Source: ABC News
“Farmers drove about a hundred tractors into Paris on Thursday morning to protest the European Union intention to move forward with a free trade deal with five South American nations, the French Interior Ministry said. French farmers for years has denounced the trade deal with the Mercosur nations of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay, arguing that the deal would hurt French farmers’ livelihoods. Thursday’s protest was staged by the Rural Coordination union to put further pressure on France’s government, which has opposed the deal.” (01/08/26)
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/french-farmers-force-paris-tractors-protest-free-trade-129010284
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Is the Chiefs Move to Kansas Really a Done Deal?” (01/07/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/budget-and-spending/is-the-chiefs-move-to-kansas-really-a-done-deal/
Source: Persuasion
by anonymous
“Over the past few decades, Iranians’ protests against the Islamic Republic have become a regular sight—bursts of defiance that light up the streets, fill the air with hope, and then fade away only to become a fire beneath ashes. Each protest seems bigger, braver, and more hopeful. Yet each time, the system endures. Still, hope doesn’t die. You can hear it in every conversation and encrypted message coming out of Iran: people still believe change is possible.” (01/07/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/heres-why-the-iranian-regime-seems
Source: SFGate
“Venezuela will release ‘a significant number’ of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country, the head of Venezuela’s national assembly said Thursday. Jorge Rodríguez, brother of acting President Delcy Rodríguez, did not specify who they would be releasing or how many people would be released. Despite mass detentions following the tumultuous 2024 election, Venezuela’s government maintains it doesn’t keep political prisoners. The U.S. government and the country’s opposition have demanded the release of opposition figures and critics. ‘Consider this gesture by the Bolivarian government, which is broadly intended to seek peace,’ Rodríguez said in an announcement publicized over TV.” (01/08/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/venezuela-to-release-a-significant-number-of-21283889.php
Source: The Atlantic
“Trump Has No Plan for Venezuela.” (01/07/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/01/david-frum-show-david-rothkopf-venezuela/685534/
Source: Liberal Currents
by Adam Gurri
“This morning, DHS posted ‘GOOD MORNING MINNEAPOLIS!’ on X, relishing their own power to bring fear down on an American city. Mere hours later, a masked agent of the state murdered a US citizen while she was attempting to drive away. DHS quickly spun the killing as self defense, but a plethora of videos and even more witnesses made that lie obvious immediately. … She was turning her car to leave and the agent, in no danger at all, shoots straight into her open window. This tragedy, this crime, is only to be expected from an administration that has always believed itself entitled to not just govern, but to rule over a free people. An administration that rejects professionalism and has sought to scale up what was already the least professionalized federal agency to act as a personal enforcer for the President.” (01/07/26)
https://archive.is/CdPyk
Source: In These Times
by Anjana Susarla
“President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Dec. 11, 2025, that aims to supersede state-level artificial intelligence laws that the administration views as a hindrance to innovation in AI. State laws regulating AI are increasing in number, particularly in response to the rise of generative AI systems such as ChatGPT that produce text and images. Thirty-eight states enacted laws in 2025 regulating AI in one way or another. They range from prohibiting stalking via AI-powered robots to barring AI systems that can manipulate people’s behavior. The executive order declares that it is the policy of the United States to produce a ‘minimally burdensome’ national framework for AI.” (01/07/25)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/open-ai-serious-risks-trump-executive-order-state-regulation-of-artification-intelligence
Source: Axios
“President Trump on Wednesday announced plans to withdraw the U.S. from dozens of global organizations, including the United Nations climate change agencies. It’s among the biggest and most extreme steps this administration has taken to retreat from the global stage and pull back foreign spending. Legal experts immediately questioned whether Trump’s move is legal, though the existence of laws haven’t stopped other moves of his. … Trump’s memoranda to executive departments and agencies said that after consulting with his Cabinet, he ‘determined that it is contrary to the interests of the United States to remain a member of, participate in, or otherwise provide support to’ the organizations.” (01/07/26)
https://archive.is/p73Eq
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Raising The Stakes: US Seizes RUSSIA-Flagged Tanker!” (01/07/26)
https://rumble.com/v74042u-raising-the-stakes-us-seizes-russia-flagged-tanker.html
Source: The Findings Substack
by Paul Rosenberg
“If social media is to become the new smoking – and it is already to a significant degree – those of us who speak against it are playing the same role as the health nuts of the 1960s. I think we should accept this role. More still, I think we should embrace it and be proud of it. The health nuts were right, after all, and the places where smoking has vanished are very much the better for it.” (01/07/26)
https://thefindings.substack.com/p/social-media-is-the-new-smoking-and
