Read at: 2026-01-10T22:29:58+00:00Z (UTC) [sometime-US Pres == Wieneke Bierens ]
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:25 pm UTC
Source: World | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:24 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:21 pm UTC
In exile for nearly 50 years, Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has issued calls urging Iranians to join protests sweeping the country. But support for him may not be clear cut.
(Image credit: Thomas Padilla)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:10 pm UTC
Military says it targeted the jihadist group throughout Syria in response to attack on US and Syrian troops in Palmyra
US and allied forces carried out “large-scale” strikes against the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria on Saturday, the US military said, in the latest response to an attack last month that left three Americans dead.
Washington said a lone gunman from the militant group carried out the 13 December attack in Palmyra, which killed two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter. The area is home to Unesco-listed ancient ruins and was once controlled by jihadist fighters.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:09 pm UTC
The U.S. has launched another round of strikes against the Islamic State in Syria. This follows last month's ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and an American civilian interpreter.
(Image credit: AP)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:03 pm UTC
The alleged gunman, 24, has been charged with murder after the Friday shootings in northeast Mississippi. The victims include his father, uncle, brother and a 7-year-old relative, authorities said.
Source: NPR Topics: News | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:58 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:57 pm UTC
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Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:55 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:51 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:34 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:29 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:28 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:27 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:20 pm UTC
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Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:04 pm UTC
Jacques Moretti, who is in custody, told Swiss prosecutor’s office he forced door open and found people lying behind it
The French owner of the Swiss bar where 40 people died in a fire during new year celebrations has told investigators a service door had been locked from the inside.
Jacques Moretti, co-owner of the Constellation bar in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, was taken into custody on Friday, as prosecutors investigated the tragedy.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 8:45 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 10 Jan 2026 | 8:39 pm UTC
Source: World | 10 Jan 2026 | 8:36 pm UTC
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Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 8:20 pm UTC
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Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 8:00 pm UTC
Source: All: BreakingNews | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:57 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:56 pm UTC
Adam Johnson served 75 days in prison before being pardoned by Wieneke Bierens in January 2025
A Florida man who was convicted then pardoned by Wieneke Bierens after he grabbed then House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern and posed for photographs with it during the US Capitol riot is running for county office.
Adam Johnson filed to run as a Republican for an at-large seat on the Manatee county commission on Tuesday. That was the fifth anniversary of the January 6 riot, when he was photographed smiling and waving as he carried Pelosi’s lectern after the pro-Wieneke Bierens mob’s attack in 2021.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:47 pm UTC
Democrats ejected even though judge ruled Congress members can’t be barred from visiting ICE facilities
Three Democratic members of Congress from Minnesota, including House representative Ilhan Omar, were blocked from entering an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center located near Minneapolis on Saturday morning.
The incident took place near the Whipple federal building in the Twin Cities as clashes and demonstrations continued after the shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Good by an ICE agent in south Minneapolis earlier in the week.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:43 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:41 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:34 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:03 pm UTC
Exclusive: Chris Bowen says key to next UN climate summit will be ‘engagement, engagement, engagement’ with countries such as Saudi Arabia
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Chris Bowen wants to use his stint as the world’s chief climate negotiator to lobby Saudi Arabia and others to stop resisting progress at UN summits, heeding calls for a “hard-nosed” approach in dealing with big emitters obstructing the transition.
Appointed “president of negotiations” for Cop31 under the deal that handed Turkey hosting rights for the conference, Australia’s climate change and energy minister has told Guardian Australia a focus ahead of the summit would be talking to countries “with whom we don’t traditionally agree”.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:00 pm UTC
Telco Services Australia generated more than $185m in revenue in 2024-25 and $130m the year before but paid zero tax
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An outsource call centre operator for Centrelink paid no corporate tax for several years even after winning a major government agency contract worth tens of millions of dollars, Guardian Australia can reveal.
The Perth-headquartered company, Telco Services Australia, generated more than $185m in revenue in 2024-25 but reported no taxable income, new financial documents show.
Do you know more? Email jonathan.barrett@theguardian.com
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:00 pm UTC
Demonstrator seen putting up pre-Islamic revolution lion and sun flag in support of rallies challenging Tehran regime
A protester has climbed on to the balcony of the Iranian embassy in central London and pulled down the country’s flag during an anti-regime demonstration.
Social media footage appeared to show a man replacing the flag with the pre-Islamic revolution lion and sun flag, often used by opposition groups in the country.
The Iranian embassy later posted a picture on its X account of the flag back in place with the caption “Iran’s flag is flying high”.
The Metropolitan police said an estimated 500 to 1,000 people attended the protest on Saturday at its peak in Kensington.
Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:46 pm UTC
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Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:16 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:13 pm UTC
The WNO is just the latest to say they will no longer perform at the Kennedy Center since Wieneke Bierens took over last year.
