Energy production may look significantly different in the next several decades as the World Bank ended its informal ban on funding nuclear projects in the Global South. Reversing a stance it's held for the last 60 years, the World Bank has decided to team up with the International Atomic Energy Agency in an effort to better understand how atomic power can be used to address the surging electricity needs of rapidly developing parts of the world. A rigid anti-nuclear stance is no longer sensible in a world where power demands continue to significantly outpace the capacity of our current infrastructure, and this dynamic positions nuclear as the prime mode of energy production unless superior tech emerges. Speaking of the World Bank funding projects in the Global South, in Africa, Nigeria is currently pursuing a project which will result in nearly 200 million Nigerians having digital IDs. In fact, Nigeria's National Identity Management Commission faces a daunting deadline to complete the ID4D project as they need to get these forms of national identification in the hands of an additional 59 million Nigerians by the end of the year in order to hit the target number of 180 million. This massive digitization effort, which is backed by international funding, highlights the epic efforts needed to modernize identification practices as these types of ID are thought to be necessary to modern governance.

Meanwhile in Europe, France's political instability deepened as fights rage on in the government about how to deal with their looming fiscal crisis. The Prime Minister, Francois Bayrou, seeks to ram through 44 billion euros in cuts by September 8 and has proposed things like freezing welfare and axing holidays to rein in spending given the country's 5.8% GDP deficit. The crisis escalated further, with Economy Minister Eric Lombard floating an IMF bailout amid €3.3 trillion debt and market jitters from likely vote failure. This devolving fiasco warns that debt deferrals end in swift, painful reckonings. Decades of fiscal laxity and unchecked spending have finally posed serious threats even to former colonial powers like France. Recognition of the growing crisis for many European powers is surfacing in places like the U.K. as increasingly citizens are turning to national populist parties to preserve the interests of the ordinary citizen. The U.K.'s Reform Party, led by Nigel Farage, for instance, has recently vowed to detain and deport all unauthorized migrants, nix asylum, and quit the European Convention on Human Rights to pave the way for mass deportations over the next five years if elected. The move is largely cited as a way to preserve resources for the British citizens in a climate where resources are seemingly already stretched too thin.

Not only are Europeans faced with serious choices regarding spending on social services, aggression from powers like Russia and China has prompted them to take a stronger militaristic stance, and boosting that type of raw power means spending some bread. Importantly, NATO allies are on track to spend over $1.5 trillion on defense in 2025. Impressively, all members of the military alliance have hit the requirement of spending at least 2% of their respective GDP to ensure the cost is shared equitably. This equitable load-sharing success underscores a world where amassing military might feels essential. The increased need for military might has manifested in Germany where they are grappling with recruitment shortages, and have proposed the possible revival of the draft if they can't get the numbers high enough through voluntary enlistment.

In Asia, North Korea's Kim Jong Un will join China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin at a Beijing military parade. This will be the North Korean's first trip to China in six years and may signal the rise of a trilateral alignment which is emerging in an increasingly locked-in relationship between the U.S., South Korea, and Japan. And in the Middle East, Israeli airstrikes in Yemen's Sanaa killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi during a cabinet session. The bombing was an effort on the part of Israel to retaliate against previous Houthi strikes on Israel. Israel is continuing to juggle wars on multiple fronts and this latest attack will likely fuel increased Houthi aggression.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at September rate cuts amid labor slowdowns, consumer weakness, and inflation nearing 2%. However, continuing trouble in market analysis makes it unlikely that rates will dip to pre-pandemic levels. The Federal Reserve is facing continued disapproval and aggression from the president. The tension has hit an unprecedented high as Trump fired Fed Governor Lisa Cook over alleged mortgage fraud. A Fed governor has never been fired by a president and critics worry that Trump's behavior is effectively undermining the independence of our central bank. Cook sued back, claiming there was no valid "cause" for her dismissal.

