8/4 to 8/10, 2025

This Week, Basically — hosted by Robyn Davies. Every week I give you the news you need, the stories you didn’t see coming, and the stuff that sticks with you long after the headlines scroll past. From battlefront maneuvers to Broadway dance steps, let’s dig into the week.

Let’s start big.

Mexico’s cartels are getting a lot more creative and efficient in smuggling fentanyl into the U.S.  The Sinaloa cartel, in particular, has streamlined its supply lines, running shipments through ports of entry using vehicles with secret compartments. Officials say this isn’t small-scale stuff — the volume coming in is staggering. American agents on the border call it “industrialized smuggling.” And here’s the grim math: just two milligrams of fentanyl is considered lethal. It’s cheap, it’s potent, and it’s making its way into counterfeit pills that look like Xanax, Percocet, or Adderall. Communities across the U.S. are dealing with overdoses spiking, and local law enforcement feels outgunned. It’s not the scrappy, backroad smuggling you might imagine; it’s highly coordinated, almost corporate.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Russia has shifted tactics again. Instead of relying on close-range assaults, Moscow is pushing distant strikes and long-range weapons . Analysts say this is partly about conserving manpower after heavy battlefield losses. It’s also about psychological warfare — hitting infrastructure and civilian areas far from the front to keep Ukrainians on edge. Ukraine’s response? Doubling down on drone strikes inside Russia, which have been growing in both frequency and boldness. Neither side is gaining decisive ground, but both are trying to sap the other’s will to keep fighting. It’s a war of attrition — one measured not just in territory but in exhaustion.

Over in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has floated a new idea: once Hamas is defeated, he says Gaza should be run by “Arab forces” . The problem is, no one seems to know which Arab forces he’s talking about. Israel’s cabinet approved a plan for its military to seize Gaza City, but Arab countries, from Saudi Arabia to Egypt, have already condemned the move as a dangerous escalation. They might support a multinational stabilization mission, but only if Gaza ultimately gets handed over to the Palestinian Authority and there’s a path to statehood. That’s a red line Netanyahu’s government won’t cross. So for now, it’s all talk with no takers — and Gaza’s two million residents remain caught in the middle of a conflict with no clear endgame.

Back in the U.S., President Trump’s new spending bill is putting states like New Mexico in a bind . The state gets three dollars back from Washington for every dollar it sends in taxes: one of the highest returns in the nation. But the new law shifts costs away from the federal government and onto states. That could mean billions less for Medicaid and food assistance programs, with up to 88,000 residents losing health coverage and 58,000 losing SNAP benefits. Rural hospitals are bracing for closures, and food banks say demand will surge as families struggle. Supporters argue it’ll cut waste and force New Mexico to be more self-reliant. Critics say it’s a recipe for disaster in one of the poorest states in the country. Either way, the impact is going to be deep and long-lasting.

And here’s a story about the future of democracy: Britain just lowered its voting age to 16, and some American teens want in . In cities like Newark, New Jersey, and Albany, California, 16- and 17-year-olds already get to vote in local elections. Advocates say these kids are working jobs, paying taxes, and caring for siblings; so why not let them weigh in at the ballot box? Skeptics worry that turnout would be low and that younger voters aren’t engaged enough. But young people themselves say adults aren’t exactly covering themselves in glory when it comes to political decisions. One teenager put it bluntly: “I don’t think the 16- and 17-year-olds I know would do worse than the adults I know.” Hard to argue with that.

Now to a quieter but poignant milestone: William H. Webster has died at 101 . He’s the only person ever to lead both the FBI and the CIA, stepping into the FBI after the Hoover era, when the bureau was notorious for illegal wiretaps and political vendettas. Webster was chosen for his reputation as a straight-shooter, and during his tenure he cracked down on corruption with the Abscam sting, pushed terrorism to the top of the FBI’s priorities, and tried to rein in the agency’s excesses. Later, at the CIA, he walked right into the Iran-Contra scandal and the fallout from two of the worst spy cases in U.S. history: Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen. His career was a reminder that America’s top intelligence jobs are as much about restoring public trust as they are about keeping secrets.

Elsewhere in Europe, something strange is rattling the Netherlands: explosions. Not terror attacks, not war, but small, grenade-strength blasts happening nearly three times a night across the country. Some are linked to drug gangs, others to petty feuds, even romantic disputes. Illegal fireworks are the weapon of choice, and while they might sound trivial, the damage is anything but: collapsed apartment blocks, fires, injuries, even deaths. For a country known for calm and bicycles, it’s deeply unsettling. Police logged more than 1,200 bombings last year. Locals say it’s become “normalized” — but as one security guard put it, “It is not normal.”

Let’s pivot to sports, with politics baked in. Libya, still divided between rival governments, can’t even host its own soccer championship. So for the second year, the final has been held in Italy. Teams Al Ittihad and Al Ahli Tripoli brought their bitter rivalry north, with police in Milan preparing for clashes even though no fans were allowed inside. The league itself mirrors Libya’s fractured politics: one half tied to a military strongman in the east, the other to a shaky transitional government in the west. Even in exile, soccer is still an outlet for the country’s divisions and its passions.

From the pitch to the stage: in Wisconsin, Northern Sky Theater is keeping local stories alive through musicals. Forget Broadway glitz; this is theater rooted in cheese, Packers football, and small-town lore. One production this summer featured feuding barbecue families, another riffed on local history with a hybrid cheese called “projack.” The company runs shows outdoors in the summer, indoors in the fall, and draws tens of thousands of attendees every year. It’s proof that theater doesn’t have to be universal to connect; sometimes it just has to be deeply, unmistakably local.

And finally, a blast from the early 2000s: Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis are back for Freakier Friday . Yep, a sequel to their 2003 body-swap comedy. This time, there’s a new generation involved: Anna’s daughter swaps bodies with her, while Tess, the mom, swaps with the daughter’s nemesis. The film’s loaded with nostalgia, even Chad Michael Murray is back, but the cast insists it’s not just a rehash. Lohan said revisiting Anna felt “comfortable, not stressful,” while Curtis said the key was keeping it playful. For fans who grew up on the original, this one’s a gift-wrapped throwback.

So that’s the week. Cartels industrializing fentanyl smuggling, Russia and Israel playing dangerous games of escalation, a U.S. spending bill shaking New Mexico, teens fighting for the vote, a legendary spymaster passing on, nightly explosions in the Netherlands, Libya exporting its soccer drama, Wisconsin theater leaning into cheese and Packers lore, and Hollywood giving us one more Friday to freak out about.

This is This Week, Basically. I’m Robyn Davies. Thanks for listening — and I’ll see you next time.