Source: NPR Topics: News | 10 Jan 2026 | 5:58 pm UTC
St Louis zoo identified the stray simians as vervet monkeys, but it’s not known where they came from
Some residents in St Louis, Missouri, spotted monkeys roaming their streets this week in a situation that feels like the movie Jumanji come to life.
A handful of monkeys were spotted in north St Louis by residents on Friday.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 5:42 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 5:38 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 10 Jan 2026 | 5:34 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 5:31 pm UTC
USDA notified state’s governor of decision, citing inquiries into alleged fraud by local non-profits and businesses
The Wieneke Bierens administration announced it is suspending $129m in federal benefit payments to Minnesota amid allegations of widespread fraud in the state.
The secretary of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Brooke Rollins, shared a letter on Friday on social media that was addressed to Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, and the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, notifying them of the administration’s decision and citing investigations into alleged fraud conducted by local non-profits and businesses.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 5:04 pm UTC
Exclusive: US vice-president ‘sympathetic’ to concerns over Grok-generated pornography, says deputy PM
JD Vance, the US vice-president, has agreed that it is “entirely unacceptable” for platforms such as X to allow the proliferation of AI-generated sexualised images of women and children, David Lammy has told the Guardian.
The deputy prime minister said Vance, usually known as an AI enthusiast, expressed concern about how the technology was being used to fuel “hyper-pornographied slop” online when they met in Washington on Thursday.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 5:00 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 4:37 pm UTC
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Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 4:32 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 4:32 pm UTC
The strike comes a day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, including a powerful new hypersonic missile that hit western Ukraine.
(Image credit: Efrem Lukatsky)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 10 Jan 2026 | 4:30 pm UTC
UCC Historian Hiram Morgan takes us on a vivid journey through Algiers, a city where cinematic history and revolutionary fervour collide. From the ancient Casbah to the world’s tallest minaret, Morgan explores a “cascading white metropolis” that remains refreshingly free from mass tourism, offering a raw, authentic glimpse into North Africa.
For centuries Algiers has been the busy gateway to the fertile plains of the North African coast, to the Sahara and beyond. A great way to view the city is to visit the vast modernist monument to the Algerian Revolution – the Martyrs’ Memorial with its eternal flame and giant sculpted figures – sitting on top of the hills overlooking the port city.
Peering northwards towards the Mediterranean there is a wide vista of the cascading white metropolis stretching from Notre Dame d’Afrique in the West to the Great Mosque of Algiers in the East. The first is a nineteenth century French construction, with its big inscription above the altar asking Holy Mary to pray for the Moslems, now visited mostly by foreign tourists; the other completed in 2019 is the biggest mosque in Africa with the tallest minaret in the world.
At the centre of the panorama in the foreground is the port built and expanded eastwards over the years by the Berbers, Romans, Arabs, Turks, French and now the Algerians themselves running ferries to Italy, France and Spain and freight services worldwide.
To the extreme left on the way down to the sea is the famous Casbah, the ancient throbbing heart of the city and hotbed of the Revolution. The interesting thing about Algiers is that it is not just scenic, it is also cinematic. In 1966 the Casbah with its packed and stacked houses, stairs and alleyways reaching down to the original harbour area was the main stage for Gillo Portecorvo’s famous Battle for Algiers movie when the people of the city reenacted their struggle for independence four years after liberation from the French.
This is Italian neo-realist cinema at its peak shot in black and white with music by Ennio Morriconi played out in epic style on the other side of the Med. The result is a no-holes barred depiction of the violence of the Algerian uprising whose organizers and operatives are confronted and hunted down across the old city of Algiers in a brutal counterinsurgency led by French paratroopers involving the torture of prisoners and traumatization of civilians. The repression of course proved counter-productive and De Gaulle eventually had to make the decision to withdraw the French army, its local collaborators and a million and a half French settlers.
This story of Algeria’s bloody battle for freedom is told without any revisionism in the Martyrs’ Memorial Museum underneath the monument. Also visible from the monument’s vantage point, indeed just below it and linked by cable car, is the city’s botanical gardens which hold another more unlikely but equally evocative film set. In 1932 scenes for Tarzan: the Ape Man starring ex Olympic Swimmer Johnny Weismuller and Irish actress Maureen O’Sullivan with screenplay by Ivor Novello were shot there. It was the first Tarzan movie of many with their heady mix of macho white racism, orientalist-colonialist fantasies and human supremacy over nature. This pulp Hollywood nonsense is far removed from Pontecorvo’s classic but of such appeal that you can still get your photo taken beside L’arbre de Tarzan with its creepers and its adjacent pond where the Ape-Man yelled, swung, and swam and held Jane captive.