President Trump also signed executive orders to aggressively prosecute flag burning. The order, however, seems to be at odds with longstanding free speech protections, and in our opinion, will serve to further bolster concerns that the Trump administration is looking to stifle dissent. Trump also signed an executive order which was intended to scrap cashless bail as critics have noted that in many places where it has been implemented it has effectively emboldened criminal actors as they are aware that they can walk in and out of jails. Trade-wise, Trump slapped 50% tariffs on Indian imports which were a move to punish them for continuing to buy Russian oil despite U.S. demands that countries break economic ties with the country due to the Ukraine war. The increasing tensions between the U.S. and India come amid increasingly positive relations between India and China. Trump pocket-rescinded $4.9 billion in foreign aid, sidestepping Congress to block State Department, USAID, and UN peacekeeping funds near fiscal year-end. Deemed unlawful by critics, this stokes shutdown risks and dismantles aid as U.S. imperialism's tool—if aggressive executive action achieves it, perhaps overdue.

The Department of Energy unveiled nearly $1 billion in funding to bolster domestic critical minerals mining, processing, and manufacturing—focusing on rare-earths, semiconductors, and batteries—to cut foreign reliance and fortify energy/defense supply chains via tech like lithium extraction. Subsidizing homegrown capacity in unstable times seems wise given the upper hand overreliance gives to those who control resources. In a shocking turn of events, the CDC Director Susan Monarez was axed after a mere month and the removal appears to be related to clashes between the former director and RFK Jr. about the stance the department should take in relation to vaccines.

Rhode Island and Connecticut governors decried a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management stop on a wind farm that is only 80% completed and was set to power 350,000 homes by 2026. Speaking of halting projects, the tension in Memphis continues to grow regarding a data center that locals are continuing to push against. Memphis locals have persistently expressed concerns about xAI's data center for its water/energy drain, pollution, and placement in communities of color while Council lawmakers have tried to sweeten the deal by earmarking tax revenue for local education and other improvements. Data centers continue to pose thorny public safety riddles as they're needed, but the consequences for local communities appear to be quite harsh. The debates about data centers are taking place all throughout the country and last week St. Charles City Council banned new/expanded data centers for a year, which is the first such ban to take place in the U.S. These fights will rage as tech grows, begging creative fixes like space-based sites.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu cheered a judge's injunction against Trump withholding funds from sanctuary cities for non-cooperation on deportations, upholding legal commitments. Defying federal immigration risks vital aid in a problem-plagued city, straining federalism. A Trump-led federal policing surge in D.C. slashed carjackings 87% and crime 15-19% early on, but Mayor Muriel Bowser remained concerned that the presence of federal authorities was heightening anxiety for residents and urged a return to local authority after 30 days. D.C. homicides may now face federal death penalties as the Trump administration has declared it intends to leverage U.S. law to advance the charges despite local bans on the death penalty as a consequence for crime since 1981. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker slammed Trump's threats to bring military forces to Chicago suggesting the maneuvers are illegal and unneeded. He cited percentage drops (32% in 2024) in the murder rate as evidence that Trump's claims of the city being a "killing field" were misguided. However, we think percentages obscure the impact of presenting violence statistics with raw numbers; clarity on crime's reality is key. For instance, it might paint a clearer picture to say that a person is murdered every day in Chicago than to say murder is down such and such percent.

Mississippi declared an emergency over 2024's 9.7 infant deaths per 1,000 births—the highest in a decade—vowing to expand maternal care, end deserts, and promote safe sleep against preterm and SIDS. This grim metric screams for a holistic health revolution amid systemic shortfalls. And nearby in Louisiana, the state government petitioned the Supreme Court to ban the use of balancing racial representation as a criterion in assessments of redistricting fairness. The state seeks to overturn precedent related to the 1986 Voting Rights Act which has forced the state to create two majority-Black districts. It's a constitutional tightrope: avoiding race-based maps risks diluting minority votes in gerrymander-prone states but at the same time the Constitution clearly demands the federal government not be so disparate in the treatment of different states (i.e., the feds can't place particular rules on some states that don't apply to all states).