January 14, 2026

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says at least 2,571 people have been killed in the Iranian government's crackdown on ongoing nationwide protests, while the head of the country's judiciary suggested today that speedy trials and executions are expected for some of the thousands arrested during demonstrations. [more]
• Reuters cites an unnamed senior Iranian official as saying Iran has told neighboring countries that host U.S. troops, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, that it will target American bases if the U.S. acts militarily to intervene on behalf of protesters. [more]
• Reports say Hamas and its rival Fatah militant group have both endorsed a list of proposed members of the technocratic body that will govern Gaza during a transitional period, as called for in the Israel-Hamas peace deal, and that U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce details of the body's membership today. [more]

U.S. WAR POWERS | The Senate is scheduled to vote today on a measure that would limit President Donald Trump's authority to carry out additional military action against Venezuela. Five Republican Senators joined Democrats in voting to advance the measure last week but have faced pressure from the White House to vote against final passage. [more]

MINNESOTA | Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said yesterday that, in the view of the Justice Department, there is "currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation" in connection with the fatal shooting of 37-year-old U.S. citizen Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis last week. Blanche's statement came as multiple federal prosecutors in Minnesota and several in the criminal section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division resigned after being told there would be no civil rights investigation into the shooting. [more]

U.S. FEDERAL FUNDING | Speaking before the Detroit Economic Club yesterday, President Donald Trump said he intends to cut funding to states that are home to so-called sanctuary cities starting February 1 but did not specify what types of funding would be targeted or their amounts. Reports note that at least two previous administration efforts to cut off funding to the cities themselves over their non-cooperation with federal immigration enforcement actions were blocked by federal courts. [more]

U.S. MEASLES | Health authorities in South Carolina say 124 new cases of measles have been confirmed in the state since late last week in an outbreak centered in Spartanburg County that has grown to include a total of more than 400 people. A separate ongoing outbreak of the disease along the Arizona-Utah border includes at least 418 infections. [more]

U.S. EPSTEIN INVESTIGATION | In a letter released on social media yesterday, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said they will refuse to comply with a congressional subpoena to testify in the House Oversight Committee's investigation of late financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein even as Republican lawmakers prepare contempt of Congress proceedings against them. [more]

U.S., DENMARK, AND GREENLAND | U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are scheduled to meet with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart today in Washington amidst the Trump administration's continuing insistence that the U.S. should control Denmark's semi-autonomous territory of Greenland and its refusal to rule out taking the island by force. [more]

GLOBAL RISKS | The World Economic Forum released the results of its latest annual risks perception survey today and says economic confrontation has replaced armed conflict as the number one current concern of some 1,300 experts surveyed worldwide. The survey found respondents greatest concerns for the next two-year period are economic confrontation, misinformation and disinformation, and societal polarization, while the 10-year outlook was topped by the issues of extreme weather events, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, and critical changes to Earth's systems. [key finding] [full report] [more]

CHINESE ECONOMY | According to data released today by China's customs administration, Chinese exports to the U.S. fell about 20% in 2025, but the country's overall trade surplus rose 5.5% last year to a record high of about $1.2 trillion as increased exports to other countries more than made up for decreased shipments to the United States. [more]

THAILAND | Officials in Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province say at least 29 people were killed, and another 64 were injured, today when a moving passenger train derailed after being struck by a construction crane that had collapsed. [more]

U.K. | The British government confirmed a relaxation of its plans for mandatory digital identification cards today, saying it would not require citizens and residents to show a digital ID card in order to work in the U.K. – a policy that Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in September of last year. [more]

UGANDA | Ahead of tomorrow's presidential election in the African nation, reports from Uganda say the government of President Yoweri Museveni, who has held power since 1986, has directed internet service providers to temporarily suspend the general public’s access to the internet and ordered the deployment of security forces to disperse crowds of what Museveni has called "the criminal opposition." The Uganda Communications Commission, which as recently as last week said rumors of cuts to internet access were "false, misleading, and intended to cause unnecessary fear and tension," said yesterday that the connectivity suspension was necessary to prevent "online misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud, and related risks." [more]

JAPAN | The government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says she plans to dissolve Japan's parliament next week and call for snap parliamentary elections as early as February 8 as part of efforts to seek a public mandate for Takaichi's policies. [more]

ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY | Reports say Netflix is preparing to make an all-cash offer for Warner Bros Discovery's studios ‌and streaming businesses as part of efforts to make its initial $82.7 billion offer consisting of cash and stock more appealing. [more]

FOOTBALL | Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced his resignation yesterday, ending his 19 seasons leading the NFL team – the longest-ever tenure for a head coach in major American professional sports. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1784, the United States ratified the Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War and having its independence recognized by Great Britain, which formally signed the treaty in April of that year.  [more history]