Protests erupted in major cities in Tanzania following their recent presidential election, where incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan leads with nearly 95% of the votes in some areas amid low turnout, chaos, and the barring of opposition leaders Tundu Lissu (jailed on treason charges) and Luhaga Mpina. Police fired tear gas, gunshots, and engaged in running battles, killing at least two people including one civilian and one officer, while protesters defied a nighttime curfew, used the Zello app amid a nationwide internet blackout, set polling stations ablaze, and spilled into Kenya. In response to the protests, the government imposed a curfew, ordered civil servants and students to stay home until Friday, blocked major roads and the airport, and blamed “bad characters.” The leadership class of Tanzania has been brazenly corrupt and has long engaged in the practice of making their opposition disappear. A just society cannot be wielded as the personal plaything of an elite class, and we hope this unrest provides the opportunity for Tanzania to change course.

Approximately 200,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews, who comprise 14% of Israel’s Jewish population, gathered in West Jerusalem for a “march of the million” to protest against a Supreme Court ruling ending their longstanding exemption from compulsory service. The Israeli Defense Forces claim to need 12,000 more recruits and have issued notices to 80,000 eligible Haredi men, arresting draft dodgers amid coalition tensions that saw United Torah Judaism quit Netanyahu’s government. During the protests, one teenager died after falling from a construction site, protesters burned posters and hurled objects injuring one officer, and 2,000 police officers equipped with water cannons and horses made many arrests. As we continue to highlight, there has to be pressure placed on the Israeli government to bring the genocidal campaign to an end, and perhaps that pressure has to be internal.

Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the rebel group fighting the Sudanese government, seized El Fasher and killed over 460 at Saudi Maternity Hospital alone through executions of patients, staff, and companions, and also conducted house-to-house raids, rapes, kidnappings for ransom, and ethnic targeting of non-Arabs. Videos filmed by RSF fighters show summary shootings of pleading civilians, groups of men, and bodies littered like a “killing field.” The reports of mass executions were corroborated by satellite imagery. The situation in Sudan continues to be one of the true horrors of our time as unhinged rebels seem to be winning a civil war. From our point of view, the RSF is even worse than the Taliban, meaning their rule will only undermine the ability of people in Sudan to flourish as human beings.

President Trump ordered the Pentagon to immediately restart nuclear testing after a 33-year moratorium, matching rivals like Russia’s recent nuclear-powered missile, drone, and torpedo tests and China’s arsenal doubling to 600 warheads (projected 1,000+ by 2030). The U.S. holds 5,225 warheads versus Russia’s 5,580, with no explosive tests by major powers since 1992 under Bush. The Russian government warned that the U.S. should proceed with caution, while China urged the U.S. to remain in compliance with standing international protocol. The UN noted they are alarmed about this escalation, and Democrats vowed to block funding amid warnings of arms race. While we take a broadly anti-war position, it only makes sense for the American government to respond in kind to Russian attempts to intimidate the U.S. by conspicuously demonstrating their military might.

President Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping resulted in the U.S. slashing tariffs on China from 57% to 47% for massive soybean and farm purchases, suspending rare earth export controls and port fees for one year (renewable), and tying further cuts to fentanyl crackdowns. South Korea gained U.S. approval for its first nuclear-powered submarine at Philadelphia’s Hanwha shipyard with enriched uranium supply, backed by a $350 billion U.S. investment pledge, vast U.S. oil/gas buys, and auto tariff relief from 25% to 15%. Perhaps this is a sign that cooler heads are prevailing with the recognition that jockeying for better positions is fine but a full-scale economic war would lead to losses no one wants to see.

The Trump administration set the 2026 refugee cap at 7,500, plunging from Biden’s 125,000, with most slots in this cycle being reserved for white Afrikaner farmers claiming they are subject to racial oppression via land expropriation and rural violence. Claims of oppression have been denied by the South African government, as they claim they are simply attempting to rectify a situation in which white South Africans own 72% of farms despite only being 7.3% of the population. While we agree there has to be lower caps set on refugee claims, the move to prioritize South Africans appears to be a polarizing attempt to remind Trump’s base that he is concerned about “racial oppression” against white people.

House Democrats unveiled a $1.5 billion transit funding plan taxing unrealized capital gains at 4.95% for those with over $1 billion in assets, plus a 7% amusement tax on Netflix/Spotify streaming and $5 surcharge on large concert tickets. While ideas like this often sound good as rallying cries to overthrow the dominance of the wealthy, the logic behind such taxes is truly suspect. Perhaps taxing people on gains that don’t actually exist is a bad idea, and members of the party should return to the drawing board if they’re looking for reasonable ways to wrestle with economic inequality.

A new bill introduced by Reps. Jennifer Gross and Riordan McClain creates an electronic Ohio currency backed by state-held physical gold/silver reserves, usable via Mastercard anywhere, with purchases being exempt from state sales tax. Lawmakers are leveraging the idea that constitutionally there is no restriction on the currency the state can back, and pegging the value to silver and gold serves as a hedge for the dollar devaluation that has been ongoing since the country left the gold standard in 1971. While we embrace the end of fiat currency, if we are to remain in a world in which we are forced to endure state-backed currencies, a return to a gold standard is the only acceptable way to sustain the value of that currency.

Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer temporarily removed Sheriff Alfred Montgomery as he currently sits in federal custody, unable to direct his office. The sheriff was indicted on four counts of witness retaliation and one count of witness tampering, accused of using a burner phone to threaten and intimidate witnesses, lying about guns at his home, and providing inconsistent answers after testing positive for marijuana. Former Police Chief John Hayden was appointed interim sheriff by Presiding Judge Christopher McGraugh until the November trial. Due to the importance of the position of sheriff, it is extremely important that anyone occupying that position is held to the highest standards, and it only makes sense to keep the function of the sheriff’s office operational as the previous sheriff stands trial.

Republican Governor Mike Braun called a special session for mid-decade U.S. House redistricting to counter other states and secure fair representation, urged by Trump/Vance targeting Indiana’s 1st and 7th districts for GOP gains ahead of 2026 midterms. GOP supermajority holds 7-2 delegation edge in the state, but the Senate lacks votes to proceed per leader Rodric Bray. We remain uncritical of attempts to politically gerrymander by both parties as that is a legitimate component of political warfare in our current system.