…though the reasoning for ICE’s establishment had to do with terrorism, the philosophy behind it also represented a change in the U.S. government’s view of immigrants, says María Cristina García, a professor of history at Cornell University. “Immigration matters were once handled by the Department of Commerce, then the Department of Labor,” García tells TIME. “Today it’s the Department of Homeland Security.”

Abolishing the agency reflects a broader goal of a far more humane immigration system, one in which immigrants aren’t thought of as a population to be policed and controlled by armed agents. Without ICE, children don’t suffer the trauma of their parents being taken away from them in the middle of the night. Without ICE, workers are freer to fight against wage theft and for a union because they don’t have to fear raids and deportation. Without ICE, asylum-seekers can find an attorney to help them stay in the country instead of navigating the system alone from the inside of a detention center.

So how exactly do these ICE-melters propose to deal with criminal alien fugitives, such as the estimated 300,000 deportation absconders who’ve been ordered by immigration judges to leave the country?… And when will these noble 21st-century abolitionists be stepping up to open their homes to the members of the ICE Most Wanted list, which includes illegal aliens wanted for murder, aggravated homicide, narcotics and human trafficking, and membership in terrorist organizations? I don’t just question their patriotism. I question their sanity.

Officials from the Palestinian Authority also expressed concern at Turkey’s drive to further its influence in occupied East Jerusalem which comes in the form of donations to Islamic organisations in Arab neighbourhoods or through organised tours by Turkish Muslim groups with close ties to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)… “They’re trying to buy real estate and strengthen their political standing,” an unnamed police source is quoted as saying.

Asked what interest Erdogan had in a further deterioration of ties, Navon said: “He is an Islamist, his foreign policy is Islamist, he supports Iran, he supports Hamas, he has a deeply ingrained hatred for Israel and the Jews, and this works for him internationally because it turned him into the leader of the Muslim world… The more he is aggressive toward Israel, the more he is seen as the only leader in the Muslim world who speaks out and is willing to confront the US and Israel,” Navon said, something that adds to his stature in Arab and Muslim countries.

Jordan’s concerns about Turkey’s activities are mostly because of its own standing as the custodian of Islam’s holy sites in Jerusalem. Jordanian officials told their Israeli counterparts that they suspect Erdogan is trying to undercut that position. For the PA, the main source of concern is that Turkey’s support will boost Islamist groups that oppose the PA, and are closer ideologically and politically to its rival in Gaza, Hamas. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has expressed concern over Erdogan trying to mobilize the Jerusalem issue in order to boost his image across the Arab and Islamic world, and present himself as the only leader truly standing up to Israel and the Trump administration.

The once dominant chancellor, and her incremental pragmatic stlye, are out of step with what one German analyst this week dubbed a new era of “egomaniac, muscular” leadership that blends refugee, trade, security and identity politics. In a week when Germans had their illusions shattered on the football field, Angela Merkel may shuffle up and down the stairs of power a while yet. But like a figure in an Escher illustration, it’s not clear if she has anywhere left to go.

The agreement also fails to do anything about the problem of distributing refugees already in EU territory… Meanwhile, it took Europe more than five days to figure out what to do with more than 200 rescued asylum-seekers who had been stranded on a ship at sea this week. That doesn’t bode well for future cooperation. It also doesn’t bode well for Merkel’s political future. Her opponents at home are looking at regional elections this year and will be looking for ways to score political points at her expense.

Despite the lack of polish, some vague and awkward wording, and several uneasy compromises, the EU summit conclusions focus on the right things — it might even be called a success. With the Italian premier declaring Italy was “no longer alone” and Angela Merkel’s challengers conceding “something has moved in the right direction,” it looks like EU leaders found enough common ground to, for now at least, avert another crisis.

Just about everyone in California knows the housing crisis is bad. Otherwise we wouldn’t be staring down the barrel of a rent control ballot measure this November that could very easily blow up in our faces. But a pair of studies released this month make clear just how bad things are — both here and across the country. This upshot? There is nowhere in the United States where someone working a minimum wage job full time can afford to rent a “decent” — read, up to code and not infested with mold and vermin — two-bedroom apartment. You read that right. Nowhere.

How did we get here? Unfortunately, you can blame government. Neither Fannie Mae nor Freddie Mac, the two mortgage giants that caused the 2007 housing meltdown, were dismantled. Instead, Washington rewarded them with an even larger role than before… In the next housing crisis, banks will hold hundreds of billions in bad loans and the economy will again crater. Then what? Rather than waiting for disaster, why not do what we should’ve done years ago? Either privatize Fannie and Freddie or shut them down, while the economy’s strong and we still have time.

Before the recession, America built around 1.1 million new homes per year. In its best year since, the country built just 849,000. This makes no sense. Though the American population has been growing steadily, there are now fewer homes on the market than in any year since 1982. Despite seemingly bottomless demand, the construction of apartment buildings fell by 10 percent last year. There is also the “NIMBY factor,” delays and obstruction caused by neighbors seeking to preserve their views, their redlining-inspired height restrictions and (especially) their parking. America also has a nationwide shortage of construction workers.

This White House has been, and is likely to remain, home to the first presidency in American history that is almost completely devoid of culture… Since his inauguration in January 2017, there have been no official concerts at the White House (the Reagans had one every few weeks). No poetry readings (the Obamas regularly celebrated young poets)… Every great civilization has fostered great art, while authoritarian regimes customarily see artists as either nuisances, enemies of the state or tools for the creation of propaganda.

No one asked William whether he thinks flying to Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories is a good idea at this time. His views matter about as much as those of the giant pandas that the Chinese leadership sends as gifts to zoos in countries where it is trying to improve its diplomatic relations. Just as the 70 years of royal boycott represented a misplaced sense of Britain’s importance in world affairs, so does the change in policy represented by the royal visit now.

In July 1961, identical Jewish triplets were separated shortly after they were born and adopted by different families. But as the documentary “Three Identical Strangers” discloses, [their chance reunion] soon turned sinister amid revelations that the triplets were part of a secret experiment that Louise Wise Services, a Jewish adoption agency, had covered up. “There were people involved in splitting them up. We set out to explore how that happened and why,” first-time filmmaker Tim Wardle told the Journal. When Wardle heard the story five years ago, he was drawn to “the compelling human story at the heart,” and the themes of free will versus destiny, nature versus nurture and medical ethics.