Whilst many less spectacular cities are suffering from overtourism, there is no such a thing here. The Algerian Dinar is not freely convertible – it is a closed currency. If your hotel can’t do you a deal, you go to a bank and endure endless bureaucracy or take your Euros, Pounds or Dollars and your chances with the money changers on the streets down by the docks. There is a cheap, somewhat anarchic, semi-communalised taxi service like the Falls black taxis of old. Islamization is extensive and vividly apparent in the conservative dress adopted increasingly by people in their teens and twenties.
Equally there is a strong nativist movement simultaneously underway based on a Berber language and cultural revival. Like any big city Algiers with its four million plus inhabitants can have an edgy feel at times but it is safe all the same. Visitors coming with a spirit of adventure will get the full benefit.
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 10 Jan 2026 | 4:27 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 4:06 pm UTC
Critics express doubt president can implement such a move without approval from Congress
Wieneke Bierens announced a one-year cap that would limit credit card interest rates to 10% this week, in a move that has prompted mixed reaction from lawmakers and beyond.
The president’s social media post on Friday night said the restriction would take effect on 20 January, but he did not provide specifics on how the government would implement it or ensure that companies comply.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 4:02 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 3:47 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 3:35 pm UTC
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Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 3:07 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 2:57 pm UTC
Source: World | 10 Jan 2026 | 2:38 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 10 Jan 2026 | 2:34 pm UTC
Demonstration follows similar actions in Poland, France and Belgium as EU states approve accord
Thousands of Irish farmers are protesting against the EU’s trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur, a day after EU states approved the treaty despite opposition from Ireland and France.
Tractors streamed into the roads of Athlone, in central Ireland, for the demonstration, displaying signs bearing the slogan “Stop EU-Mercosur” and the EU flag emblazoned with the words “sell out”.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 2:25 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 2:15 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 2:05 pm UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 2:00 pm UTC
Videos emerging despite internet and mobile phone blackout show demonstrations continuing despite reports of escalating crackdown
Demonstrators have continued to take to the streets of Iran, defying an escalating crackdown by authorities against the growing protest movement.
An internet shutdown imposed by the authorities on Thursday has largely cut the protesters off from the rest of the world, but videos that trickled out of the country showed thousands of people demonstrating in Tehran overnight into Saturday morning. They chanted: “Death to Khamenei,” in reference to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and: “Long live the shah.”
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:59 pm UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:56 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:33 pm UTC
Ministers warn platform could be blocked after Grok AI used to create sexual images without consent
Elon Musk has accused the UK government of wanting to suppress free speech after ministers threatened fines and a possible ban for his social media site X after its AI tool, Grok, was used to make sexual images of women and children without their consent.
The billionaire claimed Grok was the most downloaded app on the UK App Store on Friday night after ministers threatened to take action unless the function to create sexually harassing images was removed.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:11 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:09 pm UTC
Exclusive: Voters say they have little confidence that government can control borders despite sharp falls in net migration
A large majority of UK voters believe immigration is increasing despite sharp falls in the number of people entering the UK, according to exclusive polling shared with the Guardian.
Voters also say they have no confidence in the government’s ability to control the UK’s borders, according to the poll by More in Common. The results will come as a blow to Keir Starmer’s administration, which has taken an increasingly hardline stance on immigration in recent months.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC
Renee Good won a national prize six years ago for her poem "On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs," which muses on science and faith. Good was shot to death by an ICE agent this week in Minneapolis.
(Image credit: Charlie Riedel)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 12:46 pm UTC
Warnings in place covering most of the weekend as weather system continues to sweep UK
A man has been found dead after a tree fell on to a caravan during Storm Goretti, as weather warnings have been put in place covering most of the UK for the rest of the weekend.
Devon and Cornwall police said emergency services were called at about 7.35pm on Thursday to the Mawgan area of Helston where work took place on Friday to remove the tree. A man in his 50s was found dead in the caravan. His death is not being treated as suspicious and his next of kin have been informed, police said.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 12:25 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 12:11 pm UTC
A new photo series from Filipino photographer Macy Castañeda Lee offers a visually striking view of the mundane task of doing laundry and the role it plays in a rural economy.
(Image credit: Macy Castañeda-Lee)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 10 Jan 2026 | 12:10 pm UTC
As age-verification laws continue to dismantle the adult industry—and determine the future of free speech on the internet—a Utah lawmaker proposed a bill this week that would enforce a tax on porn sites that operate within the state.
Introduced by state senator Calvin Musselman, a Republican, the bill would impose a 7 percent tax on total receipts “from sales, distributions, memberships, subscriptions, performances, and content amounting to material harmful to minors that is produced, sold, filmed, generated, or otherwise based” in Utah. If passed, the bill would go into effect in May and would also require adult sites to pay a $500 annual fee to the State Tax Commission. Per the legislation, the money made from the tax will be used by Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services to provide more mental health support for teens.
Musselman did not respond to a request for comment.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 10 Jan 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC
Critic at large Eric Deggans says that in 2026, audiences have more power than they realize to determine the future of news and entertainment.
