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Lead: New research by a PhD researcher at Trinity College Dublin shows that hundreds of requests on X prompted Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok to produce sexualized images of real people without their consent. The sample—just over 500 posts gathered via X’s developer API—contained many requests to remove or alter clothing on images of women … Read more

Lead Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the long-serving former House Democratic majority leader, told colleagues on the House floor on Jan. 8, 2026, that he will not seek re-election after 45 years in Congress. The 82-year-old announced the decision amid a standing ovation and chants from members, citing personal conviction and a Shakespearean line about being … Read more

Today the White House announced that the Department of Justice will create a new Division for National Fraud Enforcement to coordinate federal criminal and civil work against large-scale fraud. The new office will focus on schemes that target federal programs, federally funded benefits, private businesses, nonprofits and individual citizens across the United States. An Assistant … Read more

Lead On Jan. 8, 2026, Saudi officials publicly accused the United Arab Emirates of assisting Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the leader of the Southern Transitional Council, to flee Yemen, a claim that Riyadh says deepens an already bitter bilateral rift. Saudi military spokesmen said intelligence showed Mr. al-Zubaidi left by boat to Somalia early on Wednesday and … Read more

Who: Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears. When: a rivalry stretching more than a century, highlighted by a wild-card playoff meeting this Saturday. Where: across Lambeau Field and Soldier Field and the wider national stage. What: a series with deep historical weight—record titles, Hall of Famers and nationally consequential games—that has felt intermittent in drama … Read more

Lead Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. announced on Tuesday that he will enter the NCAA transfer portal days after signing a return deal with the Huskies for the 2026 season. In the wake of that announcement, agent Doug Hendrickson said he has ended his representation of Williams. Washington has signaled it may pursue legal avenues … Read more

Lead: Governor Gavin Newsom on January 8, 2026, unveiled a proposal in his 2026–27 State Budget to tighten state education governance in Sacramento. The plan would move responsibility for managing the California Department of Education into the Executive Branch and bolster the authority of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The stated aim is to … Read more

Lead In a season that has upended expectations, Curt Cignetti has turned Indiana from a longstanding college-football afterthought into a national contender. Through the 2025 campaign the Hoosiers ran a perfect 14-0, captured the Big Ten title with a 13-10 win over Ohio State and routed Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl, and now head … Read more

Lead: This week — on Thursday, January 8, 2026 — new federal guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, directed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., narrowed the routine childhood immunization schedule. The federal recommendation set that had covered 17 diseases was pared back so routine guidance now covers 11, with six … Read more

As 2026 opened, China and Japan returned to a familiar cycle of diplomatic confrontation, centered on history, security and trade. Beijing publicly rebuked Tokyo after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Japan might respond if China used force against Taiwan, while Beijing simultaneously announced export controls and launched investigations into specific imports. Seoul’s leader visited Beijing … Read more

Lead Satellite imagery captured on December 26, 2025, shows the remains of iceberg A-23A in the South Atlantic developing widespread aquamarine melt ponds, a sign the decades-old berg may collapse within days to weeks. A-23A, which calved from Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986 and once covered roughly 1,500 square miles (4,000 km2), now measures … Read more

Researchers at Texas A&M and collaborators worldwide are refining instruments and methods to probe dark matter and dark energy, which together make up about 95% of the cosmos. Led by experimental particle physicist Dr. Rupak Mahapatra, teams are developing cryogenic semiconductor detectors with quantum-grade sensors to capture extremely rare interactions that could reveal dark-matter particles. … Read more

Lead: In 2025 the United States suffered approximately $115 billion in disaster losses, according to data released Jan. 8, 2026, marking the fifth year above $100 billion in the last six years. A record 21 thunderstorm systems each produced at least $1 billion in damage, while wildfires that swept Los Angeles neighborhoods in January accounted … Read more

Lead The Internal Revenue Service on Monday set Monday, January 26, 2026, as the start of the 2026 federal individual tax filing season, with the April 15, 2026 deadline to file 2025 returns and pay any tax due. The agency said roughly 164 million individual income tax returns are expected this year, with most filed … Read more

Lebanon’s military said on Monday that it has assumed security control of the country’s south, a region long dominated by the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, following a November 2024 ceasefire that ended a year-long war with Israel. The move covers areas south of the Litani River—about 30km (20 miles) from the Israeli border—and was described by … Read more