Belgium holds $477.3 billion in U.S. Treasury securities as of December 2025, ranking it fourth among all foreign holders of U.S. federal debt, ahead of Canada, France, and Taiwan. Belgium’s GDP is roughly $600 billion. The idea that a country with an economy that size has organically accumulated nearly half a trillion dollars in U.S. sovereign paper, driven by domestic institutional demand, does not survive casual scrutiny. Belgium’s appearance near the top of the foreign holdings table is not evidence of Belgian appetite for Treasuries.

Congress has considered the implications of biometric technologies—specifically facial recognition—in a number of recent legislative provisions. Key Legislative Provisions Section 5104 of the FY2021 NDAA (P.L. 116-283) tasks the National AI Advisory Committee with advising the President on whether the use of facial recognition technology by government authorities is taking into account ethical considerations and whether such use should be subject to additional oversight, controls, and limitations. Section 5708 of the FY2020 NDAA (P.

Biometric technologies use unique biological or behavioral attributes—such as DNA, fingerprints, cardiac signatures, voice or gait patterns, and facial or ocular measurements—to authenticate an individual’s identity. Although biometric technologies have been in use for decades, recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data analytics have expanded their application. As these technologies continue to mature and proliferate, largely driven by advances in the commercial sector, they will likely hold growing implications for congressional oversight, civil liberties, U.

Biometric technologies are currently used for a number of congressionally authorized or mandated security applications throughout the U.S. government. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-71) granted the Transportation Security Administration the authority to employ biometrics for passenger screening and airport access control. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458) required the Department of Homeland Security to operate a biometric entry and exit data system to verify the identity of foreign nationals seeking to enter or exit the United States.

Biometric technologies have a number of vulnerabilities that underscore the ethical concerns over their employment and could result in the failure of the technology to perform as anticipated. Algorithmic Bias Researchers have repeatedly found that AI-trained facial recognition programs fail disproportionately when used for women and people of color, due to both the models and the data on which the programs were trained. If unaddressed, these challenges could result in system failure, potentially leading to violations of civil liberties or international humanitarian law.

The headline feature of the Trump Account program is a one-time $1,000 refundable tax credit deposited directly into a qualifying child’s account by the U.S. Treasury. It is the mechanism closest to what proponents of so-called “baby bond” policies have long proposed—a government seed investment in a child’s long-term financial future. Who Qualifies Eligibility is narrow and time-limited. The child must: Be a U.S. citizen Have a work-authorized Social Security number Be born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028 Households must actively elect to receive the contribution.

The Department of Defense is exploring a range of emerging biometric technologies and biometric applications, including AI techniques that could identify individuals in low light or otherwise obscured conditions, and laser techniques that could identify individuals at distances of around 200 meters. Such techniques could be employed in covert and clandestine operations without an individual’s knowledge or consent. Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems In the future, biometric technologies could be integrated into lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS)—weapons capable of selecting and engaging targets without the need for manual human control or remote operation.

Every year, TIME releases a list that tries to answer a slippery question: who actually shapes the world right now. The 2026 edition of the TIME100 leans into that ambiguity, mixing heads of state with YouTubers, AI architects with fashion designers, and activists with entertainers. It feels less like a ranking and more like a cross-section of influence in motion. Rather than offering a strict hierarchy, the list works as a snapshot of the people who, in very different ways, are helping define the mood, direction, and priorities of the current moment.

Trump Accounts are designed in part to distribute wealth-building tools more broadly. Whether they succeed depends on structural features that pull in opposite directions—and on how federal agencies eventually decide to treat account assets when determining eligibility for programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and SSI. The Regressive Core The tax-deferred growth benefit that underpins Trump Accounts is, by design, worth more to higher-income households. Tax deferral is valuable in proportion to the marginal tax rate a household faces.

One of the more notable constraints in the Trump Account structure is the investment restriction during the growth period. Until the year the beneficiary turns 18, account funds must be held in a single category of investment—and the parameters are specific. What Qualifies Eligible investments are mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track a diversified U.S. equity index. The S&P 500 is the named reference point in the law, but other broad U.