
How to end the war on drugs in a country synonymous with drugs
CNN
It's the home of notorious drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, and the origin of legendary Santa Marta Gold -- once the most sought-after varieties of weed in the United States -- named after Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range.
For many, Colombia is synonymous with drug cartels and narco-traffickers. It is one of the largest narcotics producers in the world -- last year, the US government estimated was producing over one million kilograms of cocaine, the highest in the world and more than the two closest nations, Peru and Bolivia, combined. So when the South American country's new president says he intends to regulate the use of illegal substances -- or at least some of them -- the world listens.
"It is time to accept that the war on drugs has been a complete failure," Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced during his inauguration festivities earlier this month, commenting on a bill his administration recently presented to legalize recreational marijuana to Congress.

One year ago this week, Joe Biden was president. I was in Doha, Qatar, negotiating with Israel and Hamas to finalize a ceasefire and hostage release deal. The incoming Trump team worked closely with us, a rare display of nonpartisanship to free hostages and end a war. It feels like a decade ago. A lot can happen in a year, as 2025 has shown.

Botched Epstein redactions trace back to Virgin Islands’ 2020 civil racketeering case against estate
A botched redaction in the Epstein files revealed that government attorneys once accused his lawyers of paying over $400,000 to “young female models and actresses” to cover up his criminal activities

The Justice Department’s leadership asked career prosecutors in Florida Tuesday to volunteer over the “next several days” to help to redact the Epstein files, in the latest internal Trump administrationpush toward releasing the hundreds of thousands of photos, internal memos and other evidence around the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The US State Department on Tuesday imposed visa sanctions on a former top European Union official and employees of organizations that combat disinformation for alleged censorship – sharply ratcheting up the Trump administration’s fight against European regulations that have impacted digital platforms, far-right politicians and Trump allies, including Elon Musk.









