January 26, 2026

MIDDLE EAST | Updates from regional conflicts:

• Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels threatened yesterday to resume attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The renewed threats come as the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group is being moved into the region for what U.S. President Donald Trump has described as possible action against Iran "if needed." [more]
• Israeli officials announced today that the body of the last remaining hostage taken by Hamas in the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel has been retrieved from Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized the return of Master Sergeant Ran Gvili's body to Israel as "an extraordinary achievement." [more]
• Iraqi officials say their country, under a U.S.-brokered deal, will prosecute and try Islamic State militants transferred from prisons and detention camps in neighboring Syria to Iraq. [more]

UKRAINE | Today is day 1,430 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that a U.S. security guarantees agreement for Ukraine is "100% ready" and that a date for formal signing of the document is being discussed, after which the agreement would be considered for ratification by the U.S. Congress and Ukrainian parliament. [more]
• Following weekend trilateral talks on ending the Russia-Ukraine war, reports say talks involving Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. will resume in the United Arab Emirates on February 1. [more]

MINNESOTA | More than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies, including those of Target, Best Buy, and UnitedHealth, released an open letter yesterday calling for federal, state, and local officials to work together to address tensions and unrest amidst the ongoing federal immigration enforcement surge in the state. The letter was released a day after a second U.S. citizen, 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a Veterans Administration hospital intensive care nurse, was shot and killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis. Federal officials have defended the shooting and suggested that Pretti, who was legally carrying a handgun, was out to "massacre" federal agents – a contention widely condemned by state and local officials. A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments today in a case brought by Minnesota and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul that seeks to temporarily halt the immigration crackdown. [video of shooting] [more on CEOs] [more on Alex Pretti] [more on federal lawsuit]

U.S. WEATHER | More than 11,000 flights were cancelled at airports across the U.S. yesterday as a large portion of the country was affected by a major winter storm that put some 180 million people under various forms of winter weather advisories and warnings. More than 800,000 customers are estimated to be without power this morning, mostly across the southeastern and mid-Atlantic regions. [more]

CALIFORNIA | State officials in California sued the federal government Friday over Trump administration plans to allow Texas-based Sable Offshore Corp. to resume operation of two oil pipelines off the state's coast that were closed after one of them burst in 2015, spilling more than 140,000 gallons of oil into Southern California coastal waters. [more]

CANADA | Prime Minister Mark Carney said yesterday that Canada has no plans to pursue a free trade deal with China. The statement came after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on Canadian goods if Canada moved forward with a trade deal with China. Reports note that an agreement recently reached between China and Canada cut tariffs on goods from both countries in only a few sectors, including Chinese electric cars and Canadian canola oil, pork, and seafood. [more]

GLOBAL ECONOMY | Gold prices – already up about 18% this year – rose to a record $5,110.50 today amidst investments in the precious metal long-considered to be a safe haven insulted from international political tensions and economic uncertainty. Silver and platinum prices also showed strong gains today. [more]

E.U. AND RUSSIA | European Union countries today gave final approval to a ban on Russian gas imports by 2027. The measure approved by E.U. ministers in Brussels, which Hungary says it will challenge in court, will halt Russian liquefied natural gas imports by the end of 2026 and pipeline gas by September 30, 2027. [more]

INDONESIA | At least 17 people are dead, and about 80 others remain missing, following a landslide Saturday in Indonesia's West Java province that buried a temporary training camp for a 23-member military force and destroyed more than 30 homes. Reports say more than 2,000 personnel are involved in ongoing search and rescue operations at the site. [more]

MEXICO | According to local officials, yet-unidentified gunmen opened fire at a soccer field in the Guanajuato state city of Salamanca in central Mexico yesterday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 12 others. Mayor Cesar Prieto said the shooting was part of a recent crime wave in the region and asked President Claudia Sheinbaum for help to control the violence. [more]

PHILIPPINES | Judges at the International Criminal Court ruled today that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial on charges of crimes against humanity. Earlier hearings in the case against Duterte, 80, were postponed due to concerns over his health. [more]

SOCIAL MEDIA | The leaders of both France and Egypt called over the weekend for their countries to consider legislation restricting the use of social media platforms by children. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi suggested children's use of social media be restricted "until they reach an age when they can handle it properly," while French President Emmanuel Macron urged speedy passage of a measure that would ban social media use by children under the age of 15. [more]

FOOTBALL | The New England Patriots beat the Denver Broncos, 10-7, and the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 31-27, yesterday to win the AFC and NFC championships, respectively, and advance to Super Bowl 60, which will be played on February 8. [more]

WEEKEND MOVIES | "Mercy" topped the North American box office over the weekend with an estimated $11.2 million in receipts, followed by "Avatar: Fire and Ash" and "Zootopia 2." [more]

R.I.P. | Dr. William Foege, who was widely credited for devising the global public health strategy that led to the eradication of smallpox in the late 1970s, died Saturday at the age of 89. Foege served as the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1977 to 1983, after which he held numerous other international public health leadership positions. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1788, Arthur Phillip, who commanded a group of ships that sailed into what is now Sydney Cove, hoisted the British flag and established the first permanent European settlement on the continent of Australia. The landing is celebrated today as Australia Day.  [more history]