Gen Z-organized protests against crime, corruption, impunity, and government inaction on issues like violent murders and public health funding drew several thousand participants to Mexico City’s Zócalo square. The protests began peacefully but quickly escalated into violent clashes. Demonstrators, some masked, attacked police with stones, fireworks, sticks, and chains, leading to 120 injuries, mostly to officers, and 20 arrests, while vandalizing police fencing and symbols of power, including antisemitic graffiti that prompted condemnation from Israel’s foreign minister. President Claudia Sheinbaum accused right-wing infiltration via social media bots, as protesters like supporters of assassinated Michoacán Mayor Carlos Manzo in straw hats demanded accountability. The event symbolized a broader 2025 global Gen Z activism wave against inequality and democratic backsliding, similar to movements in Nepal, Madagascar, and Peru. Elites continue to try to offload dissent by framing it as a consequence of far-right propaganda, but at some point we will have to take seriously the substantive complaints of the growing chorus of populist uprisings happening all throughout the world at nearly the same time.

A special tribunal in Dhaka convicted Sheikh Hasina and her former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan of crimes against humanity, sentencing them to death in absentia for inciting and ordering the extermination of protesters using helicopters, drones, and lethal weapons during the 2024 student-led uprising against a job quota system. The protests, which escalated into a broader anti-government movement leading to Hasina’s ousting and exile in India, resulted in over 800 to 1,400 deaths and about 14,000 injuries as per government and UN estimates. Interim leader Muhammad Yunus described the verdict as historic justice for victims, while Hasina denounced it as biased and politically motivated, prompting her banned Awami League party to call for a national shutdown amid ongoing instability and planned February 2026 elections. The former police chief, who pleaded guilty and cooperated, received a five-year sentence, with India refusing his extradition requests. We stand against the death penalty as a philosophical position; however, it is nonetheless astounding to see it used as a punishment against a high-profile and well-connected individual.

The UK Labour government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced reforms that extend the wait for permanent residency from 5 to 20 years, make refugee status temporary with regular reviews for safe returns, and remove automatic housing or allowances to deter abuse and Channel crossings. Changes target ECHR Articles 3 and 8 to narrow family life rights to immediate family, restrict degrading treatment definitions, and enable faster deportations of failed claimants. The government is also threatening visa bans on countries like Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo for non-cooperation. While not the fault of the refugees, the people of the UK are sovereign and therefore able to restrict immigration to the country as they see fit. We can no longer afford to live under the illusion that people can simply be shuffled all across the world and everything will simply work out fine if everyone plays nice.

New international student enrollment at U.S. universities dropped about 17% this fall according to a survey of over 825 institutions by the Institute of International Education. Declines were driven by visa delays, denials, social media screenings, travel restrictions affecting 2% of students, and a 39% increase in deferrals, with over 6,000 visa revocations for violations like assault or terrorism support. The steepest drops came from countries like China and India due to prospective students citing rising U.S. tuition, perceptions of unwelcomeness from campus protests, and competition from Australia and Canada as reasons for their decision. Officials like President Trump acknowledged the economic value of foreign enrollment given these students often end up paying double the regular cost of tuition and are estimated to have contributed around $55 billion to the economy in 2024. The university system in the United States is fundamentally broken and we here think that if it can’t exist without being subsidized through enrolling foreign students that pay double the tuition it must suffer the reckoning it’s been begging for; something better hopefully will take its place.

All 42 million SNAP beneficiaries must reapply starting next year following a program review by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins that uncovered 186,000 fraud cases in 29 states, including benefits to deceased individuals using their Social Security numbers, with 21 states suing to block data disclosure. The overhaul, costing $100 billion annually in 2024, aims to ensure aid reaches only vulnerable low-income households through standard six-to-12-month recertifications, enhanced data cross-checks, regulatory changes, and state collaborations to eliminate an estimated $10 billion in annual fraud. President Trump emphasized that SNAP fraud endangers the nation and stressed accountability for taxpayer funds, with recent outcomes including 120 arrests from an 11-month Ohio investigation into 17,000 illegal transactions. Also importantly, this data only comes from the states willing to share information with the federal government which in many ways implies the levels of fraud are significantly higher than what we see here. While the government must play a role in assuring all citizens live lives of dignity, much of this effort is probably best left in the hands of civil society institutions like neighborhood groups and churches.

