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If the NBA is serious about looking at everything to end tanking … it’s about time
The lottery and draft are corporate welfare for sports teams. How should the NBA go about correcting tanking in efforts to win the lottery?
As East Colfax BRT construction approaches Aurora, city leaders look to Denver for lessons on business impact
As construction on the East Colfax Bus Rapid Transit project moves closer to Aurora, business owners and neighbors along the corridor say they are bracing for short-term disruption while holding onto hope for long-term revival.
'We are to bone’; Idaho Health and Welfare budget cuts may endanger state's crisis system
Cuts to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare budget has a high likelihood of disrupting the state’s crisis response system.
Rejecting science, Trump reverses conclusion that climate change is harming Americans
The 2009 endangerment finding affirms that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose a threat to human health and welfare. Its repeal marks one of the most significant deregulatory actions in U.S. history.
Which preview magazine predicted Alabama’s 2025 season most accurately?
Here's where the experts thought Alabama football would finish this past season.
The AirDrop-to-Android expansion is finally happening: Here is what to expect
Google confirms Quick Share with AirDrop support is coming to more devices.
“Existential risk” – Why scientists are racing to define consciousness
Scientists warn that rapid advances in AI and neurotechnology are outpacing our understanding of consciousness, creating serious ethical risks. New research argues that developing scientific tests for awareness could transform medicine, animal welfare, law, and AI development. But identifying consciousness in machines, brain organoids, or patients could also force society to rethink responsibility, rights, and moral boundaries. The question of what it means to be conscious has never been more urgent—or more unsettling.
Video: Watch LFA's best fight finishes from January 2026
With finishes in two-thirds of its fights in January, the LFA remained about the most consistent home for MMA stoppages out there.
Investment and Statecraft: The International Politics of Sovereign Wealth Funds - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
In 1953, Kuwait established the world’s first sovereign wealth fund to invest the country’s oil revenues and generate returns that would reduce its reliance on a single resource. Since then, over 100 separate funds have been created to preserve national wealth and ensure long-term fiscal sustainability. Today, they manage over $10 trillion in global assets. In this discussion with GJIA, political economist Kathryn Lavelle explains the increasingly novel dynamics that surround fund behavior and what the world can come to expect from their growing presence in international financial markets. GJIA: When it comes to the roles sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) play in global markets and politics, what would you say makes them unique? Kathryn Lavelle: Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) operate on behalf of governments as investors. That in itself is a strange relationship. Within them, a core contest takes place between the state’s interests (or sovereign) part of the dynamic, and the money interests (or wealth) part of it, and these two aspects are frequently in contradiction, serving fundamentally different goals. SWFs are also quite fascinating because when you talk to the people who manage these funds, they have an interest in convincing you that the decisions are made almost exclusively on a financial basis—they really will go to great lengths to differentiate their government owners and those who make the management decisions. At the same time, these people ultimately answer to someone in power. Therefore, for most SWFs, it remains deeply unclear who is actually making the investment decisions and for what purposes. Of course, it is not always clear how other vehicles, such as hedge funds and private equity make the decisions they do, but I think what a lot of people find particularly disconcerting about SWFs is that they seem to act on behalf of people who have a different identity from their own. People who could be trying to manipulate politics and markets in a way that would have a long-term effect on their own populations. Regular investors come and go at will, and they only share an interest in profit as far as most of us understand. However, SWFs have that extra “sovereign” part right behind them that obscures their true interest. GJIA: These funds can be found in countries all across the globe, in both authoritarian states and democracies. Would you say SWFs differ in their goals and structures between regime-type? KL: It is not necessarily regime type that makes the goals and structures of SWFs different. It has to do with their economies. Let’s look at a country like China. There’s going to be a debate about exactly how to characterize the regime, but it is a country with many different kinds of sovereign wealth funds, and a particularly opaque state connection to each. At one time, some of the state-owned Chinese oil companies created specialized investment vehicles listed outside Chinese markets that excluded parts of the firms that were more associated with human rights violations. At the same time, the China Investment Corporation (CIC)—China’s largest SWF—draws a lot of concern, not necessarily because of its investment activities, but because of the dynamics of global politics. So, I wouldn’t really tie differences to regime types themselves in a wholesale way, but rather to how such funds are perceived and how they are structured. Saudi Arabia’s SWF is getting all kinds of attention for its involvement in Hollywood, and this takes me right back to when I was a student in the 1980s, when people were concerned about Japanese investment entities buying assets in Hollywood. They aren’t quite the same in financial terms, but it’s the same kind of concern about foreign investment that drives people to be suspicious, and the whole idea that “foreigners are influencing Hollywood.” This holds true across industries, and it reflects where politics are in places like the United States right now. One metric we can try to look at is transparency, where all the funds will tell you, “we are transparent.” The problem