Trump's U.N. Visit & The ICE Shooting

Hello readers, happy Thursday! Today, we’re covering: the U.N., an ICE shooting, Argentina’s bailout, a Gaza flotilla, American schools, the government shutdown, and New York’s rat czar.

“In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.” ― Albert Camus

Big Names In The Big Apple

The world’s most powerful politicians converged on New York City this week for the U.N. General Assembly’s annual General Debate. The summit began on Tuesday and will run until next Monday – here are the highlights so far.

On Tuesday, Trump visited the U.N. building. The first thing he encountered inside was an escalator, which stopped running as soon as he stepped foot on it. Later in the day, he delivered an hour-long speech to the General Assembly – despite being allocated just 15 minutes to speak. In his ramble, the president called climate change the “greatest con job” ever, adding that the scientific consensus on global warming was “made by stupid people.” He also discussed the issue of immigration, telling European nations with open borders, “Your countries are going to hell,” took the time to complain about his teleprompter not working, and continued to promote himself as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Later in the day, Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial after the meeting. I’ve lost count of his flip-flopping in regards to the Russia-Ukraine war at this point, but at least European diplomats will be going to sleep with a smile on their faces… for now.

Wednesday had a heavy focus on climate change, meaning U.S. diplomats took the day off. China stepped up to the plate instead, with Chinese President Xi Jinping announcing a detailed list of climate goals for his country. Beijing has promised to cut its carbon emissions by 7 to 10% by 2035, have 30% of its energy come from renewables on that same timeline, and also scale its solar and wind capacities to six times their 2020 levels. “This 2035 target offers little assurance to keep our planet safe, but what’s hopeful is that the actual decarbonization of China’s economy is likely to exceed its target on paper,” said a policy adviser at Greenpeace Asia.

Opening Fire On ICE

Just before 7:00 a.m. local time yesterday, a gunman opened fire at an ICE field office in Dallas. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the suspect was perched on a nearby rooftop and shot “indiscriminately” at the building and its surroundings. He killed one person who was detained by ICE and critically injured two others; no ICE agents were hit in the shooting, and the suspect took his own life after the shooting.

Law enforcement officials are still currently working out a motive for the shooting, but they seem dead set on painting the incident as an ideological attack on law enforcement and ICE. In a tweet, FBI Director Kash Patel claimed that local police found an unspent clip of bullets at the site of the shooting – one of the rounds appears to have the words “ANTI-ICE” scrawled on it in a blue marker or ballpoint pen. 

The media has identified 29 year-old Joshua Jahn as the main suspect in the shooting. According to the New York Times, Jahn voted in a Texas Democratic primary in 2020, but is currently registered as an independent in Oklahoma, where he voted in 2024. He left a sizable online footprint, but all of his posts were focused on topics like weed and South Park instead of politics. “I didn't know he had any political intent at all,” said Jahn’s older brother. Despite lack of evidence of the shooter being politically motivated, Trump said the shooting was “the result of the Radical Left Democrats constantly demonizing Law Enforcement, calling for ICE to be demolished, and comparing ICE Officers to ‘Nazis.’”

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Milei Gets His Money

• Trump’s “America First” White House is preparing to burn $20 billion propping up the government of anarcho-capitalist Argentine President Javier Milei. The deal will see the U.S. buy up Argentinian pesos with $20 billion American dollars, providing the Argentine economy with a much-needed influx of U.S. currency. That currency swap will provide much-needed support to the South American economy, as many Argentinians have been looking to exchange their pesos for dollars, devaluing their country’s currency.

• In a tweet announcing the bailout yesterday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that the White House will also buy up Argentine government debt and “deliver significant stand-by credit via the Exchange Stabilization Fund,” an emergency reserve fund of the U.S. Treasury. 

• Argentina’s economy has floundered over the past few weeks thanks to corruption scandals in Milei’s government and his unpopular slashes to government support programs. In local Buenos Aires elections, Milei’s party suffered unexpectedly large losses, further decreasing investors’ confidence in his ability to see his economic plan through. The Trump administration is spending big to prop up Milei’s government for upcoming midterm elections, and is likely looking to gain power over Argentina in order to counter China’s growing influence in South America. Here’s a deeper dive into Argentina’s economic issues (by an actual economist).

The Flotilla Floats On

• A flotilla of vessels bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza was attacked by drones earlier this week. According to people participating in the 52-boat convoy, multiple vessels were strafed by drones of unknown origins – the fly-bys were accompanied by explosions over some boats, while others said their communications were jammed by the drones. The group has blamed “Israel and its allies” for the attacks, which occurred off the coast of Crete. Israel, meanwhile, has claimed that the flotilla was “organised by Hamas.”

