Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro deployed 4.5 million militia members to counter U.S. threats after Washington raised the bounty for his arrest to $50 million and conducted anti-drug operations in the Caribbean. The militia, established by Hugo Chávez, officially numbers around 5 million in a nation of 30 million people. For all of his flaws, Maduro is perhaps the greatest champion of resistance in the global south. Despite routine threats and attempts to depose him by western powers, Maduro has stood his ground and been unflinching in his demand that he be treated with the same dignity and respect of leaders in other parts of the world.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba proposed an economic zone linking the Indian Ocean to Africa during the Tokyo International Conference on African Development to enhance Japan's influence amid growing Chinese presence. The initiative includes $5.5 billion in loans with the African Development Bank for sustainable development and plans to train 30,000 AI experts over three years to promote digitalization and job creation. Once again, African people find themselves at a crossroads with various global powers vying for dominance in the region. Hopefully in this moment, African leaders only pursue deals which are beneficial not only for African elites, but also for the masses of African people.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that cooperation with the IAEA will persist but in a modified form to safeguard nuclear facilities following recent conflicts with Israel and the US. This adjustment, managed by the Supreme National Security Council on a case-by-case basis, reaffirms Iran's commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty while ensuring its peaceful nuclear program continues amid heightened tensions. While I'm quite critical of the Iranian government overall, it's quite understandable that they are approaching oversight regarding their nuclear program with a high level of caution and suspicion. These same agencies remained conspicuously silent when the U.S. violated international standards to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities at the behest of the Israeli government.

The Trump administration expanded the "good moral character" requirement for naturalization, instructing USCIS officers to evaluate applicants' positive and negative attributes more comprehensively, including full payment of taxes and child support. This policy shift, outlined in a recent memo, raises concerns among immigration attorneys about increased scrutiny and uncertainty in assessing private lives. I think citizenship has to be extremely meaningful so I'm actually not mad at making the bar to achieve citizenship higher. A good society requires immigration to be accessible and fair, however, I find it reasonable for a country to reserve full citizenship for those who demonstrate characteristics which will serve their new home country well.

Acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy announced the termination of all science activities except those tied to spaceflight on August 14, 2025, violating the agency's 1958 charter. The move largely seems like an attempt to adjust to a proposed 47% budget cut to the Science Mission Directorate which previously funded non-space-related ventures in the agency. The reduction will require the agency to cancel 41 missions and reduce education funding to zero, leading to a workforce reduction of about 4,000 employees since January 2025. While there must be deep cuts into the federal government and its budget, I'm particularly saddened to see this outcome at NASA. Aiding in scientific discovery ought to be a critical aim of a good society and good science should be thought of as a public good that should only be compromised under dire circumstances.

HUD implemented an English-only policy for all agency business following President Trump's executive order designating English as the official U.S. language, revoking accommodations for around 222 other languages. Secretary Scott Turner stated the department will maintain required accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Violence Against Women Act to ensure HUD programs are accessible for some non-English speakers. This shift gets at a question I've long pondered but never settled on an answer to: Should the United States have a national language?

A federal judge issued an injunction blocking 11 Texas school districts from displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms as part of a lawsuit challenging a new state law. The ruling underscores ongoing debates over religious expression in public education and the separation of church and state. These efforts from states to attempt to use schools as a space of indoctrination, I think, are largely misguided. In such a fractured climate, I'm increasingly worried we are losing the ability to create educational requirements which square with broad and shared ideological commitments and instead will find ourselves using public schools as a proxy to hash our ongoing ideological warfare.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was indicted on federal charges including wire fraud and obstruction of justice for allegedly using $70,000 in taxpayer funds on trips to conceal an affair with her bodyguard Jeffrey Vappie, marking the first such indictment for a sitting mayor in the city's history. Facing up to 20 years per charge if convicted, Cantrell is expected to plead not guilty at arraignment and remain in office until her term ends in January 2026, with no trial likely before then. Cantrell has been subject to several investigations and this is a good reminder that not everyone is suited to occupy positions of public authority. To have an affair is a bad decision, but to let personal immorality lead to the abuse of public funds is something that'll get you thrown in jail.

A federal judge ruled that Mississippi's electoral map for electing the state's Supreme Court violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black voters' power in the Delta region. As evidence, the court pointed out the map has resulted in only four Black justices historically and has ordered that Mississippi redraw these maps in a way that will produce fair representation. Also, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Louisiana's 2022 congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander that packs and cracks Black communities, upholding a lower court decision ahead of 2026 midterms. It is worth noting as all of this redistricting talk is in the air that maps can be rigged for partisan gains but cannot be rigged to diminish the influence of racial groups. Obviously combatting racial exclusion is something I think we can all get behind.

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed proposed a $353.2 million Fiscal Year 2026 budget, marking a 6.5% increase to support city growth through investments in police communications, infrastructure repairs, and employee merit raises. The plan, backed by corporate projects like Amazon, maintains fiscal stability without tax increases and grows the reserve fund for emergencies. At a time where many cities are finding themselves in fiscal crisis and are being forced to rapidly reduce their budgets, it is interesting to see a city like Montgomery having plans to grow. However, the creep of corporate interest gives us reason to pause before declaring Montgomery a model for fiscal responsibility at the city level.