote healthier choices among recipients. Following approvals for similar restrictions in 18 other mostly Republican-led states effective 2026, Nevada's plan requires covering added administrative costs and aligns with efforts to improve nutrition amid new federal work requirements. These conversations are so interesting because they have both moral and pragmatic implications. On both grounds it seems to me that public resources ought to nudge people towards what is most likely to make them flourish and therefore something like sugary snacks can't make the list.