you’ll keep running into with this approach is how you value things. When trying to do comparative studies of equity markets, you’ll find that every country doesn’t use Generally Accepted Accounting Principles like we do in the United States. A fund may appear opaque politically and not want people to show what they’re invested in or what their intent with that investment is, but they could also just not be able to report it because of the way it was purchased, or the kinds of shares they purchased. There are some assets out there that really are difficult to put a monetary value on. GJIA: To what extent do domestic politics shape SWF behavior in both the investing “home” country and the recipient “host” country? KL: This depends on the type of fund present and also on the extent to which voters’ political views are able to influence the fund. For example, in a democratic home state like Norway, the SWF doesn’t invest in nuclear weapons or tobacco because of social concerns, but there is a continuing debate over whether it should invest in oil, even though that’s where most of the money comes from. The degree to which Norway will continue to make those investments, and whether they contradict the government’s overall climate goals, is an open question in Norwegian politics. Because of the way the fund’s governance is structured, it may not be easy to resolve. On the other hand, some people consider pension funds, like the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) in Ohio, to be quasi-SWF. They have a very strict separation between the people who make up the management division and the fund owners. No teacher or professor would want to invest in things that may harm the future of their students. At the same time, a fund manager might see an opportunity in a diversified multinational corporation that offers a good return, despite it deriving part of its revenue from e-cigarettes. These contests are very apparent. Domestic politics can work in host countries too. A good example is Singapore’s SWF, Temasek, investing in Thailand’s telecommunications sector. If you study political economy, you already know that countries everywhere are uncomfortable with foreign ownership of their telecom sectors because a foreign entity could monitor or manipulate our communications with each other. In the case of Temasek, there was significant pushback from Thai citizens surrounding the deal, which went on to influence national political sentiment toward Singapore as a whole, underscoring the risks some SWFs may face with their investment choices. In this case, fund behavior led to the dissolution of the entire Thai government in 2006 and a subsequent coup d’état. GJIA: To address some of this unease, the Santiago Principles were established in 2009 to ostensibly promote trust and transparency. From your perspective, have these mechanisms actually changed fund behavior? KL: In international relations theory, we always like to have a clear set of norms and best practices—the orientation we want the proverbial ship to be going in. In that regard, the Santiago Principles at least got the discussion going about which direction SWFs should take at a time when people were very skittish about the growing size of these funds. Nobody wanted them to be out there and potentially destabilizing economies, so talks about disclosure, conditions for withdrawal, and the independence of managers were helpful when initiated. The biggest stumbling block was that there wasn’t exactly a good way to measure compliance with the Principles, let alone how to hold funds to them. If you read the Principles, they’re overall quite vague. In general, a fund doesn’t want to reveal how and why they make certain investment decisions because that information is proprietary—a fund makes money off of how and why it makes decisions—so how do you reconcile that with loosely-defined ideas of openness? Some decisions might have a political purpose. The bottom line is that trying to figure out and assign a score to compliance is not easy, and it is therefore the reason why the Santiago Principles never really got off the ground to the point where they could truly direct fund behavior. GJIA: Many emerging markets are looking to build their own SWFs from mineral and oil revenues. Historically, have funds shaped development trajectories in these countries? KL: I think the big story in international emerging markets investment is that the investment is increasingly no longer unidirectional. In the past multinational corporations of primarily Western background were the main form of foreign direct investment in a country. That has changed dramatically, to the point where you have companies from so-called “developing countries” taking over companies in the United States. Therefore, the landscape of international investment has changed, and I think SWFs are certainly a possibility to be the next step in the game. Historically, you didn’t need an entire financial vehicle to reinvest commodity revenues in your country, but as emerging markets get more financially sophisticated, their capacity to operate such funds has increased. SWFs would allow treasuries to move from relying on holding foreign exchange assets like cash or government bonds to having broader financial markets and targeted growth areas, while easing pressure on welfare expenditures. GJIA: With their increasing financial weight, do you see the presence of SWFs being a factor in the political choices leaders will have to make with regard to domestic and foreign policy? KL: It will depend on just how big the funds get. One of the reasons people are already apprehensive is because of their scale, and if certain SWFs in certain countries achieve a large-enough size, the presence will absolutely be cause for concern. The other factor political leaders will have to consider are their objectives. It’s not always clear how to define a SWF, or even where its activity is concentrated, but it is certainly a worry from the perspective of national security of opaque external investment. More than that, I think one of the most interesting questions going forward is whether the United States, the home to the world’s largest financial markets, will develop its own fund, for which the Trump administration announced a plan. There have also been several proposals in Congress. Were it to come into being, it would have tremendous weight. At the same time, one of the hallmarks of U.S. capitalism is a lack of