The FAA has ended emergency flight caps, following a 43-day government shutdown that caused staffing shortages among air traffic controllers who missed two paychecks, leading to initial 4% reductions escalating to 6% at 40 major airports like New York and Chicago. Impacts on air travel included over 20,000 cancellations and many more delays from fatigue and staffing shortages. Airlines are now able to restore full schedules, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy refocusing on hiring controllers and upgrading systems.

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika denied a preliminary injunction thereby allowing Delaware’s permit-to-purchase law to take effect this week. The new rules mandate fingerprinting, background checks, safety training, and a 30-day processing period for handgun buys or transfers, with no fees but costs for applicants and exemptions for concealed carry holders. The challenge, filed by groups like the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association and gun sellers, argued Second Amendment violations, inadequate state infrastructure risking delays, and prohibitions on protected activities like revoking permits leading to firearm surrender. Attorney General Kathy Jennings hailed the ruling as a win for gun safety, aimed at reducing straw purchases, homicides, suicides, and trafficking, with ongoing litigation and expected appeals. The law creates a transfer registry, with supporters emphasizing violence reduction and the judge finding no evidence of insufficient processing capacity. This seems to us as a problematic infringement on Second Amendment rights making us think this is not the last we will hear about this attempt to regulate gun purchases in Delaware.

Gov. Maura Healey appointed Giselle Byrd, a transgender activist who identifies as a Black transgender woman from the American South, as vice chair of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women’s Programming and Planning Committee effective. Byrd, executive director of The Theater Offensive focusing on queer and trans people of color art, advises on policies affecting women and girls in areas like sports and shelters. Critics, including conservatives, the Massachusetts Family Institute, and journalist Megyn Kelly, argue the appointment prioritizes gender ideology over biological women’s interests, labeling it absurd. The move has sparked widespread debate on representation and advocacy for change within the commission. We often highlight the moments the culture wars come out of the sphere of heated exchanges and affect meaningful decision making and here we see a clear-cut example of how the culture wars can collide with governance.

Members of Transport Workers Union Local 234, representing about 5,000 SEPTA bus, trolley, subway operators, mechanics, maintenance staff, cashiers, and custodians, unanimously voted to authorize a strike after working without a contract since November 7 amid stalled talks starting in October for a two-year deal. Key issues include wage increases, better pensions, updated outdated 1940s-1960s provisions, and sick pay challenges like accessing doctors, penalties for late paperwork, and low morale from mismanagement and poor conditions. Union leaders like International President John Samuelsen warned of shutting down Philadelphia if no fair offer emerges, with negotiations resuming Tuesday, while SEPTA committed to good-faith talks viewing the vote as routine. A potential walkout would halt services for millions, including over 50,000 public school students, echoing the 2016 six-day strike, amid ongoing Regional Rail issues from fleet inspections. The situation in Philadelphia has been continuously treated with patchwork solutions but the real problem seems to be that the city is constrained by fiscal concerns that will in the end make it nearly impossible for workers’ demands to be met.

Three military veterans, including disabled veteran Jason Finn tied for the highest civil service exam score, sued the Boston Fire Department in September 2025 for bypassing them on the eligibility list in favor of lower-scoring cadets to fulfill Mayor Michelle Wu’s diversity targets through a 2021 cadet program prioritizing underrepresented groups. The program, limited to one-third of academy classes for ages 18-25 with three-year residency, allegedly involves lowered standards, high failure rates (e.g., nine cadets failed initial exams), unprecedented remedial training, patronage with 20% of hires being relatives of department employees, and only three veterans among 63 cadets in 2023-2024. Plaintiffs, supported by InnoVets, claim violations of veterans’ statutory preferences and equal protection, with the Civil Service Commission upholding practices in August 2025 despite a May investigation request. Here we again see the tension that can emerge when culture wars collide with rule-making as it appears some believe the government is pursuing its ideological vision at the expense of rewarding competence.