U.S.
The Juxtaposition Between Environmental Policy of States and The Federal Government in the Trump Era
Within the United States in recent years, several contradictory environmental decisions have been executed as states have advocated for more sustainable legislation, while the federal government and private corporations have seemingly reverted to fossil fuel energy sources and adjacent supportive policy. We as a country are too familiar with President Trump’s constant reference to "beau...
U.S.
Trump’s administration is no stranger to controversy, but one topic of his second term is sparking particular outrage. Since the start of the year, immigration has engulfed mass media and filled city streets with protesters. Pro-immigration sentiment is far from new. Now, however, signs and chants are paying reference to perhaps the most infamous time in modern history: Nazi Germany [1]. Acc...
U.S.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives took the internet by storm in 2024, attracting an audience deeply invested in the glitz, glamour, and meticulously curated appearances of women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While most dismiss it as pure frivolity, this reality show inadvertently reveals an important cultural norm that runs rampant within the Latter-day Saint (LDS) commun...
U.S.
The ongoing Trump presidential term has been characterized by further reactionary action than in his first term. Many actions that he was unable to engage in during his first term as a result of an intervening Congress, a more sensible cabinet, and a less polarized American public are no longer withheld by such gatekeepers [1]. President Trump, in what he sees as a greater sense of agency, is atte...
U.S.
On July 1, 2026, SB 79—the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act—will take full effect, facilitating the development of dense, multi-family housing near transit-rich areas in eight California counties [1]. Despite hopes that this bill can meaningfully address housing shortages in California’s most densely populated cities, major transportation agencies and leaders in Los...
World
Since its inception, Indian foreign policy has had an independent streak, rooted in its experience under British colonialism and the principles of the first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. While Nehru found ideological common ground with the West on democratic principles and the Soviet Union on socialist ones, Nehru concluded that India needed to walk a “third way" to maintain ...
World
Though mostly unknown by the American public, the Azores have long served as a strategic fueling point and military base for the US and Europe throughout the 19th and 20th centuries [1]. Today, they are mainly known by travel bloggers as Europe’s "hidden treasure,” a “paradise,” or as Conde Nast travel magazine puts it, an “eden” [2]. The lesser-known truth is that the Azores have unde...
World
The events of early 2026 seemed to have provoked some familiar obituaries for the international legal order. The US military’s abrupt abduction and extraction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3 appeared to shatter the foundational norms of state sovereignty [1]. Concurrently, the recent conflict in Gaza, characterized by staggering civilian casualties and prolonged di...
World
On September 21, 2025, tens of thousands of Filipinos took to the streets in one of the largest waves of protests the country had seen in years. The protesters directed their anger toward a massive corruption scandal involving the mismanagement of billion-dollar flood control projects, which left millions of storm-impacted Filipinos wading through waist-deep water and despair. Across social media,...
World
In August 2025, Indonesia’s parliament proposed increasing the housing stipend for politicians to approximately $3,000 USD per month, 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta [1]. Amid budget and subsidy cuts, rising living costs, higher property taxes, and public-sector layoffs, the proposal drew widespread criticism for prioritizing the interests of parliamentarians and elected officials over ...