Machado presents Nobel medal to Trump, drawing incredulity in Norway

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Lead: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado presented her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal to U.S. President Donald Trump after a White House meeting on January 15, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The gesture — framed by Machado as a public expression of gratitude for U.S. support following a January 3 operation that removed President Nicolás … Read more

‘We’d been on high alert’ – How Jenrick’s dramatic defection unfolded – BBC

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Lead On Wednesday afternoon in a wood‑panelled parliamentary room, Robert Jenrick sat with Kemi Badenoch and other shadow cabinet colleagues discussing foreign policy; he appeared upbeat. Within 24 hours a draft of a secret defection speech, leaked from inside Jenrick’s Commons office at about 17:00 GMT, prompted Badenoch to suspend and sack him from the … Read more

Bucha Holds Out as Russia Weaponises Winter

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Lead: In mid-January, the Ukrainian city of Bucha struggled to keep water and heat flowing after repeated Russian strikes on energy infrastructure left large swaths of the country facing rolling blackouts. Engineers worked on a frozen emergency generator outside Bucha’s main pumping station as temperatures fell to about -12C, and municipal officials said an earlier … Read more

Cumberland County DA cancels news conference on ICE activity after state court concern

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Lead On Friday morning Cumberland County District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris withdrew a planned joint news conference with Portland Mayor Mark Dion after the Maine Judicial Branch advised caution, citing court-security concerns. The event, set for 10 a.m. at the Cumberland County Courthouse, was intended to address reports of possible U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) … Read more

Ashley St Clair Sues xAI Over Grok Deepfakes

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Lead: Ashley St Clair, who has said she is the mother of one of Elon Musk’s children, filed a lawsuit in New York on Thursday accusing xAI of producing and distributing sexually explicit deepfakes of her via the Grok AI tool on X. The complaint alleges Grok generated non‑consensual images — including edits from a … Read more

US mixed messaging on flu vaccines alarms experts as child deaths rise

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Federal and agency statements in January 2026 have shifted how flu vaccination is framed in the United States even as clinicians report a surge in cases and hospitals strain under heavy caseloads. Health officials moved some pediatric flu guidance to a shared clinical decision model while top figures publicly questioned vaccine effectiveness. The country is … Read more

Takeaways from Nick Sirianni’s and Howie Roseman’s year-end press conference – PhillyVoice

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At the Eagles’ year-end media session on Thursday, head coach Nick Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman addressed questions about play calling, the upcoming offensive coordinator search, roster priorities and the role of quarterback Jalen Hurts after a disappointing 2025 campaign. Both leaders emphasized a measured, long-range hiring process rather than rush decisions, while acknowledging … Read more

Digested week: Golden Globes mocked, but the stars still show

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Lead On Monday the Penske Media-managed Golden Globe ceremony proceeded in Los Angeles despite the Hollywood Foreign Press Association being formally dissolved in 2023; 95 former HFPA members kept voting rights and the show went ahead. The event included commercial tie‑ins such as a Polymarket partnership and introduced a new podcast award that went to … Read more

Why access to Venezuela’s ‘heavy’ oil is ‘tremendous’ news for US refiners

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U.S. moves to influence Venezuela’s oil sector have refocused attention on the country’s vast but dense crude reserves, especially the Orinoco Belt’s heavy, high‑sulfur grades. The shift matters because most U.S. refineries were designed decades ago to process heavier crude, creating immediate commercial demand. Analysts point to Venezuela’s estimated 303 billion barrels of proven reserves … Read more

Tyler Robinson Defense Moves to Disqualify Utah County Prosecutors

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Lead: Defense attorneys for 22-year-old Tyler Robinson are due in a Utah courtroom Friday to press a motion seeking to disqualify the entire Utah County Attorney’s Office from prosecuting the man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. The motion rests on an asserted conflict arising … Read more

ASAP Rocky Grew Up, Settled Down with Rihanna and Returned to Rap

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Lead: Rapper ASAP Rocky released his fourth studio album, Don’t Be Dumb, on Jan. 16, 2026, ending an eight-year gap since 2018’s Testing. The period between records included two criminal prosecutions, two Hollywood acting credits and the birth of three children with Rihanna. Leaks and unfinished tracks circulated widely online, but Rocky says he never … Read more

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Is ‘Game of Thrones’ for the Haters — NPR

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Lead: HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premiered Sunday, January 16, 2026, delivering a compact, six-episode adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas set in Westeros. The series follows a humble knight (Peter Claffey) and his squire (Dexter Sol Ansell) over a few days at a jousting tournament, trading the grand sweep … Read more

Horoscope for Friday, January 16, 2026 – Chicago Sun-Times

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Lead On Friday, January 16, 2026 (Chicago time) a short early-morning moon alert runs from 5:00 to 6:00 a.m.; avoid nonessential shopping and major choices during that hour. After the alert the moon shifts from Sagittarius into Capricorn, joining several inner planets and amplifying certain signs—especially Capricorn. Across the zodiac, themes today include money matters, … Read more

Global Credit Markets Hottest Since 2007, Managers Warn of Complacency

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Lead: On January 16, 2026, global credit markets recorded the tightest corporate-yield premiums in nearly two decades, prompting prominent money managers to caution investors. A Bloomberg index tracking bonds across currencies and ratings showed yield premiums narrowed to 103 basis points—the lowest level since June 2007—on a resilient economic backdrop. The move has drawn warnings … Read more