• An Italian Navy frigate was sent to assist the flotilla following the attacks, signalling a change of course by Italy’s far-right government. Earlier this week, when France, the U.K., and other countries moved to recognize Palestinian statehood, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government declined to join in on the campaign. She seems to have changed her tune, though, after Italians nationwide carried out a 24-hour general strike and protested on the streets. After the strike, Meloni said she would be willing to approve a legislative measure recognizing Palestinian statehood as long as Hamas releases all its Israeli hostages and removes itself from any governing processes after the war in Gaza ends. Spain has also pledged to send a warship to protect the flotilla.

Additional World News

• Trump administration presented Gaza peace plan to Arab leaders (CNN)

• Elon Musk’s Father, Errol Musk, Accused of Child Sexual Abuse (NYT, $)

• Typhoon Ragasa bears down on southern China after killing 17 in Taiwan (Reuters)

• Russia will expand aggression beyond Ukraine if not stopped, Zelensky warns (BBC)

• Former president Peter Mutharika defeats incumbent in Malawi presidential election (Guardian)

• Ukraine’s Plan to Starve the Russian War Machine (Atlantic)

Class Is In Session But Nobody’s There

• American schools are bleeding out as enrollment plummets. Philadelphia, Boston, Houston, Seattle, and San Francisco’s school districts are all considering shutting down schools entirely as families move out of urban centers and turn to other education options for their children.

• According to a recent report, roughly 1 in 12 public schools experienced enrollment declines of over 20% between 2019 and 2023. The National Center for Education Statistics has also predicted that school enrollment will likely shrink by 5.5% between 2022 and 2031, forcing school districts to consider more closures in the future.

• While many public schools have been able to survive with the help of federal Covid-19 funding, most of that money is long gone. “The takeaway is pretty clear,” says one libertarian thinktanker: public schools in urban areas are facing steep enrollment declines. “It’s going to continue to fall for years to come. And so generally, state and local policymakers have to adapt to this new reality.”

The Staredown Before The Shutdown

• A government shutdown is coming on October 1. Despite that fast-approaching deadline, the president has declined to meet with Democratic lawmakers in order to work out a spending plan. On Tuesday, Trump cancelled a federal funding meeting with congressional Democrats, accusing the “Radical Left Democrats” of making “unserious and ridiculous demands” with recent budget proposals they’ve put forth.

• The thing is that Trump isn’t in a great place to negotiate from. Budget bills require 60 votes to pass the Senate, while Republicans only hold 53 seats in the upper legislature. Democrats have been pushing for a new spending bill that will maintain subsidies on Obamacare and reverse health program cuts made recently by the White House, but GOP lawmakers want to keep federal spending at its current (lower than before) levels. “Democrats are ready to work to avoid a shutdown — Trump and Republicans are holding America hostage,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement. “Donald Trump will own the shutdown.”

Additional USA News

• A statue of Trump and Epstein holding hands in D.C. is removed as fast as it appeared (NPR)

• Jimmy Kimmel comeback breaks his YouTube monologue views record (Guardian)

• The 22 Very Online Upstarts Changing the Face of Politics (Wired)

• Documents offer rare insight on Ice’s close relationship with Palantir (Guardian)

• New home sales in US jump to fastest pace in three years (BBC)

• US debt investors raise alarm over lending standards (FT)

The Rat Czar Loses Her Crown

• Death, taxes, and… New York City rats? Kathleen Corradi, the Big Apple’s so-called “rat czar,” has announced that she plans to step down from her post on October 10. But does this mean the city’s rat population has triumphed over their sworn nemesis.

• “When I appointed Kathy Corradi to this historic, unique job, I knew she’d have the drive and knowledge to send the rats packing from our city,” said Mayor Eric Adams after Corradi made her announcement. “It’s a daunting, complex task, but she’s handled it with confidence and creativity.” The city’s e-rat-dication efforts, he promised, will “continue at full steam.”

• What exactly does a rat czar do? In Corradi’s case, she sought to shrink New York’s population of 3 million rats by teaching New Yorkers (the human ones) how to make the city less inviting to rodents – mainly by picking up trash. Corradi also spearheaded a rat birth control program which saw rat contraceptive dispensers placed across the five boroughs. Over the course of her reign, 311 calls regarding rodents dropped 24%, and the city also improved its timeliness in responding to rodent complaints. 

Additional Reads

• The Incredible Shrinking Men’s Shirt (NYT, $)

• MLB will allow players to challenge balls and strikes starting in 2026 (NPR)

• Artemis II: astronauts ready to go to Moon "for all humanity" (BBC)

• Rage, Maga and the Kardashians: the teen who filmed 3,000 hours of Kanye West’s life (Guardian) 

• If A.I. Can Diagnose Patients, What Are Doctors For? (New Yorker)

• Huntington’s disease treated successfully for first time in UK gene therapy trial (Guardian) 

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Editor + Writer: Marcus Gee-Lim

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