Death toll from Iranian protests surpasses 2,500, activists say | AP News (Thanks to Louden for this one)
Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Tuesday, January 13, 2026
Monday, January 12, 2026
Why New Jersey Is Running Out of Groundhogs?
Why New Jersey Is Running Out of Groundhogs - The New York Times
Since Milltown Mel died, a New Jersey town has faced a groundhog crisis. Now the governor has vetoed an effort to bring in out-of-state replacements.
Unrelated Cute Animal video below
Siri is...Gemini! Apple Teams Up With Google for A.I. in Its Products+CES recap
Apple Teams Up With Google for A.I. in Its Products - The New York Times
Apple was facing increasing questions about its plans for artificial intelligence as other big tech companies invested tens of billions in the technology.
Related: CES 2026 Recap: Every Tech and Gadget Announcement - CNET
U.S. Attacked Boat With Aircraft That Looked Like a Civilian Plane
U.S. Attacked Boat With Aircraft That Looked Like a Civilian Plane - The New York Times
Even accepting the Trump administration’s claim that there is an armed conflict with suspected drug runners, the laws of war bar “perfidy.”
Trump’s Plans for Venezuelan Oil Run Headlong Into Reality - The New York Times
President Trump’s fixation on Venezuela’s oil raises the question of how much “energy dominance” is really worth nowadays.
Related:
Lawyer Whom Maduro Didn’t Hire Is Booted From His Case - The New York Times (just plain weird)
Last week, a lawyer came forward claiming to represent the unseated president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. The judge overseeing the case settled the matter on Monday.
On the domestic front:
Kelly Sues Pentagon Over Threats of Punishment From Hegseth - The New York Times
Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, asked a federal judge to block the Trump administration from disciplining him for a video warning about illegal military orders.
Trump DOJ opens criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is greeted by backlash from GOP
Fed Changes Course and Takes On Trump’s Political Fight - The New York Times
The Justice Department’s decision to open up a criminal investigation of Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, is a major escalation in the pressure campaign against the central bank to cut interest rates.
Federal Prosecutors Open Investigation Into Fed Chair Powell - The New York Times
The investigation, which is said to center on renovations of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington, is an escalation of the president’s long-running pressure campaign on Jerome H. Powell.
GOP Sen. Thom Tillis says he will block any of Trump’s Fed picks over investigation into Powell
Lawmakers and Former Fed Leaders Denounce Powell Inquiry
Opinion | Trump’s Scheming to Sack Powell Paves the Road to Constitutional Ruin
Opinion | If You Like 35 Percent Inflation, Go Ahead, Fire the Fed Chair
Arson Suspect Targeted Mississippi Synagogue for Its ‘Jewish Ties,’ F.B.I. Says
Arson Suspect Targeted Mississippi Synagogue for Its ‘Jewish Ties,’ F.B.I. Says - The New York Times
The suspect, Stephen Spencer Pittman, was turned in by his father, who said his son had laughed as he confessed to the fire that damaged the synagogue, investigators said. He called it the synagogue of Satan.
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| Beth Israel in Jackson, Mississippi, served thirteen states and had been bombed in 1967 by the KKK for supporting civil rights |
Minnesota and the Twin Cities sue the federal government after fatal shooting in Minneapolis
Minnesota and the Twin Cities sue the federal government after fatal shooting in Minneapolis | AP News (Thanks to Sam for this one)
Related:
Minnesota and Illinois Sue Trump Administration Over ICE Deployments - The New York Times
The two Democratic-led states claimed in separate lawsuits that the immigration enforcement campaigns violated the Constitution.
Anti-ICE Protests Spread Nationwide After Minneapolis Shooting - The New York Times
Trump Officials Are Sending 1,000 More Immigration Officers to Minnesota - The New York Times
The Customs and Border Protection officers are joining 2,000 other officers and agents at the Department of Homeland Security who have recently been deployed to the Minneapolis region.
What America Might Look Like With Zero Immigration - The New York Times
The Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the foreign-born population are being felt in hospitals and soccer leagues and on Main Streets across the country, with hints of what’s to come.
'Massacre' unfolding in Iran as protest death toll triples, rights group warns; Trump weighs strikes; Musk provides Starlink
'Massacre' unfolding in Iran as protest death toll triples, rights group warns | New York Post (Thanks to Bernadette for this one)
Iranian authorities have mercilessly slaughtered more than 500 people in a ruthless crackdown on the nationwide anti-regime uprising — in what human rights groups have warned is a state-sponsored “massacre” in progress.
Disturbing images show body bags piling up in Tehran, prompting former top military officials to urge President Trump to take decisive action.
