“Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the U.S. is ending Temporary Protected Status for Somali nationals and set a March 17 deadline for them to leave the country. The move came without an official announcement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or a notice in the Federal Register on Tuesday morning, with the latter generally required to officially terminate TPS. DHS later confirmed the decision to Newsweek but did not provide further background.” (01/13/26)
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth censured Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain, last week for truthfully instructing service members in November that they ‘can refuse illegal orders.’ If anything, Kelly — who on Monday sued Hegseth for violating his First and Fifth Amendment rights –put the matter too mildly: Troops must disobey — and also report — illegal orders. … Last week, in the wake of the U.S. military’s capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump spoke generally of his desire to obtain Greenland, while deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller and press secretary Karoline Leavitt explicitly raised the possibility of the United States seizing territory belonging to our ally Denmark by force. Such orders are precisely the kind that our military must refuse to obey.” (01/13/26)
“The recent removal of Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela’s presidency is a dramatic development after more than two decades of socialist experimentation under Hugo Chávez and Maduro, characterized by expropriation, macroeconomic mismanagement, and political repression. Although there is much uncertainty about the economic and political future of Venezuela, economics can offer some guidance — and warnings. One such lesson has to do with the dangerous temptation to base economic recovery solely on the oil sector. Venezuela’s prospects depend critically on the quality of its institutional and policy choices from now on.” (01/13/26)
“An independent counsel on Tuesday demanded the death sentence for former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on rebellion charges in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024. Yoon, who was removed from office last April and is in jail, faces eight trials over various criminal charges related to his martial law debacle and other scandals related to his time in office. Charges that he directed a rebellion are the most significant ones. Independent counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team requested the Seoul Central District Court to sentence Yoon to death, according to the court, which is expected to deliver a verdict in February. Experts say the court will likely sentence Yoon to life in prison. South Korea hasn’t executed anyone since 1997, and local courts rarely issue the death penalty in recent years.” (01/13/26)
“Plenty of people think U.S. President Donald Trump’s verbal shots at the central bank, complete with name-calling aimed at Powell, amount to pressure on the Fed’s independence. According to a Fox Business report, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said Trump’s plan was to ‘install another sock puppet to complete his corrupt takeover of America’s central bank.’ Still, some voices are cutting through the noise, arguing that the idea of an independent U.S. Federal Reserve is merely fiction.” (01/13/26)
“The Grateful Dead was supremely American. No other nation on earth could have produced music like this, a synthesis of blues, R&B, country, folk, rock, even a little jazz. Nowhere else would a band origin story be the following: The 16-year-old Weir and friends were bumming around Palo Alto on New Year’s Eve 1963, heard the sound of a banjo, and followed it to a music store where they happened upon Jerry Garcia waiting for his banjo students to show up. They never did, so Bobby and his friends picked up some instruments and played jug music with Jerry into the night. It was so much fun, Jerry and Bobby decided to form a band called Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, which became the Warlocks, and then the Grateful Dead. Find that in Japan — find it in England.” (01/13/26)
“A Republican congressman from Florida introduced a bill on Monday to annex Greenland and make it the 51st US state as President Donald Trump threatens to seize the autonomous Danish territory. Trump has said the United States will take Greenland ‘one way or the other,’ floating the idea of buying the territory or taking it by force, despite strong pushback from Denmark, a Nato ally. Representative Randy Fine said his new legislation would authorise Trump ‘to take whatever steps necessary to annex or acquire Greenland.'” (01/13/26)
