Eugene Phillips

A September 29 stay lets a contested third-country removal policy operate while the justices weigh notice, protection claims and the limits of lower-court relief.

New York’s new Met Opera lottery could remove one barrier to the arts. Its larger test is whether first-time audiences hear about it and can make the trip.

Beloved children's books can survive honest scrutiny. Roald Dahl Day asks whether celebration can make room for the truth about their author.

Puerto Rico’s drought emergency has brought rationing and new federal aid, but loans for eligible producers cannot substitute for reliable water service for residents.

Algae and phytoplankton are easy to overlook, but they anchor marine food webs, shape the carbon cycle and account for a major share of Earth’s oxygen production.

U.S. employers added 162,000 jobs in August as unemployment held at 4.1 percent, but hiring remained concentrated and the longer slowdown did not disappear.

Amazon’s small-team model can drive speed and ownership. Its harder question is whether technical access can substitute for trust between teams.

AI’s physical infrastructure is arriving in rural communities faster than the systems meant to monitor its demands on water, power, and public trust.

The English-speaking left does not need to invent immigrant-worker organizing from scratch. It needs to recognize, join, and resource the networks already leading it.

Mariya Kirichok connects J.R.R. Tolkien’s biography, faith, war experience, and love of nature to the enduring themes of Middle-earth.

Sangwoo Cho traces Ben Shapiro’s changing place in a conservative movement increasingly divided over Israel, media, and America First.

Sangwoo Cho examines how infinite scroll shifts responsibility between users and the platforms designed to keep them watching.

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix is being sold as national celebration, but racing through the capital also reveals who gets to define public space and patriotism.

Sangwoo Cho argues that the Epstein-files controversy was more than a communications failure: it exposed the cost of cultivating distrust that cannot be contained.

After the Supreme Court reaffirmed birthright citizenship, Sangwoo Cho examines what the renewed fight reveals about who America allows to belong.

Dumplings do not tell one simple story of origin. Mariya Kirichok traces the mix of cultural exchange and independent invention behind filled-dough traditions around the world.

In Amsterdam, an uncertain search for salt becomes Shreya Dharavath’s case for moving through unfamiliar places with curiosity, humility, and room for connection.

Forty-nine years after Elvis Presley’s death, his image still reveals how celebrity, commerce and cultural memory reinforce one another.

From Spider-Man to MAGA, Sangwoo Cho examines why promises of restoration have become so persuasive across American culture and politics.

Inside Barcelona's Palau de la Música Catalana, architecture, patronage and Catalan identity meet beneath a stained-glass sun.

Mingei celebrated anonymous everyday craft. Its success in museums and markets forced the movement to confront the institutions it once questioned.

Payrolls fell by 23,000 in July as unemployment held at 4.1 percent, while sharp downward revisions and subdued participation revealed weaker momentum.

Solarpunk imagines a hopeful ecological future, but realizing it would require changes far beyond green architecture and individual consumption.

The decline of shared public life may be giving partisan identity more power to define how Americans see one another.

A delivery rider’s poetry joins a larger tradition of working-class writers turning labor, exhaustion, and survival into art.

Formula 1’s calendar is a business portfolio shaped by market strategy, public funding, heritage, and the scarcity of coveted grid slots.

A close reading of Alabama’s prison crisis, and why a real solution must be measured by accountability, care, safety, and the lives inside the system.

A disputed World Cup suspension became a test of how FIFA protects the appearance and reality of independence when political power seeks access.

The decade’s biggest nostalgia trend is less about flower crowns and more about longing for a social internet that felt spontaneous, shared and human.

The Soviet Union promised equality among its republics, but repression, deportation, and Russification left political and cultural scars that still shape the region.

Two decades after Jon Stewart confronted Crossfire, political commentary has moved online, but its incentives still reward performance, outrage, and partisan theater.

India’s Cockroach Janta Party turned an insult against unemployed youth into a national movement demanding accountability for an examination system in crisis.

