“Meta has started blocking its users from sharing links to ICE List, a website that has compiled the names of what it claims are Department of Homeland Security employees, a project the creators say is designed to hold those employees accountable. … As agents from Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which are under DHS, have continued to terrorize immigrant communities and kill US citizens, activists have sought to track and record their activity online in a bid to hold them accountable. But as well as threatening to prosecute those they claim are ‘doxing’ ICE agents, the Trump administration has pressured tech companies to block any efforts at crowdsourcing the location and activities of those agents.” (01/27/26)
“Relatives of two Trinidadian men the U.S. military apparently [murdered] in a boat strike filed a wrongful-death lawsuit on Tuesday, bringing the first legal challenge in an American court to President Trump’s policy of targeting vessels suspected of smuggling drugs at sea. The lawsuit was filed in Federal District Court in Boston by the mother of one of the men, Chad Joseph, and the sister of the other, Rishi Samaroo. It said they vanished after telling their families they were about to take a boat home from Venezuela in mid-October. Mr. Trump announced on Oct. 14 that the military had attacked such a boat and [murdered] six people. … The lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights, names the U.S. government as a defendant, rather than trying to hold any particular official accountable as an individual.” (01/27/26)
“The Apple and Google app stores have applications that generate images of women with their clothes removed with AI, a tech watchdog reported Tuesday. The Tech Transparency Project found 55 apps on Google Play and 47 on the Apple App Store that alter images of women to make them appear nude or partially nude. … These apps have been downloaded 705 million times and generated about $117 million in revenue, which Google and Apple receive a portion of. … Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok drew backlash earlier this month for following user prompts asking it to remove the clothes of children.” (01/27/26)
“On Tuesday, Iraq’s parliament postponed the presidential election session after failing to reach a quorum due to low attendance and ongoing disagreements among Kurdish parties. This delay increases uncertainty over forming a new federal government. The constitution requires at least 222 of 329 lawmakers to be present to elect a president. Only 85 attended, well below the threshold. Parliament Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi postponed the session, citing the lack of quorum and formal requests from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) for more time to negotiate a presidential agreement.” (01/27/26)
“Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has called upon President Donald Trump to fire Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In a Tuesday post on X, the Democratic senator from Pennsylvania accused Noem of ‘betraying’ the department’s central mission. Tagging the @POTUS and @realDonaldTrump accounts on X, Fetterman declared, ‘I make a direct appeal to immediately fire @Sec_Noem.’ ‘Americans have died. She is betraying DHS’s core mission and trashing your border security legacy. DO NOT make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary,’ the senator warned. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.” (01/27/26)
“Alex Vindman, who became a key player along with his twin brother in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, announced on Tuesday that he is running for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat in Florida. Vindman, an Army veteran, was serving on the National Security Council in 2019 when the Republican president pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden, then a Democratic candidate. He and his brother, Eugene, a lawyer on the National Security Council, reported their concerns and sparked investigations. Eugene Vindman now serves as a congressman from Virginia. If Alex Vindman clinches the Democratic nomination, he’ll challenge Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, a former state attorney general who was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Marco Rubio as he became secretary of state.” (01/27/26)
“Two Iranian-backed militias in the Mideast are signaling their willingness to launch new attacks, likely trying to back Iran, as officials acknowledged the arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier to the region Monday. President Donald Trump ordered the carriers to move to the Middle East as he threatened military action over its crackdown on nationwide protests. … the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other guided missile destroyers in its strike group arrived in the region to ‘promote regional security and stability,’ U.S. Central Command said Monday on social media.” (01/27/26)
“More than 47,000 hourly workers at General Motors Co. will get profit-sharing payments of $10,500 for 2025 as the automaker posted full-year earnings of $2.7 billion despite sliding to a $3.3 billion fourth-quarter loss, according to financial data released Tuesday. For every $1 billion GM makes in North America, the automaker’s hourly U.S. employees receive $1,000, according to the Detroit automaker’s agreement with the United Auto Workers. The company posted $12.7 billion in EBIT-adjusted earnings for the year. The payments are down compared to last year, when GM doled out record payouts of up to $14,500.” (01/27/26)
“Asian countries are on high alert after cases of the deadly Nipah virus were detected in West Bengal, India. The zoonotic virus can spread between animals and people, mostly fruit bats and pigs, with mild to severe symptoms from fevers to brain infection and death, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Five people have contracted the Nipah virus, the Thai government confirmed. … Countries in the region have been put on alert, with health officials implementing tracking and prevention rules similar to those implemented during the COVID pandemic.” (01/26/26)
“A French court Tuesday found a former senator guilty of drugging a woman lawmaker with ecstasy with intent to sexually assault her, and sentenced him to four years in prison, of which 18 months must be behind bars. The high-profile trial of former senator Joel Guerriau comes months after France was stunned by a case that saw Frenchman Dominique Pelicot jailed for 20 years for repeatedly drugging his then-wife so he and dozens of strangers could rape her. Guerriau, 68, has been on trial since Monday for allegedly using a synthetic drug known as MDMA or ecstasy to spike a glass of champagne that National Assembly MP Sandrine Josso was drinking in November 2023.” (01/27/26)
