Kenya Sentences Two Men to 30 Years for 2019 Hotel Attack
A Kenyan court on Thursday sentenced Hussein Mohammed Abdile and Mohamed Abdi Ali to 30 years in prison for facilitating the 2019 attack on Nairobi's DusitD2 hotel complex, acknowledging the attack's lasting impact on survivors' psychological well-being.
On Jan. 15, 2019, al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab's gunmen stormed the luxury hotel and office complex and killed 21 people, including foreign nationals, during a siege lasting over 12 hours. Security forces killed all the attackers.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the assault as retaliation against Kenya's deployment of peacekeeping troops to Somalia in 2011, continuing the group's pattern of attacks, including the 2013 Westgate mall siege that killed 67 and the 2015 Garissa University attack, killing 148.
Narrative A
These lengthy sentences send a clear message that Kenya won't tolerate those who enable terrorism. The comprehensive investigation and prosecution demonstrate the country's commitment to justice for victims and their families. Strong deterrent sentences are essential to prevent future attacks and protect national security.
Narrative B
While justice was served, the focus should remain on addressing root causes of extremism and improving regional security cooperation. The sentences, though warranted, highlight the ongoing challenges Kenya faces from cross-border terrorism and the need for comprehensive counterterrorism strategies beyond punishment.
Nerd narrative
There's an 8% chance that Kenya will experience a civil war before 2036, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Appeals Court Allows Trump to Keep National Guard in LA
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump can maintain federal control of approximately 4,000 California National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles amid immigration enforcement protests.
The three-judge panel unanimously overturned a lower court ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer that had ordered Trump to return control of the troops to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Trump federalized the National Guard without gubernatorial consent for the first time since 1965, citing violent protests that included thrown objects, property damage, and attacks on federal officers and buildings.
Right narrative
Trump's deployment of federal troops was necessary to restore order after violent protesters attacked federal officers with Molotov cocktails and concrete chunks. Local Democratic leaders like Newsom and Bass completely failed to maintain public safety, forcing federal intervention to protect immigration enforcement. This victory confirms the president's constitutional authority to deploy military forces.
Left narrative
This military deployment is an authoritarian overreach that threatens democratic norms and intimidates immigrant communities. The protests were largely peaceful, and local law enforcement was fully capable of maintaining order without the need for federal military intervention. Trump's actions violate the principle that presidents aren't kings and must be held accountable by the courts.
Nerd narrative
There's a 4% chance that the U.S. will enter a second civil war before 2031, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
UN Reports Record Violence Against Children in War Zones
The UN verified 41,370 grave violations against children in armed conflict during 2024 — a 25% surge from 2023 and the highest number since monitoring began nearly 30 years ago. The violations include killing, maiming, recruiting and abducting children, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denial of humanitarian aid.
In its annual report released on Thursday, the UN documented that 22,495 children were affected by violations in 2024, with armed groups responsible for almost 50% of abuses and government forces being the main perpetrators of killings, school attacks, and denial of humanitarian access. The number of children subjected to multiple violations increased from 2,684 in 2023 to 3,137 in 2024.
The report found that Palestinian territories recorded the highest number of violations, with over 8,500 serious incidents, with the vast majority attributed to Israeli forces, including more than 4,800 in the Gaza Strip. The UN confirmed 1,259 Palestinian children were killed in Gaza and is currently verifying information on an additional 4,470 children killed in 2024.
Narrative A
The unprecedented surge in child casualties reflects the brutal reality of modern warfare, where combatants deliberately target civilian populations. These violations represent systematic war crimes that demand immediate international intervention and accountability. The international community must impose stronger sanctions and enforcement mechanisms to protect innocent children from becoming casualties of adult conflicts.
Narrative B
Military operations in conflict zones face complex challenges where armed groups deliberately use children as human shields and operate from civilian areas, including schools and hospitals. Forces must balance legitimate security objectives with civilian protection while confronting adversaries who exploit international humanitarian law. The verification process often lacks context about the operational environment and tactical constraints faced by military personnel.
UK: MPs Vote in Favor of Assisted Dying Bill
The U.K.'s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its third and final reading in the House of Commons by a margin of 314 to 291 on Friday, with the text now entering the House of Lords.
