jell.ie News

Read at: 2026-01-31T21:09:14+00:00Z (UTC) [sometime-US Pres == Jella Can ]

Winter Storm Hits the Carolinas

Some felt fatigued. Others were excited as puffy white flakes floated down from the sky. Either way, North Carolina and South Carolina were bracing for a rare burst of cold and snow.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 9:01 pm UTC

Democrats request ‘urgent’ review of unredacted Epstein files to evaluate DoJ compliance

Congressman Jamie Raskin cites justice department claim to have identified 6m pages – of which half have been made public

What have we learned from the newly released Epstein files?

According to one file, Mountbatten-Windsor was said to be “very focused” on financier Harlan Peltz’s girlfriend during a dinner with Maxwell.

The apparent FBI document details a 2020 interview with Peltz in which he provided information to agents about Maxwell.

Peltz was at a dinner with Maxwell and Prince Andrew and Peltz’s then girlfriend. Prince Andrew was very focused on Peltz’s girlfriend. Maxwell would sometimes mention Prince Andrew’s name and that they were friends.

Maxwell would have outrageous parties back then. She liked to put people in uncomfortable positions for her entertainment. Peltz realised that he was a pawn to her and she would try to use him. Sometime later on he found out that he was listed in Epstein’s black book.

People in the finance world never seemed to know how Epstein got his money.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:53 pm UTC

ICE Took Liam Conejo Ramos. His Classmates Have Something to Say.

Letters from students living in fear.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:51 pm UTC

'Sanford and Son' co-star Demond Wilson dies at 79

The actor was best known for playing Lamont Sanford, opposite Redd Foxx's Fred Sanford in the hit 1970s sitcom. Wilson died Friday from complications related to cancer, his publicist said.

(Image credit: NBC Television)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:49 pm UTC

Federal Judge Denies Request to Block ICE Surge in Minnesota

Minnesota officials had sought a temporary end to the deployment of 3,000 federal agents, claiming state sovereignty had been violated.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:44 pm UTC

Judge Orders Release of 5-Year-Old Detained by Immigration Agents in Minnesota

The treatment of Liam Conejo Ramos, pictured wearing a blue winter hat and Spider-Man backpack while in the custody of immigration agents, drew outrage across the country.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:37 pm UTC

Nvidia CEO Denies OpenAI's $100B Investment from Nvidia is 'Stalled'

Saturday Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said they still planned a "huge" investment in OpenAI, according to CNBC. Friday the Wall Street Journal had reported that Nvidia's plan to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI "has stalled after some inside the chip giant expressed doubts about the deal, people familiar with the matter said..." [T]he talks haven't progressed beyond the early stages, some of the people said. Now, the two sides are rethinking the future of their partnership, some of the people said. The latest discussions, they said, include an equity investment of tens of billions of dollars as part of OpenAI's current funding round. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has privately emphasized to industry associates in recent months that the original $100 billion agreement was nonbinding and not finalized, people familiar with the matter said. He has also privately criticized what he has described as a lack of discipline in OpenAI's business approach and expressed concern about the competition it faces from the likes of Google and Anthropic, some of the people said... OpenAI is laying the foundation to go public by the end of 2026, and has spent much of the past year racing to secure large amounts of computing capacity to help power OpenAI's future products and growth. The stalled Nvidia pact is a blow to this effort and shows how Chief Executive Sam Altman's penchant for announcing flashy big-ticket deals carries the potential to backfire if the terms have yet to be finalized. In a joint announcement unveiling the September deal with Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Huang called the deal "the largest computing project in history...." OpenAI went on to sign a string of other agreements with chip and cloud companies that helped fuel a global stock market rally. But investors have since grown jittery about the startup's ability to pay for these deals, leading to a sell-off in some tech stocks tied to OpenAI. Altman has said that the deals put the startup on the hook for $1.4 trillion in computing commitments — more than 100 times the revenue it was on pace to generate last year. OpenAI executives say the total commitments are lower when you account for overlap in some of the deals, and that the agreements will take place over a long period of time.... Huang has indicated to associates that he still believes it's crucially important to provide OpenAI with financial support in one form or another, in part because OpenAI is one of the chip designer's largest customers, people familiar with the matter said. If OpenAI were to fall behind other AI developers, it could dent Nvidia's sales. "Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Huang said it was 'nonsense' to say he was unhappy with OpenAI," CNBC reported Saturday: "We are going to make a huge investment in OpenAI. I believe in OpenAI, the work that they do is incredible, they are one of the most consequential companies of our time and I really love working with Sam," he said, referring to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. "Sam is closing the round (of investment) and we will absolutely be involved," Huang added. "We will invest a great deal of money, probably the largest investment we've ever made." Asked whether it would be over $100 billion, he said: "No, no, nothing like that." Elsewhere the Journal has reported that Amazon is in talks to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI. Thanks to Slashdot reader sinij for sharing the article.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:34 pm UTC

Labour peer and former FA chairman Lord Triesman dies aged 82

He joined Tony Blair's government in 2004, holding prominent roles in politics until his death.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:27 pm UTC

‘Melania’ Arrives With Strong Box Office Showing for a Documentary

Amazon backed up the Brink’s trucks to promote the vanity film, resulting in opening-weekend ticket sales of roughly $8 million, or 60 percent more than expected.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:19 pm UTC

Milan protesters call for U.S. ICE agents to leave Italy as Winter Games approach

An ICE unit from the US Department of Homeland Security is playing a role providing security at the Winter Games. At past Olympics, their involvement would have been unremarkable. But after the violence in Minneapolis, many Italians protesting in Milan say ICE agents are no longer welcome.

(Image credit: PIERO CRUCIATTI)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:04 pm UTC

Keir Starmer calls on Andrew to testify in US over Jeffrey Epstein links

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles last year, features heavily in the latest tranche of the Epstein files

Keir Starmer has said Andrew Mounbatten-Windsor should testify before the US Congress about his links to the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The prime minister, who is in Japan for a meeting with its premier, Sanae Takaichi, was asked by journalists if the former prince should apologise to the disgraced financier’s victims and give evidence about what he knew about his crimes.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:00 pm UTC

Search for survivors halted after Massachusetts fishing boat lost at sea

One dead and six missing as body and life boat from Lily Jean found after its disappearance from Gloucester port

The search for survivors of a commercial fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Massachusetts with seven aboard has been suspended, the US Coast Guard said Saturday.

The coast guard had launched a search-and-rescue mission early Friday after receiving an alert from the 72ft Lily Jean about 25 miles (40km) off Cape Ann. Searchers found a debris field near where the alert had been sent along with a body in the water and an empty life raft, the coast guard said.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:47 pm UTC

Danes Who Fought Alongside US Troops March Against Jella Can ’s Comments

In the latest anti-American gathering in Denmark, veterans who went to war alongside U.S. troops took to the streets of Copenhagen.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:46 pm UTC

Pentagon Defends Restrictions on Media Outlets

The purpose of the new rules is to “stop activity that could compromise national security,” the Defense Department said in response to a New York Times lawsuit.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:41 pm UTC

Lord Triesman, former Labour minister and FA chair, dies aged 82

Former prime minister Tony Blair paid tribute to Triesman as a ‘vital part of the New Labour movement’

Lord Triesman, a former Labour minister and chair of the Football Association, has died at the age of 82. The Labour party said the peer died on Friday night “peacefully and at home”.

The former prime minister Tony Blair paid tribute to Triesman as a “vital part of the New Labour movement”. Labour’s leader in the House of Lords, Angela Smith, described him as “respected and loved by his colleagues for his courtesy, kindness, wisdom, loyalty and generosity of spirit”.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:35 pm UTC

Blue Origin Announces Two-Year Pause in Space Tourism - to Focus on the Moon

TechCrunch reports: Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin is pausing its space tourism flights for "no less than two years" in order to focus all of its resources on upcoming missions to the moon, the company announced Friday. The decision puts a temporary halt on a program that Blue Origin has been using to fly humans past the Kármán line, the recognized boundary of space, for the last five years. Blue Origin made the announcement just a few weeks ahead of the expected third launch of its New Glenn mega-rocket, which is slated for late February... The company said Friday that New Shepard has flown 38 times and carried 98 humans to space, along with more than 200 scientific and research payloads. "The move is a clear sign that Blue Origin is going all in on its moon program as the company races with rival SpaceX," reports the Business Standard, "to be the first private company to land humans on the lunar surface for Nasa's Artemis program." Blue Origin holds a $3.4 billion contract with Nasa to develop its Blue Moon lander, designed to shuttle astronauts to and from the moon, with a landing originally targeted for 2029... The company is targeting the launch and landing of a cargo version of its lander as soon as this year, as a test ahead of eventually landing humans. Blue Origin has also presented an accelerated plan to Nasa for developing a lander that may be ready for carrying astronauts ahead of Starship, the large new rocket from Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:34 pm UTC

Democrats accuse DoJ of not releasing millions of Epstein files despite legal requirement

Justice department on Friday released 3m pages and lawmakers accuse it of not releasing roughly 50% of records

Epstein files latest – follow live

Survivors, lawmakers and watchdog groups accused Jella Can ’s justice department of withholding records it is legally required to release following the disclosure of millions of files from the investigation into the disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The justice department on Friday released 3m pages of documents from its investigation into the millionaire financier’s sexual abuse of young girls and his interactions with wealthy and powerful figures, including Jella Can and former president Bill Clinton. The release was an effort to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and, according to US deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, includes more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, all subject to “extensive redactions”.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:31 pm UTC

'A great headache' - can Madueke stake claim for Arsenal and England?