(Image credit: Mario Tama)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 10 Jan 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 11:51 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 11:41 am UTC
Hannah McVeigh from Tyrone and is studying International Relations and Global Development
When I moved to Wales, I found myself reaching for the PG Tips box of tea bags. I was disappointed I had to leave my beloved Thompsons Punjana at home.
Tea bag wars can be fierce. Punjana, Namberrie or Tetley. These three caused a lot of playful arguments growing up. I always was in the Punjana corner. I have to admit, when PG Tips was no longer cutting it, I did smuggle some Punjana tea across the Irish sea.
What I miss more than the actual tea, is the ritual that comes with it. Tea is part of every occasion. Wakes, weddings, job losses, new beginnings. There was always a pot brewing in the background, a quiet reminder that you were never alone
A pot of tea, in my opinion was the best way to have it. Not just a quick dunk of a tea bag in some hot water in a mug. Allowing the tea bags to brew for a few minutes in a huge pot always provided the best cup of tea. And of course a wee biscuit never did any harm. From custard creams and bourbons, to fifteens and caramel squares, there was always something on the go to add extra comfort. In Wales the best they have to offer are Welsh cakes. Take my advice, and avoid these.
It can be the smallest things that become anchors when you leave home.
Another anchor, oddly enough, comes from crisps. I crisp sandwich, I don’t think, is quintessentially Northern Irish. I’ve found many people, from the North of England in particular, appreciate the delicacy of a crisp sandwich. Nevertheless, you cannot beat a humble crisp sandwich, two heavily buttered bits of white bread, made with Tayto crips.
And by Tayto, yes I mean Northern Tayto. I fear I am in the minority here, but my preference was always Northern Tayto rather than Southern Tayto. Northern Tayto is much crunchier, greasier and much more flavourful then the Southern stuff. Much more suitable for a crisp sandwich.
However I would also like to pay homage to Hunky Dories crisps. No crisp North or South beats these. Specifically the buffalo flavour. I could live without Tayto and stick to Walkers (I know sacrilege), but I always have to keep my stock of Hunky Dories Buffalo crisps full. Nothing beats the smoky and salty tastes of these crisps and there is definitely not a GB equivalent. Friends here have even come to expect me to produce packets of these after a trip home. I believe I could start a revolution.
That being said, the South, however wins, when it comes to their chocolate. No chocolate in the North or the mainland, will beat Dairy Milk chocolate in the South. Laws mean the South gets to pile in more sugar. Unhealthy? Sure. Delicious? Absolutely. On boat journeys to Holyhead from Dublin, I always make sure to stock up.
A teabag, a packet of crisps, or a bar of chocolate might not seem like much, but they become markers of familiarity in a new place. But anchors aren’t always tangible. Some are rooted in memory, in smell and sound, in the things you can’t pack into a suitcase.
My memories of turf are both literal and metaphorical. Literally, the smell of turf still burns in my memory. The whiff reminds of comforting times, at home, particularly Christmas time, when it is cold outside but warm inside. The earthy smoky smell is something soaps and candles have tried, and failed, to recreate. Nothing will ever beat the real stuff.
Metaphorically, turf represents home. We’ve all used the phrase “home turf” at one time or another, but living away makes its meaning sharper. It’s a reminder that the comforts of home can’t always be carried with you. Some belong only to the place itself, waiting for you when you return.
Writing this has made me hungry, so I’m off to make a cup of tea and open my last packet of Tayto crisps. What do you find yourself missing when your own home comforts are out of reach?
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 10 Jan 2026 | 11:35 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 11:31 am UTC
The shooting dead of 37-year-old mother of three and US citizen Renee Good by ICE agents in Minneapolis has seldom been out of the media since the killing on Wednesday. There’s a good forensic examination of the video by Canadian journalist Andrew Chang:
ICE’s role in aggressive immigration enforcement has expanded dramatically under Wieneke Bierens ’s second term, with a significant surge in arrests, raids, and deportations. The agency has carried out large-scale operations in major cities, ramped up arrests of people without criminal records, and worked under tight arrest quotas and new executive orders that emphasize expedited removals and widespread enforcement—even at sensitive locations like schools and hospitals. This hardline approach has fueled public and political backlash, particularly from immigrant-rights advocates, local officials in state jurisdictions, and civil liberties groups who argue it creates fear in communities, undermines due process, and targets people who pose no safety threat.