Over the past 10 years, the birth rate in the largest country in the world has dropped by 30%. Russian experts cite many factors, including the decline of traditional values, economic instability, and even extremists. Let’s examine how the government promotes childbirth and punishes those who choose to remain child-free, the factors that undermine these efforts, and the clear, effective measures the state could implement to support existing families and encourage people to have children....

We’ve come far as a country, from role-playing Hollywood-level combat scenarios in Atropia to embedding artificial intelligence in virtual warfare simulations. The U.S. military leaves no stone unturned in preparing its soldiers for the uncertainties of war. But if “closing the loop” is what makes the system better, who remains outside to evaluate it? Shield AI’s recent acquisition of Aechelon Technology paints a picture of a future where, as Shield AI CEO Gary Steele remarked in a statement,...

A Rare Moment of Agreement Democrats and Republicans rarely find common ground on social, economic, or political issues. However, one topic stands out: the need for a Congressional stock trading ban. Both parties overwhelmingly support this initiative. According to the Program for Public Consultation at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, an impressive 86% of registered voters favor prohibiting members of Congress from trading stocks. This statistic comes with a margin of...

The last two weeks in the United States have seen nationwide protests against ICE, Donald Trump, and the actions of the DOJ within the last year. In those two weeks, students took to the streets in droves, participating in school walkouts, chanting, and claiming intersections and/or sidewalks in massive crowds. Although some in more organized manners than others, students have provided the bulk and blade of anti-ICE attention & action as of late. Local partisan groups have the choice to...

Look at the roster of the French national team. Then look at the history of French colonialism in West and North Africa. The connection between those two things is not coincidental. It is the entire story. France's ability to field one of the most competitive squads in the world in 2026 is inseparable from the migration patterns set in motion by its imperial history, the communities that formed in its cities as a result, and the young men who grew up in those communities dreaming of...

After the annexation of Crimea in March of 2014, Ukraine entered a brief sphere of relevance in global politics. The spotlight garnered substantial support from Western allies – primarily NATO and EU member nations, among others. Once the sensationalism of the event faded and the priorities of others shifted over time, the attention on Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine gradually faded. On February 24, 2022, the world’s attention suddenly returned to the post-Soviet country when a formal...

We are raised to not think outside ourselves, to ignore the unhoused person asking for food, to avert our eyes at the sight of struggling families desperate for medical care. The United States and similar capitalist Western cultures have cultivated a mindset of “not owing anyone anything” and of watching out for yourself above all else. This seems to remain true in closer-knit groups like family and friends as well as in larger community bodies. We have created a culture where support and...

Everything you see can now be yours with the click of a button: every new shirt scrolled past on Instagram, every new food trend on TikTok. Social media and online shopping have built an algorithm of wanting, and the fastest possible way to satisfy it. Online shopping platforms push products toward consumers with little acknowledgment of the environmental cost on either side of the transaction. As with most technological advances, the focus stays on human convenience, not on what those...

From the earliest traces of humanity, our existence has been accompanied by creation: sculptures, paintings on cave walls, music, and stories. Art has been found on every continent with early human inhabitants, across nearly every style and medium imaginable. Yet humanity is often defined by its more practical inventions, as the agriculturists and the toolmakers. What about the artists? Storytellers Even before the invention of written language, humans were storytellers. Cave paintings were...

The electoral college is one of the oldest and most distinctive features of American democracy. Outlined in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, it began as a compromise between giving the public a direct voice in choosing the president and preserving congressional power. Here is how the system worked originally, and how it changed with the 12th Amendment in 1804 and the 23rd Amendment in 1961. How the System Works Allocation: Each state receives a number of electors equal to its two...

Months ago, the Department of Justice quietly removed a 2024 study from the National Institute of Justice's public site. The study examined the political affiliations of domestic terrorism perpetrators and found that 84.4 percent of ideologically motivated incidents of political violence between 1990 and 2020, 227 out of 269 events, were carried out by far-right actors. The data suggested that the far right, a key base of support for President Donald Trump and the broader MAGA movement, had...

