Yesterday, two Chinese H-6 nuclear-capable bombers joined four Russian Tu-95s and other escort aircraft in a coordinated eight-hour patrol over the Sea of Japan and East China Sea, entering South Korea’s Air Defense Identification Zone without prior notice. Seoul scrambled F-35A stealth fighters and Tokyo deployed F-15s and F-2s in response; this marked the eighth joint Russia-China aerial patrol of 2025 and the first since the U.S. election, underscoring deepening military ties between Moscow and Beijing. We cannot emphasize enough how important these small interactions are in the larger narrative that the world is rapidly changing and that every time such dramatic shifts occur, major wars break out.

A new World Economy Lab report reveals that approximately 80,000 ultra-high-net-worth individuals now control $45 trillion in assets, three times the combined wealth of the poorest 4 billion people. The top 0.001% saw their wealth grow by 9% in the past year alone, driven by surging tech and finance fortunes, while the bottom half’s share of global wealth has fallen to its lowest level ever recorded. Human beings were not designed to be in communities that foster this much inequality, and it only stands to reason that we are headed toward some type of course correction. Then again, perhaps this is the new status quo and the world will turn into a series of slums and palaces.

In a direct response to President Trump’s repeated calls for immediate elections, President Zelensky stated Ukraine could hold presidential and parliamentary votes as early as 2026 under martial law if NATO allies station troops in polling locations or provide ironclad air-defense coverage to protect voters from Russian missile and drone strikes. Without such security guarantees, he argued, elections would be impossible and illegitimate. Zelensky is perhaps the most pivotal bad actor in the world right now. Ukraine should immediately hold elections and Zelensky should stop making excuses for why he’s been illegitimately consolidating power for the last several years.

A federal judge in New York ruled that the full 2009 Florida grand jury transcripts from Epstein’s controversial non-prosecution agreement must be unsealed by December 20, overriding objections from Ghislaine Maxwell’s legal team. The records are expected to name previously unidentified co-conspirators and detail how federal prosecutors granted Epstein immunity despite evidence involving dozens of underage victims. Releasing these documents is essential to this entire scandal being resolved in a way that doesn’t completely erode the minuscule trust that the American people have for elites and our institutions.

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) introduced five articles of impeachment accusing RFK Jr. of spreading vaccine disinformation that contributed to preventable deaths, promoting unproven COVID treatments, and lacking the scientific credentials required to oversee a $1.7 trillion agency and 80,000 employees. Though Republicans hold the House and will almost certainly table the measure, the filing forces an early confirmation fight. This is an absurd attempt to wield political power in an effort to demand partisan conformity and thankfully it won’t have any legs given the current makeup of Congress.

Starting in 2026, DHS will require visa applicants and even visa-waiver travelers to submit social-media handles from the past seven years for automated and manual review by ICE and CBP analysts searching for extremist rhetoric, gang affiliations, or anti-American statements. The policy expands a pilot program from Trump’s first term and could affect more than 40 million annual visitors. This is fascinating, not only because it reveals the troubling nature of the growing censorship sentiment in the country but also because the United States will not be the only country to introduce such measures. We are headed toward an internet, and world, that is constantly surveilled and regulated.

Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order classifying the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations, banning them from state buildings, contracts, and university campuses. CAIR filed a federal lawsuit hours later, arguing the designation violates First Amendment rights and relies on discredited conspiracy theories. A similar thing happened in Texas and though these are dubious legal tactics at the state level, there is something to be said about the network these organizations have created and if they want to stay out of the legal crosshairs of American institutions they need to clean up their public-facing image.

Firebrand Georgia Rep. Jasmine Crockett officially relocated to Dallas and filed paperwork to challenge Sen. John Cornyn in the 2026 Texas Democratic primary, promising an unapologetically progressive campaign focused on reproductive rights, voting access, and criminal-justice reform. She has already secured endorsements from several national progressive groups and is expected to face state Rep. James Talarico in the primary. We usually don’t cover people’s appearance in the races but given the prominence and polarizing nature of Crockett’s political career this will undoubtedly become something worth keeping an eye on.

Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 1515 allocating $25 million in state funds to establish officially recognized Turning Point USA chapters in all 1,800+ Texas public high schools beginning fall 2026, with curriculum materials promoting free markets, limited government, and conservative principles. Teachers’ unions and the ACLU vow legal challenges, claiming the law violates separation of church and state and turns campuses into partisan battlegrounds. Especially in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death, TPUSA seems increasingly like an insidious indoctrination machine which will be wielded in a partisan fashion to turn youth groups into political organization machines and that is not only unfair to the taxpayers but to the kids themselves.

Governor Jeff Landry appointed Baton Rouge OB-GYN Dr. Evelyn Griffin as Louisiana’s new surgeon general after Dr. Ralph Abraham departed for a CDC role in the Trump administration. Griffin has repeatedly called childhood vaccination schedules “experimental,” claimed mRNA vaccines alter DNA, and stated publicly that abortion is “never medically necessary.” We imagine that her appointment will lead to radical, and often problematic, changes in the healthcare policy of Louisiana but hopefully in all, she creates the opportunity for choice in health-related decisions.