Trump's Shadow Looms Over Global Relations, While DHS Faces Scrutiny and a First Lady's Life Gets the Hollywood Treatment
Global leaders in Asia and Europe are subtly aligning their interests, driven in part by concerns surrounding the potential return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, according to the Associated Press, writing for NPR. This comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) faces increasing scrutiny for allegedly making false claims about individuals, and a new documentary film, "Melania," offers a stylized portrayal of the former First Lady.
In meetings across Asian capitals this week, government leaders emphasized stability and consistency, indirectly referencing anxieties about potential shifts in U.S. foreign policy, according to NPR. The U.K. and Chinese leaders, meeting in Beijing, called for a "long-term, stable, and coperative" relationship, the AP reported.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is under fire for a pattern of making false claims about people, according to NPR. As an example, NPR cited an incident in early October where Marimar Martinez, a 30-year-old teacher and American citizen, noticed federal immigration agents in her Chicago neighborhood and began following them. The specific false claims were not detailed in the provided source material.
On a lighter note, Amazon MGM Studios released "Melania," a documentary directed by Brett Ratner, on January 30, 2026. Bob Mondello of NPR described the film as a "high heels-forward documentary" that covers the 20 days leading up to the former First Lady's husband's second inauguration. The film focuses on the planning required of a First Lady, including ball and banquet invitations and place-settings for a candle-lit dinner.
In other news, the debate over wealth taxes continues in California. Brian Galle, a tax law expert and key architect behind California's controversial wealth tax proposal, defended the plan in an interview with Fortune. Galle, who teaches at Berkeley, described himself as an "enthusiastic capitalist" but argued that the current system is not functioning well. "I think capitalism is a great system that probably has, you know, enriched the lives of billions of people," Galle told Fortune. "But I'm not sure that our system is a functioning capitalist system right now." His forthcoming book, "How to Tax the Ultrarich," argues that domination by a small number of individuals is detrimental to the system.
Finally, Massimo Mazzotti's 2023 book, "Reactionary Mathematics: A Genealogy of Purity," explores the intersection of mathematics and politics, using a forgotten episode in revolutionary Naples as a case study, according to the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Discussion
Join the conversation
Be the first to comment