A chartered flight with 153 Palestinians from Gaza landed in Johannesburg without required documents like return tickets or accommodation, causing a 12-hour detention on the tarmac in hot conditions. After humanitarian aid from Gift of the Givers, 130 were allowed entry under visa exemptions, while 23 left for other countries. Families were deceived by an unregistered group exploiting the crisis, prompting a government probe into the flight’s origins. South African President Ramaphosa called it mysterious, amid South Africa’s support for Palestine through ICJ actions. It will be interesting to see how Palestinians are treated in the aftermath of the genocide as efforts to relocate refugees may be disjointed in ways that cause significant confusion as is the case here.

China warned Japan that it would experience a crushing military defeat by the People’s Liberation Army if it intervenes in Taiwan, responding to Prime Minister Takaichi’s comments on a potential military response to a Chinese attack on the island. Chinese state media accused Japan of reviving militarism, citing historical issues examples of Japanese aggression like the Nanjing Massacre. Diplomats were summoned on both sides over protests and social media remarks and Beijing advised citizens against travel to Japan due to risks from strained ties. The back and forth between these two eastern giants is unsettling as it appears China is laying the groundwork for recapturing Taiwan and issuing stark warnings about the consequences of attempting to deter their plans.

Russia fired 430 drones and 19 missiles at Kyiv overnight, killing at least six and injuring dozens, with debris damaging homes, a hospital, school, and embassy. Ukrainian defenses intercepted many, but fallout disrupted power, water, and heat, forcing shelters in subways. Zelensky called it a calculated civilian strike as attacks also hit major cities like Kharkiv and Sumy with bombs. For some time we have called for some appeasement of Russian demands to be the best path to ending the bloodshed; however, the continued escalation by Western powers has seemed to create a situation where there is no meaningful possibility of a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.

The US designated four anti-fascist European groups (Antifa Ost from Germany, Italy’s International Revolutionary Front, and Greece’s Armed Proletarian Justice and Revolutionary Class Self-Defense) as global terrorists. These anarchist or Marxist groups have committed violent acts like attacks on neo-Nazis, bombings, and shootings. Designation as terrorist group allows the government to take aggressive actions like freezing assets and barring US entry to disrupt political violence. Germany’s AfD party praised the move and called for similar actions in their own country, while historians worry it could suppress anti-fascist efforts. The terrorist designation is one of the most serious tactics the government has as being labelled a terrorist fundamentally changes the relationship between these individuals and the U.S. government. To the degree that they are leveraging political violence to provoke political change, they can be considered terrorists.

Trump ordered the DOJ and FBI to probe Epstein’s links to Clinton, Summers, Hoffman, JPMorgan, and others, after Congress released 20,000 documents from the Epstein files. Prosecutor Jay Clayton will lead the investigation as President Trump continues to claim the focus on the Epstein case is a tactic for Democrats to distract the public from discussing their role in the government shutdown. We continue to stress that the only justifiable outcome is the transparent release and investigation of the Epstein files and case to assure the American public that we maintain some semblance of having the rule of law.

The DOJ joined a GOP lawsuit against California’s voter-approved congressional map, alleging unconstitutional racial gerrymandering to boost Democratic seats by five via Latino voter considerations. Bondi called the effort to redraw maps in California a power grab that violates the principle that all citizens are subject to equal protection under the law. The governor of California is firmly of the opinion that they will succeed in court given the law was passed through democratic means in California. It is interesting to see the law wielded in this fashion as the administration is clearly utilizing legal protections it wants to see eventually removed just to stop California from moving forward in its redistricting effort.

California is pulling 17,000 CDLs from immigrants as expirations exceeded legal US stays, per a DOT audit finding improper issuances. The decision to tighten up the process stems from growing pressure to ensure there is adequate oversight in the commercial driving industry after fatal crashes involving undocumented drivers in Florida and California. California had $40M revoked in funding over failing to properly implement rules regarding safety like ensuring all drivers have a certain level of proficiency in English. The governor of California disputes that the state was failing to do its duty, arguing that the authorizations were valid under prior guidance. Regulating the commercial driving industry is increasingly difficult given there is such a large gap right now between the amount of eligible and available drivers and the demand for driving services.

Socialist organizer Katie Wilson won Seattle’s mayoral race in a close vote, appealing to young voters with plans to tax the rich, increase the housing supply, improve public transit, enhance renter protections, and open city-run grocery stores. As a renter without a car, she pushes “Trump-proofing” and allowing for the government to be more responsive to community decisions. She’ll manage a $9B budget across 41 departments and probably have significant support for her agenda given progressives also swept council seats in the recent election. Perhaps we’re on the brink of witnessing a youth inspired socialist revolution throughout the country.

Trump revoked Biden’s limits on Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, lifting bans on 10.6M acres to expand leasing and jobs while consulting natives. This follows an executive order reversing restrictions in ANWR and elsewhere. Supporters of advancing the drilling campaign cite revenues for services like health and education while environmentalists decried the decision due to the risks drilling for oil poses for permafrost and wildlife.

Nevada’s Supreme Court revived the case against six Trump fake electors in Clark County, overturning a venue dismissal for false certificates claiming Trump’s win despite Biden’s margin. Defendants like McDonald face felonies up to five years for the Jan. 6 scheme and they could see real jail time as Trump’s federal pardons don’t cover state charges. Nevada’s Attorney General Ford insists that the prosecution is needed to ensure there is accountability for election interference. This makes total sense to us; we need to have trustworthy elections and that can only happen if those that interfere with the process face significant consequences.