In January 2023, the Cochrane Library—one of the world’s most respected institutions for systematic evidence reviews—published an updated analysis on the effectiveness of masks in preventing the spread of respiratory viruses. The conclusion, cautious in tone, was devastating in substance: wearing masks “probably makes little or no difference” in reducing infections like the flu or COVID-19.

[Human Rights: Fact or Fancy? by Henry B. Veatch (LSU Press, 185; xi + 258 pp)]

Over the past years, traffic in Costa Rica has become a daily ordeal, profoundly altering the behavior of our society. In this article, I briefly examine how the inherent failures of the interventionist state lie at the root of Costa Rica’s traffic crisis—and, by extension, the growing driver aggression among its citizens.

Traffic jams are so frequent that many Costa Ricans have adjusted their routines to deal with this phenomenon, treating it like a chronic illness. In certain areas, especially during peak hours, traveling just one kilometer can take over thirty minutes.

All Americans have heard of the Holocaust, but far fewer have heard of the Holodomor—the man-made terror famine perpetrated against Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of people.

Japanese company Nippon Steel’s plan to purchase US Steel was bound to provoke a strong reaction from left- and right-wing economic nationalists. After all, US Steel was once the world’s largest company, and it was the first company to be valued at over a billion dollars. US Steel was thus a symbol of America’s economic dominance. So it was not surprising that Nippon Steel’s purchase of US Steel was blocked by both the Biden and Trump administrations. This was disappointing — especially since Nippon Steel planned to invest billions in modernizing US Steel’s facilities.

The Federal Reserve System released its May 2025 Beige Book yesterday, and the Fed has stopped painting a cheerful picture of the US economy. The Fed reported a worsening economy in six of its twelve districts, specifically Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and San Francisco. Only the Richmond, Atlanta, and Chicago districts showed improvements in economic conditions.

According to the report summary:

Donald Trump’s allies at Palantir, a parasitic “private” company funded by tax dollars and created by the CIA, have taken a beating in the media in recent days. With the exception of the usual pro-regime voices at the legacy media, coverage of Trump’s growing alliance with Palantir—a tech firm that’s helping the administration compile and analyze ever larger hoards of data on Americans—media coverage has been overwhelmingly negative.

On May 14, 2025, the American Council for Education, backed by over 50 higher education groups, issued a statement titled “A Call to Reforge the Historic Compact Between Higher Education and the Federal Government.” They’re pushing back against the Trump administration’s plan to cut university funding and eliminate DEI programs, claiming the government-university partnership makes American higher education “the envy of the world.”