海角大神

Gold rose and the dollar fell on Monday as global markets opened for the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Donald Trump鈥檚 tariffs on Friday. Trading opened down on some European bourses and futures trended lower ahead of trading on U.S. markets after the American president imposed a new 15% tariff across the board on Saturday. The dollar weakened by as much as 0.5% against other leading currencies. Mr. Trump rested his new tariff plan on the 1974 Trade Act, which provides authority for up to 150 days. He will need approval from Congress to extend them beyond that.

The Hong Kong Court of Appeal upheld聽the convictions and sentences of 12 activists jailed under a broad national security law imposed by Beijing following 2019 pro-democracy protests. The Monday verdict stems from a 2024 case that put 47 people on trial for organizing an unofficial primary election in 2020 in a bid to secure a legislative majority. The defendants, who included elected lawmakers, academics, and unionists, sought veto power to demand universal voting rights and greater police accountability. The court characterized the bid as a 鈥渃onstitutional weapon of mass destruction.鈥� International rights groups condemned the ruling.聽

The escape of ISIS affiliates聽is testing Syria鈥檚 government, headed by former jihadist Ahmed al-Sharaa. As reported in a Jan. 23 Monitor article, the al-Hol detention camp 鈥� home to several thousand wives and teenaged children of ISIS fighters 鈥� was briefly left unattended as Kurdish forces withdrew and the Syrian government took control. A Wall Street Journal exclusive this weekend reported that at least 15,000 people, some from ISIS, are now at large. Meanwhile, the State Department notified Congress that it intends to begin spending this week on a plan to potentially reopen the U.S. embassy in Syria, which shuttered in 2012.

Russia鈥檚 Northern Fleet conducted live-fire artillery exercises three to four nautical miles from Norway鈥檚 territorial waters on Feb. 17 and 18, the Barents Observer reported. A Norwegian researcher told the outlet that the Russian exercises were 鈥減art of a broader pattern of strategic signaling鈥� to show Russia鈥檚 capabilities and see how NATO would respond. Next month 25,000 soldiers from 14 NATO countries will practice defending the alliance鈥檚 northern-most countries 鈥� Norway and Finland 鈥� in a joint military exercise dubbed Cold Response.

Senators have summoned the Fed鈥檚 vice chair for supervision for a hearing Thursday to scrutinize the Trump administration鈥檚 oversight of banks. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the committee, wrote a Feb. 18 letter that Mr. Trump鈥檚 bank deregulation during his first term contributed to the second, third, and fourth largest bank failures in U.S. history. The Massachusetts senator said she was concerned that a new review ordered by the Federal Reserve鈥檚 vice chair, Michelle Bowman, was designed to shift blame away from her and Mr. Trump鈥檚 decisions to 鈥渨eaken bank oversight.鈥�

U.S. Olympic hockey players included their late teammate Johnny Gaudreau in the 2-1 overtime victory against Canada by bringing his 3-year-old daughter Noa and 2-year-old son Johnny Jr. out on the ice for a team photo. Mr. Gaudreau and his brother were killed in an alleged drunk driving accident in 2024, the Athletic reported. 鈥淲e talked about playing for him, making him proud and I think we did that,鈥� said Columbus Blue Jackets captain Zach Werenski.

鈥� Compiled by Monitor writers around the globe

A landmark Supreme Court ruling affirms limits on presidential tariff-setting. But key questions remain, including where tariffs will settle and whether the government owes refunds to businesses that paid tariffs the court just revoked.

Security and violence are top concerns for Latin Americans, many of whom are voting for new presidents this year. Ostentatious policies like putting the military on the street are popular - but can they create lasting change?

The United States finished second in gold and overall medals at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. But comparing this team with the past is complicated by how much the Winter Olympics have changed.

Since the 2019 arrest of Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges and related crimes, Americans have witnessed a steady disclosure of the names of public figures and institutions tainted by past association with the late financier. They have noted little if any justice for survivors of his alleged abuses, along with other troubling aspects of the responses to a scandal at the upper reaches of U.S. society.

One probable result: a heightened crisis of trust, especially among those less fortunate toward what is seen as a self鈥憄rotective network of elite and wealthy people.

A survey conducted last year found the United States now has the world鈥檚 largest gap in trust of government, business, and media between low-income and high-income earners. The gap is 29 points compared with a global average of 15. The American underclass now perceives a rigged system more than it did in the past.

This 鈥渕ass class鈥� trust divide, as the Edelman survey called it, has helped drive systemic changes in institutions following the Epstein-related revelations. Congress has approved new anti-trafficking tools and pushed for transparency in releasing the Epstein files. Prestigious universities caught up in the scandal have made internal reforms. The corporate world has purged leaders associated with Mr. Epstein and set up rules for workers about associating with 鈥渢oxic鈥� figures.

Yet change might be more than institutional. In past centuries, Americans have joined together in bursts of moral reckoning and ethical awakening around particuliar issues, such as slavery, monopolies, civil rights, the environment, and sexual harassment. And religious people in the U.S. have long held a desire to create a perfect society based on a model of perfection in their understanding of spiritual reality. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. referred to a moral 鈥渁rc鈥� that would lead to a 鈥渂eloved community鈥� in America. The early Puritans sought to create a 鈥渉oly New England.鈥�

Rebuilding trust, along with healing and justice for those sexually abused by Mr. Epstein and his associates, might now depend even more on individual acts of moral renewal and spiritual rebirth. The Edelman survey, for example, found that workplaces are 鈥渢he safest space for discussion of difficult topics because there are rules for behavior.鈥� It also found that such 鈥渂rokering鈥� of trust can lift the level of trust among low-income people.

A good example of spiritual reclamation is the purchase of Mr. Epstein鈥檚 Zorro Ranch in New Mexico, a suspected scene of abuse. The new owner, Texas businessman Don Huffines, has renamed the property San Rafael Ranch, after the saint associated with healing. He plans to turn it into a 海角大神 retreat.

鈥淲hat the enemy once meant for evil,鈥� he wrote on social media, 鈥淕od can redeem for good.鈥