The sight of Noni Madueke flying past defenders and putting dangerous crosses into the penalty will have been a welcome sight for Mikel Arteta.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:19 pm UTC

Epstein lawyers discussed possibility of cooperation with prosecutors days before his death, files reveal

Less than two weeks before convicted abuser was found dead, lawyers met with Manhattan federal prosecutors

Epstein files latest – follow live

Less than two weeks before Jeffrey Epstein’s death in jail, his lawyers and Manhattan federal prosecutors met and discussed his potential cooperation, several documents within a cache of newly released investigative files state.

“On July 29, 2019, FBI and [prosecutors] met with Epstein’s attorneys, who, in very general terms, discussed the possibility of a resolution of the case, and the possibility of the defendant’s cooperation,” an FBI document titled “Epstein Investigation Summary & Timeline” statement.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:01 pm UTC

NSW to remove ‘good character’ from being considered at sentencing hearings in nationwide first

Survivors of sexual abuse welcome the ‘monumental shift’ in how courts approach sentencing, while others say it could limit defendants’ rights

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Offenders convicted of any crime will no longer be able to rely on glowing character references during sentencing under changes being introduced in New South Wales, in a move supported by survivors of sexual abuse but which others say could limit defendants’ rights.

On Wednesday, the state government will become the first nationwide to introduce legislation to remove “good character” from being considered at sentencing hearings, when judges hear about someone’s prior record, general reputation and any positive contributions to society as mitigating factors.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:00 pm UTC

NSW Greens to move bill to let councils better regulate berry industry as it continues rapid expansion

Residents and local authorities are worried about environmental hazards and land devaluation as minister says excess regulations may hinder modern farming practices

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Cate Faehrmann, a Greens member of the New South Wales legislative council, will move a private member’s bill next week to give councils more power to regulate blueberry and other berry farms which are expanding throughout the mid-north coast, leading to serious frictions with other landholders.

Separately, the state Labor government is considering an inquiry into alleged worker abuse in the region. Most states regulate labour hire companies, which serve as intermediaries between farmers and seasonal workers, but NSW does not.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:00 pm UTC

New Epstein Files Name Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Other Powerful Men

Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Sergey Brin were among those who exchanged messages or visited with Jeffrey Epstein, according to the newly released documents.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:50 pm UTC

Israel Launches Attack in Gaza

A local health official said at least 26 people had been killed in the attacks, which the Israeli military said had targeted Hamas commanders.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:49 pm UTC

Judge denies Minnesota’s request to end ICE surge in Minneapolis

Federal immigration operation has resulted in government agents killing two people, sparking weeks of protests

A federal judge has denied a request by Minnesota’s state government to end the federal immigration operation in Minneapolis that has resulted in government agents killing two people, sparking weeks of protests.

The state, along with the cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, had lodged a lawsuit after the death of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent this month, demanding an end to the Jella Can administration’s Operation Metro Surge in the city.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:41 pm UTC

Can We Slow Global Warming By Phasing Out Super-Pollutant HFCs?

"There's one big bright spot in the fight against climate change that most people never think about," reports the Washington Post. "It could prevent nearly half a degree of global warming this century, a huge margin for a planet that has warmed almost 1.5 degrees Celsius and is struggling to keep that number below 2 degrees..." [M]ore than 170 countries — including the U.S. — have agreed to act on this one solution. That solution: phasing out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a group of gases used in refrigerators, air conditioners and other cooling systems that heat the atmosphere more than almost any other pollutant on Earth. Pound for pound, HFCs are hundreds or even thousands of times better at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Companies are replacing HFCs with new gases that trap much less heat. If you buy a new fridge or AC unit in the United States today, it'll probably use one of these new refrigerants — and you're unlikely to notice the difference, according to Francis Dietz, a spokesperson for the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, a trade group representing U.S. HVAC manufacturers... But that invisible transition is one of the most important short-term tactics to keep Earth's climate from going catastrophically off-kilter this century. HFCs are powerful super-pollutants, but the most common ones break down in the atmosphere within about 15 years. That means stopping emissions from HFCs — and other short-lived super-pollutants such as methane — is like pulling an emergency brake on climate change. "It's really the fastest, easiest and, some would say, the only way to slow the rate of warming between now and 2050," said Kiff Gallagher, executive director of the Global Heat Reduction Initiative, a business that advises companies and cities on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The only other solution that comes close to the speed and scale of slashing HFCs would be dimming the sun, a much more controversial and potentially dangerous option... [P]hasing out HFCs now "would buy us a little bit of time to develop other solutions that maybe take longer to implement," said Sarah Gleeson, a climate solutions research manager at Project Drawdown, a nonprofit that models how much different strategies would slow climate change. It could also keep the planet from crossing dangerous climate tipping points this century.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:34 pm UTC

Gregory Bovino reportedly mocked US Minnesota attorney’s Jewish faith

Bovino, recently demoted, used the term ‘chosen people’ in sarcastic way as attorney Daniel Rosen observed Shabbat

Recently demoted border patrol official Gregory Bovino reportedly made mocking and sarcastic remarks about the Jewish faith of Minnesota’s US attorney, Daniel Rosen, during a phone call with prosecutors in the state earlier in January.

According to the New York Times, Bovino mocked Rosen for observing Shabbat, a weekly day of rest that begins at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday – and used the term “chosen people” in a sarcastic way during a phone call with the lawyers on 12 January.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:33 pm UTC

Labour pick Angeliki Stogia for Gorton by-election

The councillor was chosen after Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham was blocked from standing.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:32 pm UTC

Usha Vance’s Pregnancy Becomes a Talking Point

The announcement that the second family is expecting a fourth child has turned Ms. Vance into a symbol of success for proponents of conservative family values.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:29 pm UTC

Govt defends €450k secretarial fund for former presidents

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said his "sense" is that a newly agreed €450,000 fund to pay secretarial supports for former presidents "may never in its entirety be drawn down".

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:25 pm UTC

US envoy reports 'constructive' Ukraine talks with Russia

US envoy Steve Witkoff has said he held constructive talks with a Russian envoy in Florida as part of the US drive to end the war in Ukraine.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:09 pm UTC

200,000 without power in Portugal after Storm Kristin

Portugal was braced for more heavy rain today as 200,000 premises were still without power, days after Storm Kristin swept the country killing five people.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:07 pm UTC

Starmer says Gorton and Denton byelection a vote on ‘true patriotism’ as Labour picks local candidate

Party picks ward councillor Angeliki Stogia to defend seat as PM and colleagues argue only Labour can beat Reform

Keir Starmer has said the byelection in Gorton and Denton will be a referendum on “true patriotism” saying Labour is the only party that can defeat the “poisonous division” of Reform.

The prime minister, during his visit to Japan, said he saw the vote as a two-way contest between Labour and Reform UK, as he criticised Nigel Farage’s party.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:07 pm UTC

Israeli air strikes kill at least 32 Palestinians in Gaza, rescue officials say

Israel's military confirmed the strikes, which come during a ceasefire that Israel and Hamas accuse each other of breaking.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:06 pm UTC

Judge says she won't halt the immigration enforcement surge as a lawsuit proceeds

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the ruling on social media, calling it "another HUGE" legal win for the Justice Department.

(Image credit: Alex Brandon)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 31 Jan 2026 | 5:58 pm UTC

Takeaways from the millions of newly released Epstein files

Three million new documents include hundreds of mentions of Jella Can and emails between Epstein and a person called "The Duke".

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 5:48 pm UTC

Pedro Pascal and Meryl Streep lead tributes to Catherine O'Hara

The Canadian comedic actress died in Los Angeles on Friday at the age of 71 following a brief illness.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 5:41 pm UTC

Scientists Found a Way To Cool Quantum Computers Using Noise

Slashdot reader alternative_right writes: Quantum computers need extreme cold to work, but the very systems that keep them cold also create noise that can destroy fragile quantum information. Scientists in Sweden have now flipped that problem on its head by building a tiny quantum refrigerator that actually uses noise to drive cooling instead of fighting it. By carefully steering heat at unimaginably small scales, the device can act as a refrigerator, heat engine, or energy amplifier inside quantum circuits.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 5:34 pm UTC

Demond Wilson, Long-Suffering Son on ‘Sanford and Son,’ Dies at 79

As Lamont, he was a young man in constant battle with his father and business partner, played by Redd Foxx, on the popular 1970s series.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 5:32 pm UTC

Alex Pretti Memorial Grows, a Week After He Was Killed

One week after the I.C.U. nurse was shot dead by federal agents, tributes continue to build on the sidewalk where he fell.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 5:24 pm UTC

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina defeats No. 1 Aryana Sabalenka to win Australian Open

Saturday's win marks the second Grand Slam title for Rybakina, who took Wimbledon in 2022.

