“At least 14 journalists and media employees, including 13 members of international media organisations, were [abducted] in Caracas on Monday, according to the union representing Venezuelan reporters. Thirteen of those [abducted] were later released, one of whom was deported. … Five of the [abducted] journalists had been covering the opening session of the National Assembly, where they were banned from recording, transmitting the event live, or taking photos. Others were [abducted] by military intelligence officers and taken to the National Guard command post in the Assembly building, according to the union. Their phones were confiscated and thoroughly searched, the union said, including contacts, conversations, voice notes, Instagram accounts, emails, and documents.” (01/06/26)
“The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced on Jan. 5 that its board voted to dissolve the nearly 60-year-old organization, attributing the decision to a lack of federal funding and ‘sustained political attacks.’ Such factors ‘made it impossible for CPB to continue operating as the Public Broadcasting Act intended,’ according to a news release announcing the vote. … Congress voted in July to claw back $1.1 billion that had been earmarked for public broadcasting over the next two years, prompting the corporation to announce the following month that it was starting an ‘orderly wind-down of its operations.'” (01/05/26)
“Israel’s air force struck areas in southern and eastern Lebanon on Monday and early Tuesday, including in the country’s third-largest city. A strike around 1 a.m. Tuesday leveled a three-story commercial building in the southern coastal city of Sidon, a few days before Lebanon’s army commander is scheduled to brief the government on its mission of disarming militant group Hezbollah in areas along the border with Israel. … On Monday, the Israeli army hit several sites in southern and eastern Lebanon saying they held infrastructure for the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas.” (01/05/26)
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved on Monday to demote Sen. Mark Kelly’s (D-Ariz.) military rank over his participation in a recent video with five other Democrats, in which they reminded U.S. service members that they [must] refuse illegal orders from higher-ups [including shitbirds like Hegseth]. Hegseth said in a statement that the Pentagon has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings, also called officer grade determinations, with ‘reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay.’ The Pentagon chief also said he issued a formal letter of censure, which ‘outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kelly’s reckless misconduct.'” (01/05/26)
“The sound of clanking leg shackles could be heard moments before Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro walked into the door of a New York City courtroom for the first time. He then told packed rows of reporters and the public that he had just been ‘kidnapped.’ Minutes after his entrance, the Judge Alvin Hellerstein asked Maduro to confirm his identity so the proceedings could start. ‘I am, sir, Nicolás Maduro. I am president of the Republic of Venezuela and I am here kidnapped since January 3rd,’ he told the court in a calm Spanish before an interpreter translated for the court. … The 92-year-old judge quickly interjected to tell Maduro that there would be a ‘time and a place to get into all of this.'” (01/05/26)
“The Trump administration has added seven countries, including five in Africa, to the list of nations whose passport holders are required to post bonds of up to $15,000 to apply to enter the United States. Thirteen countries, all but two of them in Africa, are now on the list, which makes the process of obtaining a U.S. visa unaffordable for many. The State Department last week quietly added Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Turkmenistan to the list. Those designations took effect on Jan. 1, according to a notice posted on the travel.state.gov website. It’s the latest effort by the Trump administration to tighten requirements for entry to the U.S., including requiring citizens from all countries that require visas to sit for in-person interviews and disclose years of social media histories as well as detailed accounts of their and their families’ previous travel and living arrangements.” (01/05/26)
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reducing the number of vaccines it recommends for children, officials said Monday, a major shift that officials say will bring the U.S. recommendations more similar to those of other developed countries. The move, which is effective immediately, fulfills a longtime goal of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other vaccine skeptics who have questioned the number and benefit of the vaccines children receive. The CDC will now recommend children receive 11 vaccines, rather than the current list of 17, putting it line with the much smaller country of Denmark.” [editor’s note: Right direction, for which RFK/MAHA deserve at least a golf clap – TLK] (01/05/26)
“Google has announced that Gmail will discontinue support for two key features regarding third-party email accounts. Starting in January 2026, the platform will drop support for ‘Gmailify’ and the widely utilized ‘Check mail from other accounts’ feature via POP3 fetching. For over a decade, power users have relied on Gmail not just as an email service, but as a central hub for managing diverse email identities. This upcoming update effectively marks the end of Gmail acting as a web-based email client for external POP3 accounts. The deprecation of Gmailify represents a loss of functionality for users who linked Yahoo, Outlook, or other IMAP accounts to get the ‘Google treatment.’ Gmailify bridged the gap between providers, applying Google’s advanced algorithms to third-party inboxes.” (01/05/26)
“The nation’s health department starting Monday can resume sharing the personal data of certain Medicaid enrollees with deportation officials, according to a federal judge’s ruling, in a blow to states that had sued the administration over privacy concerns. But the judge’s decision, issued last Monday, strictly limits the scope of data from the 22 plaintiff states that can be shared — for now only allowing the agency to hand over basic biographical information about immigrants residing in the United States illegally [sic]. The states’ lawsuit came after an Associated Press report identified the data sharing policy. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco comes after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it planned to share the data again as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.” (01/05/26)
“The first pill version of the blockbuster GLP-1 weight loss drugs has been launched in the US by Novo Nordisk at a lower cost than jab varieties, accelerating a price war in the sector. The Danish pharmaceutical company said on Monday that its once-a-day Wegovy pill, which received approval from the US regulator just before Christmas, was now available in the country. … the highest doses cost $299 a month. Patients with insurance pay from $25 a month. Matt Weston, a pharmaceutical analyst at UBS, said the price was lower than expected. US list prices for weight-loss jabs are about $1,000 a month or more, although Novo Nordisk started selling its Wegovy injection at $349 a month to cash payers in November.” (01/05/26)