Mullets, red hats, and American flag apparel have become shorthand for the American South in the popular imagination. Southern culture is too often portrayed as synonymous with cruelty and bigotry. Popular media tends to depict the region as impoverished and uneducated, classist stereotypes that go largely unchallenged because the South is also framed as cruel and therefore undeserving of the compassion typically extended to struggling communities. Southern Roots That image obscures a more...

Legacy admissions have become one of the most quietly debated features of American higher education. The conversation tends to flare up around Supreme Court decisions and admissions scandals, then fade. But the policy is still very much alive, and the students it displaces are real. The Where Legacy admissions exist in all states except California, Illinois, Maryland, Colorado, and Virginia. California and Maryland have enacted statewide bans covering both public and private universities,...

In an era of "uncs," "bums," and "goons," one term circulating among American teenagers stands out for its deeply political, and largely unknown, origin: "chud." The word began its life as the title of a 1984 horror film, "C.H.U.D.," an acronym for "Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers." From there, it was adopted by left-wing communities on 4chan as a derogatory label for right-wing individuals, before migrating into mainstream social media as a broader insult directed at anyone...

In June 2026, the same companies that just a few years ago were racing to add rainbows to their logos and drive floats through pride parades have gone quiet. No profile picture changes. No statements. No floats. The silence is not neutral. Corporate Pride People inside queer communities saw this coming. For years, the criticism of corporate pride sponsorship was consistent: the attraction to queer aesthetics felt transactional, a cash grab by companies that did little to materially support...

The Trump administration cut 1.1 billion dollars in federal funding from public broadcasting this year. NPR stations across the country are contracting or closing. PBS faces a similar reckoning. Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, and several other public-interest broadcasters have had their funding slashed or eliminated entirely. The justification offered by administration officials is that the government should not be in the business of funding media. That argument has a...

On January 1, 2026, Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor of New York City. He is the first Muslim to hold that office. He is the first Asian American to hold that office. He is also a democratic socialist who represents a district in Queens and who ran on a platform that most political analysts, as recently as three years ago, would have described as unelectable in a major American city. The significance of this moment does not reduce to identity, though identity matters. The first Muslim,...

Livestreams depict young men sitting in fancy cars and standing in bustling clubs, smiling awkwardly while steroids course through their bodies. If you turned the lights on, you would see red marks on their cheeks and jaws from hammers, the stubble barely starting to fill out their young faces. "Looksmaxxing" has entered the public zeitgeist as the newest form of self-improvement. Young men take extreme measures to increase their attractiveness, often pursuing dangerous practices with little...

On May 19, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order directing banks to screen customers for immigration status. If you are undocumented, the federal government now wants your bank to know it. The order instructs financial regulators to identify signs that customers without legal status are opening accounts or obtaining loans. The Treasury Department is tasked with issuing risk guidance to financial institutions. An earlier draft of the order would have required banks to collect...

Graduating undergraduate students are terrified of the labor market they are about to enter. They fear the impact that AI will have on virtually every field, especially in the humanities and creative work. Despite the volume of student concern about the replacement of human talent, a significant number of high-profile educators and professionals remain either oblivious or indifferent to the alarm their pupils are raising. That disconnect came to an uncomfortable head this May. Graduations are...

Creatures of the night, stalking through stone-brick towns, clinging to trees, watching through windows. The story of the vampire is universal, shifting between different themes and appearances to adapt to each culture and era. "Vampire" is a broad term with only one true requirement: the consumption of blood. Other supernatural abilities usually accompany this trait, but they are negotiable. The blood never is. Early iterations of what we now call vampires appear across the world, though the...

Two people I knew in high school earned Associate's Degrees before they ever received their diplomas. Today, one is at UCLA and the other at UC Berkeley, each on track to graduate at least a year ahead of their classmates. Neither spent a dollar on most of their credits. Both were admitted as first-years. This path offers a cheaper, fast-track through college than AP tests. It gives you a significant and directly transferable credit boost while making your college application stand out. If...