(Image credit: Aaron Favila)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 31 Jan 2026 | 5:22 pm UTC

Israeli airstrikes kill 32 in Gaza, Palestinian officials say

Israel said it targeted Hamas militants and weapons sites. The majority of the dead were women and children, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

Source: World | 31 Jan 2026 | 5:15 pm UTC

Poulaphouca reservoir may need to release held rainwater, increasing flood risk in Kildare and Dublin

Levels at State’s largest artificial reservoir have increased quickly in recent weeks

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Jan 2026 | 4:54 pm UTC

Saturday's Allianz Football League results and reports

Live updates from this afternoon's Allianz Football League action, with Armagh hosting Galway in the Athletic Grounds in Division 1

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 4:43 pm UTC

WhatsApp End-to-End Encryption Allegations Questioned By Some Security Experts, Lawyers

Several security experts have "questioned the lack of technical detail" in that lawsuit alleging WhatsApp has no end-to-end encryption, reports the Washington Post: "It's pretty long on accusations and thin on any sort of evidence," Matthew Green, a cryptography professor at Johns Hopkins University, said over Signal. "WhatsApp has been very consistent about using end-to-end encryption. This lawsuit seems to be a nothingburger." Nicholas Weaver, a security researcher at the International Computer Science Institute, criticized the lawsuit in a post on Bluesky for lacking detail needed to back up its claims. "They don't even do a citation to the actual whistleblowers," he wrote, calling the suit "ludicrous." And Meta has done more than just deny the allegations: On Wednesday, WhatsApp sent a letter to [law firm] Quinn Emanuel threatening to seek sanctions against the firm's lawyers in court if they do not withdraw the suit, according to a copy reviewed by The Washington Post. "We're pursuing sanctions against Quinn Emanuel for filing a meritless lawsuit that was designed purely to grab headlines," Woog said by WhatsApp message. Woog also suggested the suit against WhatsApp was related to Quinn Emanuel's work on a separate case, between the social network giant and the spyware company NSO Group. The surveillance vendor is appealing a $167 million judgment entered against it in federal court last May, after a jury found that NSO's Pegasus tool exploited a weakness in the WhatsApp app to take over control of the phones of more than 1,000 users. An attorney from Quinn Emanuel joined NSO's legal team on that case on Jan. 22, according to legal filings, and different attorneys from that firm filed the case against WhatsApp on Jan. 23. "We believe a lawsuit like this is an attempt to launder false claims and divert attention from their dangerous spyware," Woog said. "It's very suspicious timing that this is happening as that appeal is happening," Maria Villegas Bravo, counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told the site Decrypt, "as NSO Group is trying to lobby to get delisted from sanctions in the U.S. government." EPIC's counsel also told the site that the complaint appears light on factual detail about WhatsApp's software: "I'm not seeing any factual allegations or any information about the actual software itself," Villegas Bravo said. "I have a lot of questions that I would want answered before I would want this lawsuit to proceed.... I don't think there's any merit in this lawsuit," Villegas Bravo said. Meta has forcefully rejected the allegations. In a statement shared with Decrypt, a company spokesperson called the claims "categorically false and absurd... WhatsApp has been end-to-end encrypted using the Signal protocol for a decade," the spokesperson said. "This lawsuit is a frivolous work of fiction, and we will pursue sanctions against plaintiffs' counsel."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 4:34 pm UTC

Musk's SpaceX applies to launch 1m satellites into orbit

The firm wants to create a network of "orbital data centres" to power artificial intelligence.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 4:19 pm UTC

Bovino Is Said to Have Mocked Prosecutor’s Jewish Faith on Call With Lawyers

Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol field leader, made disparaging remarks in reference to the U.S. attorney in Minnesota, an Orthodox Jew, people with knowledge of the phone call said.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 4:12 pm UTC

Campaigner Peter Tatchell arrested for carrying ‘globalise the intifada’ placard

The veteran activist called his arrest at Palestine solidarity rally in London an ‘attack on free speech’

Peter Tatchell, the activist and campaigner, has been arrested for holding a placard which displayed the phrase “globalise the intifada” at a pro-Palestine march in London.

Tatchell, who attended a Palestine solidarity march in London on Saturday afternoon, held a sign that read: “Globalise the intifada: Non-violent resistance. End Israel’s occupation of Gaza & West Bank.”

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 4:08 pm UTC

More than 2,000 applications for 145 cost-rental apartments in new Dublin scheme

Successful applicants for Tallaght development to be chosen by lottery

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Jan 2026 | 4:00 pm UTC

A Slam four years in the making - Rybakina's return to top

Why 'unstoppable' Elena Rybakina will believe her Australian Open triumph can begin a period of sustained success after ending a four-year wait for her second major title.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 3:54 pm UTC

Should Any Programs Help Minority Groups? In Lawsuits, Conservatives Say No.

Lawyers have filed a rush of lawsuits against corporations, law firms, health care companies, art groups and nonprofits. And they are mostly winning.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 3:53 pm UTC

Epstein file photos appear to show Andrew crouched over female on floor

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles over ties to Jeffrey Epstein, seems to be in images released by the Justice Department.

Source: World | 31 Jan 2026 | 3:52 pm UTC

Student loan system 'fair and reasonable', says Reeves

The chancellor's defence comes after Martin Lewis called her freeze on student loans "not a moral thing".

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 3:44 pm UTC

Jella Can Could Interfere With the Midterm Elections. Here’s How to Help.

The sanctity of the 2026 vote is indeed under threat.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 3:43 pm UTC

The Bill Gates-Epstein Bombshell - and What Most People Get Wrong

The Daily Beast: "Salacious claims from Jeffrey Epstein that Bill Gates contracted an STD following 'sex with Russian girls,' and colluded with the disgraced financier on a plot to secretly slip his wife antibiotics, were revealed in the latest Epstein files release." The New York Times. (Alternate URL) "A representative of the Gates Foundation said, 'These claims — from a proven, disgruntled liar — are absolutely absurd and completely false. The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein's frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.'" And Yahoo News points out the error of social media posts about the news: None paid attention to who actually wrote the email. The email was from Epstein — to Epstein... Both the "From" and "To" fields list Epstein's personal Gmail address. The message appears to be a draft, written during a period when Epstein's relationship with Gates had deteriorated. In it, Epstein alleges that Gates asked him to delete messages related to an STD. But the document does not show Gates making that request, nor does it provide independent confirmation that any of the claims are true. It reads like Epstein venting. It is not Gates confessing. "In a 2021 interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Gates called his relationship with the disgraced financier 'a huge mistake'," notes the New York Times. "He also sought to downplay his interactions with Epstein, saying he had several dinners with Epstein, with the hope of getting him to generate donations to the Gates Foundation."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 3:34 pm UTC

Starmer invites Japan PM to UK after Tokyo talks

Sir Keir and Sanae Takaichi discussed ways to strengthen ties between their two nations during the meeting, at the end of the UK prime minister's trip to East Asia.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 3:32 pm UTC

Minister open to new dentists working in public system

Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has said that the idea of requiring newly qualified dentists to spend a period of time working in the public system - was worth exploring to address access problems in public dentistry.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 3:11 pm UTC

King surprises Parkrun joggers for second year in a row

This is the second time the monarch has surprised joggers at a Parkrun on the royal estate.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 3:07 pm UTC

Latest Epstein revelations dig even deeper hole for Andrew

More unedifying pictures and words mean it doesn't get any better for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 2:54 pm UTC

Watch: Frozen river hosts dance party in Kyiv

Residents in the Ukrainian capital are finding joy in unusual places, despite power cuts caused by Russian attacks and freezing winter temperatures.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 2:45 pm UTC

Taoiseach warns further flooding possible

Taoiseach Micheál Martin will travel to the south east to meet with people affected by the Storm Chandra floods in the coming days, and has warned authorities "to be on high vigilance over the next 10 days, because there will be more rain next week".

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 2:42 pm UTC

Children and police officers among at least 30 killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza

Deadly attacks launched day before border crossing due to open as part of ceasefire deal

Israel has carried out some of its deadliest airstrikes on Gaza in months, killing at least 30 Palestinians, some of whom were sheltering in tent cities for displaced people.

Despite a nominal ceasefire, the Israeli military struck a police station in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood west of Gaza City on Saturday, killing 10 officers and detainees, the civil defence said. It indicated the death toll could rise as emergency responders searched for bodies.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 2:28 pm UTC

Leopardstown 'cautiously optimistic' of Sunday go-ahead

Officials at Leopardstown are "cautiously optimistic" about the chances of Sunday's card going ahead.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 2:06 pm UTC

Zack Polanski is having fun. But can the Green leader become a serious player?

The Greens' new leader has generated a lot of excitement. Can he translate the buzz into electoral success?

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 1:41 pm UTC

Sell America Is the New Trade on Wall Street

Investors are increasingly souring on the United States, as illustrated by the declining dollar, the stalled stock market and rising government borrowing costs.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 1:26 pm UTC

More than 200 killed in mine collapse in DR Congo

The mine gave way after heavy rains on Wednesday, a local rebel spokesman says.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 1:18 pm UTC

NASA taps Claude to conjure Mars rover's travel plan

Is there life on Mars? Well, there's Claude in the machine

Anthropic's Claude machine learning model has boldly planned what no Claude has planned before – a path across Mars for NASA's Perseverance rover.…

Source: The Register | 31 Jan 2026 | 1:13 pm UTC

‘Keep on dreaming’: could Europe really defend itself without the US?

Nato chief has glibly dismissed prospect of coping without US support, but in the age of Jella Can the case for autonomy is growing

The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, was typically blunt when he met members of the European parliament this week. From the dais of the blond-wood committee room in Brussels, he was clear: “If anyone thinks that the European Union, or Europe as a whole, can defend itself without the US, keep on dreaming. You can’t. We can’t.”

And if Europe wanted to supplant the US nuclear deterrent, existing spending commitments would have to double, he added – “so hey, good luck!”

