The southern border looks dramatically different from the surge years. Border Patrol recorded fewer apprehensions in the first 11 months of fiscal 2026 than in individual months under Biden, putting the annual total on course for its lowest level since 1967. Final September figures are still pending, and apprehensions do not count everyone who slips through. A new caravan moving through Mexico and a legal fight over asylum restrictions will test whether the decline holds. The immediate lesson is that policy can change the numbers—and keeping them down requires more than declaring victory.

Restaurants and shopping districts are becoming gathering places for teen mobs that sometimes turn violent. Reporting from Washington and other cities follows assaults, wrecked businesses and owners questioning whether opening another location is worth the risk. Washington has expanded curfew powers, and federal prosecutors are threatening fines and possible jail time for parents. Some business leaders welcome tougher enforcement; others worry punishing parents could further weaken already fragile households. Cities are trying safer late-night activities, too. The challenge is restoring public order while addressing the families and incentives behind the disorder.

Climate policy is moving from the ballot box to the courtroom. Boulder wants energy companies to pay for local damage it attributes to greenhouse-gas emissions worldwide. The Supreme Court must decide whether federal law and the Constitution permit that state-law claim. The warning is that large damages awards could impose national energy policy without a vote in Congress, with costs reaching consumers and other industries. Boulder says it wants compensation for harm. The stakes extend well beyond Colorado: who sets the rules for an economy dependent on energy—elected lawmakers or a growing network of lawsuits?

Social media is becoming less social. Platforms built around friends, conversations and people posting their own lives increasingly serve endless streams of videos selected by algorithms. Users watch more and contribute less, while personal conversations retreat into private chats. Entertainment feeds are only part of the change: political pressure, liability threats and age-verification laws are making public participation harder and anonymity more fragile. The result is an internet that asks people to keep consuming while giving them fewer reasons—and sometimes less freedom—to speak.