In a no-confidence vote with 364 against and 194 in favor, French lawmakers ousted Prime Minister François Bayrou. The vote was triggered by widespread frustration with a proposed €44 billion savings plan that was designed to deal with rapidly rising debt and quickly escalating financial pressures. This collapse leaves President Emmanuel Macron with few options to form a new government, as opposition from far-right and left-wing parties complicates appointments and heightens economic instability. France is a clear warning signal that much of the irresponsible fiscal spending in the developed world cannot simply be waved away. Eventually, citizens have to recognize that their representatives must prudently address fiscal concerns instead of acting as if the country has endless resources.

Police in Kathmandu opened fire on thousands of Gen Z protesters demonstrating against a government ban on social media platforms like Facebook and X. The clashes resulted in at least 13 deaths and left dozens of others injured. The ban, imposed last week to combat fake news and require platform registration, led to clashes near parliament, with authorities imposing a curfew and protesters using VPNs to bypass restrictions. Even the most repressive governments should give up the fight in regard to attempting to restrict access to the internet. They should do so not only because this is the ethically correct position, but also because trying to police it is only going to trigger massive resistance and lead to tragic violence as we see here.

Israel's alert system failed to classify a Houthi drone from Yemen as hostile, allowing it to strike an airport in the southern part of the country. The strike caused minor injuries to two people and caused significant damage to portions of the airport. The attack temporarily closed the airport and Israel has vowed retaliation as Houthi rebels continue to threaten to escalate operations against Israel as a show of support for Gaza. Even with the backing of the United States, it remains unclear how Israel can maintain its uncompromising posture in relation to both its genocidal campaign in Gaza and its imperial ambitions in the broader region. Perhaps this serves as a useful reminder of how difficult it is for a country to fight on so many fronts simultaneously no matter how much might it wields.

President Trump announced that the Department of Education will issue new guidelines to protect students' rights to pray in public schools. The move seems to be an attempt to address perceived threats to religious liberty by many American conservatives. The planned actions build on prior policies allowing prayer groups and religious expression during non-instructional time, amid ongoing debates over First Amendment violations. Unlike the absurd attempts to enforce the display of the 10 commandments in public schools, this seems to be a reasonable course of action. As a country we must be committed to allowing displays of religious practice in public spaces like schools as long as they are not enforced by government fiat.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal immigration raids in Southern California shall be allowed to proceed. In doing so they overturned a lower court order that barred stops, expressing concerns that it would lead to detainment based on race, ethnicity, or language without reasonable suspicion. This ruling supports the Trump administration's aggressive enforcement, including prior deployment of National Guard and Marines, amid allegations of racial profiling and community protests. We still remain convinced that the best path forward involves cooperation between federal agencies and states which would allow the immigration laws to be enforced without this level of chaotic interaction between the public and law enforcement. Perhaps this court ruling will cause local leaders like governors and mayors to reevaluate whether their dislike for the Trump administration is worth the chaos caused by heavy-handed federal enforcement of the law.

Nasdaq filed a request with the SEC on Monday to amend rules and allow trading of tokenized stocks under the same standards as traditional securities, ensuring equal execution priority and shareholder rights. If approved, this could integrate blockchain technology into U.S. equity markets, enabling 24/7 trading, fractional ownership, and increased liquidity for tokenized assets. It is becoming increasingly clear that the blockchain and crypto skeptics will have to adapt to a world in which these technologies are fundamental parts of the financial system. Not only do they represent technological advancement, if properly introduced they can pave the way towards a less corrupt and problematic infrastructure for both the domestic and global economy.

Gov. Josh Shapiro approved SEPTA's request to redirect $394 million in capital funds to operations. The increased funding will delay service cuts for at least two years and will help address a $213 million shortfall in the transit agency's budget. This temporary fix still requires the agency implement a 21.5% fare hike to generate $31 million more in revenue, but lawmakers emphasize the need for long-term funding amid political divisions. We here are staunch advocates for public services like transportation so it is critical that this intervention by the state government be used as a transitional moment to place the city's transportation agency on a sustainable trajectory.

State lawmakers are investigating claims that Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration rigged an $11 billion Medicaid home care contract for the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, after the selected company admitted to pre-bid communications with health officials. The probe follows allegations of false testimony and a chaotic rollout causing missed paychecks and patient harm, with lawmakers vowing to uncover the truth despite denials from the administration. New York has long suffered from being ruled by corrupt leadership, and while as always, we must wait for the investigation to reveal the truth, we are inclined to believe that the allegations are not coming from nowhere.

Following an immigration enforcement operation in May that led to nearly 1,500 arrests, ICE will engage in a series of efforts in Massachusetts which they have named Operation Patriot 2.0. The massive operation will purportedly target criminal undocumented immigrants with a surge of enforcement that is expected to last several weeks. The operation is in part a response to Boston's sanctuary policies and has already prompted legal challenges and responses from Mayor Michelle Wu, who vows to enforce local laws against potential overreach. In our opinion, much of what is being framed as fighting back against tyranny is actually a reactionary approach to subverting the will of the people, and it is in all of our best interest for local bodies to cooperate appropriately within the federal structure.

A political action committee plans to spend $3 million supporting housing ballot measures created by Mayor Eric Adams' panel which aim to ease building processes and reduce City Council authority over development. The PAC has secured $1 million in commitments for campaigns including mailers and ads, amid opposition from the City Council fighting to keep the measures off the November ballot. We often talk about the influence of money in politics in the abstract but these are the cases where we can perhaps best address where spending money is the same as speech and whether or not it should be allowed for people to use this amount of resources to support their political aims.