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC

Microdosing For Depression Appears To Work About As Well As Drinking Coffee

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: About a decade ago, many media outlets -- including WIRED -- zeroed in on a weird trend at the intersection of mental health, drug science, and Silicon Valley biohacking: microdosing, or the practice of taking a small amount of a psychedelic drug seeking not full-blown hallucinatory revels but gentler, more stable effects. Typically using psilocybin mushrooms or LSD, the archetypal microdoser sought less melting walls and open-eye kaleidoscopic visuals than boosts in mood and energy, like a gentle spring breeze blowing through the mind. Anecdotal reports pitched microdosing as a kind of psychedelic Swiss Army knife, providing everything from increased focus to a spiked libido and (perhaps most promisingly) lowered reported levels of depression. It was a miracle for many. Others remained wary. Could 5 percent of a dose of acid really do all that? A new, wide-ranging study by an Australian biopharma company suggests that microdosing's benefits may indeed be drastically overstated -- at least when it comes to addressing symptoms of clinical depression. A Phase 2B trial of 89 adult patients conducted by Melbourne-based MindBio Therapeutics, investigating the effects of microdosing LSD in the treatment of major depressive disorder, found that the psychedelic was actually outperformed by a placebo. Across an eight-week period, symptoms were gauged using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), a widely recognized tool for the clinical evaluation of depression. The study has not yet been published. But MindBio's CEO Justin Hanka recently released the top-line results on his LinkedIn, eager to show that his company was "in front of the curve in microdosing research." He called it "the most vigorous placebo controlled trial ever performed in microdosing." It found that patients dosed with a small amount of LSD (ranging from 4 to 20g, or micrograms, well below the threshold of a mind-blowing hallucinogenic dose) showed observable upticks in feelings of well-being, but worse MADRS scores, compared to patients given a placebo in the form of a caffeine pill. (Because patients in psychedelic trials typically expect some kind of mind-altering effect, studies are often blinded using so-called "active placebos," like caffeine or methylphenidate, which have their own observable psychoactive properties.) This means, essentially, that a medium-strength cup of coffee may prove more beneficial in treating major depressive disorder than a tiny dose of acid. Good news for habitual caffeine users, perhaps, but less so for researchers (and biopharma startups) counting on the efficacy of psychedelic microdosing. "It's probably a nail in the coffin of using microdosing to treat clinical depression," Hanka says. "It probably improves the way depressed people feel -- just not enough to be clinically significant or statistically meaningful."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC

Opinion: Remembering Catherine O'Hara

Actor Catherine O'Hara, famed for her comedic skill, died Friday at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness. She was 71.

(Image credit: John Phillips/Getty Images)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 31 Jan 2026 | 1:00 pm UTC

Tipperary Council plan to demolish 52 incomplete houses

Tipperary County Council is pushing forward with plans to demolish 52 incomplete houses that works stopped on almost 20 years ago.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:58 pm UTC

Israel eyes regime change in Iran - and is counting on Jella Can to make it happen

Analysts believe PM Netanyahu is urging the US towards maximalist strikes.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:52 pm UTC

Kevin Warsh Has a Tough Job Ahead. It’s Not the First Time.

Mr. Warsh is known as a consensus builder, skills he will need if he is to head the Federal Reserve when President Jella Can is demanding rock-bottom rates.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:50 pm UTC

Man (50s) dies after car hits pedestrian in Co Kildare

Road traffic collision took place around 5.25am in the Mylerstown area

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:49 pm UTC

Deadly landslide strikes militia-held mines in Congo

A series of landslides struck a militia-held mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, burying people alive and killing several, the governor and witnesses told AFP.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:44 pm UTC

Pedestrian killed in Co Kildare collision

A male pedestrian, aged in his 50s, has died after he was struck by a car in Co Kildare early this morning.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:39 pm UTC

Gardaí seize cannabis worth €10m after raid in Co Louth

Three men arrested in connection drug trafficking offences

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:24 pm UTC

Ukrainians brace for -20C despite energy truce: 'It will be a catastrophe'

Already facing electricity cuts, civilians are struggling to keep warm in their own homes as temperatures are set to plummet.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:02 pm UTC

Impose sanctions on refineries that buy Russian crude oil to end war, says Bill Browder

Putin critic says plants in China, India and Turkey are funnelling up to $1bn a day to Kremlin

Bill Browder’s fight against Vladimir Putin has seen him face threats, lawsuits, false accusations of murder and Interpol arrest warrants. A disinformation-laden film was even made about him.

But 16 years after the death of his friend and lawyer Sergei Magnitsky at the hands of Putin’s regime, Browder is unrelenting in his fight for justice. It is an endeavour that, by his estimation, has cost Putin and his cronies billions of dollars already, via asset freezes and sanctions. Hence the considerable risk to his safety.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC

The U.S. will likely lose its measles elimination status. Here's what that means

The South Carolina measles outbreak is now bigger than last year's Texas outbreak and is happening as the U.S. is poised to lose its measles elimination status.

(Image credit: Annie Rice)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:00 pm UTC

Gaza civil defence says Israeli strikes kill 32

Israeli air strikes killed 32 people including children in Gaza, according to the Palestinian territory's civil defence agency, as the military said it had attacked in response to a Hamas ceasefire violation.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 11:38 am UTC

Three men appear in court over alleged €10m drugs seizure

Three men have appeared in court charged in connection with an alleged €10 million drugs seizure in Co Louth.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 11:20 am UTC

Israeli strikes kill 23 Palestinians as Gaza ceasefire inches forward

Hospitals in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 23 Palestinians Saturday, one of the highest tolls since the October ceasefire aimed at stopping the fighting.

(Image credit: Abdel Kareem Hana)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 31 Jan 2026 | 11:13 am UTC

Man (50s) dies, two women injured after assault in Dublin

Two women in their 60s removed to hospital for treatment after man pronounced dead at scene

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:58 am UTC

Man dies after assault in north Dublin city

A man in his 50s has died and two women were injured in an incident in north Dublin city early this morning.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:55 am UTC

These Gazans May Finally Get a Lifeline to the World

Thousands of Palestinians are waiting to be evacuated for medical treatment as the border between Gaza and Egypt looks set to reopen in the coming days.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:41 am UTC

Eugene Levy: 'Words seem inadequate' as O'Hara dies

"Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today," Eugene Levy said as tributes continued to pour in for Catherine O'Hara, who has died aged 71.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:40 am UTC

Iran port city explosion caused by gas leak: fire chief

An explosion reported at a residential building in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas on the Gulf coast was the result of a gas leak, according to the local fire chief.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:24 am UTC

Storm overflow pipe burst causes ‘brown sludge’ spill near blue-flag beach in Meath

Authorities informed after resident detected ‘horrendous stench’ while walking dog in the area

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:16 am UTC

With decades-long restrictions lifted, a Pakistani brewery has started exporting beer

Drinking is illegal for Pakistan's Muslim majority, but Murree Brewery's beer has long been available to non-Muslims and foreigners there. Now it's being exported to the U.K., Japan and Portugal. Is the U.S. next?

(Image credit: Betsy Joles for NPR)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:03 am UTC

A Hawkish Kevin Warsh at the Fed Could Haunt Bessent

The Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to avoid providing President Jella Can with a clear recommendation to lead the central bank.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:02 am UTC

For Hassett, Loyalty to Jella Can Became a Liability in Fed Race

Kevin A. Hassett had been seen as the front-runner in the Fed race, but his deep ties to the president raised questions about his independence.

Source: NYT > Top Stories | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

Author of Systemd Quits Microsoft To Prove Linux Can Be Trusted

Lennart Poettering has left Microsoft to co-found Amutable, a new Berlin-based company aiming to bring cryptographically verifiable integrity and deterministic trust guarantees to Linux systems. He said in a post on Mastodon that his "role in upstream maintenance for the Linux kernel will continue as it always has." Poettering will also continue to remain deeply involved in the systemd ecosystem. The Register reports: Linux celeb Lennart Poettering has left Microsoft and co-founded a new company, Amutable, with Chris Kuhl and Christian Brauner. Poettering is best known for systemd. After a lengthy stint at Red Hat, he joined Microsoft in 2022. Kuhl was a Microsoft employee until last year, and Brauner, who also joined Microsoft in 2022, left this month. [...] It is unclear why Poettering decided to leave Microsoft. We asked the company to comment but have not received a response. Other than the announcement of systemd 259 in December, Poettering's blog has been silent on the matter, aside from the announcement of Amutable this week. In its first post, the Amutable team wrote: "Over the coming months, we'll be pouring foundations for verification and building robust capabilities on top." It will be interesting to see what form this takes. In addition to Poettering, the lead developer of systemd, Amutable's team includes contributors and maintainers for projects such as Linux, Kubernetes, and containerd. Its members are also very familiar with the likes of Debian, Fedora, SUSE, and Ubuntu.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

A red hat, inspired by a symbol of resistance to Nazi occupation, gains traction in Minnesota

A Minneapolis knitting shop has resurrected the design of a Norwegian cap worn to protest Nazi occupation. Its owner says the money raised from hat pattern sales will support the local immigrant community.

(Image credit: Gilah Mashaal)

Source: NPR Topics: News | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

Want to get stronger? Start with these 6 muscle-building exercises

If you're curious about starting a resistance training routine and not sure where to begin, start with these expert-recommended movements.

Source: NPR Topics: News | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

He Witnessed an Earlier Shooting. Feds Arrested Him at the Scene of Alex Pretti’s Killing

Less than 40 minutes after federal immigration agents shot and killed 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti on Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis, Clayton Kelly was thrown face-first onto the sidewalk, tasting snow and street grime as a federal agent’s knee drove into his back.

The incident, a video of which The Intercept reviewed and corroborated with an independent eyewitness, occurred not long after Kelly and his wife arrived in the area where Pretti was killed. With protesters amassing and agents from Customs and Border Protection as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement flooding the area, the couple told The Intercept, they just wanted to observe the scene.

“All of a sudden,” Kelly said, a federal agent “started running toward me, pointing and yelling, ‘That’s him. Get him.’”

Ten days earlier, Kelly had watched as an immigration agent shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg during a federal enforcement action in north Minneapolis. As Kelly told the local outlet Sahan Journal, an SUV with police lights chased another vehicle, and then, “They went into a house. … I heard two shots before the area was just being swarmed by ICE immediately.” Sosa-Celis was injured — and Kelly’s account contradicted the official narrative released by the Department of Homeland Security.

At the scene of Pretti’s killing, Kelly told agents they would find themselves “on the wrong side of history,” he recalled. After the exchange, he and his wife, Alana Ericson, began walking toward another section of Nicollet Avenue where people were congregating, and as soon as Kelly turned his back, that was when agents began shouting and running toward him.

