“NASA began a two-day practice countdown Saturday leading up to the fueling of its new moon rocket, a crucial test that will determine when four astronauts blast off on a lunar flyby. Already in quarantine to avoid germs, Commander Reid Wiseman and his crew will be the first people to launch to the moon since 1972. They will monitor the dress rehearsal from their Houston base before flying to Kennedy Space Center once the rocket is cleared for flight. The 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket moved out to the pad two weeks ago. If Monday’s fueling test goes well, NASA could try to launch within a week. Teams will fill the rocket’s tank with more than 700,000 gallons of super-cold fuel, stopping a half-minute short of when the engines would light. A bitter cold spell delayed the fueling demo, and the launch, by two days. Feb. 8 is now the earliest the rocket could blast off.” (02/01/25)
“Uganda’s army chief accused U.S. Embassy officials of helping opposition leader Bobi Wine as he went into hiding, in an escalation of political tensions that have alarmed Ugandans days after a disputed presidential election. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, President Yoweri Museveni’s son and presumptive heir, wrote on X that ‘unimaginative bureaucrats at the Embassy’ for years have ‘undermined security ties between Uganda and Washington. Citing intelligence in X posts that he has since deleted, Kainerugaba said on Friday that Wine ‘kidnapped himself and is missing’ while ‘in coordination with the current administration at the U.S. Embassy in our country.’ The U.S. Embassy didn’t comment.” (01/30/26)
It’s a FIREHOSE FRIDAY at the freedom movement’s daily newspaper. We’ve got nearly 120 news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links (too many for a standard email edition) lined up for you here at our web edition:
But wait … now that most or all of our daily editions are “hybrid” editions with some content in email and some only on the web, why have these web-only days?
Two reasons, one of them specific to this week.
The reason specific to this week is that Steve has been out of action the last few days due to the winter storm weather taking out his power and Internet. Which means that I’ve been busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest, so I decided today to focus entirely on “lots of content” rather than spending any time on “email formatting.”
The general reason is that, outside of our annual year-end fundraiser, I limit my mentions of money to the occasional reminder — usually on “web-only” days — that we’re a reader-supported publication and that you’re a reader. Please consider a one-time donation or, better yet, become a “subscribing contributor” for as little as $1 per month! Here’s the info on that:
Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous weekend — and stay warm (even here in north central Florida, we’re expecting temperatures below 20 degrees fahrenheit this weekend)! We’ll be back with the regular email / social media editions on Monday.
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
“Civil society groups and celebrities are calling for a general strike or ‘National Shutdown Day’ across the US on Friday, 30 January, to protest the government’s hardline immigration crackdown. In cities and towns across the country, people will not be going out to school, work or shopping to show solidarity with residents in Minnesota, where earlier this month Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents [murdered] two local protesters. … Some of the main organisers of Friday’s general strike are student unions and labour activists from the University of Minnesota, who advocated a similar statewide action on 23 January, the previous Friday. This time, the shutdown is set to be nationwide, with hundreds of endorsements from local, state and national organisations, and with some major names showing their support.” [editor’s note: Nice sentiment, but I don’t expect it to be the big deal it should be – TLK] (01/29/26)
“US President Donald Trump says Russia’s Vladimir Putin has agreed not to attack Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and other parts of the country for a week due to ‘extraordinary cold’ weather. Russia has not confirmed an agreement, but Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the move. While Trump did not specify when the pause would begin, overnight into Friday air raid alerts went off in just four Ukrainian regions that are close to the frontline. Temperatures in Kyiv were due to plummet from Thursday, reaching -24C (-11F) over the next few days. In recent weeks, Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as it has during cold periods since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.” (01/30/26)
“A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting Sonya Massey, who had dialed 911 to report a possible prowler outside her Springfield home. Sean Grayson, 31, was convicted in October. Grayson, who is white, received the maximum possible sentence. He has been incarcerated since he was charged in the killing. … Grayson was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, which could have led to a life sentence, but a jury convicted him of the lesser charge. Illinois allows for a second-degree murder conviction if evidence shows the defendant honestly thought he was in danger, even if that fear was unreasonable.” (01/29/26)
“The Senate’s race to avert a shutdown hit the skids late Thursday night as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) placed a hold on the government funding package, forcing leaders to punt the vote. Senators had been hoping to vote on the so-called minibus after leaders struck a deal earlier in the day and President Trump endorsed it. Under the agreement, the Senate was set to vote on a package of five full-year funding bills and a stopgap measure funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for two weeks. But as lawmakers awaited word on the vote late Thursday, a fired-up Graham emerged from Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s (R-S.D.) office and declared, ‘We’re not voting tonight.’ Graham pointed to language in the bill that would repeal a provision allowing senators to sue if their phone records were collected as part of former special counsel Jack Smith’s probe.” (01/29/26)
“The nation’s trade deficit rose by 94.6% in November after posting the lowest imbalance in years a month earlier, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday. The trade deficit’s sharp rise occurred despite tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and after the nation posted its lowest trade deficit since the first quarter of 2009, CNBC reported. The United States exported $292.1 billion in goods and services in November, which was $10.9 billion and 3.6% less than in October, according to the Census Bureau report. … The United States imported $86.9 billion more goods than it exported in November, but that sum was offset by exporting $30.1 billion more in services than the nation imported, for a total deficit of $56.8 billion.” (01/29/26)
“American Airlines announced on Thursday that it intends to restart daily flights to Venezuela for the first time since 2019, pending government approval and subject to security review. This comes weeks after US forces [abducted] former president Nicolas Maduro during Operation Absolute Resolve. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump directed the Transportation Department to lift the current limitations that bar US flights following a conversation with Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez, according to Reuters.” (01/29/26)
“Canada, facing U.S. tariffs that threaten its auto industry, announced on Thursday an agreement with South Korea to explore establishing a Korean automotive footprint in the country. Though scant on details, the accord was another move by Prime Minister Mark Carney to diversify Canada’s trade away from the United States in response to Mr. Trump’s volley of tariffs. The agreement also fits with Mr. Carney’s widely hailed call at the World Economic Forum last week for middle power nations to band together after what he characterized as an irreversible ‘rupture’ to the world order by Mr. Trump’s aggressive economic and diplomatic policies.” (01/29/26)
