Kim Jong Un will attend a military parade in Beijing next week, invited by Xi Jinping, marking his first China visit in six years and coinciding with the presence of Vladimir Putin, underscoring a three-way alignment among China, Russia, and North Korea amid U.S. alliance efforts with South Korea and Japan. The event, attended by 26 foreign leaders, highlights North Korea's expanding cooperation with Russia and potential interest in resuming U.S. diplomacy, while relying heavily on China for trade and support. For so long, North Korea has been treated as a toxic element of global politics, so it is quite interesting to see them be embraced by leaders of world powers like Russia and China.

Germany proposed a new military recruitment law to boost voluntary enlistment and potentially reinstate conscription, aiming to address the understaffing of its armed forces amid heightened security concerns due to Russia's actions in Ukraine since 2022. The plan, presented by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, has sparked debate within the government and aligns with increased defense spending pressures from President Trump. As war continues to escalate around the globe, it's unsurprising to see countries deploy more aggressive maneuvers to ensure they're prepared.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa launched a G20 taskforce which will be chaired by Joseph Stiglitz. The task force will address global wealth inequality, with findings due at the November 2025 G20 meeting in Johannesburg. The initiative, a first for the G20, aims to tackle issues like unfair vaccine distribution and rising prices, reflecting South Africa's focus on inequality and debt. Global inequality is perhaps the most puzzling outcome of the post-WWII economic arrangement which was purportedly supposed to advance global stability through the hegemonic influence of the West and the liberalization of capital throughout the world.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner is shifting the administration’s homelessness strategy towards public-private partnerships and away from federal housing support, clearing 49 encampments in D.C. and proposing a two-year cap on rental assistance with work requirements, while critics argue these changes lack resources and could increase homelessness, potentially affecting over three million Americans. The approach rejects "housing first" policies, focusing on holistic services, but faces opposition from advocates who say it will push more people into poverty, with unclear details on support programs for displaced individuals. Dealing with homelessness will undoubtedly be one of the key challenges of the coming years, and there seems to be a lack of quality answers regarding the issue. Critics will push for more humane policies while advocates will rightly highlight that progressive solutions have at times made the problem worse.

The Treasury Department has instructed U.S. financial institutions to monitor Chinese nationals, including students and retirees, for potential money laundering tied to Mexican drug cartels fueling fentanyl distribution, as these individuals often bypass Chinese currency controls using underground banks. A FinCen report revealed these networks are also linked to human trafficking and money laundering through entities like New York day care centers, with over $312 billion in suspicious activity reported from 2020 to 2024. Many Americans are currently unaware of just how high tensions are between the US and China. These types of incidents serve as reminders that China and the US understand themselves as adversaries who are using all types of means to undermine each others' interests regardless of the increasing rhetoric of the relationship improving.

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook sued President Donald Trump after he attempted to remove her over alleged 2021 mortgage fraud, arguing his action violated the Federal Reserve Act, which requires "cause" for removal, a standard never tested in court. Trump's move has raised concerns about the Fed's independence, potentially destabilizing the US economy, as noted by economic experts, amid claims that no valid cause exists for her removal. This lawsuit will reveal much about the relationship between the president and the Fed and what the limits of the executive office are in relation to the central bank. Abuses of power are bad, and no matter our opinion of the central bank, we hope that this provides some concrete resolution of this issue.

Governor JB Pritzker denounced President Trump's reported plan to deploy military personnel to Chicago as illegal and politically motivated, noting no coordination with local leaders despite declining crime rates, including a 32% drop in murders, and countered Trump's weight-related remarks by calling him "not in good shape." Pritzker affirmed Illinois's readiness to legally challenge the deployment, urging Trump not to interfere and warning complicit officials of future accountability, amid claims of Chicago being a "killing field" despite 2024 seeing the lowest homicides since 2019. The shift to the language of percentages is obviously an attempt to obfuscate the truly abhorrent condition of crime in several cities in Illinois. It is perhaps easy to tout percentage decreases when it is not those close to you being shot and killed.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has ordered Michigan and 39 other states to remove gender ideology from PREP-funded sexual education programs, targeting vulnerable youth, or risk losing federal funding, with California already having its grant terminated for non-compliance, while the Republican-led Michigan House passed a $78.5 billion budget cutting health services and eliminating DEI initiatives. Michigan has 60 days to comply by removing specific content from educational materials like "Making Proud Choices!" and "Teen Outreach Program," or face potential funding enforcement actions, as critics decried cuts to public safety, workforce programs, and K-12 education contrasting with the Senate’s higher proposal.

The Cincinnati police union unanimously voted no confidence in Mayor Aftab Pureval, blaming his slow response and political interference, such as charging a White victim of a July 26 viral beatdown with disorderly conduct, for undermining public safety. Seven suspects were charged in connection with the assault, amid accusations that the mayor failed to support police and address community trust issues effectively. Tension between the mayor and the police force is obviously a recipe for distrust and poor performance in terms of city governance. I'm not sure there will be a meaningful way to patch this up during Pureval's tenure, but the discourse does reveal the police union's growing frustration with the role ideology in regards to race is playing in the mind of city hall.

The St. Charles City Council voted for a one-year moratorium on new or expanded data center applications after community concerns and the withdrawal of a project by CRG Cumulus, LLC, marking the first city-wide ban of its kind in the country. Residents highlighted issues like transparency and environmental impact, while officials, including Mayor Dan Borgmeyer, emphasized future changes like banning NDAs to address these concerns. We will continue to highlight tensions regarding data centers as it is a local issue that will continue to plague the country over the next several years. The consequences of these centers seem to be horrendous, but yet, they have to go somewhere. How might we fix this, perhaps placing them in outer space, but until then we have some really interesting arguments on our hands.