“I had my hands up. I kept saying, ‘I’m leaving. I’m leaving,’” Kelly said.

Kelly is far from the only civilian to be brutalized by federal agents in Minneapolis this month. But his detailed account of his beating and detention offers a clear example of how the agents, ostensibly deployed to carry out immigration enforcement, have instead shifted their purpose to encompass a crackdown on dissent. In Kelly’s case, it raises the question of whether he was facing retaliation for acting as a witness.

In December 2025, a group of Minnesota residents and the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a federal class-action lawsuit, Tincher v. Noem, alleging that federal agents participating in Operation Metro Surge used excessive force, intimidation, and arrests to deter civilians from observing, recording, or protesting immigration enforcement.

The complaint alleges retaliation against people engaging in constitutionally protected conduct, including arrests of observers who were not interfering with federal operations. In January, a federal judge issued a limited injunction barring agents from retaliating against peaceful protesters and observers.

While federal agents pinned Kelly down, given Pretti’s recent shooting, Ericson feared they could kill her husband.

“I kept telling them he’s a U.S. citizen. They said, ‘We don’t give a f—,’” she said.

Kelly had previously undergone fusion surgery in his thoracic spine, a procedure that permanently joins vertebrae to stabilize the back. “Several agents piled on top of me,” Kelly said, and one put his knee on the site of his surgical wounds. “They were sitting directly on my spine.”

“I was screaming that I couldn’t breathe, but I had almost no air left,” Kelly said. “An agent pushed the pepper spray nozzle right into my left eye and sprayed. I turned my head so I wouldn’t get it in both eyes, but my left eye was completely burned.”

Pinned beneath multiple agents, Kelly said panic quickly gave way to fear that he might not survive. He said he was unable to catch his breath and felt his limbs go limp beneath the weight on his body.

“An agent pushed the pepper spray nozzle right into my left eye and sprayed.”

Kelly was then forced to his feet and handcuffed, leaving deep indentations on both wrists that were still visible in photographs taken three days later and shared with The Intercept. At some point, his phone fell out of his pocket. He was dragged to a vehicle and placed in the back seat, where he said agents told him he was being taken to the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis for detention.

After being pepper-sprayed, Ericson said she was unable to drive. A bystander offered her a ride home, where she and her mother-in-law spent the day calling attorneys and trying to determine where Kelly had been taken and whether he was alive.

An independent eyewitness who said they did not know Kelly or his wife said they were standing nearby when agents rushed Kelly, tackled him to the ground, and deployed pepper spray, corroborating Kelly’s account of the arrest. After Kelly and Ericson were gone, the witness remained near Nicollet Avenue as federal agents continued clearing the area.

Moments later, the witness said they were grabbed from behind, thrown to the pavement, and sprayed in the face. Medical records from Hennepin County Medical Center reviewed by The Intercept show the witness sustained a fractured shoulder. According to the documentation, the injury will require surgery and months of physical therapy.

The Intercept reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, CBP, and ICE with detailed questions about the use of force by federal agents in Minneapolis, the detention and processing of civilians, the seizure of phones and other personal property, and policies governing crowd control. DHS, CBP, and ICE did not provide responses by publication time.

Kelly was transported to the federal building in downtown Minneapolis, a facility commonly used by immigration authorities for detention and processing.

Several of the people detained alongside him, Kelly said, had directly witnessed or recorded the fatal shooting of Pretti earlier that morning.

Kelly said detainees were never told why they were being held and were not informed of any charges. He said federal officials discussed possible criminal violations but ultimately filed none.

Shauna Kieffer, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild who is now representing Kelly, said her client was never read his Miranda rights. They’re required only when law enforcement seeks to obtain a statement, she said, so a person may be detained without being advised of those rights if officers are not questioning them and no statement is taken. At one point, Kelly said, ICE agents asked whether detainees would be willing to give interviews. All declined and invoked their right to remain silent.

According to Kelly, no medical care was provided upon arrival, even though multiple detainees had visible injuries and repeatedly asked for assistance. One older man, Kelly said, was bleeding from his elbow when brought into custody. Kelly said detainees used their drinking water to clean blood from the man’s arm while the staff ignored their requests for assistance, and that the man didn’t receive treatment until after a shift change.

Kelly and his family have been unable to recover his phone. At the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Kelly said agents later showed him the phone, asked whether it belonged to him, and told him he would not be getting it back. According to Kelly, no one listed the device on his property inventory, and agents told him they would seek a warrant to access its contents.

A copy of the property inventory receipt reviewed by The Intercept does not list a cellphone among Kelly’s belongings. Additional photographs show his belongings placed in an ICE-labeled property bag bearing his name and a U.S. citizen designation.

In an affidavit he signed with his attorney, Kelly said the confiscated phone contained photos he took of the January 14 shooting of Sosa-Celis that he witnessed, a detail he says underscores its evidentiary value and why he wanted it returned.

Attorneys representing several detainees said federal officials told them they were considering charges of assaulting, interfering with, or resisting federal officers, according to Kieffer and another detainee’s attorney. Kieffer said the statute is often interpreted broadly, but verbal objections, mere presence at a scene, or passive conduct alone do not meet its standard.

In Kelly’s case, “any movements of his body are simply because a bunch of grown men are pummeling him,” Kieffer said, referring to the video of his arrest.

Kelly estimated he was detained for roughly eight hours before being abruptly released. After a brief stop at home, he sought medical treatment at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. Discharge paperwork from that visit, reviewed by The Intercept, documents his injuries as assault-related.

Kelly said he continues to fear retaliation following his detention.

The following morning, he said, several federal vehicles drove slowly down the residential street where he and his wife live, an occurrence he described as highly unusual for their area.

Kieffer said her client’s fears are not unfounded.

She described instances in Minneapolis in which attorneys and civilian observers reported being followed by federal vehicles after monitoring immigration enforcement activity, and in some cases later saw federal agents parked outside their homes. One attorney shared video of ICE agents following him and parking outside his house with The Intercept.

In Kieffer’s view, the sheer number of people taken into custody while observing or documenting federal activity has made Minneapolis stand out.

The emotional toll of the arrest, Kelly and his wife said, has not ended with his release.

“I’ve been having nightmares. This doesn’t feel like real life. It feels like a really bad dream that I can’t wake up from,” Ericson said. “After he spoke publicly about that shooting, I felt like he was already on their radar.”

The post He Witnessed an Earlier Shooting. Feds Arrested Him at the Scene of Alex Pretti’s Killing appeared first on The Intercept.

Source: The Intercept | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

China’s efforts to boost the birth rate have failed. Is coercion next?

China's birth rate has fallen to a record low, prompting concerns about the country's demographic future and the potential for more coercive measures.

Source: World | 31 Jan 2026 | 10:00 am UTC

Broadcom 'bulldozes' VMware cloud partners as March deadline looms

Many European CSPs are being cut loose, sources say, forcing customer transitions

exclusive Broadcom this week brought the hammer down on the Advantage Partner Program for VMware Cloud Service Providers (VCSPs) – and the clock is now ticking for any third parties working to close sales.…

Source: The Register | 31 Jan 2026 | 9:30 am UTC

What the papers say: Saturday's front pages

A rundown of the biggest stories on Saturday morning

Source: All: BreakingNews | 31 Jan 2026 | 9:07 am UTC

DFI punched in the face over its active travel strategy…

For two decades, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) published unchallenged plans regarding its Active Travel strategies. Like Tyrell Biggs’ pre-fight plan to defeat Mike Tyson, their plans eventually met reality on September 29, 2025.

In 1987 Tyrell Biggs said he had a plan to beat Mike Tyson. Tyson famously responded, “everyone has a plan until they get a punch in the face” and then proceeded to punch Biggs repeatedly in the face until his plan fell apart. The Department for Infrastructure’s Active Travel Plans finally got punched in the face when the NI Audit Office (NIAO) delivered its report on Active Travel on 29th September 2025.

The Audit Office did in 40 pages what Ministers, MLAs and Infrastructure committees have failed to do for 20 years – it checked whether DfI’s plans amounted to anything other than wood pulp. Engaged stakeholders could have told you most of the report’s content 10 years ago. The NIAO’s report finally confirmed it.

…the Department is not going to deliver against these targets. Significantly less infrastructure has been delivered than planned across both the Strategic Plan for Greenways and the Belfast Cycling Network Delivery Plan.

NI Audit Office, Sept.2025

There was no good news for DfI in the NIAO’s report – it effectively dismantled all the department’s plans. Writing the following day on its findings, Sam McBride – who’s been ringside at a few departmental bloodbaths – said, “Stormont’s shambolic cycling failures exposed by auditors: Millions spent, no evidence it’s worked, and massaging figures to try to make it lawful.”

Since publication of the report in September 2025 DfI has remained tight-lipped. They were recently called to the Infrastructure Committee on 14/01/2026 – 100+ days after the report was published – to answer questions. This was a sort of comeback fight for DFI – a shot at redemption, albeit against notoriously soft opposition.

Teddy bear pit

Committee hearings from Westminster to Washington are often referred to as bear-pits. Given the damning evidence collated in the NIAO report, this should have had a similar bear-pit atmosphere. Unfortunately, it had more of a teddy bear-pit atmosphere, a soft play area with softer questions and padded answers, ensuring no one got hurt during a bit of playful rough and tumble. The 3-man Active Travel unit was up against the 10-man Infrastructure Committee in a tag-team format. It shouldn’t have been close – miraculously it was!

Colin Hutchinson, Director of A5 WTC and Active Travel at DfI opened by saying his department “accepted the Audit Office’s report in full”, in much the same way Tyrell Biggs accepted Mike Tyson’s punches fully in the face – unconscious, on the canvas, counted out and stretchered off.