Records are flying off the shelves at thrift stores. Printed polaroids are taped to bedroom walls. Zines line the aisles of local bookstores. Gen Z has developed a genuine appreciation for physical media, a sensibility that felt lost in the early days of the internet and digital downloads. The old desire for efficiency has been replaced with something different: a need for tangible, personal memory. Today's teenagers and young adults want something they can hold, not just scroll past. The New...

Public media is not just background noise. It is the news infrastructure that serves places no one else will.

Gas is $4.55 a gallon. The Pentagon has spent $25 billion in nine weeks. And the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil moves, is still closed.

It is not just an aesthetic. The cigarette is back as a prop, a statement, and a cultural signal, and the reasons why tell you something real about this moment.

If you steal money from a homeless man’s basket, only to later discover he is the hiring manager for the company you’re interviewing with, you probably won’t get the job. And, of course, it’s not a very nice thing to do. But in a game where you can step outside your own body while still shaping the world around you, things are different. You probably still won't get the job, but you gain the unique ability to see how that choice affects the way people perceive you. You can witness how it...

Streaming was supposed to give us more. More stories, more voices, more risk. What it gave us instead was an industry that decided its audience couldn't be trusted. In the era of mobile devices and fractured attention, the way people consume media has shifted fundamentally, and the writing of film and TV has followed. Stories feel flat. Characters explain themselves out loud rather than through the quiet work of performance. Subtlety, it seems, has been declared a liability. Everything must...

Markiplier in an interview in NYC. The Beginning of His Journey On March 6, 2012, a college dropout from the University of Cincinnati named Mark Edward Fischbach launched his first YouTube channel. The channel name "Markiplier" is a portmanteau of Mark and multiplier. He originally planned to upload comedy sketches and action videos, but it was his lifelong love of gaming that drove his growth. His first breakout series was "Amnesia: The Dark Descent," which earned him roughly 94,000...

In the summer of 1969, the Earth felt like a very small place. While the world below was tangled in political unrest and social change, three men were sitting on top of a controlled explosion, waiting to be hurled into the dark. When the Apollo 11 mission successfully touched down on the lunar surface, it did more than win a race. It proved that the limits of human achievement are only as small as our imagination and our willingness to take massive risks. A Decade of Desperation and Discovery...

ICE, otherwise known as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was established to protect communities. That purpose has been catastrophically abandoned. In recent months, ICE has not simply been detaining undocumented immigrants. It has been abusing detainees, separating children from their families, shooting innocent bystanders, and setting records for deaths in custody. This is not enforcement. It is terror. A Pattern of Violence In October 2025, ICE shot U.S. citizen Marimar Martinez...

On April 29, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled on Louisiana v. Callais. The 6-to-3 decision, drawn largely along partisan lines, dismantled a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, dealing a significant blow to minority representation in Congress. The case turned on the application of Section 2 of the VRA, the Gingles Test, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In Louisiana v. Callais, a group of non-African American voters sued Louisiana over...

Anime has become a dominant form of global cinema in the twenty-first century. For many Western audiences, the term is still relatively new. Anime is a unique form of animation that originated in Japan. It is characterized by distinctive colorful styles, complex narratives, and thematic depth that sets it apart from Western animation. A Brief History of Anime The earliest anime can be traced back to 1917. At that time, Japan was heavily influenced by Western animation techniques. However, the...

It is statistically unlikely. California has 10.37 million registered Democrats and 5.78 million registered Republicans; Democrats overwhelmingly dominate the state. Yet somehow, two frontrunner Republicans have led the California governor polls while a Democratic base remains split among four likely candidates. There are multiple reasons why Republicans are optimistic about this race: the top-two primary system, Democratic division, and a string of ongoing controversy. Had this election been...

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept. It is woven into how we search, how we study, how we work, and increasingly, how we feel. And as AI grows more capable and more present in our everyday lives, one question becomes impossible to ignore: is it behaving responsibly? The Basics AI ethics is a set of moral principles designed to guide the development and use of artificial intelligence toward outcomes that are fair, safe, and beneficial. What was once a purely human concern,...

