Oil prices have surged to $112 per barrel amid escalating attacks on energy facilities, including Israeli strikes on Iran's South Pars gas field and Iranian retaliation damaging Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG complex, wiping out 17 percent of its capacity for three to five years, along with repeated hits on Kuwait refineries. Iran has declared it will show zero restraint if its energy infrastructure is targeted again, while President Trump has sought an end to attacks on energy sites as gas fields burn and Israeli officials indicate restraint on further energy strikes. Hopefully, escalating the price of energy will bring the war to an end quickly as that is not something we can collectively sustain.

Argentina has formally exited the World Health Organization, one year after notifying the UN following the United States' earlier withdrawal. The decision under President Milei emphasizes national health sovereignty and aligns with shifting away from the global health body. Given the huge budget gaps the WHO now faces, one has to wonder how long it can continue to exist.

A drone strike originating from Sudan has killed at least 17 civilians, including mourners at a funeral, in the Chadian border town of Tine. Chad's president has ordered military retaliation against future attacks and imposed a total border closure as Sudan's civil war spills over. Sudan's horrific civil war is spilling over into Chad, but I'm not sure that will be enough for larger powers to put an end to what feels like a never-ending conflict.

The U.S. Justice Department has sued Harvard for failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment, assault, and a hostile environment since October 2023, alleging violations of Title VI civil rights protections. The lawsuit seeks billions of dollars in federal funding recovery due to the university's alleged deliberate indifference and failure to enforce rules against antisemitism. Stopping antisemitic rhetoric feels like a thinly veiled excuse to begin harshly policing speech regarding Israel and particularly its influence on the United States.

A federal judge has ruled that Health Secretary RFK Jr. overstepped his authority by declaring gender-affirming care for minors unsafe and ineffective without proper procedures, blocking potential exclusion of providers from federal programs. The Department of Health and Human Services is also investigating 13 states for requiring insurance plans to cover abortions, alleging violations of the federal Weldon Amendment conscience protections. There's sometimes an overlap between moral positions and policy in relation to healthcare, and both of these stories are reminders of what that interaction can look like.

The Trump administration has begun shifting management of the nearly $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio, starting with defaulted loans, from the Education Department to the Treasury Department. This multi-phase move is part of broader efforts to restructure federal student aid and improve debt collection and borrower repayment processes. In my opinion, it does make sense for the Treasury to be responsible for dealing with payment collection.

Colorado's projected budget shortfall for the 2026-27 fiscal year has grown to more than $1.5 billion due to a significant downgrade in the revenue forecast. Lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee must implement deeper spending cuts across state programs to address the widening gap. Everything in this country can't continue to run at enormous deficits, so at some point long-term plans are going to have to be crafted to bring these fiscal crises back under control.

A Nevada state judge has temporarily banned Kalshi from operating in the state, while Arizona has filed criminal charges against the prediction market platform in an unprecedented regulatory move. The company and its co-founder have criticized the actions as overreaches by state authorities. So I was of the mind that these gambling platforms would be ubiquitous and unchallenged, but perhaps I was wrong.

Washington state lawmakers have approved a 9.9 percent income tax on earnings over $1 million annually, marking the state's first income tax. The revenue will fund K-12 education, health care, higher education, free school meals, and reductions in other taxes like those on diapers and hygiene products. No one hates taxation more than me, but I don't think this is a bad idea given how excessive the economic inequality is in a place like Washington.

An independent audit of Denver's All In Mile High homelessness program under Mayor Mike Johnston has uncovered $20 million in previously underreported spending. The report highlights concerns over oversight and cost tracking, though the mayor has disputed some of the auditor's findings. Certainly the city is not in a position to be misplacing or misusing $20 million.