Gaza faces heightened famine risk amid talk of aid. United Nations aid officials said a quarter of Gaza’s population is at risk of famine and blasted Israel for “deliberately and unashamedly” imposing inhumane conditions. On Wednesday, a new U.S.-backed humanitarian organization that calls itself the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it expects to begin aid operations in Gaza by the end of the month. It claimed agreements with Israeli officials. – The Associated Press
Related Monitor story: Our Gaza reporter looked at the blockade’s effect on children.

A detained Georgetown student was released. A federal judge on Wednesday ordered that Khan Suri be released from immigration detention. The student was arrested March 17 near his Arlington, Virginia, apartment. Officials said his visa was revoked because of his social media posts and his wife’s connection to Gaza as a Palestinian American. They accused him of supporting Hamas. U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles said she was releasing Mr. Suri because he had substantial constitutional claims. – AP

Gavin Newsom retreats on immigrant benefits. Under the California governor’s budget proposal, low-income, unauthorized adults will not be able to apply for health benefits starting next year. If approved, it would mark a significant reversal in California’s embrace of immigrants without legal status. It would also align the Democrat, a potential presidential candidate, with the president. The plan contradicts the view that health care for all poor people is moral and cost-effective. Still, the state’s facing a budget crunch, so he’s pausing this provision of California’s version of Medicaid. – Staff

Narco-terrorism charges were filed against a Mexican duo. They were the first since the Trump administration designated six Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations earlier this year. Pedro Inzunza Noriega and his son Pedro Inzunza Coronel, linked to Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa Cartel, are accused of offering material support for terrorism through a smuggling operation that allegedly moves fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin into the United States.

Labeling cartels as terrorist organizations allows federal prosecutors to bring charges with tougher penalties against traffickers. It is unclear what evidence there is to support the charges in court. – Staff

Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. continue to drop. There were 30,000 fewer in 2024 than the year before, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Wednesday. An estimated 80,000 people died from overdoses last year, a 27% drop from 110,000 in 2023. – AP
Related Monitor story: We looked at the decline, and at some caveats, last month.

Carla Hayden was named 2025 PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion. Dr. Hayden was fired by President Donald Trump as librarian of Congress with a year left in her 10-year term. The White House cited “concerning things” she had done “in pursuit of DEI.” The library called Capitol Police after an acting librarian was named, and refused entry to the president’s appointees until Congress acts. Dr. Hayden was chosen for the award last year for her lifetime of literary advocacy; a ceremony is set for Thursday. “She has been a devoted advocate to making sure that all of us get to enjoy the fruits of a literary life,” says Gwydion Suilebhan, executive director of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. – Staff

The absence of major military breakthroughs by either side in the war in Ukraine mirrors the impasse in attempts to end the conflict through diplomacy. Since invading its neighbor more than three years ago, Russia has inched closer to its goal of controlling the Donbas region, with its coal mines and steel plants. Ukraine is in no position to mount major counteroffensives. But its military commanders are determined to hold defensive lines and claw back territory where they can. A view from the front lines.

A projected decline in college-age students threatens to shrink college programs and strain university budgets. At the same time, rising tuition and expenses have made affordability a key issue for students and families. In response, tuition-free models and income-based plans are becoming more common – not just as a financial aid solution, but also as a strategy to stay competitive and attract lower-income and first-generation students.

When voters in the United States reelected Donald Trump president, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was among the first to celebrate. But as the American leader visits the Middle East this week, Israel is notably missing from his itinerary. Comments from members and supporters of the country’s governing coalition indicate they feel abandoned by the very figure they championed. 

Talks in Turkey between Ukraine and Russia were uncertain Thursday morning after Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to show up in Istanbul. But the prospect of peace has encouraged hopes in Russia that ending the war might result in the lifting of Western sanctions. But those punishing measures have had an unintended consequence. In recent years, Russia has reshaped its economy, rerouting supply chains to friendly countries and investing in domestic manufacturing. A resumption of trade dependency with the West, some officials say, would undermine Russia’s hard-won self-sufficiency.

For years, the Los Angeles County jail has been known as the United States’ largest mental health institution. An astonishing 5,901 people – nearly half of its population – struggle with mental health issues. But the facility is tapping an important resource to address the problem: the incarcerated individuals themselves. Training incarcerated people to serve as mental health assistants, California officials have found, increases self-esteem and social skills, and has resulted in reduced crisis hospitalizations. The peer-to-peer program is becoming a state and national model.

Like much of Latin America, Colombia confronts severe challenges, yet in recent years it has somehow managed to carve out pathways to a more inclusive society. Its landmark 2016 peace accord, for example, ended a half-century of civil war with a rebel group. Now the country is in the vanguard again: Last week, it gave Indigenous groups the right to autonomous administration, granting them governing powers akin to those of a municipal authority. 

“This puts Colombia in the lead when it comes to recognizing Indigenous rights – not just to land, but to identity, autonomy, and decision-making over their own development,” said activist Mayu Velasco Anderson, as reported by The Associated Press.

Around the world, Indigenous groups manage millions of acres in about 40 countries. Often, title to land is not formalized. And for all other issues – health, education, sanitation – they often rely on government help, which undermines autonomy.

For Colombia, the journey to expanded Indigenous authority began under former President Juan Manuel Santos, who won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. He called for “environmental integrity,” a view growing from his contacts with Indigenous leaders. They encouraged him to make peace with rebel groups – and “make peace with nature,” he recalled at a 2022 University of Notre Dame talk. 

Peacemaking, Mr. Santos said, isn’t easy. Peace-building is even harder; “it’s reconciliation, it’s healing the wounds, it’s repairing the victims.”

One could say Colombia is engaged in environmental peace-building, reconciling economic imperatives with a considered use of natural resources. Last October, the government of current President Gustavo Petro – himself a former rebel – recognized Indigenous peoples’ “environmental” authority over ecosystems, including land, forests, and rivers. Now they have budgetary administrative powers in all other aspects of local government.

This autonomy bodes well for Colombia’s Amazon rainforest territories. “Research consistently shows that Indigenous-managed lands have better climate outcomes than lands managed by other entities,” the Stanford Social Innovation Review noted. Indigenous-led approaches, it says, are not only “just ... they’re highly effective.”