The text, applicable to England and Wales, allows a mentally capable adult, aged over 18, who is terminally ill with less than six months to live, to be provided a self-administered substance to end their life following approval from two doctors and an expert panel. The bill will come into full effect within four years of becoming law.
The bill passed its second reading last November by 330 votes to 275, but returned to the Commons chamber after a committee and report stage, which replaced the role of High Court approval with a review panel composed of a "legal member," a psychiatrist, and a social worker.
Progressive narrative
Terminal patients deserve to be treated with dignity in their final moments, rather than enduring unnecessary suffering in hospital settings. Progressive societies recognize that compassionate choice trumps forced suffering — allowing individuals to author their own peaceful endings. When palliative care fails and pain becomes unbearable, assisted dying offers the ultimate human right control over one's own mortality with grace.
Conservative narrative
Assisted dying shifts the role of healthcare providers from healers to executioners, corrupting medicine's core duty to preserve life. What is framed as a compassionate choice for the terminally ill inevitably has broader implications — Canada's experience highlights this unsettling truth. Rather than sanctioning state-approved killing that pressures vulnerable populations into premature death, society must invest in exceptional palliative care that honors human dignity without abandoning hope.
Nerd narrative
There is a 48% chance that assisted dying for terminally ill adults will be legal for the majority of U.K. residents before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Three Dead, Thousands Displaced as Heavy Rains Hit Southern Brazil
Authorities in Brazil's southernmost state Rio Grande do Sul reported on Friday that three people have died, one is missing and more than 6,000 have been forced to leave their homes due to heavy rains that have hit the state this week.
The severe weather has caused five rivers statewide to rise above flood levels and widespread infrastructure damage across 90 municipalities such as Canoas, which borders the state's capital Porto Alegre.
Brazil's army said in a statement on Wednesday that troops have been deployed to seven hard-hit cities, including Santa Maria and the town of Santana do Livramento, near Uruguay.
Narrative A
Increasingly, severe rainstorms and flooding are being linked to global warming and climate change. Warmer weather allows air to retain more water vapor, which is why we must implement policies to cool the global temperature, save lives, and avoid billions of dollars in damage.
Narrative B
It's easy to dismiss extreme weather events as a consequence of climate change, but in reality, they're usually influenced by a myriad of factors. More research is needed before we can establish any direct causal link between the two.
Nerd narrative
There's a 14% chance that Rio Grande do Sul will suffer new severe flooding by August 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Dodgers Claim They Blocked Federal Agents from Stadium, Government Denies Accusation
The Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team claimed it denied Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents access to its stadium parking lots on Thursday morning, stating that agents requested permission to enter the grounds but were refused entry.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) disputed the Dodgers' account, claiming that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) vehicles were in the parking lot "very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement," while ICE officials denied their agents were ever present at the stadium.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside Dodger Stadium, chanting "ICE out of LA" after images of federal vehicles circulated on social media, with Los Angeles police called in to separate demonstrators from the federal agents. A local Democratic Party branch reportedly also revealed the locations of ICE agents.
Republican narrative
This was a political stunt by the Dodgers, not heroism. ICE wasn't even there — CBP was, and only briefly to use the lot, unrelated to the Dodgers. This false narrative has now fueled further division, not unity. And even if ICE did want to enter, it could, as property rights don't trump federal law. The team's pandering to radical protesters distorts facts and undermines legitimate enforcement.
Democratic narrative
The Dodgers rightly blocked ICE agents from their stadium, a sanctuary for the community, not militarized raids. Denying entry upheld morality against Trump’s cruel immigration crackdown. ICE's claim that it was CBP, not them, is a nefarious white lie — both agencies serve the same dehumanizing agenda of rounding immigrants up and putting them into vans.
Nerd narrative
There is a 20% chance that at least twice as many deportations by U.S. ICE will occur in Fiscal Year 2025 compared with Fiscal Year 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
MIT Study: ChatGPT Use May Harm Students' Brain Activity
As part of a study on the neural and behavioral consequences of LLM-assisted essay writing, MIT Media Lab researchers divided 54 students aged 18-39 from the Boston area into three groups and asked them to write SAT essays using ChatGPT, a Google search, or no external assistance over four months.
