In November 2024, on the same ballot that reelected President Trump, California voters quietly and overwhelmingly passed Prop 36, partially repealing the criminal justice reforms they had greenlit just a decade ago. Despite the fact that Prop 36 was popular among California voters, its passage in a landslide still shocked many, especially those with high optimism in criminal justice reforms.
Read MoreThis past year has no doubt been an incredibly interesting one regarding the outcome to the litany of elections held across the region. Ecuador held extremely contentious elections in which the conservative incumbent Daniel Noboa secured a comfortable re-election victory, defeating his main left-wing challenger, Luisa González, in an election dominated by issues of crime and government corruption.
Read MoreAs of the most recent state budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a $350 million dollar increase to the budget, aligning with his compact to the UC and CSUs that he will increase their budget by 5% during the years 2022-2027. While this budget is predicted to offset research and funding cuts made to the public university system under the current administration, the California government still fails to address the underlying systemic issues that cause economic hardship to students of color.
Read MoreIn 1788, in a bid to get the American populace to ratify a newly drafted Constitution, future President James Madison addressed the fledgling nation directly in Federalist 45. Under this new Constitution, he said, the “violent and oppressive factions which embitter the blessings of liberty,” that had ravaged the nation for decades, would be no more.
Read MoreIn the early morning on January 3rd, 2026, the United States stunned the international community with a sudden military raid on Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The dramatic act of force was carried out without prior notification to Congress, violating the longstanding norm of congressional consent for the use of military force.
Read More2,284,967 votes. 86 electoral votes. 1.5 percentage points. That is how close the Democratic party came to retaining control of the White House in the 2024 Presidential election. With the late exit of former President Joe Biden from the race, then-Vice President Kamala Harris was put into a very tough situation with only 107 days to campaign.
Read MoreOn October 25th, Japan elected its first female Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, in a landslide victory in Parliament. Unlike political wins for women, Takaichi’s win has received mixed reactions from prominent feminists all over the globe for her extreme, far-right, conservative values. Since 1993, Takaichi has been a leading figure within Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Her victory, which was supposed to break historical barriers in the glass ceiling, has instead signified a shift to the right for the historically moderate party.
Read MoreIn November of 2024, the United States elected President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, both holding the highest positions of power in this country. Upon taking these positions, they began to bring about the demise of the democracy that the United States was built on.
Read MoreIn April of this year, the Trump administration cancelled millions of dollars of federal aid previously allocated toward funding social impact programs assisting K-12 and postsecondary mental health aid.
Read MoreFrom kindergarten to 12th grade, there is only one subject that American children are required to take every single year of their legally mandated education: English. Yet despite being home to more English speakers than any other country in an increasingly globalized world, the United States sees itself comparatively falling behind its counterparts in key educational and communication metrics, most notably, that of literacy rates.
Read MoreIn September, during the current presidential administration, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14351, launching the “Gold Card” visa program. This program is essentially targeted more towards wealthy individuals and oligarchs worldwide, allowing them to gain visa status within the United States.
Read MoreThe United States has entered a new era in which redistricting has become both a weapon and a defense method in the pursuit of partisan power. California’s proposed mid-decade redistricting measure, known as the Election Rigging Response Act, or Proposition 50, passed on November 2025, reflects this increasing shift.
Read MoreOn January 20th, upon the inauguration of his second term, President Trump issued several executive orders. One of those orders has significant resemblance to policies from previous administrations. Trump's proposal of “Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists” is representative of President Reagan’s ‘War on Drugs’ and President Bush’s ‘War on Terror,’ two major policy campaigns that significantly expanded executive authority and encouraged the systematic oppression of the black and brown demographics.
Read MoreNow more than ever, political violence appears to be rampant in the United States. With recent acts of violent killing of both public and private figures alike, many have flocked to either ends of the political spectrum to voice their concerns regarding the direction the nation is heading in.
Read MoreWestwards of mainland Southeast Asia, at the crossroads of several civilizations, lies a country in the midst of a devastating civil war. Myanmar is a developing country, home to approximately 53 million people, and currently embroiled in a multisided conflict stemming from deep-seated ethnoreligious tensions and authoritarian military repression.
Read MoreThroughout human history, numerous republics have risen and fallen. Athens, Rome, Venice; the United States of America is not the first, nor will it be the last. Like any government, there will come a time when its institutions and foundations are so perverted that it can no longer be considered the same political entity.
Read MoreOn October 8, 2025, it was announced that a deal had been reached between Israel and Hamas on the exchange of hostages and prisoners in return for an eventual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. The deal is set to be a multi-part one, with a full ceasefire, partial pullback of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, a hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas, and increased aid to the strip being part of it.
Read MoreThe Papacy is the most important position in the entire Catholic Church. The Pope represents more than a billion faithful Catholics to the world’s largest religions and most powerful nations, serving as a vital bridge between Catholicism and the powers that shape the world. His words can even be codified as infallible church doctrine that thousands of priests and bishops worldwide will use to shape their actions for centuries to come.
Read MoreWe are four months into Donald Trump’s second term as President of the United States, and there has been a lot of news to come out of it. The 47th President has taken many controversial actions in the past few months, interfering with issues such as immigration, foreign policy, and the economy.
Read MorePride Puppy—a story about a family and their puppy attending a Pride parade. My Uncle’s Wedding—a tale of a young girl preparing for and attending her uncle’s same-sex wedding. Julian Is a Mermaid—a narrative about a boy who dreams of becoming a mermaid and expressing his gender in an untraditional way.
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