A Different Job Market Than Before For many young people today, finding a job is not as simple as it was for previous generations. In the past, a high school or college graduate could step relatively quickly into a stable position. The path into the workforce was worn and familiar. That path no longer exists in the same form. The job market is more competitive, more credentialed, and far less forgiving of people who are just getting started. Entry-level jobs routinely require prior...

It can feel, at times, like there is no escape from it. You open the news and the first thing you encounter is a disaster, a tragedy, or a crisis unfolding somewhere in the world. That feeling is not a personal failure or an overreaction. It reflects something real about how information reaches us: bad news travels faster, earns more clicks, and commands more attention. But that is not the whole story. The same week that brought coverage of an attempted school shooting in Oklahoma, an arson...

Demon Slayer Infinity Castle Anime has become a dominant form of global cinema in the twenty-first century. For many Western audiences, the term is still relatively new. Anime is a form of animation originated in Japan, characterized by distinctive colorful styles, complex narratives, and thematic depth that sets it apart from Western animation. The earliest anime can be traced to 1917, when Japan was heavily influenced by Western animation techniques. The industry did not gain significant...

A World Shaped by Conflict Wars happening right now across the world affect far more than the nations directly involved. The current generation grows up in a time when global conflict is constantly shown in news and social media feeds. Even students not directly affected still feel the effects in many different ways. Constant Exposure Through Media and Technology Today, information spreads faster than ever before. Social media, news apps, and videos deliver real-time updates from war zones....

"It's not you, it's me." In 2026, these words still carry weight. The year is marked by terms like "love bombing," "ghosting," and "options culture," now normalized across dating apps and social media. Someone always seems better. There is always something wrong with her, him, them, or you. But this wasn't always the case. Where did this cultural shift come from? The roots trace back to hook-up culture, amplified by social media trends, celebrity influence, and the digitization of dating...

Recently, citizens across the United States have noticed concerning details about President Donald Trump's appearance, including bruising on his hands and rashes on his neck. He has also exhibited unusual behavior in recent months. These observations pose a question that resonates across the political spectrum: is the U.S. government providing accurate information about the state of President Trump's health? At 79 years old, Trump is the oldest president to be sworn in. Health concerns, while...

The term “Astrology Girls” has become a fixture of online discourse over the past few years. It refers, usually with a smirk, to teenage and college-age women who organize their lives around spirituality: collecting crystals, consulting horoscope decks, and making decisions guided by the twelve zodiacal signs. January birthdays are Capricorn or Aquarius. February, Aquarius or Pisces. And so on around the calendar. The label implies that these women are irrational. The reality is more...

In recent months, the Solar Panel Project of volunteer organization Sunflower Seeds Ukraine (SFSU) completed a remarkable feat: delivering nearly 200 solar panels across more than 8,500 kilometers of land and ocean to the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI). The effort required passionate volunteers, international cooperation, and generous donors. SFSU, a fiscally-sponsored program, accepted four tons of decommissioned equipment from an American nonprofit in Montana and transferred it to KPI,...

A Culture Shaped by Many Influences Caribbean traditions continue to shape families and communities across the world. The Caribbean spans many islands and cultures: Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, and beyond. Because of this breadth, Caribbean heritage is rich and layered. Over hundreds of years, it absorbed African, Indigenous, European, and Asian influences. Each island carries its own customs, yet many Caribbean traditions share a common...

A Statement Goes Viral On April 7, 2026, President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social a message about Iran’s regime that quickly spread across news platforms and social media. In the post, Trump warned that a whole civilization would die that night, never to be brought back. He issued what many read as a direct threat tied to potential U.S. strikes on Iranian bridges and power plants. Trump called explicitly for complete and total regime change, expressed hope for something revolutionarily...