At least 496 protesters have been killed in the two weeks of unrest that has engulfed the oppressive theocracy, according to alarming estimates released Sunday from US-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA).
Related:
Trump Explores Diplomacy With Iran While Weighing Strikes, Officials Say - The New York Times
The Pentagon is presenting a wider range of strike options to the president than previously reported. Targets could include Iran’s nuclear program and ballistic missile sites.
Iranians tap Musk's Starlink to skirt internet blackout, sources say
Becky Pepper-Jackson faces a potential last season in West Virginia sports
Becky Pepper-Jackson faces a potential last season in West Virginia sports | AP News (Thanks to Louden for this one)
Becky Pepper-Jackson finished third in the discus throw in West Virginia last year though she was in just her first year of high school. Now a 15-year-old sophomore, Pepper-Jackson is aware that her upcoming season could be her last.
West Virginia has banned transgender girls like Pepper-Jackson from competing in girls and women’s sports, and is among the more than two dozen states with similar laws. Though the West Virginia law has been blocked by lower courts, the outcome could be different at the conservative-dominated Supreme Court, which has allowed multiple restrictions on transgender people to be enforced in the past year.
Why Donald Trump Wants Greenland (and Everything Else)
Why Donald Trump Wants Greenland (and Everything Else) | The New Yorker
There’s no Trump Doctrine, just a map of the world that the President wants to write his name on in big gold letters. This piece is a result of a book the author is writing and comes from interviews conducted with Trump and various aides
Saturday, January 10, 2026
D.C. Pipe Bomb Suspect Ordered to Remain in Jail Until Trial
D.C. Pipe Bomb Suspect Ordered to Remain in Jail Until Trial - The New York Times (Thanks to Haadi for this one)
A magistrate judge said he was concerned that the defendant, Brian Cole Jr., had continued after Jan. 6, 2021, to purchase components similar to those prosecutors said he had used to make pipe bombs.
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| Surveillance footage from January 2021 showed the man authorities identified as Brian Cole Jr. He told investigators he felt relieved that the bombs had not exploded and that no one was hurt. Photo from FBI through Reuters. |
Friday, January 9, 2026
Meet Oreshnik: Russia's Hypersonic Missile
Russia Says It Used Nuclear-Capable Missile to Strike Western Ukraine - The New York Times
Russia says it used new Oreshnik ballistic missile against Ukraine : NPR
It travels at ten times the speed of sound. This missile traveled at a speed of more than 8,000 miles per hour. Russia first tested the Oreshnik — Russian for hazelnut tree — to strike a Ukrainian factory in November 2024. Putin has bragged that Oreshnik's multiple warheads plunge at speeds of up to Mach 10 and can't be intercepted, and that several of them used in a conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack. Oreshnik can also carry nuclear weapons.
The Russian leader has warned the West that Russia could use the Oreshnik next against allies of Kyiv that allowed it to strike inside Russia with their longer-range missiles.
Trump Indicates He Will Meet Venezuela’s Machado After Offer to Give Him Her Nobel Peace Prize
President Trump indicated that he would meet the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. Last year, she won the Nobel Peace Prize, an award he covets.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize, has called for Edmundo González, to be recognized as the rightful leader of the nation. He was widely seen as the legitimate winner of the 2024 presidential election in the country.
Who is María Corina Machado? : NPR
Wary of Investing in Venezuela, Big Oil Heads to the White House
Wary of Investing in Venezuela, Big Oil Heads to the White House - The New York Times
The amounts of money, time and political uncertainty trouble executives at large Western oil companies, who plan to meet with President Trump on Friday.
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| A statue near the Venezuelan state oil company in Caracas. U.S. energy executives were far from ready to make a commitment when President Trump said they would “spend billions of dollars” in that country. Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times |
How an Abrupt Call Between Trump and Colombia’s President Averted a Crisis
How an Abrupt Call Between Trump and Colombia’s President Averted a Crisis - The New York Times
President Gustavo Petro said that the new tone between the leaders was “friendly,” but he also resurfaced his deep disagreements with President Trump.
Thursday, January 8, 2026
Judge Orders Halligan, a Trump Loyalist, to Explain Why She Has Kept U.S. Attorney Title
The ruling was the most robust effort to date to press the prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, on why she has continued to serve as the U.S. attorney, despite an order throwing out her appointment.
Judge Novak gave Ms. Halligan seven days to respond to his demands to tell him why her repeated decisions to sign court papers as the district’s top prosecutor were not “a false or misleading statement” — a move, he suggested, that could lead to disciplinary measures.