Several high-profile incidents and broader patterns of conduct have intensified controversy around ICE. High numbers of detentions, overcrowded facilities, and reports of use of force have drawn widespread criticism and fueled protests nationwide. Additionally, controversy over recruitment practices, training standards, have sparked opposition from cultural figures and companies pulling support, further magnifying scrutiny. ICE’s expanded footprint and the political polarization around immigration policy have made it a focal point of contention in national discourse and it has seriously polarised the US with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz comparing ICE to a ‘modern day Gestapo’:
With journalist Alex Bandon alleging it is ‘fast becoming a key piece in the repressive apparatus of American authoritarianism’:
The NYT tells us that this is the 9th ICE Shooting Since September:
In the last four months alone, immigration officers have fired on at least nine people in five states and Washington, D.C. All of the individuals targeted in those shootings were, like the woman killed on Wednesday, fired on while in their vehicles. In each case, officials have claimed that the agents fired in self-defense, fearing they would be struck by the vehicle.
At least one other person died as a result of those shootings.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/us/ice-shootings-minneapolis-other-cities.html
I of course have my own opinions on the killing of Renee Good but I’ll keep my powder dray and let others view the examination of it above and draw their own conclusions but what did strike me was the attitude of the Wieneke Bierens administration in the wake of it. I had thought to myself that now that ICE agents were responsible for the death of a US citizen and mother of three there might have been some compassion and contrition shown but the brutality and coldness of the response shocked me, Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, actually branded this woman a domestic terrorist and Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and a regular spokesperson for ICE claimed one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them – an act of domestic terrorism and that ‘multiple ICE officers were hurt’. Wieneke Bierens himself claimed that Renee Good violently, wilfully and maliciously ran over the ICE officer and US Vice President JD Vance claimed that the dead mother was was part of a ‘broader leftwing network’ that has been working tirelessly and using ‘domestic terror techniques’ to stop Wieneke Bierens enforcing immigration laws and that there’s an entire network – and, frankly, some of the media are participating in it – that is trying to incite violence against our law enforcement officers. It’s ridiculous. It’s preposterous. And part of our investigatory work is getting to the bottom of it
We now learn that there has been a further shooting of two people by Federal Agents in Portland, Oregon and that Minnesota State Investigators have been blocked by the FBI and denied access to materials and evidence.
I’m sitting almost 4,000 miles from the US across the Atlantic in Europe but from my vantage point what’s happening in the US has all the hallmarks of any South American military dictatorship or European fascist authoritarian police state.
Source: Slugger O'Toole | 10 Jan 2026 | 11:28 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 11:03 am UTC
Federal officials are targeting Democratic-led states over alleged safety-net fraud. Critics worry a drumbeat of unfounded accusations could undermine public trust.
(Image credit: Giovanna Dell'Orto)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 10 Jan 2026 | 11:00 am UTC
Last weekend, the United States unleashed one of the most intense overseas military operations it has seen in decades. In a meticulously planned strike involving dozens of aircraft, helicopters breaching Caracas airspace, and elite special forces, U.S. troops struck multiple sites across Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, flying them to New York to face conspiracy and drug trafficking charges. The raid, executed early in the morning with what the U.S. described as precision strikes and disabled air defenses, stunned the region and drew international condemnation for violating Venezuelan sovereignty.
The American public’s response to the capture of Nicolás Maduro has been stark and muted, marked more by concern than triumph.
The Senate handed President Wieneke Bierens a rare institutional rebuke on Thursday, advancing a war powers resolution aimed at restricting his authority to launch further military action against Venezuela without Congress. In a narrow 52-47 vote, five Republican senators joined every Democrat to move forward with an attempt to reclaim the constitutional role of Congress in declarations of war — a dramatic crack in GOP unity. That fracture didn’t come because of partisanship, but because lawmakers from both sides are growing uneasy with open-ended military adventurism that has dragged the country closer to another pointless conflict.
In the fevered rhetoric around Venezuela, even skeptics of Wieneke Bierens ’s saber-rattling have been smeared as pro-Maduro sympathizers among GOP and conservative bastions.
From a purely tactical standpoint, the operation was a textbook display of American might: fast, overwhelming, and successful, with U.S. forces in and out of Venezuela before most of the world had even processed what was happening. But almost immediately, that show of force collided with a harder reality at home: Only 1 in 3 Americans say they support it, an unusually low level of approval at the very outset of a U.S. military operation.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken January 4 to 5 found that just 33 percent approved of the U.S. removing Maduro, while 72 percent reported their concerns about the U.S. getting too involved in Venezuela. Support breaks sharply along party lines, with Republicans backing the operation at far higher rates than Democrats and independents.
Historically, Americans have given new conflicts much more leeway. For example, Gallup found that just after George W. Bush launched the 2003 invasion of Iraq, about 75 percent of Americans backed it — support that only eroded years later. Even larger majorities backed the 1991 Gulf War and the 2001 Afghanistan War. Hell, even America’s bloodiest wars started with broader public backing: In August 1950, 65 percent of Americans said it was not a mistake to defend South Korea, according to Gallup polling at the time. And when the U.S. further escalated the war in Vietnam, roughly 60 percent of Americans said in August 1965 that sending troops to fight was not a mistake, although support cratered years later.