government ownership of shares, so it would not be clear how such a fund would be received in domestic politics, or which direction it would take. Given how politically fragmented the country is, a Democratic administration would likely be concerned about different sectors of the economy, such as healthcare, and want investment there, rather than a Republican administration, which might prefer defense industries. No investment vehicle could thrive under conditions of such instability. Moreover, it remains unclear where the money to fund a theoretical U.S. SWF would come from. It would be a fundamentally different entity depending on whether it is financed with debt, economic surplus, commodities, or the sale of state companies, as in the case of Singapore. If it is debt, or government borrowing of some form, then the fund would have to outperform whatever the cost of that debt is, which is not an easy thing to do. I think our political leaders have enough on their plate. Our system has worked well keeping political and investment functions generally separate. We have seen different forms of business rise and fall, and even the perception of different countries, all of which funds are tied to. Unless a major SWF either starts—like in the case of the United States—or collapses—an issue that concerns the Saudis, I don’t see any political tsunamis on the horizon. . . . Kathryn Lavelle is the Ellen and Dixon Long Professor of World Affairs at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Her research explores the exchange between domestic and international and political institutions with a particular emphasis on political economy and multilateralism. Dr. Lavelle’s first book, The Politics of Equity Finance in Emerging Markets, explored the political circumstances that surround large issues of stock in the developing world. After being granted tenure at Case Western, she was awarded an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship and named the William A. Steiger fellow, a designation given to the most promising political scientist in her class of fellows. While in Washington during 2006-2007, she worked on the staff of the House Committee on Financial Services on issues related to domestic and international monetary policy. Dr. Lavelle holds a PhD in political science from Northwestern University; an M.A. in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia; and a bachelor’s degree in international economics from Georgetown University. She is a permanent member of the New York Council on Foreign Relations. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Interview conducted by Sid Mehrotra. Image Credit: Jason Leung, Unsplash Content Licenses, via Unsplash
US business borrowing for equipment rises over 5% in December, ELFA says
U.S. companies borrowed 5.9% more to finance equipment purchases in December than a year earlier, reaching the second-highest level ever, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association said on Monday.
‘Voice of the farmers’: Supporters, political brass remember Rep. Doug LaMalfa
Farmers and friends remembered LaMalfa at a Chico memorial service Saturday.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 Officially Has A Title
Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy game director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed that the studio has finally settled on a subtitle for part three.
AMA micro grants for community health: What doctors should know
The deadline to apply for a $50,000 micro grant from the AMA is March 1. Dive into the details on eligibility and how to make your big idea a reality.
Highlighting New Orleans Saints' top performers on offense in 2025
The New Orleans Saints offense came back to life in 2025, led by rookies like Kelvin Banks Jr. and Tyler Shough, with Chris Olave silencing doubters.
Essay Highlights Overlooked Welfare Risks for Fish and Aquatic Animals
Researchers evaluate how standard animal welfare guidelines account for the biological needs of fish and other aquatic animals, including access to dissolved oxygen.
From Washington: Congress Kicks Off 2026 With Debates Over Health Care, War Powers, and ICE
The Republicans' slim majority in the House of Representatives took a significant blow with the death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa and the retirement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, shrinking it to 118-113 with the midterms less than a year away. The developments come as the party is showing signs of divisi
Entertainment center construction culminates this year
Construction continues on the Food, Beverage and Entertainment Center, one of two Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Directorate projects on the...
CDC staff ‘blindsided’ as child vaccine schedule unilaterally overhauled
The Trump administration took unprecedented steps to recommend fewer vaccines for children without extensive consultations with career scientists.
Tim Walz Was Brought Down by a Scandal Hiding in Plain Sight
The welfare-theft scheme was public in 2024, but Trump and Republicans didn’t realize its potency as a political attack.
Entertainment center construction culminates this year
Construction continues on the Food, Beverage and Entertainment Center, one of two Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Directorate projects on the northeast end of Redstone expected to be finished
Calendar Pick: Workhorses of the Entertainment/Recreational Industry
Composed of veteran musicians Rob Keller (The Welfare Liners), Ben Reynolds (Chickasaw Mudd Puppies), Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz (Widespread Panic) and William Tonks (MrJordanMrTonks), Workhorses of the Entertainment/Recreational Industry is an Athens-based band inspired by the sounds of acoustic rock, traditional folk, country and blues. As of late, the band has played several shows and is working on its album. In a bill presented by local promoter Aubrey Entertainment, the quartet will be performing alongside Scott Low & the Blue Bouillon. Seen sharing stages with artists like Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton and Shovels & Rope, Low is a folk musician whose sound has been compared to Americana acts like Jamey Johnson and Ryan Bingham, but the influence of artists like Tom […]
The Doug LaMalfa I covered: Authentic, cranky and deeply caring
A longtime North State reporter reflects on the life of Doug LaMalfa, a politician unlike any other.