Judge Novak’s order came some six weeks after Judge Cameron McGowan Currie found that the Justice Department had violated both the Constitution and laws governing the appointment of U.S. attorneys when it installed Ms. Halligan in the post, after Mr. Trump fired her predecessor.
More Agents Head to Minnesota as U.S. Takes Over Shooting Investigation
Fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis raises questions over jurisdiction and state prosecution | AP News (Thanks to Sonia for these)
More Agents Head to Minnesota as U.S. Takes Over Shooting Investigation - The New York Times
A day after an ICE agent fatally shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, the governor activated the state’s National Guard, and 100 more federal agents were also being deployed.
U.S. Border Patrol Agents Shoot 2 in Portland During Traffic Stop - The New York Times
The shooting in a city previously targeted by the Trump administration came as Minneapolis grappled with a federal agent’s killing of a woman a day earlier.
Noem Defends ICE Agent in Minneapolis Shooting and Attacks Mamdani - The New York Times
During a visit to New York, the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, criticized the city’s policies that prevent police officers from helping immigration agents.
Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis - The New York Times
An analysis of footage from three camera angles show that the vehicle appears to be turning away from a federal officer as he opened fire.
Court Records Reveal ICE Agent Jonathan Ross’s Previous Dragging Incident - The New York Times
The agent who shot a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday was pulled about 100 yards by a car last year while firing a stun gun at the driver.
Amid Protests, ICE Told Agents to Take ‘Decisive Action’ if Threatened - The New York Times
The guidance comes as immigration officers have been met with increasingly hostile protesters in cities.
Renee Good former in-law says she should have minded her own business (interesting article because the headline's impression doesn't capture the full thoughts or feelings of her brother-in-law)
Texas A&M, Under New Curriculum Limits, Warns Professor Not to Teach Plato
Texas A&M, Under New Curriculum Limits, Warns Professor Not to Teach Plato - The New York Times
The university is reviewing courses under new rules restricting teaching about race and gender. Administrators told a philosophy professor to cut some lessons on Plato to comply.
Trump Lays Out a Vision of Power Restrained Only by ‘My Own Morality’
Trump Lays Out a Vision of Power Restrained Only by ‘My Own Morality’ - The New York Times
On topic after topic, President Trump made clear that he would be the arbiter of any limits to his authorities, not international law or treaties.
Highlights From The New York Times's Interview With Trump: Live Updates - The New York Times
Mr. Trump sat down with our reporters for an interview in which he talked about his health, watched a video of an ICE shooting and mused about his power on the world stage.
The Many Faces of Trump: What We Saw When We Interviewed the President - The New York Times
He let reporters in on a call with Colombia’s president. He complained about Zohran Mamdani. He called JD Vance and Marco Rubio “kids.” Inside an unpredictable evening with President Trump.
The Next Phase of Trump’s Renovations: A New ‘Upper West Wing’ - The New York Times
Besides changes to the White House, President Trump also said he planned to tear up the brick walkways in Lafayette Park and replace them with granite.
GOP Senators push back on Greenland takeover; Rubio says he'll me with Danish officials
GOP senators push back hard at Trump administration's talk of Greenland takeover
Rubio Says He’ll Discuss Greenland With Danish Officials Next Week - The New York Times
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| Katie Miller (wife of Stephen Miller) went viral with a single image. |
Senate Advances Measure to Curb Trump’s Use of Force in Venezuela
Live Updates: Senate Advances Measure to Curb Trump’s Use of Force in Venezuela - The New York Times
In a rebuke to the president, the Senate narrowly agreed to bring up a War Powers Act resolution for a vote next week. The measure would require Mr. Trump to seek congressional authorization for military operations in Venezuela.
Wednesday, January 7, 2026
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Announces It Will Cease Operations
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Announces It Will Cease Operations - The New York Times
The family-owned company that operates the newspaper cited mounting losses and labor constraints. A final edition is expected on Sunday, May 3.
Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Sunday, January 4, 2026
U.S. operation Absolute Resolve results in arrest of Venezuela's Maduro and his wife and extradition to NYC; Trump says U.S. to run Venezuela until transition
What We Know About the U.S. Operation in Venezuela and Maduro’s Capture - The New York Times
U.S. forces carried out an audacious raid on the country’s capital, seizing President Nicolás Maduro. President Trump said the United States now intends to “run” Venezuela.
Can the U.S. Really “Run” Venezuela? | The New Yorker
Rubio Stresses U.S. Plan to Coerce Venezuela Rather Than Govern It - The New York Times
The secretary of state said that a military “quarantine” on some oil exports would stay in place to put pressure on the country’s acting leadership.