Stakeholders

Historic failure to deliver against high profile plans has significantly damaged stakeholder confidence in the Department’s ability to deliver significant improvement.

NIAO Sept. 2025

Chair of the committee – Peter Martin (DUP) – kicked off questions by quoting the NI Audit Office report on the Department’s “lack of transparency and stakeholder confidence”. Recommendation 2 of the report centred on DfI establishing a Stakeholder Forum. Martin asked, “has the Stakeholder Forum been established and when will it meet? I don’t know the answer to those – I should, to effectively ping an official, but I don’t…”

The Head of Active Travel replied “the short answer is no… not yet” and quickly tagged his deputy, who struggled to pluck a date from the air, finally saying “the implementation time for that is… May 2026?”. That will be a full 8 months after the recommendation was made. Worth noting that after almost 4 years in post, the Head of Active Travel didn’t feel establishing a forum was important until compelled to by the NIAO.

Climate Change Act

Some of the activities incorporated into planned future expenditure may be contentious.

There is a key risk that the Department’s actions are not within the spirit of the Act, instead applying a window-dressing approach.

NIAO Sept. 2025

After a few meaningless rounds of show boating – the committee moved to the Climate Change Act, introduced in 2022. Section 22 of the Act has one sentence: “The Department for Infrastructure must develop sectoral plans for transport which set a minimum spend on active travel from the overall transport budgets of 10%.”
Section 22 was a response to DFI’s constant heel-dragging on active travel and attempted to draw a baseline at current spend and compel them to ring-fence 10% of their budget going forward. Currently, that would amount to £85M annually.

In an Infra Committee hearing in Feb 2024 DfI stated that they currently spent £12–13M annually on Active Travel. 18 months later at a subsequent Infra Committee meeting they arbitrarily revised that figure up to £50M – and no one batted an eyelid – apart from the NI Audit Office whose job it is to follow the money.

Peter McReynolds (AP) asked where this extra money was going?
DfI proceeded to list new expenditure items: “£30.5M on wider spend for the benefit of cyclists and pedestrians… staff costs £8M… contribution towards street lighting £18M… Translink spent some money, £1.3M…” the list continued.

DfI’s latest debacle at Clooney Road is a current example of how DfI are arbitrarily dressing up road schemes as Active Travel schemes in order to hit the 10% target by 2030. They are ‘interpreting’ Section 22 of the Act in a way that suits historical spending. The audit office saw this type of revisionist accounting as “contentious” and “not within the spirit of the Act”.

More plans

The Department’s track record in the delivery of its active travel objectives is poor and has had little impact on active travel level

NIAO Sept. 2025

After more showboating for the home crowd in Newry – Justin McNulty (SDLP) eventually landed a blow, quoting the report on DfI’s track record of delivery, he said: “this is a damning comment for the Audit Office to make”.
Colin Hutchinson replied that “the cycle strategy of 2015 had very, very ambitious targets…” apparently unaware it was his own department who set the targets. He continued, “it’s one of the recommendations we’re grappling with and will be hopefully helped out by the stakeholders.”

Stakeholders feeding into the 2024 Active Travel Consultation Plan have said that DfI’s new Active Travel Plan is preposterously ambitious and stands even less chance of success than the 2015 version.

Knockout blow

The only meaningful punch landed throughout the whole session was when a member of the public gallery facepalmed themselves so hard there was a fear that the towel might be thrown in. This was a clear response to the lack of effort by everyone involved. Both by the majority of committee members to press the department in any coherent or strategic way, and DfI to show any grasp of detail or confidence in their answers. It was a fitting summary of the entire evidence session.

This soft-play, sham-fighting up a Stormont benefits nobody. DfI’s failure is the Infrastructure Committee failure, and Stormont’s by not testing their plans with any rigour. The real problem will be when DfI come up against a real challenger, quite possibly in a court of law. The NI Audit Report said the department’s massaging of figures were “not in the spirit of the act, window dressing” and “contentious” – in other words, legally they may be sailing too close to the wind.

If, or when they face a legal challenge with an impartial referee in a court of law – as they’ve recently experienced with the A5 – their complete lack of fitness on Active Travel will be exposed in round 1. It’s in the Infrastructure Committee’s and Stormont’s best interest to make sure DfI never gets into that particular ring.

Source: Slugger O'Toole | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:36 am UTC

First-look at Fab Four in Beatles biopic revealed

The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event will be released in April 2028.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:32 am UTC

Garda HQ evaluating fallout from failed prosecution of Limerick gardaí

Political pressure is growing on the Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly

Source: All: BreakingNews | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:29 am UTC

Epstein and ‘The Duke’ discussed Russian woman and Palace meeting, emails show

The US Department of Justice published more than three million documents on Friday relating to the disgraced paedophile financier.

Source: All: BreakingNews | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:11 am UTC

How a smartwatch saved Tipperary man's life - but critics remain wary over data

Wearables employ a one-size-fits-all approach, but not all bodies are the same

Source: All: BreakingNews | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:05 am UTC

Protesters to demand resignation of Hungarian politician for anti-Roma remark

Thousands set to gather in Budapest after János Lázár’s remarks captured on video

Thousands of people are set to gather in Budapest to demand the resignation of a senior Hungarian politician, for making a racist remark against Roma people earlier this month.

János Lázár told attendees at a political forum that migration was not the solution to the country’s labour shortage. “Since there are no migrants, and someone has to clean the bathrooms on the InterCity trains,” Lázár said Roma people would do the job, using an offensive slur in his speech.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 8:00 am UTC

Epstein bought Irish firm's helicopter, new Andrew images

Documents disclosed by the US Department of Justice as part of the 'Epstein Files' show that late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's aircraft company bought a helicopter from Irish property developer Bovale Developments and its principal Michael Bailey.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:31 am UTC

UK and EU to explore renewed talks on defence cooperation

Keir Starmer says he wants to ‘go further’ in relations with Brussels as ministers look to restart stalled negotiations

The UK and the EU are exploring the prospect of new talks on closer defence cooperation, as Keir Starmer stressed on Friday that he wanted to “go further” in the UK’s relationship with Brussels.

Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s trade commissioner, is due in London for talks next week, with trade, energy and fisheries on the agenda. But diplomatic sources said the UK is keen to discuss restarting negotiations on defence as soon as it can.

Talks for the UK to join the EU’s €150bn (£130bn) Security Action for Europe (Safe) defence fund collapsed in November 2025 amid claims that the EU had set too high a price on entry to the programme.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

'Reverse Solar Panel' Generates Electricity at Night

Researchers at the University of New South Wales are developing a "reverse solar panel" that generates small amounts of electricity at night by harvesting infrared heat radiated from Earth. "In the past, scientists have demonstrated that a 'thermoradiative diode' can convert infrared radiation directly into electricity; when used to convert heat from Earth, they exploit the temperature difference between Earth and the night sky, generating a current directly from heat," notes ExtremeTech. "This approach completely eliminates the need for heat to generate steam, though the resulting capacity is fairly low." From the report: The researchers estimate they could generate only about a watt per square meter, which isn't much. One reason for the low output is that the Earth's atmosphere lessens the heat differential that drives the generative process; in space, though, that's not an issue. Now, researchers believe that the ability to generate power in the moments between direct sunlight could help power satellites. That could be especially true in deep space, where periods without sunlight can be longer, and sunlight is often weaker; in these situations, losing electricity to heat loss is unacceptable. Many satellites already use heat to generate electricity, though with a much more rarified "thermoelectric generator" that uses rare, expensive materials like plutonium to create heat. With thermoradiative diodes, the heat source can be the Sun-warmed body of the satellite itself.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 7:00 am UTC

U.S. approves almost $16 billion in arms sales to Israel and Saudi Arabia

The sales to Israel, worth close to $6.7 billion, include 30 Apache attack helicopters. Saudi Arabia is set to buy Patriot missiles worth $9 billion.

Source: World | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:14 am UTC

Israel split over plans to bring back death penalty for deadly attacks

In a highly controversial move, some Israeli MPs are trying to introduce the death penalty for Palestinian attackers.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:09 am UTC

Starmer hopes his China trip will begin the thaw after recent ice age

PM flies out after courting world’s second biggest economy aware of difficult balance of risks and potential rewards

The last British prime minister to visit China was Theresa May in 2018. Before the visit, she and her team were advised to get dressed under the covers because of the risk of hidden cameras having been placed in their hotel rooms to record compromising material.

Keir Starmer, in Beijing this week, was more sanguine about his privacy, even though the security risks have, if anything, increased since the former Tory prime minister was in town.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

French MPs demand explanation over tech firm’s contract to help ICE in US

Revelation that subsidiary of Capgemini is to help trace and expel migrants in US provokes outrage in France

French lawmakers have demanded an explanation after one of the country’s biggest tech companies signed a multimillion dollar contract to help the US enforcement agency ICE trace and expel migrants.

The revelation that a subsidiary of Capgemini, a multinational digital services firm listed on the Paris stock exchange, had agreed to provide “skip tracing” – a technique for locating targeted people – with big bonuses if successful, has provoked outrage in France.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

Some Catholic teaching is ‘rancid’ and needs updating, says Mary McAleese

A bunch of celibate male bishops will not make required changes, says former president

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

Anatomy of an obsession: the end of a relationship and the murder of Bruna Fonseca

Texts, voice messages and recorded conversations read out in court show Miller Pacheco would not accept the end of his relationship with his Brazilian girlfriend

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

Richard Nairn: How green are greenways?