Political literacy is more than just knowing who runs the government or what laws are passed. It is a vital skill that empowers us to understand the systems shaping our lives, engage meaningfully in civic life, and challenge the narratives that influence public opinion. In a world saturated with information and misinformation, political literacy becomes a tool for clarity, agency, and justice. Why Political Literacy Matters More Than Ever Political literacy is the foundation of a functioning...

Before the Trend In the past year, a wave of trends swept across social media: Labubu plush toys from Hong Kong, pistachio Dubai chocolate, and AI-generated Italian brain rot videos. But no trend proved more durable or more widely adopted than matcha, the bright green powdered tea that migrated from niche local cafes to nearly every major coffee chain in the country. What most people ordering a lavender matcha cold foam frappuccino do not know is that the drink they are holding has almost...

The Attention Problem Technology is everywhere. It shapes how students learn, communicate, and spend their time. And there is growing evidence that the way this generation uses it is quietly working against them. The issue starts with attention. Students are spending hours cycling through short videos and social media feeds, content designed to deliver constant stimulation. Against that baseline, sitting with a chapter, working through a problem, and staying engaged in class feels slow and...

A Presidency Without Pause It has been difficult to identify a sustained period of peace since the beginning of the Trump administration. Every other month brings a new war, conflict, or so-called military operation. This pattern of interventionism is not unprecedented; presidents Clinton, Reagan, and Truman all demonstrated a sustained reliance on military force across party lines. Under this administration, however, the pace feels almost unrelenting, with breaks between conflicts rarely...

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at the Department of Justice. The Firing On April 1, 2026, President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi. The meeting was brief, held in the Oval Office just before Trump addressed the nation on the war in Iran. By the following morning, the decision was public. Trump announced on Truth Social: "Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General. We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a...

Mental health is a big part of our overall well-being, even though people do not always talk about it enough. It includes our thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It shapes how we handle stress, how we treat others, and how we see ourselves. Just like our bodies can get sick, our minds can struggle too. That is why it is important to care for both. When It Goes Untreated When someone has good mental health, they are better able to focus, stay motivated, and deal with everyday challenges. They...

At Tri-County Animal Rescue in Boca Raton, there are many dogs and cats waiting for a second chance at life. Some come all the way from Puerto Rico, rescued from very difficult conditions. They travel far just for the chance to find a safe and loving home. And somewhere in that shelter, your future best friend might already be waiting for you. A No-Kill Commitment One of the most important things about Tri-County Animal Rescue is that it is a no-kill shelter. They do not put animals down...

Today's Congress marks a period when attempts to compromise with the other party are rare. Such perceived disloyalty can even cost a representative or senator their seat. That said, members of Congress on both sides still cross party lines, in events ranging from confirmation hearings to budget bills to discharge petitions. Two of the most notable examples of frequently cooperative members of Congress are Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Senator John Fetterman (D-PA). Their stories...

Gender fluid individuals have a rich and extensive history that often goes unknown.

A parent negotiates screen time with their child. Yet another school has enforced a campus-wide phone ban. An office manager scheduled the fourth “focus hour” of the month. None of them created the system that keeps demanding their time, but they all pay a price for it. The attention economy is a marketplace where platforms compete to capture and retain human focus. When that becomes the top priority, the costs of distraction spill outward onto families, schools, and workplaces. “Free”...

On November 24, 2025, James Thomas Fishback announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2026 Florida gubernatorial election. Throughout his campaign videos, Fishback has consistently challenged Byron Donalds, another frontrunner in the Republican primary. Donalds is a U.S. representative endorsed by President Trump. Fishback has been critical of Donalds for accepting donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and has pledged to refuse contributions...

Turn on the news or join nearly any dinner table conversation, and you'll notice a common assumption: that politicians and government officials are, at heart, trying to do what's best for everyone. This thinking is reminiscent of what we learned in our middle school civics class. Public choice theory challenges that idea. It analyzes the incentives, self-interest, and institutional rules behind political decisions, cutting through idealism to reveal something more practical. Political...

