The Tennessee legislature has passed a law that will ban gender-affirming care for trans youth starting on July 1st, 2023. It requires that any person under the age of 18 who is currently receiving gender-affirming care have their care ended by March 2024. In conjunction with a state senate bill, HB 1 was passed in […]

Protests in Israel have entered their eleventh week as concerned Israelis respond to government plans to overhaul the judicial system. Thousands of people have held demonstrations across the country. In Tel Aviv, one protestor told NPR they were fighting for “the country and for the future of our- my grandchildren and their children, because the […]

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 10th has continued to send ripples through financial markets, raising fears of other regional banks going under and a wider economic downturn. As the Federal Reserve (a.k.a. the Fed) moves to prevent further instability, critics have begun to point fingers at various causes for the collapse.  […]

Representative George Santos (R-NY, he/him) is under scrutiny after The New York Times reported that he facilitated the sale of a $19 million yacht between two wealthy donors in September 2022. Santos, who was previously called out for lying about his resume and background, has now attracted the attention of the FBI. His fabrications include […]

After Nigerians experienced an anxious few days waiting for results, Bola Tinubu (he/him) of the All Progressive Congress (APC) was announced the winner of what many expect to be the country’s most consequential presidential election in over 20 years.   Nigeria is Africa’s largest democracy, and has been so since the end of a roughly […]

The GOP primary field just got bigger. On February 14th, Nikki Haley (she/her, R) announced her candidacy for president of the United States, becoming the second major Republican to declare their run after former President Donald Trump (he/him, R). In a video posted to YouTube, she vowed to “take on the Washington establishment and bring […]

Two chemical disasters in the past weeks have raised concerns about how the United States handles transportation infrastructure and environmental damage. On February 3rd, a train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Five cars carrying vinyl chloride, a toxic and flammable gas, were at high risk of exploding. In response, Governor Mike DeWine […]

In early February, some local governments in China implemented changes to their health insurance plans, to the dismay of many elders. According to NBC News, these changes mean that “more employer contributions will go into a collective pool of funds rather than individuals’ savings accounts.” Keith Bradsher (he/him) explained in a report for The New […]

Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken (he/him) postponed his planned diplomatic visit to China after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was seen floating over the United States. The U.S. Air Force shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina on February 4th. Debris from the wreckage was recovered, and investigations by the […]

Days after a deadly earthquake hit the southeastern region of Turkey and northern Syria, recovery efforts are still in their early stages. The death toll currently stands at over 40,000; it has continually risen as relief workers continue to search through the wreckage, with the number of survivors dwindling.  The powerful earthquake hit in the […]