See moments from Doug LaMalfa's career in politics
Republican U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California has died, lawmakers confirmed on Jan. 6, 2026.
California GOP Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies at 65
Doug LaMalfa, a long-time Republican congressman from Northern Califorina, has died, House GOP leadership announced Tuesday. He was 65.
Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California dies, reducing GOP's narrow control of the House to 218-213
LaMalfa, a former state lawmaker and rice farmer, was first elected to Congress in 2012.
GOP Rep. Doug LaMalfa dies at 65
LaMalfa had served in political office in California for more than two decades.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz reconsidering reelection bid, expected to announce decision Monday, sources say
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is reconsidering whether to seek reelection to a third term and is expected to announce his decision at a Monday news conference, two senior Democrats told CNN, as criticism over a welfare-fraud scandal in his state intensifies.
Tim Walz was a Democratic hopeful. Now, he’s a Republican punching bag.
The Minnesota governor is seeking a third term amid a welfare probe in his state that has sparked unwanted national attention.
Idaho Senator responds to Health and Welfare fraud allegations
KBOI-TV CBS 2 covers news, sports, traffic, and weather in the Treasure Valley and Boise, Idaho and nearby communities, including Meridian, Nampa, Garden City, Caldwell, Kuna, Middleton, Eagle, Mountain Home, Star, Melba, Payette, Weiser, Horseshoe Bend, Idaho City, Marsing, Homedale, Parma, New Plymouth, Murphy, Fruitland, Emmett, Wilder, Notus, McCall, Cascade, Donnelly, Council, and Vale, Oregon, and Nyssa, Oregon, Ontario, Oregon.
Kosovo prime minister wins snap election to end political deadlock
Albin Kurti’s emphatic victory strengthens mandate for domestic reforms including welfare expansion
Maine stops payments to healthcare provider amid fraud allegations
The move came the same day Gateway Community Services was flagged as potential targets of a welfare fraud investigation.
Ole Miss Expands In-Game Entertainment at The Pavilion
Story by Daniel Collins Journalism student With a new basketball season underway, Ole Miss is rolling out an expanded slate of in-game entertainment, giveaways, and fan-engagement events. This is […]
US business equipment borrowings down more than 4% y/y in November, ELFA says
U.S. companies borrowed 4.4% less to finance equipment investments in November compared with the same period a year earlier, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said on Monday.
Ministers defend ‘most ambitious animal welfare strategy in generation’ before publication
Conservatives claim government’s plan for higher welfare standards for farmed animals could undermine British agriculture
Impact on global mental health care delivery and research
According to the World Health Organization, more than 1 billion people worldwide live with a mental health condition, yet most do not receive adequate care. Persistent barriers such as underfunding, workforce…
Belfast throws down Ireland's first sumo wrestling club
Belfast-based Sumo Na hÉireann is Ireland's first sumo club, capitalising on the sports growing popularity.
Friday Scoreboard
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — View Friday’s scores from across KELOLAND right here. NBAMinnesota 108 Golden State 101 4 MBBSDSU 94 DWU 62 F USHLFargo 4 Sioux Falls 0 F HOCKEYAugustana 3 Minnesota St. 1 F CWRAugustana 34 MSU-Moorhead 6 F Girls BasketballGayville-Volin 48 Alcester-Hudson 33 FColman-Egan 72 Arlington 41 FBeresford 66 Baltic 52 FSpearfish […]
Lara Croft will return in Tomb Raider: Catalyst and a new remake
Amazon is publishing two new Tom Raider games in the next two years: Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis in 2026 and Tomb Raider: Catalyst in 2027.
Small Business Administration continues probe into Minnesota fraud allegations
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler discusses her organization’s probe of Minnesota welfare fraud allegations on ‘Saturday in America.’
How the United States can harness its sports diplomacy moment, as the FIFA World Cup nears
Foreign diplomats, US officials, and figures from the world of soccer gathered at our studios to talk about the power of sports diplomacy.
Lexus World Premieres Lexus LFA Concept BEV Sports Car | Lexus | Global Newsroom | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website
Lexus, today, world premiered the Lexus LFA Concept―a battery electric vehicle (BEV) sports car concept model.
GR GT, GR GT3, and Lexus LFA Concept World Premiere | Corporate | Global Newsroom | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing and Lexus held the GR GT, GR GT3, and Lexus LFA Concept World Premiere. The event footage is available on YouTube.