Democrats and Republicans rarely find themselves in agreement on any social, economic, or political topics. One topic, however, deviates from the norm: stocks and Congress. Both Democrats and Republicans alike support - even overwhelmingly so - a Congressional stock trading ban. In fact, according to the Program for Public Consultation at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, 86% of the nation’s registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 1.9%, support prohibiting members...

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shakes hands with U.S. President Donald J. Trump On March 19, 2026, newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met bilaterally with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C. The two leaders discussed a wide range of topics, including China, oil, the Iran conflict, NATO, and other pressing international matters. Prime Minister Takaichi entered the meeting with a clear message: she believes President...

Conflicts are erupting across the globe. Wars, political unrest, discrimination, and oppression impact millions. During these challenging times, people now more than ever depend on local, independent journalists to deliver critical wartime information. However, reporting on these problems puts journalists in great danger. Like civilians, journalists working in war-torn conflict zones have always been at risk of being collateral damage. What’s alarming is not only the number of journalists...

Everywhere you look, #2016 is trending, and this summer it is not holding back. Fashion is taking a major throwback moment, with some of the most loved styles from 2016 making a fresh return. It feels familiar, but at the same time, everything has a new and updated twist that makes it exciting again. The OG Bathing Suits One of the biggest comebacks is the iconic neoprene bathing suit. Yes, really. Triangl, the brand that had everyone obsessed back in 2016, is bringing back its famous...

If you have been on the internet or social media in the past year, I’m sure you have noticed an increase in AI-created content. What started as simply sharing AI’s answers to users’ curious questions has now become something much bigger. I first became aware of AI when my friends would ask AI chatbots about their deepest questions about life, the universe, and scientific theories. They found the answers interesting, and using chatbots for a few minutes a week wasn’t hurting anyone. However,...

Preventing nuclear weapons. Destroying missile capabilities. Projecting power in the Hormuz Strait. Cutting off the support of terrorist groups. The GOP famously hailed the Trump-Vance candidacy as the “peace ticket” – today, Iran becomes the eighth country where the president has ordered military strikes since January 20th of 2025. The Trump administration has offered many shifting justifications for its new war in Iran: which is it? Fluctuating Justifications for War Since the beginning of...

In today’s fast-changing world, global policy trends shape how nations interact, how rights are protected, and how challenges are addressed. I find it fascinating to watch these shifts unfold. They reveal much about our shared priorities and the tensions we face. From climate action to digital governance, the landscape is complex yet full of potential. Let’s dive into some of the most significant trends shaping global policy right now. Understanding the Current Global Policy Trends Global...

“If it bleeds, it leads” is a long-standing journalistic adage that describes how stories about violence, conflict, or tragedy often dominate news coverage. Bleeding stories lead because they capitalize on the audience's natural curiosity toward danger and conflict. Moral panic takes it a step further. Stanley Cohen developed the term moral panic, defining it as an event or person that becomes defined as a threat to societal values and interests. Outrage isn’t just a byproduct of modern...

Ever since the Covid pandemic, large companies that produce clothing known as “fast fashion” have become increasingly popular. While the world was locked away in quarantine for months, there was not much to do for entertainment. However, once companies like SHEIN and Temu started emerging, society started flocking toward these sites to get their hands on the best deals. The companies’ unbelievably low prices and unique, trendy styles caught the attention of millions of people around the...

On February 28th, The Cleric and former Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Hosseini Khamenei was assassinated from Tehran as a part of Israeli airstrikes aimed for the high ranking official of Iranian. Ali Khamenei has been in power since 1981, he previously served as a third president from 1981 to 1989. He declared tenure leadership since then. He served as Head of State, for a total of 36 years and six months. This made him the longest-serving leader in the Middle East. He was widely considered as...

The Rohingya genocide case is one of the most tragic and complex human rights crises of our time. It involves a systematic campaign of violence, displacement, and discrimination against the Rohingya people, a Muslim minority group in Myanmar. As I explore this topic, I want to share with you the key facts, legal battles, and ongoing challenges surrounding this case. Together, we can better understand the gravity of the situation and why it demands our attention. What Happened to the Rohingya?...