Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega accused the United States of deploying military ships near Venezuela under the pretext of anti-drug operations to intimidate and destabilize Latin American governments, particularly targeting Venezuela. He criticized a U.S. incident where forces killed 11 alleged drug traffickers linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, questioning how their involvement was proven and claiming it was part of a broader effort to overthrow regional governments. The United States has long had a troubling history of destabilizing regimes in Latin America so it is quite useful to see public officials in these countries publicly rebuking attempts by the United States to intimidate and control. Somewhat counterintuitively, it is important for us to encourage the sovereignty of the global south if we want our government to actually serve the interests of the American people.

French President Emmanuel Macron revealed that 26 nations have committed to providing security guarantees for Ukraine, including deploying troops as a reassurance force by land, sea, or air immediately following a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war. The pledges involve countries such as Germany, Italy, and Poland, with the U.S. expressing openness to contributing airpower and intelligence support to deter future Russian aggression. This provides another signal that European powers and Russia will continue to be at odds with each other for quite some time no matter the resolution of the current war in Ukraine. Europe has long been adamant that Russian aggression is a serious threat to their collective security while Russia has long alleged that the Western powers work lawlessly and tirelessly to subvert their interests.

Jamaica's Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, secured 34 seats in the general election, winning a third consecutive term over the People's National Party's 29 seats with a voter turnout of 39.5%. Holness campaigned on economic achievements like a 3.3% unemployment rate and promised to reduce the income tax rate from 25% to 15% while doubling the national minimum wage on a phased basis. A 25% income tax, in our opinion, is absurd so it's good to see the prevailing party committed to reining that in. Nonetheless this serves as a reminder that without term limits leadership can become locked in and entrenched which is often a recipe for corruption and unresolvable political tensions.

A bipartisan group of House members introduced legislation requiring lawmakers, their spouses, and dependent children to divest all individual stocks within 180 days and banning future trades, with a 10% fine on the stock's value for non-compliance. The bill, aimed at addressing concerns about insider trading, has support from House Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, President Trump, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. This is quite an intriguing means to reduce the amount of questionable interests and influence our lawmakers have. On the one hand, it seems quite punitive to force lawmakers to make this sacrifice to serve; on the other, getting to serve is a privilege and the effects of allowing this practice have been absolutely destructive to our ability to conduct good politics and trust our public officials.

The Missouri NAACP, along with two residents, filed a lawsuit to block Governor Mike Kehoe's call for a special legislative session on mid-decade redistricting, arguing it does not constitute an extraordinary occasion under the state constitution. The suit names Kehoe, Attorney General Andrew Bailey, and legislative leaders as defendants, marking the first legal challenge to the session which also aims to alter the state's initiative petition process. This is interesting because it is going to require the state to clearly articulate why this attempt to redistrict is an emergency so I'm inclined to think the NAACP might win the case. However, we continue to be disappointed in the partisan behavior of the NAACP as the concern appears to be the harm done to the Democratic Party and not simply the interests of Black people in Missouri.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before the Senate Finance Committee amid criticism for firing CDC Director Susan Monarez, replacing a vaccination panel with anti-vaccine activists, and cutting $500 million in mRNA vaccine research funding. He clashed with Sen. Ron Wyden, who accused him of endangering children, while Kennedy defended his policies by pointing to a 76% rise in chronic diseases among children and aiming to reduce infant mortality. The fight at the most fundamental level seems to be about how RFK Jr. sees the role of pharmaceutical corporations in public health with him consistently arguing that his critics are disingenuous and simply want to ensure the pharmaceutical industry continues to be the dominant force in the health care industry. I think it will serve many of his critics well to not simply attempt to shame him out of his position, but to thoroughly address these concerns about the role big pharma has played in facilitating the decline of health in the American public.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson affirmed his opposition to deploying the National Guard following a Labor Day weekend where 54 people were shot, including seven fatalities, and signed an executive order preventing police collaboration with federal agents on immigration enforcement. Federal officials plan to increase arrests of undocumented immigrants in Chicago, prompting concerns from local leaders about economic impacts on tourism and business, while overall violent crime in the city is down year over year. The real fight between the governor of Illinois, the mayor of Chicago and the president seems to be about whether the situation in Chicago constitutes an emergency. In our opinion, the amount of consistent violence in the city absolutely constitutes an emergency as the death toll over now several decades is unconscionable and something must be done urgently to end the bloodshed.

Indiana Governor Mike Braun appointed Abby Gray as utility consumer counselor to address a 17.5% average increase in electric bills over the past year by evaluating utility profits and identifying cost-saving measures. The appointment responds to proposed rate hikes from companies like AES, linked partly to rising demand from data centers for AI, with advocates calling for commissioners prioritizing affordability. Figuring out how to manage energy demands will clearly be one of the major challenges in the coming years and decades. It ought not be lost on us that this will pose challenges not only for energy production but for energy consumption as well.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz plans to call a special legislative session to consider tougher gun laws after a shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school killed two children and injured 21 people, including 18 children aged 6 to 15. Proposed measures include an assault-weapons ban, safe storage and liability insurance requirements, enhancements to the red flag law, and increased mental health funding, requiring bipartisan support in the divided legislature. It is unclear what exactly Walz hopes will come about from this session in terms of additional legislation, but we hope lawmakers remain staunchly committed to defending our constitutional rights as presented in the Second Amendment. Something has to be done about the crisis of violence in the country, but it can't come at the expense of protecting our liberties.

The Detroit City Council voted 8-1 to approve an ordinance allowing the city to prosecute certain misdemeanors starting next summer. The move is supposed to shift responsibility from Wayne County to the city so the county can focus resources on violent crimes. The city will hire four attorneys and two paralegals with a $700,000 budget to handle cases like shoplifting, domestic violence, and embezzlement, retaining fines and using specialty courts to aid residents. It will be interesting to see how this shift in the locus of prosecution affects the way minor crimes committed by people in Detroit are prosecuted. We predict that the city will grow to be particularly lenient on minor offenses, but only time will tell.