The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, part of the Congo River Alliance led by Corneille Nangaa, announced a unilateral withdrawal from the recently seized lakeside town of Uvira in South Kivu province near the Burundi border. They described the decision as a trust-building measure because it demonstrates their support for the Qatar-mediated Doha peace process following a direct request from the United States administration. This move involves both M23 and Congolese forces retreating 5 km to create a buffer zone, amid U.S. criticism from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the seizure violated the December 4, 2025, Washington Accords peace deal between DRC and Rwanda presidents. The back and forth is a good reminder that paperwork does not always mean the conclusion of conflict but hopefully these instances of violence are the final manifestations of the conflict and the peace deal can lead to sustained peace.

The sanctions target former President Michel Martelly and his former political advisor Youri Latortue for arming and financing gangs to advance political agendas and economic interests, former senator Rony Celestin for orchestrating violence including the murder of journalist Néhémie Joseph over corruption exposures, and the 5 Segond gang based in Port-au-Prince's Village-de-Dieu for widespread theft, rape, kidnapping, murder, piracy, extortion, arms and drugs trafficking, and obstructing humanitarian aid. These measures impose asset freezes and travel bans on the individuals and entity to combat escalating gang violence, serious human rights abuses, and impunity amid Haiti's humanitarian crisis. The actions complement EU efforts to support institutional capacity, public services, police, and stability in collaboration with regional partners. It is unclear to us how these increased sanctions will change the situation in Haiti but it is a good reminder of the tools these types of institutions deploy in an effort to overwhelm their opposition. Also, the situation in Haiti cannot be ignored as currently Haiti remains more or less a failed state.

The World Bank is partnering with Vakıfbank to provide a 750 million euro guarantee leveraging up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.76 billion) in 10-year commercial financing for micro, small, and medium enterprises as part of a $4 billion Access to Finance for Jobs and Growth Program in the Europe and Central Asia region, with Turkey among the first beneficiaries. This initiative focuses on expanding access to funds particularly for women- and youth-led businesses to promote job creation and economic growth. Turkey has experienced significant turmoil over quite some time now so perhaps they see an opportunity to regrow the economy here through an influx of cash.

The executive order classifies illicit fentanyl and its core precursor chemicals as weapons of mass destruction based on their potential to cause widespread death or serious injury through toxic effects, comparable to chemical weaponry under UN definitions, directing the Attorney General to pursue immediate investigations and prosecutions while instructing the Secretaries of State and Treasury to target related assets and financial networks. This designation enables stronger actions against trafficking amid the drug's devastating public health impact described as a scourge flooding the country with effects rivaling a bomb. Who would've thought the war on drugs would include weapons of mass destruction? Jokes aside, this seems to be a somewhat clever maneuver to give the government the cover it needs to further escalate its aggression against legitimate governments and cartel actors in the Western hemisphere.

Customs and Border Protection collected more than $200 billion in duties from January 20 to December 15, 2025, stemming from over 40 unilateral executive orders imposing reciprocal tariffs on most nations worldwide plus specific fentanyl-related tariffs on imports from Canada, China, and Mexico. These revenues, excluding prior administrations' collections, reflect efforts to address trade imbalances and security, though facing legal challenges in the Supreme Court over congressional authority and recent monthly declines due to slowed shipments. Trade wars are tricky to assess in terms of winners and losers but at least some data regarding what was collected allows us to begin to make those arguments.

A total of 46 executions were carried out in 2025 with two more scheduled this week in Florida and Georgia, nearly doubling from 25 in 2024 despite public support dropping to a 50-year low of 52%, driven by resumptions in states like Florida under Governor Ron DeSantis which accounted for 19 cases or 40% of the national total. Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas each conducted 5 executions comprising nearly three-quarters overall alongside declining new death sentences, expansions in some states to non-lethal crimes, and adoption of methods like nitrogen gas and firing squads amid concerns over botched procedures. The death penalty is an unacceptable form of punishment, but this also might tell us something about an increasing appetite in the public for severe punishment. Perhaps this is just a statistical anomaly but on the other hand, it might be worth noting as a pivotal point in how we will be carrying justice out, at least in some states, for many years to come.

Maryland joined attorneys general from over 20 states including Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and others plus the District of Columbia and Federal Trade Commission in suing Uber over deceptive practices in its Uber One subscription service costing $9.99 monthly or $96 yearly for delivery perks, alleging unfair automatic enrollments, unauthorized charges, and complex cancellation processes lacking simple stop mechanisms. States are seemingly increasingly finding ways to curtail the power of tech giants and this is an interesting example of the back and forth in those power games.

Residents require triple the $7.25 state minimum wage or at least $21.75 hourly for a single adult and $36 for a parent with one child to cover necessities, as median two-bedroom rents surged from $676 in 2009 to over $1,406 in 2025 with 55% of Richland County renters spending more than 30% of income on housing alone, necessitating 143 weekly work hours for fair market rent per national data. Stagnant wages combined with rising groceries, childcare, healthcare, and limited transportation exacerbate vulnerabilities, contributing to serving 4,346 homeless individuals last year with risks of increased displacement and cycling into homelessness for low-income households. When people discuss the affordability crisis in the country they often turn to the major urban centers as examples but the current market dynamics are even putting real estate markets in mid-to-small cities like Columbia under intense pressure.

American Distillation, Inc., pleaded guilty to knowingly discharging over 50,000 gallons of wastewater containing tert-butyl alcohol and other pollutants into the Cape Fear River five to six times annually from 2020 to 2024 by accepting excess chemicals beyond safe processing capacity to avoid operational halts and financial losses while maximizing profits. This violated the Clean Water Act, with the owner also pleading guilty to federal tax evasion and a production manager previously admitting involvement. A reliable regulatory environment ensures bad actors like this get ensnared by the legal system.

The former chief Pamela A. Smith is accused of pressuring officers to underreport or alter crime statistics to artificially lower reported rates for a safer public image, while retaliating against resistors via demotions and transfers. This fostered a toxic culture of fear impacting morale, transparency, and accurate public awareness of crime levels in the city. There's been lots of accusations of these sorts floating around, that police chiefs have been fudging numbers in an effort to mislead the public and lawmakers, so hopefully this type of investigation can provide some insight into the truth of those claims. It does make sense though, that high level cops are being leaned on by political powers to bring the numbers down and that has a way of filtering down to the data collection elements of policing.