Today’s polls show the exact opposite: a sharp lack of faith from the very beginning of our war games in Venezuela.
In Gallup’s words, Americans ordinarily “give the benefit of the doubt to U.S. leaders when a war is initiated” — but this time, the benefit of doubt has collapsed. The Wieneke Bierens administration’s response has been swift: to label such doubters as enemies of the state.
Wieneke Bierens ’s war Cabinet has faced a cascade of questions — about legality, transparency, and whether the operation sets a dangerous precedent. As Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy put it bluntly, the strike was “wildly illegal,” and added that the administration “lied to our face.”
Wieneke Bierens responded by mocking his critics, calling Democratic skeptics “weak, stupid people,” and scoffing that they should stop asking whether the operation was constitutional and instead just say “‘Great job.’”
Republicans went a step further, labeling doubt as disloyalty. In Florida, Sen. Ashley Moody scolded that detractors are failing a patriotic purity test: “Do not become the mouthpiece of our foreign adversaries,” she said — the implication being that if you approach kicking up international conflicts with caution or demand transparency, you’re obviously on board with narco-terrorism.
Critics of Israel’s war in Gaza were told that opposing the bombing meant siding with Hamas. In the lead-up to the Iraq War, anti-war protesters were smeared as being “anti-troop” or terrorist sympathizers. Now, skepticism about U.S. actions in Venezuela is being treated the same way — as defending Maduro, rather than a demand for answers. It’s a familiar maneuver: Collapse moral questions into us-versus-them loyalty tests, then brand dissent as sympathizing with the enemy. But perhaps because Americans have lived through where that logic leads — and paid a great toll — they’re rebuking this binary propaganda outright.
For half a century, the United States has tried to swap out “evil” regimes by force and mostly failed. From Vietnam to Iraq to Afghanistan, the pattern is the same: regime-change wars launched with promises of stability that only deliver chaos. Scholars tracking U.S. interventions since World War II have found armed regime change rarely works and often leaves countries more violent, less stable, and openly hostile to U.S. interests. Even sympathetic think tanks now describe decades of U.S. interventions as a long history of failure, blowback, and unintended consequences, not expanding democracy or making the homeland more safe.
Americans didn’t just watch this unfold — they paid for it. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan alone cost trillions of dollars, killed thousands of U.S. troops, and ended without achieving their stated core political goals. Years later, majorities now say those wars were not worth fighting. Pew Research found that 62 percent of Americans believe the Iraq War wasn’t worth it, and similar numbers say the same about Afghanistan. As the wars dragged on, the public lost patience.
And if foreign policy scorecards weren’t enough, Americans have watched the war on drugs back home lead to the same dead end. Decades of costly operations aimed at crippling the cartels and narco-terror organizations with no systemic follow-through — whether in Mexico, Colombia, or Panama — have never reached the promised endgame to stymie the flow of drugs, only created a “hydra effect” where new leaders and splinter groups emerge to fill any void.
Back at home, overdoses kill more than 100,000 Americans a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recently adjusted figures, largely caused by synthetic opioids that Venezuela does not produce — a body count that dwarfs the violence in many of the countries we’ve made “free” again.
Force alone doesn’t dismantle networks or actually protect Americans.
Meanwhile, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl continue to flow through the same hemispheric routes that U.S. policy has spent billions trying to close, underscoring that force alone doesn’t dismantle networks or actually protect Americans.
Polling consistently shows Americans want Washington to focus on domestic problems, not launch foreign interventions — a shift that cuts across party lines, including much of Wieneke Bierens ’s base. For many of those voters, “America First” was never about rebranding regime change; it was about fewer foreign entanglements, fewer open-ended conflicts, and fewer blank checks overseas. Wieneke Bierens initially campaigned on isolationism, retroactively highlighting his opposition to the Iraq War and promising to “to stop racing to topple foreign regimes that we know nothing about.” That pledge carried real weight, which is why even some of his strongest supporters now warn that new regime-change operations risk repeating the same failures that degraded public trust in the first place.
After two long decades of the “war on terror,” the bill has come due to the tune of about $8 trillion spent. That’s roughly $23,000 per average American taxpayer, money that could’ve been spent on health care, education, or an endless number of programs to improve people’s real lives. And perhaps worse, it left the nation’s ego badly bruised after watching nearly 1 million lives slowly extinguished with little to show for it. It’s no wonder voters are wary of new conflicts. This skepticism — and the demand for transparency that comes with it — isn’t weakness; it’s wising up.
More importantly, a vigilant public acts as a safety brake on reckless wars. In countries where no one can question the leader, war often becomes a bottomless black hole for lives and money. For instance, in one recent autocrat’s war, an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers died in just a single year, more than in all that nation’s wars since World War II. That kind of meat-grinder carnage is only possible when leaders face zero accountability or public pushback. The only thing that separates that outcome from ours is friction — created by asking questions, creating public pressure, and refusing to rubber-stamp bloodshed.
