Germany’s push for a social-ecological market economy rests on far-reaching state interventions in energy and industry, including a government-driven hydrogen strategy. In a recent report Germany’s Federal Audit Office explicitly describes the policy as a planned economy and highlights fundamental problems.

Twenty years ago this month, the infamous Duke Lacrosse Case exploded on the Duke University campus, with three members of the university’s lacrosse team falsely accused of raping and assaulting a black stripper. It took more than a year to exonerate those young men, but only after the false charges had ruined lives and exposed elite higher education in the US.

Hegseth boasted of the “death and destruction” in Iran as reports say US and Israeli airstrikes have killed over 1,000 Iranian civilians in just four days.

At 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, President Trump posted a home video announcing that he was declaring war on Iran. Many Americans were shocked at the news in part because the Constitution requires congressional approval for taking the nation to war. In the weeks before the attack, the Pentagon press office helped distract public attention by promoting exercise videos.

On January 3, 2026, the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US forces marked a turning point in US-Venezuela relations and reopened questions about the future of Venezuela’s oil sector. In principle, improved political access and the easing of restrictions could be expected to stimulate renewed foreign investment in one of the world’s most resource-rich oil economies. Despite this apparent political incentive, investment by major US oil companies has remained limited.

Yesterday, the White House said the war would last, at most, four weeks. Now it’s eight.