The Pakistani Parliament approved the Constitutional Amendment with a two-thirds majority, redesignating the army chief as “chief of the defence forces” with direct operational command over the navy and air force for the first time, while granting the incumbent General Asim Munir and the sitting president full legal immunity from prosecution for life, even after leaving office. The changes also create a new Federal Constitutional Court staffed partly by serving military officers, effectively curtailing the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction over constitutional matters and consolidating unprecedented institutional power in the military amid ongoing political turmoil. We would like to condemn this as a tremendous misstep by the Pakistani government as centralized and unaccountable power is a recipe for calamity, oppression and an eventual revolution.

Over the last several days, Israeli forces conducted multiple airstrikes across Gaza, killing at least 32 Palestinians and wounding dozens more in areas such as Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah, and Gaza City. The strikes came after Israeli troops reported coming under small-arms fire and anti-tank missile attacks near aid distribution points, prompting what the military described as precise responses against Hamas operatives while Hamas and Palestinian officials condemned the actions as a deliberate violation of the October-brokered ceasefire that had reduced major hostilities for weeks. It remains unclear what, if anything, can constrain the aggression of the Israeli military as the Israeli government seemingly will stop at nothing to see that the Palestinian people suffer as much as possible.

The IAEA’s 35-member Board of Governors overwhelmingly passed a Western-backed resolution formally declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations and demanding immediate, unrestricted inspector access to damaged centrifuge-production sites, full accounting of near-weapons-grade uranium stockpiles, and explanations for undeclared nuclear material traces found at multiple locations. The vote follows months of Iranian stonewalling, recent reports of secret travel by Iranian nuclear scientists to Russia, and heightened tensions after Israel’s October strikes on Iranian facilities, marking the strongest international pressure on Tehran’s program since the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal. Frankly, our opinion is that the Iranians should tell the IAEA to “kick rocks” and “beat it” given that they have been absolutely silent about Israeli violations but seem adamant that Iran must be constrained and treated in a child-like manner.

In a major revision to its website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed language stating that “vaccines do not cause autism” and replaced it with a disclaimer that such claims are “not evidence-based” because large epidemiological studies have only shown correlation patterns, not definitive causal exclusion. The agency simultaneously announced a new multi-year federal research initiative to re-examine potential biological pathways linking components of the childhood vaccination schedule to autism spectrum disorders. What’s most interesting about the ongoing discourse regarding the possible negative consequences of our current vaccine protocol is how enraged people are at the suggestion that there is reason to take another look at the link between vaccines and autism and that the frustration with inquiry seems to have a political dimension.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics finally released the long-delayed September employment data on Thursday, revealing that the U.S. economy added a stronger-than-expected 119,000 jobs (primarily in healthcare, leisure and hospitality, and government) while the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4% and previous months’ gains were revised downward by a combined 112,000 positions. The seven-week delay stemmed from the partial government shutdown earlier in the fall that halted data processing and surveys. The U.S. economy is really in an odd position but it is encouraging to see the labor market begin to get stronger in such a volatile economic climate.

The Chief Technology Officer of the Pentagon, Emil Michael, revealed a streamlined list of six “must-win” technology areas: applied artificial intelligence for decision-making, quantum sensing and computing for battlefield dominance, advanced biomanufacturing for on-demand medical and material production, resilient contested-logistics systems, scaled directed-energy weapons including high-power lasers and microwaves, and mature hypersonic strike and defense platforms. The priorities come with aggressive three-year timelines for prototype deployment and significant new funding to counter rapid advances by China and Russia in these domains. It is useful to have this level of transparency from the federal government as we now have a rubric to assess their competence given they have declared these are the areas we should advance in for our military.

Starting next week, Illinois residents with compliant driver’s licenses or state IDs can add fully encrypted digital versions to Apple Wallet immediately and to Google Wallet in early 2026, allowing touch-to-pay presentation at over 20 participating airports’ TSA checkpoints, select retailers, and age-restricted venues nationwide. Physical cards remain mandatory for driving and traffic stops, and the program uses biometric verification and dynamic security features to prevent fraud. We are about to feel the full brunt of the digital revolution as it is clear that governments are going to prefer to include citizens in digital systems that make governance at scale much more efficient and reliable.

County Executive Sam Page warned that an $82 million shortfall, $62 million in the general fund and $20 million in public health, could force layoffs in the police department, closure of parks and recreation facilities, and reduced prosecuting attorney staffing unless voters approve new revenue measures such as a countywide online-use tax or property-tax increase in April 2026. Officials rejected using the entire rainy-day fund, insisting on a mix of spending cuts and sustainable new revenue to close the gap created by inflation, stagnant sales-tax growth, and federal pandemic aid expiration. We continue to warn that many localities in the country are under tremendous fiscal pressure and if we do not begin to dramatically cut spending at every level there will be serious repercussions.

Federal prosecutors charged 50-year-old transient Marcus L. Jefferson with committing an act of terrorism against a mass-transit system after surveillance footage showed him calmly pouring gasoline from a canister over a sleeping 26-year-old woman on a Blue Line train near the Illinois Medical District and igniting her, causing third-degree burns over 80% of her body. The victim remains in critical condition; authorities also linked Jefferson to an earlier arson at City Hall and described the train attack as premeditated and ideologically motivated. We don’t cover crime here, but what is interesting to us is that Jefferson is being tried as a terrorist. Words matter and it’ll be interesting to see if heinous crimes are increasingly tried as acts of terrorism to ensure there are maximal penalties applied to the offender.

By a 58-34 party-line vote, the Ohio House advanced legislation requiring every public school district and charter school to show students in grades 5 through 12 the four-minute “Meet Baby Olivia” animated video, produced by anti-abortion advocacy group Live Action, or an equivalent medically supervised depiction of human development from fertilization through birth during annual health or biology units. The bill now heads to the Senate, where supporters argue it provides accurate science education while medical organizations and critics contend the video contains factual inaccuracies and serves primarily as ideological material rather than objective curriculum. We highlight the clashes between culture wars and policy and this stands as a clear example of how cultural understandings of abortion can be wielded via policy action to do things like make the public education system give airtime to a particular narrative.