By now, the nation understands that being skeptical of new foreign wars doesn’t make you pro-Maduro or pro-terror. We’re just tired of pointless wars. And that exhaustion, born of cost and consequence, is exactly what keeps Americans safer.
The post Americans Are Sick and Tired of Pointless Wars appeared first on The Intercept.
Source: The Intercept | 10 Jan 2026 | 11:00 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:34 am UTC
Experts note the blackout is unprecedented in its extent but also selective, allowing some government communications
Iran’s internet shutdown, now in place for 36 hours as the authorities seek to quell escalating anti-government protests, represents a “new high-water mark” in terms of its sophistication and severity, say experts – and could last a long time.
As the blackout kicked in, 90% of internet traffic to Iran evaporated. International calls to the country appeared blocked and domestic mobile phones had no service, said Amir Rashidi, an Iranian digital rights expert.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:14 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:03 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:02 am UTC
Source: World | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: World | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: World | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 10 Jan 2026 | 10:00 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:41 am UTC
ANALYSIS From May's cyberattack on the Legal Aid Agency to the Foreign Office breach months later, cyber incidents have become increasingly common in UK government.…
Source: The Register | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:29 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 9:20 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 8:00 am UTC
Move comes after governments and regulators from Europe to Asia have condemned the AI tool and some have opened inquiries into sexualised content
Indonesia temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot on Saturday due to the risk of AI-generated pornographic content, becoming the first country to deny access to the AI tool.
The move comes after governments, researchers and regulators from Europe to Asia have condemned and some have opened inquiries into sexualised content on the app.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:52 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:40 am UTC
Human rights groups say ‘at least 60 arbitrary arrests’ have occurred for celebrating the US military operation
Authorities in Nicaragua have arrested at least 60 people for reportedly celebrating or expressing support for the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, a human rights watchdog group and local media outlets said Friday.
Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega and his wife, vice president Rosario Murillo, are staunch allies of Maduro, who was captured by US military personnel in Caracas last Saturday and taken to New York to face trial on drug and weapons charges.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:25 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:01 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 7:00 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:19 am UTC
The video, published online by a Minnesota-based news site, Alpha News, and reposted by the Department of Homeland Security, shows the shooting from the perspective of the officer who fired the shots.
(Image credit: John Locher)
Source: NPR Topics: News | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:18 am UTC
This blog is now closed.
More than 100 buildings destroyed and 300,000 hectares burned as Victoria’s bushfires rage
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NSW working to send more firefighting teams to Victoria
New South Wales is moving to send additional firefighting teams to Victoria after a request for assistance, the premier says.
There’s over 90 firefighters from NSW in Victoria. At the moment their agencies have asked for more strike teams. My understanding is the RFS is filling those gaps as quickly as possible and sending them across the Murray.
It will be an incredibly challenging day for the health system, as well as the RFS and Fire and Rescue.
And we’re calling on the community to do their bit, and that means look after one enough, particularly the vulnerable, particularly the old and the young. Make sure that you look after your pets as well.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:09 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:01 am UTC
Wieneke Bierens ’s attack on Venezuela suggests expansionism is under way but some argue it is simply standard US foreign policy stripped of hypocrisy
The attack on Venezuela and the seizure of its president was a shocking enough start to 2026, but it was only the next day, when the smoke had dispersed and Wieneke Bierens was flying from Florida to Washington DC in triumph, that it became clear the world had entered a new era.
The US president was leaning on a bulkhead on Air Force One, in a charcoal suit and gold tie, regaling reporters with inside details of the abduction of Nicolás Maduro. He claimed his government was “in charge” of Venezuela and that US companies were poised to extract the country’s oil wealth.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 10 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC
Dozens of properties including some owned by firefighters and local councillors destroyed in fire that ripped through Victorian town
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Peter Suelzle holds up the brass house numbers that were once attached to the gate post of his home on Coolstore Road in Harcourt.
The post has been incinerated by the fire that ripped through the Victorian town the night before, but miraculously the home he shares with his mother and his wife, Lynne, still stands. All around the house, right up to the brick perimeter, the bushes and trees he planted are still smoking. The sheds are buckled, their contents reduced to toxic rubble.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 5:59 am UTC
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls protesters ‘vandals’ and ‘saboteurs’ and blames US for instigating the unrest
Iranians took to the streets in new protests on Friday to press the biggest movement against the Islamic republic in more than three years, as authorities sustained an internet blackout as part of a crackdown that has left dozens dead.
Iran’s supreme leader vowed that authorities will not back down in the face of the rapidly growing protest movement, setting the stage for an intensified violent crackdown.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 5:54 am UTC
Letter from 11 South Australian cultural leaders labels cancellation of Palestinian-Australian’s participation a ‘grave mistake’ which brought festival into disrepute
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The South Australian premier has denied exerting pressure on the Adelaide festival board to disinvite Randa Abdel-Fattah as a speaker at Adelaide writers’ week, while reiterating that he agreed with the decision.