The Brazen Illegality of Trump’s Venezuela Operation | The New Yorker
A scholar of international law on the implications of the U.S. arrest of President Nicolás Maduro.
Opinion | To Trump, on Venezuela: You Break It, You Own It - The New York Times
‘They’re Invading Us’: The U.S. Attack Viewed From Venezuelans’ Cellphones - The New York Times
The videos, filmed on cellphones by people mainly in Caracas and La Guaira, showed the exact moments in which the U.S. air and ground incursion played out in real time.
Trump Plunges the U.S. Into a New Era of Risk in Venezuela - The New York Times
President Trump opened a new chapter in American nation building by toppling Venezuela’s leader and promising U.S. intervention in running its affairs.
How Trump Fixed On a Maduro Loyalist as Venezuela’s New Leader - The New York Times
Nicolás Maduro balked at a gilded exile. U.S. officials then saw a more pliant option in his vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, known for stabilizing Venezuela’s economy.
How The Times Assessed That Photo From Trump of Maduro in Handcuffs - The New York Times
Hours after President Trump announced that the United States had seized Nicolás Maduro, various photos that appeared to show the captured Venezuelan leader hit the internet.
How did a New York Times reporter reach the president right after he announced that the United States had captured Venezuela’s leader?
Behind the Scenes of Our Nicolás Maduro Front Page - The New York Times
After President Trump’s surprise ouster of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, a team of New York Times editors set to work redoing the front page.
Ukrainians Welcome a U.S. Victory in Venezuela, and Lament a Double Standard - The New York Times
Ukraine’s government supports the removal of a dictator while members of Parliament question the wisdom of endorsing military interventions, even against a Russian ally.
Opinion | The Venezuela I Know - The New York Times
Opinion | Maduro’s Ouster Plays Right Into Putin’s Hands - The New York Times
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Waymo Suspended Service in San Francisco After Its Cars Stalled During Power Outage
The self-driving cars came to a halt at intersections when the power outage knocked out traffic signals, causing tie-ups but no accidents or injuries.
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| A Waymo driverless car was stalled at an intersection while not able to detect traffic lights after a major power outage in San Francisco on Saturday. Photo by Tayfun Coskun. |
U.S. Coast Guard Pursues Oil Tanker Linked to Venezuela
U.S. Coast Guard Pursues Oil Tanker Linked to Venezuela - The New York Times
The latest vessel to be targeted by the United States in its pressure campaign on Venezuela was sending distress signals as it headed northeast from the Caribbean into the Atlantic.
 |
| A U.S. military helicopter flying over the Panama-flagged Centuries, which was intercepted on Saturday east of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea. The Coast Guard was also pursuing another tanker, the Bella 1. Photo from Homeland Security. |
Trump news at a glance: anticipation high as clock ticks on release of all Epstein files; Kennedy Center Renamed
Trump news at a glance: anticipation high as clock ticks on release of all Epstein files | Trump administration | The Guardian (Thanks to Joe for these)
What to Know on the Initial Release of Materials From the Epstein Files - The New York Times
Kennedy Center board votes to add Trump’s name to DC arts institution | Donald Trump | The Guardian
Kennedy Center starts adding Trump's name | AP News
 |
| American professor Noam Chomsky pictured on a plane with Jeffrey Epstein. (House Oversight Committee image) |
Thursday, December 18, 2025
US announces $10 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, angering China
US announces $10 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, angering China | AP News (Thanks to Sara for this one)
President Donald Trump’s administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, drawing an angry response from China.
The State Department announced the sales late Wednesday during a nationally televised address by the Republican president, who made scant mention of foreign policy issues and did not speak about China or Taiwan. U.S.-Chinese tensions have ebbed and flowed during Trump’s second term, largely over trade and tariffs but also over China’s increasing aggressiveness toward Taiwan, which Beijing has said must reunify with the mainland.
If approved by Congress, it would be the largest-ever U.S. weapons package to Taiwan, exceeding the total amount of $8.4 billion in U.S. arms sales to Taiwan during President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration.
| President Trump will visit President Xi in Beijing in April and plans to host him at the White House next year. |
Bangladesh electoral scheduling amid political unrest casts a cloud of doubt
Bangladesh electoral scheduling amid political unrest casts a cloud of doubt - The Hindu (Thanks to Sara for this one)
The country’s election commission announced last week a timetable for the long-awaited general election; despite political parties welcoming the news, pre-poll buzz remains muted; questions arise on security concerns, public trust and poll body’s capability to conduct free and fair elections
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