The Daily Populous

Budapest took a 1 billion euro ($1 billion) loan, the largest one ever taken by the state, from three Chinese banks in the spring of 2024, Politico reported on July 25, citing the data of the Hungarian Debt Management Office.

Hungary's record loan came amid a record increase in its public debt to 140 billion euros ($152 billion), 73.5% of GDP, and a budget deficit of 6.7% of GDP, while the country has no access to European Union funds due to disputes with Brussels.

Hungary, broadly seen as the most Kremlin-proximate EU member, has repeatedly obstructed aid for Ukraine on account that it "prolongs" and "escalates" the ongoing war. »

FLINT, MI – Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed the $23.4 billion education spending plan for 2025 that includes free pre-K for many families and free community college education.

Free meals for students was first included in the current budget, and it’s something Whitmer has wanted to make permanent.

“This budget provides every Michigan child the guarantee of a free, high-quality education from preschool through community college – that’s a big deal,” said State Budget Director Jen Flood. »

Texas is among a handful of states that require parental consent before a teenager can get birth control – but Title X-funded contraception was the exception.

Texas has the highest repeat teen birth rate and one of strictest abortion bans in the US.

Texas now stands as the only state that requires Title X-funded clinics to mandate parental consent before granting teens birth control. »

So it might surprise Americans to know that observers in China’s repressive autocracy find something in all of this to envy.

The president’s decision “shows that his personal honor and disgrace are secondary to the future of the United States.”

Another wrote that “regardless of the final election results, the country’s self-correction mechanism is still there, which is good.”. »