Politics today was shaped by courts, power and trust. In the U.S., the Supreme Court handed down two consequential election and governance rulings, allowing states such as Mississippi to count mail ballots cast by Election Day but arriving days later, while also expanding presidential authority to fire leaders of independent agencies, though pointedly preserving the Federal Reserve’s special insulation. Abroad, security and sovereignty drove major moves: Australia and Vanuatu signed a wide-ranging pact that blocks foreign military bases on Vanuatu soil, a clear effort to limit strategic encroachment in the Pacific, while Iran said Qatar will release $6 billion in frozen assets as regional attacks complicate already fragile talks involving Washington. In Britain, meanwhile, former Conservative MP Craig Williams admitted cheating over bets on the timing of the 2024 general election, a case that sharpens questions about insider access and public confidence in political institutions.