“A colossal winter storm reached the US East Coast Sunday morning after dropping ice and snow across much of the nation, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power and causing a wave of flight cancellations that may last for days. New England may see up to 18 inches (0.46 meters) of snow through Monday, according to the US Weather Prediction Center, with up to a foot possible in New York City. Some of that snow may fall as sleet, leading to heavy icing on streets and roads. More than 750,000 homes and businesses across the US were without power as of 9 a.m. in New York. The majority are in Texas and Tennessee, where freezing rain has coated power lines and streets in a layer of ice.” (01/25/26)
“Iraq ’s dominant political bloc announced Saturday that it had nominated former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki as its candidate for prime minister. The announcement came after caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, whose bloc won the largest share of seats in November’s parliamentary elections, stepped aside earlier this month. That cleared the field for al-Maliki after the two had competed for the backing of the Coordination Framework, a collection of Shiite parties. Under Iraq’s constitution, a president is elected by the parliament, then names a prime minister, with the premier tasked with forming a new government.” (01/24/26)
“Canadian officials might ink a trade deal with China, and U.S. President Donald Trump said that would trigger a 100% tariff on [American buyers of] all Canadian goods sent to the United States. Trump announced the new tariffs would take effect immediately if Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney turns Canada into a conduit for Chinese-made goods intended for the United States. … Carney met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week and made a deal to lower some of the tariffs imposed by one another on some of their trade goods. China will lower its tariffs on Canadian agricultural products, while Canada will lower its tariff on up to 49,000 electric vehicles that are made in China. The Canadian government in 2024 placed tariffs on Chinese vehicles in 2024 in a coordinated effort with the United States.” (01/24/26)
“Alex Honnold has done it again. The 40-year-old climber and dad of two successfully climbed Taiwan’s Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world, without any ropes or harnesses on Sunday, Jan. 25 (or Saturday, Jan. 24 in America) — and the event aired live on Netflix. The free solo special, Skyscraper Live, was originally scheduled to take place on Friday, Jan. 23, but weather prompted the streamer to postpone the event by 24 hours. … Honnold has been climbing for about 30 years. He was previously featured in the Oscar-winning 2018 documentary Free Solo, which chronicled his successful 2017 attempt to become the first person to summit El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without safety ropes.” (01/24/26)
“Kris Mayes, Arizona Attorney General (AG) and a Democrat, noted that residents might legally defend themselves against masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents by shooting them if they feel their lives are at risk, citing the state’s self-defence statutes. … ‘you have these masked federal officers with very little identification, sometimes no identification, wearing plain clothes and mask’ …. ‘And we have a Stand Your Ground law that says that if you reasonably believe that your life is in danger and you’re in your house or your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force’ …. During the interview, the anchor expressed shock at Mayes’[s] statements, warning that they could be seen as giving residents a ‘licence’ to shoot federal agents. Mayes responded that she was simply noting a ‘fact’ rather than promoting violence.” (01/23/26)
“A South African court on Friday dismissed an appeal by the country’s heritage body to prevent the sale and export of memorabilia belonging to the anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela. The items are in the hands of Mr. Mandela’s eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, and Christo Brand, a warden who worked at Robben Island while he was incarcerated there. The collection includes a Mandela coin from the U.S. Mint and gifts from former U.S. presidents, including a blanket from President Barack Obama, a champagne cooler from President Bill Clinton and a pen from President George W. Bush. … The Supreme Court of Appeal, with four of the five judges concurring, ruled that the state had failed to prove the items were protected under the heritage act.” (01/24/26)
“Microsoft issued another out-of-band update to fix a bug that caused Outlook to crash for Windows 11 users. This second emergency patch addresses issues seen with Outlook and files stored in the cloud following Microsoft’s January 2026 Windows security update. According to Microsoft, this update fixes a bug where some apps that ‘open or save files stored in cloud-backed locations’ became unresponsive or displayed error messages. Some users also experienced Outlook crashing or not opening when PST files are stored in cloud-based options like OneDrive.” (01/25/26)
“Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) is terminating her reelection campaign after months of speculation that she would retire from Congress rather than seek reelection, according to a new campaign filing. The 88-year-old non-voting delegate has been subject to an intense pressure campaign from both colleagues in Congress and allies in Washington, D.C., to step down. She has repeatedly maintained over the last year that she is running for reelection despite her age and concerns about her cognitive state, with her office initially walking those statements back. … Norton’s principal campaign committee, Citizens for Eleanor Holmes Norton, filed a termination report with the Federal Election Commission on Sunday.” (01/25/26)
“President Donald Trump said the U.S. used a secret weapon he called ‘The Discombobulator’ to disable Venezuelan equipment when the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro. Trump also renewed his threat to conduct military strikes on land against drug cartels, including in Mexico. Trump made the comments in an interview Friday with the New York Post. The Republican president was commenting on reports that the U.S. had a pulsed energy weapon and said, ‘The Discombobulator. I’m not allowed to talk about it.’ He said the weapon made Venezuelan equipment ‘not work.'” (01/25/26)
“Colorado Bureau of Investigation officials on Friday confirmed the 2005 death of renowned author and journalist Hunter S. Thompson was a result of suicide, almost six months after the state started reviewing the case by request of the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office. State investigators started reviewing the case after Thompson’s widow, Anita, reached out to Sheriff Michael Buglione with concerns about her late husband’s death at their home, Owl Farm, in Woody Creek on Feb. 20, 2005. … Hunter S. Thompson was 67 years old when he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home near Aspen. Friends and family said he experienced suicidal ideation and had instructed them on what to do with his body.” (01/23/26)