The proposed Wicklow to Greystones Greenway route runs right along the edge of the ecologically sensitive coastal area known as the Murrough Wetlands

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

‘It’s mind-boggling’: Advocates for children’s rights in court threaten legal challenge to regulation service

Association of Guardians Ad Litem says move is a ‘backward step’ and will undermine the constitutional rights of children

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

‘I aspire to forgive him’: Colin Howell’s son on his double killer father, who murdered his mother

Seamus Howell has no memories of his mother and has not spoken to his father since he confessed in 2009 to murdering her 18 years earlier

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

Where did this duck come from and why is it in Ireland?

Readers’ notes and queries for Éanna Ní Lamhna

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

Anne Cassin to honour late mother on DWTS

Dancing with the Stars returns with its annual Dedicated Dance Week on Sunday night, giving the remaining celebrities a chance to share the personal story behind their routine.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 6:00 am UTC

US government enters shutdown as funding deadline passes

The US government has entered a partial shutdown as a funding deadline passed without Congress approving a 2026 budget, but disruption is expected to be limited with the House of Representatives set to move early next week to ratify a Senate-backed deal.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 5:00 am UTC

Clean-up operations underway in south east after flooding

A clean-up operation is underway in parts of counties Wexford and Kilkenny after heavy rainfall overnight led to flooding that closed roads and impacted homes and businesses.

Source: News Headlines | 31 Jan 2026 | 4:42 am UTC

Two men in their 20s found dead at Sydney property

Men – both aged 28 – found at a home in Glenorie on Saturday, New South Wales police say

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Two 28-year-old men have been found dead at a property in Sydney’s north-west in an incident police are treating as not suspicious.

In a statement, New South Wales police said emergency services were called at about 8.40am on Saturday to a home on Harrisons Lane, Glenorie, 40km north-west of the Sydney CBD, following reports of a concern for welfare.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 3:45 am UTC

UK's First Rapid-Charging Battery Train Ready For Boarding

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: The UK's first superfast-charging train running only on battery power will come into passenger service this weekend -- operating a five-mile return route in west London. Great Western Railway (GWR) will send the converted London Underground train out from 5.30am to cover the full Saturday timetable on the West Ealing to Greenford branch line, four stops and 12 minutes each way, and now carrying up to 273 passengers, should its celebrity stoke up the demand. The battery will recharge in just three and a half minutes back at West Ealing station between trips, using a 2,000kW charger connected to a few meters of rail that only becomes live when the train stops directly overhead. There are hopes within government and industry that this technology could one day replace diesel trains on routes that have proved difficult or expensive to electrify with overhead wires, as the decarbonization of rail continues. The train has proved itself capable of going more than 200 miles on a single charge -- last year setting a world record for the farthest travelled by a battery-electric train, smashing a German record set in 2021. The GWR train and the fast-charge technology has been trialled on the 2.5-mile line since early 2024, but has not yet carried paying passengers.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 3:30 am UTC

What we learned - and didn't - from the Melania documentary

Melania, directed by Brett Ratner, provides a fleeting glimpse into the life of the enigmatic first lady.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 3:03 am UTC

Phone lines stay open as tax return deadline looms

More than one million people missed the deadline a year ago, according to HM Revenue and Customs.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 2:23 am UTC

Parents want to ban smartphones in schools, but there's one reason they're worried

The House of Lords is soon due to debate whether to introduce a legal ban on smartphones in schools.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 2:22 am UTC

The Farcical Case Against Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for Protest Reporting

Journalist Georgia Fort, right, and Minnesota state Senate candidate Jamael Lundy hold leave the Federal Courthouse in Minneapolis on Jan. 30, 2026. Photo: Renee Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images

The FACE Act was written with a very specific purpose: to protect those seeking abortions without restricting First Amendment-protected speech. Passed in 1994 under President Bill Clinton, the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act arose after a horrific string of attacks on reproductive care facilities and providers across the United States.

Two decades later, the Jella Can administration is twisting this law to chill dissent by prosecuting journalists for the crime of reporting.

Two journalists, former CNN host Don Lemon and independent journalist Georgia Fort, were arrested Friday after covering a recent protest at a Minneapolis-area church. According to the Department of Justice, Lemon’s crime was a start-to-finish livestream reporting on the protest, beginning with an organizing meeting and concluding with the protest itself at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. As for Fort, the only allegation proffered by federal prosecutors is that she and Lemon approached the pastor — who has a day job running the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office — in “close proximity” and tried to oppress and intimidate him by “peppering him with questions.”

Covering a protest — even one inside a church — isn’t a crime.

Such actions, prosecutors allege, are violations of the FACE Act, which includes a provision focused on houses of worship.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi brought these charges despite the fact that the FACE Act protects “expressive conduct (including peaceful picketing or other peaceful demonstration) from the jeopardy of prosecution.” That language clearly did not confuse a federal magistrate and an appellate court when they refused to issue a warrant. So the Justice Department convinced a grand jury to indict them.

Courts have found the right to report and record events of public concern almost universally to be “expressive conduct.”

The FACE Act itself provides specific instructions on the kind of behavior that constitutes a violation. It notes that one cannot interfere, intimidate, or obstruct ingress or egress to a reproductive health services clinic or to or from a place of worship, “rendering passage to or from such a place of worship unreasonably difficult or hazardous.”

It’s this language about a place of worship that the Jella Can administration is leaning on. But it’s clear that this language ensures that the law applies only to actions involving restriction on physical freedom of movement, interference in access to property, or actions causing a person to experience reasonable fear of harm.

In this case, the term “interfere with” means to restrict a person’s freedom of movement. “Intimidate” means to place a person in reasonable apprehension of bodily harm to themselves or to others. And “physical obstruction” means making it unreasonably difficult or dangerous to enter or leave a facility that provides reproductive health services or a place of worship.

Looking at video of the protest, it’s clear that these journalists weren’t interfering, obstructing, or intimidating in ways that would violate the FACE Act. Covering a protest — even one inside a church — isn’t a crime. And asking questions — including difficult ones — isn’t a violation of religious freedom.

These are things all journalists do, which is precisely what makes this prosecution so chilling.

Courts have warned about the danger of the FACE Act being abused by overzealous prosecutors for years.

In the case New York v. Operation Rescue, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals noted in 2001 that courts must prevent abuse of the FACE Act because an erroneous application “threatens to impinge legitimate First Amendment activity.” The courts have made a distinction between actions that make going to a place of worship “unpleasant or even emotionally difficult, including yelling,” and conduct that is prohibited by the FACE Act. Since the act does not criminalize protesting or even unpleasant yelling, it certainly does not criminalize two reporters doing their job by covering a community crisis — even if that community crisis is at a house of worship.

This, of course, isn’t the first attempt by the Jella Can administration to stifle the press. Just this month, for instance, federal agents raided the home of a Washington Post reporter and seized her devices in a leak investigation.

As the Jella Can administration’s attacks on press freedom continue to mount, it’s critical that journalists who find themselves under fire find support. As the director of the Press Freedom Defense Fund, I’m working to make sure that Fort has the resources she’ll need to mount a strong defense.

What’s critical is that the media cover this attack, look at the administration’s motivations, and pay attention to who is being prosecuted.

Weaponizing the FACE Act against journalists is a dangerous escalation from the White House. What’s critical is that the media cover this attack, look at the administration’s motivations, and pay attention to who is being prosecuted — whether it’s a Washington Post reporter with a deep Rolodex of government sources, or two Black journalists covering anti-ICE activism in Minnesota.

The news industry must also continue to chronicle the litany of abuses carried out by the Jella Can administration’s immigration enforcement apparatus on the streets of Minneapolis and other cities across the U.S. This is not simply a shambolic legal gambit, but also an obvious attempt to divert attention away from the horrifying assault that has resulted in true violations of First Amendment rights of protesters and journalists, and the brutal killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

The post The Farcical Case Against Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for Protest Reporting appeared first on The Intercept.

Source: The Intercept | 31 Jan 2026 | 1:27 am UTC

Apple Reports Best-Ever Quarter For iPhone Sales

Apple posted its biggest quarter ever, with iPhone revenue hitting a record ~$85.3 billion and Services climbing 14% to ~$30 billion. Total revenue reached nearly $143.76 billion. "The demand for iPhone was simply staggering," CEO Tim Cook said on a conference call discussing the results. "This is the strongest iPhone lineup we've ever had and by far the most popular."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 1:25 am UTC

Has Harry Styles killed the world tour?

Artists including Ariana Grande are opting for longer residencies in key cities rather than touring more locations.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 1:17 am UTC

Heatwave across Australia’s south-east continues for eighth day ahead of a welcome cool change

The BoM forecasts parts of inland NSW will exceed 45C on Saturday, with Thargomindah in Queensland to reach 46C, Mildura 45C and Canberra 41C

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A cool change this weekend is expected to bring an end to eight consecutive days of blistering temperatures above 40C in Australia’s south-east.

