EDITORS’ PICKS
Italy’s struggles are nothing new. Their recent loss marks their third-straight World Cup qualification failure despite a history as one of the most successful national teams in World Cup history. The turmoil has set off a string of administrative changes, including the resignation of Italy soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina and the removal of coach Gennaro Gattuso.
In the decades following Apollo, the absence of a clear rival to the United States has reduced the urgency of lunar exploration, while domestic priorities focused on lower-cost missions in low Earth orbit made sustained investment in Moon expeditions difficult. In the 2020s, however, China’s growing space capabilities have reintroduced external pressure, creating the conditions under which multiple administrations have supported a consistent lunar strategy.
NATIONAL
The second failed execution attempt in Tennessee this year has exposed the partisan debate over the morality of capital punishment. Botched executions, involving long stretches of pain, failures to insert IVs, and medical mistakes, have highlighted government officials’ decisions to continue the death penalty. Meanwhile, midterm candidates have placed themselves on opposing sides, clearly illustrating the partisan divide and ensuing polarization.
Congressional investigations into opposing-party presidents are not uncommon, but what distinguishes the current plans is the Democrats’ investigation and the polarization of modern American politics. A potential Democratic majority would therefore place these investigations at the intersection of two trends: Congress’s longstanding responsibility to oversee the executive branch and the growing partisan divide surrounding that responsibility.
Although the Senate’s near-pass 49-50 vote on the Iran War Powers Resolution highlighted strong party loyalty, it also exposed notable Republican divisions regarding executive war powers and military action. Only one Democrat, Senator John Fetterman, broke ranks to oppose the measure, while four Republicans crossed party lines out of constitutional and economic concerns over a prolonged conflict.
OPINION
The appetite for sports gambling will persist regardless of its consequences. However, litigation and public awareness should play a greater role in limiting the overreach of prediction markets and gambling companies.
The controversy surrounding the Loop Tour has displayed, on a large scale, the struggle between artistic expression and current global issues, and has called into question the point of musical performance—should music constitute a neutral space where people from all backgrounds and ideologies come together, or do artists hold a responsibility to call attention to political issues?
Because of the SAVE America Act’s ambiguous nature, states could feel emboldened to dictate not only which documents are acceptable, but also whose documents will be accepted as “sufficient proof of citizenship.” Its potential effects on married women are not solely about name change; they also concern whom the woman marries.
LATEST
The appetite for sports gambling will persist regardless of its consequences. However, litigation and public awareness should play a greater role in limiting the overreach of prediction markets and gambling companies.
Carrboro’s effort to rewrite its housing development rules by pursuing a new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) has raised an issue much larger than local zoning. Legal disputes with North Carolina state law and local goals have brought into the spotlight conflicts between how state and local governments decide how the community grows.
The second failed execution attempt in Tennessee this year has exposed the partisan debate over the morality of capital punishment. Botched executions, involving long stretches of pain, failures to insert IVs, and medical mistakes, have highlighted government officials’ decisions to continue the death penalty. Meanwhile, midterm candidates have placed themselves on opposing sides, clearly illustrating the partisan divide and ensuing polarization.
Congressional investigations into opposing-party presidents are not uncommon, but what distinguishes the current plans is the Democrats’ investigation and the polarization of modern American politics. A potential Democratic majority would therefore place these investigations at the intersection of two trends: Congress’s longstanding responsibility to oversee the executive branch and the growing partisan divide surrounding that responsibility.
Although the Senate’s near-pass 49-50 vote on the Iran War Powers Resolution highlighted strong party loyalty, it also exposed notable Republican divisions regarding executive war powers and military action. Only one Democrat, Senator John Fetterman, broke ranks to oppose the measure, while four Republicans crossed party lines out of constitutional and economic concerns over a prolonged conflict.
DAILY
Prime Minister Lecornu is targeting cuts of around 54 billion euros, stating that without the cost-saving measures, the public deficit could approach 6.5 percent of GDP in 2027, much higher than the government's goal of 5 percent. Trade unions have responded to the budget proposal by protesting alongside students, calling for a strike ahead of the official announcement.
Washington has a documented basis to be skeptical of biological information from Russia. In an April 2025 compliance report, the State Department assessed that Russia maintains an offensive biological weapons program in violation of the Biological Weapons Convention. That assessment colors how Washington may treat this lab incident differently than it would elsewhere. Russia offers a different explanation.
Anthropic’s move to go public puts a spotlight on the question regulators have been slow to answer: who keeps AI in check?
LOCAL
Carrboro’s effort to rewrite its housing development rules by pursuing a new Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) has raised an issue much larger than local zoning. Legal disputes with North Carolina state law and local goals have brought into the spotlight conflicts between how state and local governments decide how the community grows.
The proposed J Branch greenway trail would be approximately 11 miles long and built on a train line that still actively delivers coal to UNC’s Cogeneration Facility on Cameron Avenue. While the support for this trail is high, the line cannot be fully converted to a trail until UNC stops burning coal, and the timeline for that is unknown.
Students have criticized the response following the threat and have raised questions surrounding UNC-Chapel Hill’s lack of communication, including UNC-Chapel Hill not issuing an Alert Carolina, a campus safety system designed to alert students of threats on campus.
GLOBAL
Pope Leo XIV has made a landmark four-day Apostolic Journey to France, marking his first trip to the nation as pontiff. This trip marked political and social balancing between the Vatican’s ties to traditional Catholic strongholds and an increasingly secular European population. The Vatican is approaching secular relations by bridging common interests and using such interests as common ground.
China need not declare a side to profit from both outcomes. Its influence runs through oil revenue routed via sanctions-resistant refineries and a more discreet flow of dual-use materials that never appear as arms sales. Both move as ordinary commerce, therefore giving Beijing leverage over the conflict without the costs of openly taking a side.
After Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s surprise appearance at the European Parliament, allies and skeptics alike may wonder what exactly ‘associate membership’ entails and what privileges Canadians can access over other candidate countries who have waited on the sidelines for two decades. Non-members contemplate the impacts of this bold proposition on their long, bilateral partnerships with the European Union.
FELLOWS
Since World War II, the US and China have been the key players in the international system. The US-led reconstruction of Europe through the Marshall Plan shaped the world's order through security and containment approaches. China, during the late 20th century, began to grow as a new regional player. The first quarter of the 21st century has seen shifts in the balance of power. Will this be a zero-sum game between the two key players in the coming decades?
Non-violent resistance can be a muted reflection, standing in front of a mural at the UNC campus, reflecting all those moments of oppression, long before our generations, whose shoulders we stand on, who boldly and fearlessly gave their lives so we can breathe in a free society. All it takes is to stand in a moment of silence and reflection. Because someone, somewhere, stood in the face of oppression.
The proposed closure of study centers has mobilized both students and faculty members who are engaged in campus-wide activities such as student discussions, presentations, press conferences, and lobbying with a hope to garner more support, visibility, and demonstrate the impact of the study centers in a bid for the University to reverse its decision.
The appetite for sports gambling will persist regardless of its consequences. However, litigation and public awareness should play a greater role in limiting the overreach of prediction markets and gambling companies.