According to their study, students who used ChatGPT consistently showed the lowest brain connectivity and engagement, performed worse than their counterparts at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels, and recorded reduced activity in areas associated with memory, creativity, and executive function compared to other groups.
The ChatGPT group struggled significantly with memory retention, as 83% reported difficulty quoting their essays after the first session, while 100% of both search engine and brain-only participants could quote their work by the third session.
Techno-skeptic narrative
This research confirms what many educators suspected — AI tools like ChatGPT are creating a generation of cognitively lazy students. The brain scans don't lie when students rely on AI, their neural networks shut down, memory formation weakens, and critical thinking atrophies. These aren't just temporary effects either — the cognitive debt accumulates over months, leaving students unable to recall or engage with their work.
Techno-optimist narrative
The study's methodology is flawed, and its conclusions are overstated — 54 students from a single geographic area hardly represent a comprehensive analysis of AI's educational impact. AI applications in education must be designed collaboratively, as students need these skills to compete in tomorrow's economy. Rather than fear-mongering about "cognitive debt," educators should focus on teaching strategic AI collaboration.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that an AI system will demonstrate human-level accuracy in extracting data from all types of charts in documents by Oct. 16, 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
New ICE Policy Limits Congressional Access to Facilities
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a memo this month announced new guidance for members of Congress and congressional staffers wishing to visit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.
While acknowledging that members of Congress have the lawful right to make unannounced visits where the detention of immigrants is taking place, ICE's new guidance requires 72 hours' notice before visiting its field offices.
The new policy distinguishes between ICE detention centers and field offices, stating that field offices fall outside federal law requirements that guarantee congressional access to facilities used to detain immigrants, despite migrants being held at field offices before being transferred.
Republican narrative
ICE officers have endured a dangerous surge in assaults, disruptions, and obstructions by politicians who are clearly more interested in creating viral moments than conducting legitimate oversight. These new restrictions will allow the agency to protect the safety of officers, detainees, and facilities, while still accommodating congressional visits through proper channels.
Democratic narrative
The Trump administration is deliberately violating constitutional checks and balances in order to hide inhumane conditions at facilities where migrants, and even U.S. citizens, are being held for days without proper access to attorneys or basic necessities. No agency is above oversight, and ICE's ever-changing justifications prove it has something to hide.
Nerd narrative
There's a 60% chance that the United States will establish a government program rewarding information leading to deportations before Jan. 3, 2027, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Iran-Europe Talks Yield No Breakthrough
European foreign ministers from Britain, France, and Germany met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva on Friday for about three-and-a-half hours, marking the first face-to-face diplomatic talks since the Israel-Iran conflict began eight days ago.
The Geneva talks concluded with no concrete breakthrough, though German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Iran appeared "fundamentally ready to continue talking about all important issues" while British Foreign Secretary David Lammy urged Iran to resume negotiations with the U.S.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi stated before the talks that Iran would not negotiate with the U.S. while Israeli attacks continue, calling America "a partner in these crimes" and describing Israeli strikes as "merciless acts of aggression."
Pro-establishment narrative
Western diplomacy must prioritize de-escalation with Iran, engaging in good-faith talks to curb its nuclear ambitions while avoiding catastrophic war. However, it must also remain prepared for the possibility of military action. Iran must recognize that the U.S. maintains uncontested air superiority in the region and that any attack on American civilians or military personnel will result in severe repercussions.
Pro-Israel narrative
The time for negotiations with Iran's Mullah regime is over. With assassination plots against Trump and threats to annihilate Israel, Iran's nuclear ambitions — nearing 10 bombs' worth of uranium — demand decisive action. Israel's strikes have weakened Iran, but only U.S. bunker-busters can finish the job. Trump must act now to end this existential threat and prevent a nuclear Middle East.
Pro-Iran narrative
Israel's unprovoked attack on Iran, followed by continued bombardments despite ongoing negotiations, reveals it as the sole aggressor. Ignoring evidence that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, Israel's strikes aim to provoke regime change, not defense. Its nuclear arsenal and U.S. support enable this aggression, destabilizing the region while Iran rallies in unity. Negotiations, not U.S. intervention, are the path forward.
Nerd narrative
There is an 80% chance that the United States will strike the Iranian military in Iran before August 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.