Nonrival

April 23, 2026

Human experts + AI summaries - on public policy, economics, and technology.

America Is Less Appealing to Would-Be Migrants Than It's Been in Nearly Two Decades

gallup

• Only 15% of potential migrants worldwide now name the U.S. as their preferred destination, down from 24% in 2007-2009 and the lowest level in nearly 20 years of Gallup polling.
• The decline is sharpest in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia, with Honduras seeing the biggest drop where desire to migrate to the U.S. fell from 71% to 36%.
• Paradoxically, while fewer people abroad want to move to America, more Americans want to leave — particularly women under 45, with 40% saying they'd move abroad permanently if they could.

Supreme Court Will Decide Whether Police Need Better Warrants to Track Your Phone's Location

scotusblog

• The Supreme Court is hearing a case about "geofence warrants," which let police ask Google for location data from all phones near a crime scene, then narrow down to specific suspects without additional warrants
• A Virginia bank robber argues this violates the Fourth Amendment because it lets police search first and develop suspicions later, rather than having probable cause upfront
• The decision could clarify whether Americans have privacy rights in location data stored by tech companies, though the immediate impact may be limited since Google has changed how it stores this data

The Federal Government Is Racing to Adopt AI While Safety Measures Lag Behind

cdt

• A year after new federal AI guidance was issued, government agencies are rapidly deploying artificial intelligence tools across operations from hiring to national security.
• While agencies have made progress on basic requirements like appointing AI officers, many are still struggling to implement critical safeguards for bias testing, risk assessment, and public transparency.
• The gap between AI adoption speed and safety implementation raises concerns about potential discrimination, privacy violations, and accountability in government AI systems affecting millions of Americans.

In the News

Hungary's New Leader Could Reshape the Western Balkans by Cutting Ties to Putin's Regional Network

atlantic_council

• Viktor Orbán's electoral defeat in Hungary threatens to unravel a network of illiberal allies in the Western Balkans, particularly Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who relied on Hungarian backing and shared Russian energy partnerships.
• New Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has already adopted a combative stance against Vučić and promised investigations into suspicious incidents, while pivoting Hungary back toward EU and NATO cooperation.
• The leadership change could accelerate EU enlargement in the Balkans by removing Hungary's veto power as an obstruction tool and weakening authoritarian leaders who had counted on Budapest's protection from Brussels' rule-of-law pressure.

Analysis

NATO membership boosts trade between allies by up to 27 percent, meaning U.S. withdrawal could cost $100 billion annually

csis

• New research analyzing 75 years of data shows NATO membership increases bilateral trade between member countries by 12-27 percent over the long term, with gains building over 5-20 years.
• The trade benefits are concentrated in high-tech sectors like aerospace, computers, and electronics—precisely the industries where the U.S. wants to maintain global leadership.
• Economic modeling suggests U.S. withdrawal from NATO would reduce American exports by 16 percent and cut GDP by 0.4 percent, equivalent to roughly $100 billion in lost annual output.

Also Worth a Look

• Mexico Should Hold Out for a Better USMCA Deal Rather Than Rush Into Trump's Terms (atlantic_council)
• Why So Many House Republicans Are Fleeing Congress for State Politics (brookings)
• Immigration Cuts Under Trump Hit Every Major U.S. Metro Area, Reversing Post-Pandemic Population Gains (brookings)
• California's Workplace Heat Standards Cut Worker Deaths by Half, Showing Why Federal Rules Are Needed (equitable_growth)
• How America Can Deter China From Taking Taiwan Without Going to War (hoover)
• Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul on Putin, Ukraine, and America's Next Steps (hoover)
• AI's biggest impact comes from redesigning entire workflows, not just automating individual tasks (mit_sloan)