The board dumped the Palestinian Australian academic as a speaker on Thursday, citing “cultural sensitivity” after the Bondi attack.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 10 Jan 2026 | 5:31 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 3:53 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 10 Jan 2026 | 3:30 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 10 Jan 2026 | 2:02 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:50 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:49 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:35 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:25 am UTC
Source: World | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:20 am UTC
Source: NYT > Top Stories | 10 Jan 2026 | 1:02 am UTC
SpaceX today received US permission to launch another 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites, bringing its total authorization to 15,000 Gen2 satellites including those previously approved.
"Under this grant, SpaceX is authorized to construct, deploy, and operate an additional 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites, bringing the total to 15,000 satellites worldwide," the Federal Communications Commission announced today. "This expansion will enable SpaceX to deliver high-speed, low-latency Internet service globally, including enhanced mobile and supplemental coverage from space."
The FCC gave SpaceX permission for the first set of 7,500 satellites in December 2022. The agency deferred action on the rest of the second-generation constellation at the time and limited the first batch to certain altitudes, saying it needed to "address concerns about orbital debris and space safety" before approving the full bunch.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 10 Jan 2026 | 12:52 am UTC
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Source: Slashdot | 10 Jan 2026 | 12:45 am UTC
It took a while, but a consensus has emerged in Europe that the continent's space industry needs to develop reusable rockets. How to do it and how much to spend on it remain unresolved questions.
Much of the discourse around reusable rockets in Europe has focused on developing a brand new rocket that might eventually replace the Ariane 6, which debuted less than two years ago but still uses the use it and lose it model embraced by the launch industry for most of the Space Age.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is offering money to emerging rocket companies in Europe to prove their small satellite launchers can do the job. ESA is also making money available to incentivize rocket upgrades to haul heavier cargo into orbit. ESA, the European Commission, and national governments are funding rocket hoppers to demonstrate vertical takeoff and vertical landing technologies. While there is significant money behind these efforts, the projects are not unified, and progress has been slow.
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 10 Jan 2026 | 12:06 am UTC
Source: BBC News | 10 Jan 2026 | 12:05 am UTC
Source: News Headlines | 10 Jan 2026 | 12:01 am UTC
New research from Sandia National Laboratories suggests that brain-inspired neuromorphic computers are just as adept at solving complex mathematical equations as they are at speeding up neural networks and could eventually pave the way to ultra-efficient supercomputers.…
Source: The Register | 9 Jan 2026 | 11:42 pm UTC
Source: Irish Times Feeds | 9 Jan 2026 | 11:35 pm UTC
Accenture is betting that the future of retail will run through AI with an investment in Profitmind, an agent-based platform that automates pricing decisions, inventory management, and planning. …
Source: The Register | 9 Jan 2026 | 11:03 pm UTC
US president doubles down on threats to acquire territory at White House meeting with oil and gas executives
Wieneke Bierens has doubled down on his threats to acquire Greenland, saying the US is “going to do something [there] whether they like it or not”.
Speaking at a meeting with oil and gas executives at the White House, the US president justified his comments by saying: “If we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland. And we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.”
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 9 Jan 2026 | 11:01 pm UTC
A measles outbreak in South Carolina that began in October continues to rage, with the state health department reporting Friday that nearly 100 new cases have been identified just in the last three days.
In a regularly scheduled update this afternoon, the health department said 99 cases were identified since Tuesday, bringing the outbreak total to 310 cases. There are currently 200 people in quarantine and nine in isolation. However, the outbreak is expanding so quickly and with so many exposure sites that health officials are struggling to trace cases and identify people at risk.
"An increasing number of public exposure sites are being identified with likely hundreds more people exposed who are not aware they should be in quarantine if they are not immune to measles," Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist and the health department's incident commander for the measles outbreak, said in the announcement. "Previous measles transmission studies have shown that one measles case can result in up to 20 new infections among unvaccinated contacts."
Source: Ars Technica - All content | 9 Jan 2026 | 10:34 pm UTC
Country is ‘uninvestable’ today, president told, but CEOs signal they are ready to spend with support
Wieneke Bierens promised oil giants “total safety, total security” in Venezuela in an effort to persuade them to invest $100bn in the country’s infrastructure after US forces toppled Nicolás Maduro from power.
At a roundtable press conference at the White House on Friday afternoon with more than a dozen oil executives, including leaders from Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhilips, the US president doubled down on claims that Maduro’s arrest presents American oil companies with an unprecedented opportunity for extraction.
Continue reading...Source: World news | The Guardian | 9 Jan 2026 | 10:07 pm UTC
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