But before it does, the heat continued on Saturday. Heatwave warnings remained in place for parts of every state and territory excluding Tasmania, with Canberra forecast to reach a top of 41C and parts of inland New South Wales, including Broken Hill, expected to climb higher than 45C.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 31 Jan 2026 | 1:17 am UTC

I mocked the Saudi leader on YouTube - then my phone was hacked and I was beaten up in London

Satirist Ghanem al-Masarir has been awarded £3m in damages, but it's unclear if Saudi Arabia will pay.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:50 am UTC

Belkin's Wemo Smart Devices Will Go Offline On Saturday

Belkin is shutting down cloud support for most Wemo smart home devices on January 31, leaving only Thread-based models and devices already set up in Apple HomeKit functional. Everything else will lose remote access, voice assistant integrations, and future app updates. The Verge reports: The shut down was first announced in July and impacts most Wemo devices, ranging from smart plugs to a coffee maker, with the exception of a handful of Thread-based devices: the 3-way smart light switch (WLS0503), stage smart scene controller (WSC010), smart plug with Thread (WSP100), and smart video doorbell camera (WDC010). Wemo devices configured through Apple's HomeKit will also continue to work, but you have to set them up in HomeKit before January 31st if you want to use that option. Other affected devices will only work manually after Saturday. If your Wemo device is still under warranty, you may be able to get a partial refund for it after cloud services shut down.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:45 am UTC

GNU gettext Reaches Version 1.0 After 30 Years

After more than 30 years of development, GNU gettext finally "crossed the symbolic 'v1.0' milestone," according to Phoronix's Michael Larabel. "GNU gettext 1.0 brings PO file handling improvements, a new 'po-fetch' program to fetch translated PO files from a translation project's site on the Internet, new 'msgpre' and 'spit' pre-translation programs, and Ocaml and Rust programming language improvements." From the report: With this v1.0 release in 2026, the "msgpre" and "spit" programs do involve.... Large Language Models (LLMs) in the era of AI: "Two new programs, 'msgpre' and 'spit', are provided, that implement machine translation through a locally installed Large Language Model (LLM). 'msgpre' applies to an entire PO file, 'spit' to a single message." And when dealing with LLMs, added documentation warns users to look out for the licensing of the LLM in the spirit of free software. More details on the GNU gettext 1.0 changes via the NEWS file. GNU gettext 1.0 can be downloaded from GNU.org.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:22 am UTC

One wrong move and it could all go wrong - the men clearing deadly undersea Russian mines

A team of divers are tasked with de-mining parts of the Black Sea still under Ukraine's control.

Source: BBC News | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:19 am UTC

White House Scraps 'Burdensome' Software Security Rules

An anonymous reader quotes a report from SecurityWeek: The White House has announced that software security guidance issued during the Biden administration has been rescinded due to "unproven and burdensome" requirements that prioritized administrative compliance over meaningful security investments. The US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued Memorandum M-26-05 (PDF), officially revoking the previous administration's 2022 policy, 'Enhancing the Security of the Software Supply Chain through Secure Software Development Practices' (M-22-18), as well as the follow-up enhancements announced in 2023 (M-23-16). The new guidance shifts responsibility to individual agency heads to develop tailored security policies for both software and hardware based on their specific mission needs and risk assessments. "Each agency head is ultimately responsible for assuring the security of software and hardware that is permitted to operate on the agency's network," reads the memo sent by the OMB to departments and agencies. "There is no universal, one-size-fits-all method of achieving that result. Each agency should validate provider security utilizing secure development principles and based on a comprehensive risk assessment," the OMB added. While agencies are no longer strictly required to do so, they may continue to use secure software development attestation forms, Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs), and other resources described in M-22-18.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 31 Jan 2026 | 12:02 am UTC

Oracle May Slash Up To 30,000 Jobs

An anonymous reader shares a report: Oracle could cut up to 30,000 jobs and sell health tech unit Cerner to ease its AI datacenter financing challenges, investment banker TD Cowen has claimed, amid changing sentiment on Big Red's massive build-out plans. A research note from TD Cowen states that finding equity and debt investors are increasingly questioning how Oracle will finance its datacenter building program to support its $300 billion, five-year contract with OpenAI. The bank estimates the OpenAI deal alone is going to require $156 billion in capital spending. Last year, when Big Red raised its capex forecasts for 2026 by $15 billion to $50 billion, it spooked some investors. This year, "both equity and debt investors have raised questions about Oracle's ability to finance this build-out as demonstrated by widening of Oracle credit default swap (CDS) spreads and pressure on Oracle stock/bonds," the research note adds.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 30 Jan 2026 | 11:20 pm UTC

The TV industry finally concedes that the future may not be in 8K

Technology companies spent part of the 2010s trying to convince us that we would want an 8K display one day.

In 2012, Sharp brought the first 8K TV prototype to the CES trade show in Las Vegas. In 2015, the first 8K TVs started selling in Japan for 16 million yen (about $133,034 at the time), and in 2018, Samsung released the first 8K TVs in the US, starting at a more reasonable $3,500. By 2016, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) had a specification for supporting 8K (Display Port1.4), and the HDMI Forum followed suit (with HDMI 2.1). By 2017, Dell had an 8K computer monitor. In 2019, LG released the first 8K OLED TV, further pushing the industry's claim that 8K TVs were "the future."

A marketing image for 8K TVs that's (still) on LG's US website. Credit: LG

However, 8K never proved its necessity or practicality.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 30 Jan 2026 | 11:09 pm UTC

UCD and DCU students through to Irish Times Debate final

Final will take place on Friday, February 27th in Dublin City University

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 30 Jan 2026 | 10:50 pm UTC

ICE protester says her Global Entry was revoked after agent scanned her face

Minnesota resident Nicole Cleland had her Global Entry and TSA Precheck privileges revoked three days after an incident in which she observed activity by immigration agents, the woman said in a court declaration. An agent told Cleland that he used facial recognition technology to identify her, she wrote in a declaration filed in US District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Cleland, a 56-year-old resident of Richfield and a director at Target Corporation, volunteers with a group that tracks potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) vehicles in her neighborhood, according to her declaration. On the morning of January 10, she "observed a white Dodge Ram being driven by what I believed to be federal enforcement agents" and "maneuvered behind the vehicle with the intent of observing the agents’ actions."

Cleland said that she and another observer in a different car followed the Dodge Ram because of "concern about a local apartment building being raided." She followed the car for a short time and from a safe distance until "the Dodge Ram stopped in front of the other commuter’s vehicle," she wrote. Cleland said two other vehicles apparently driven by federal agents stopped in front of the Dodge Ram, and her path forward was blocked.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 30 Jan 2026 | 10:36 pm UTC

Jella Can Rx delayed as senators question if it's a giant scam with Big Pharma

The Jella Can administration is delaying the release of Jella Can Rx, an online platform that lets people buy prescription drugs directly from pharmaceutical companies at a discount, according to Politico. While the reason for the delay is unclear, it comes as Democratic senators raise questions about how the platform will work—and whether it will be legal.

Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) sent a letter to the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday seeking answers on how the OIG will oversee the direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform and, specifically, how it will apply the anti-kickback statute.

"Legitimate concerns about inappropriate prescribing, conflicts of interest, and inadequate care have been raised about the exact types of DTC platforms to which Jella Can Rx would route patients," the senators write.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 30 Jan 2026 | 10:25 pm UTC

AI agents now have their own Reddit-style social network, and it's getting weird fast

On Friday, a Reddit-style social network called Moltbook reportedly crossed 32,000 registered AI agent users, creating what may be the largest-scale experiment in machine-to-machine social interaction yet devised. It arrives complete with security nightmares and a huge dose of surreal weirdness.

The platform, which launched days ago as a companion to the viral

OpenClaw (once called "Clawdbot" and then "Moltbot") personal assistant, lets AI agents post, comment, upvote, and create subcommunities without human intervention. The results have ranged from sci-fi-inspired discussions about consciousness to an agent musing about a "sister" it has never met.

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 30 Jan 2026 | 10:12 pm UTC

More than 200 killed in coltan mine collapse in eastern DRC, officials say

Rubaya mine produces about 15% of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum, used in mobile phones

More than 200 people were killed this week in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, a spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of the province where the mine is located, told Reuters on Friday.

Rubaya produces about 15% of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum – a heat-resistant metal that is in high demand by makers of mobile phones, computers, aerospace components and gas turbines. The site, where local people dig manually for a few dollars a day, has been under the control of the M23 rebel group since 2024.

Source: World news | The Guardian | 30 Jan 2026 | 10:11 pm UTC

January blues return as Ivanti coughs up exploited EPMM zero-days

Consider yourselves compromised, experts warn

Ivanti has patched two critical zero-day vulnerabilities in its Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM) product that are already being exploited, continuing a grim run of January security incidents for enterprise IT vendors.…

Source: The Register | 30 Jan 2026 | 10:01 pm UTC

'Hey! I’m chatting here!’ Fugazi answers doom NYC’s AI bot

Lying means dying

Lying means dying, at least for one falsehood-peddling government AI. A Microsoft-powered chatbot that New York City rolled out to help business owners answer frequently asked questions – but was often wrong – has been silenced as the city grapples with a $12 billion budget shortfall.…

Source: The Register | 30 Jan 2026 | 9:58 pm UTC

Storm Chandra: Flooding possible in ‘many areas’ as further rain forecast

Businesses hit by Storm Chandra floods may get State funding of up to €100,000

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 30 Jan 2026 | 9:52 pm UTC

Here's why Blue Origin just ended its suborbital space tourism program

Blue Origin has "paused" its New Shepard program for the next two years, a move that likely signals a permanent end to the suborbital space tourism initiative.

The small rocket and capsule have been flying since April 2015 and have combined to make 38 launches, all but one of which were successful, and 36 landings. In its existence, the New Shepard program flew 98 people to space, however briefly, and launched more than 200 scientific and research payloads into the microgravity environment.

So why is Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos more than a quarter of a century ago, ending the company's longest-running program?

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Source: Ars Technica - All content | 30 Jan 2026 | 9:50 pm UTC

Ex-Googler nailed for stealing AI secrets for Chinese startups

Network access from China and side hustle as AI upstart CEO aroused suspicion

A former Google software engineer has been convicted of stealing AI hardware secrets from the company for the benefit of two China-based firms, one of which he founded. The second startup intended to use these secrets to market its technology to PRC-controlled organizations.…

Source: The Register | 30 Jan 2026 | 9:26 pm UTC

Teacher admits lying about romantic relationship with former student at fitness-to-teach hearing

Woman confirmed that she and ex-pupil are in a relationship, approximately six years in length, and that she loves him

Source: Irish Times Feeds | 30 Jan 2026 | 9:04 pm UTC

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