Top Items:
Reuters:
Grok says safeguard lapses led to images of ‘minors in minimal clothing’ on X — Elon Musk's xAI artificial intelligence chatbot Grok said on Friday lapses in safeguards had resulted in “images depicting minors in minimal clothing” on social media platform X and that improvements were being made to prevent this.
Discussion:
Futurism, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, The Verge, TMZ.com, The Hill, New York Post, Mashable, TechCrunch, CBS News, The New World and Metro.co.uk, more at Techmeme »
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Parker Molloy / The Present Age:
Grok Can't Apologize. Grok Isn't Sentient. So Why Do Headlines Keep Saying It Did? — Over the past week, users on X discovered something horrifying: strangers were replying to women's photos and asking Grok, the platform's built-in AI chatbot, to “remove her clothes” or “put her in a bikini.”
Discussion:
CNBC and Straight Arrow News, more at Techmeme »
Kat Tenbarge / Spitfire News:
How Grok's sexual abuse hit a tipping point — Nonconsensual deepfakes on X are nothing new, but now it's built into the platform. — To start the new year off, Elon Musk's X has yet again become a conduit for sexual violence, sparking another wave of backlash.
Discussion:
Politico, Axios, Defector, Joe.My.God. and New Republic
Reuters:
Trump threatens Iran over protest crackdown as deadly unrest flares — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to come to the aid of protesters in Iran if security forces fired on them, days into unrest that has left several dead and posed the biggest internal threat to Iranian authorities in years.
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NBC News:
Trump says U.S. will intervene if Iran kills peaceful protesters as economic unrest spreads — “We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” the president said in a post on Truth Social early Friday, after economic protests in the Islamic Republic took a sharply violent turn. — Add NBC News to Google
Discussion:
The Hill, The National, Al Jazeera, NewsMax.com, The Daily Caller, MS NOW, France 24, Metro.co.uk, Reuters and UPI
Jon Gambrell / Associated Press:
Trump and top Iranian officials exchange threats over protests roiling Iran
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Trump threatens military force if Iran kills protesters
Trump threatens military force if Iran kills protesters
Discussion:
Mediaite, Politico, NewsMax.com, Dallas Express, The Western Journal, Mondoweiss, RedState, Agence France-Presse, ABC News, Washington Times, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, Matzav.com, The Hill, Not the Bee, Washington Examiner, teleSUR English, CBS News, New Republic and The American Conservative
April Roach / CNBC:
Trump says U.S. will intervene if Iran ‘violently kills’ protestors
Trump says U.S. will intervene if Iran ‘violently kills’ protestors
Discussion:
The Guardian, Jewish Insider, Blaze Media and The Independent
Jack Ewing / New York Times:
Tesla Car Sales Dropped 9% in 2025, Falling Behind China's BYD — As the largest maker of electric vehicles in the United States, Tesla suffered more than other carmakers from the elimination of federal incentives. — Tesla has lost its status as the world's biggest seller of electric vehicles …
Discussion:
CNBC, Associated Press, The Hill, FOX 7 Austin, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Examiner, Wired, Metro.co.uk, Fortune, Joe.My.God., The Daily Caller and Semafor
RELATED:
Nathan Bomey / Axios:
Tesla sales hit lowest point since 2022 after Musk backlash and end of tax credit — Tesla vehicle sales declined for a second consecutive year in 2025, hitting their lowest point since 2022. — The results mean that Chinese automaker BYD sold more EVs in 2025 than Tesla …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Deseret News, UPI, The Verge, New York Post, NewsMax.com, TechCrunch, One America News Network, CBS News, Business Insider, CNBC and Breitbart
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
A Diminished Congress Weighs Whether to Reassert Its Power … Congress learned some hard lessons about the limits of its power during the first year of the second Trump administration, when Republican leaders in both chambers largely declined to check a president unconstrained by law or custom.
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Matthew Purdy / New York Times:
After Watergate, the Presidency Was Tamed. Trump Is Unleashing It.
Discussion:
Sky Dancing and Raw Story
New York Times:
The Full Transcript of Zohran Mamdani's Inauguration Speech — New York's new mayor challenged his supporters and his opponents to make the city better, and to hold him to account. — The following is a transcript of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's remarks at his inauguration, as recorded by The New York Times.
Discussion:
The Nation, Reason, RNS, The Western Journal, PJ Media, Semafor, The Singju Post, New Jersey Online and Washington Post
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Pamela Herd / Can We Still Govern?:
Understanding Mamdani's Vision
Discussion:
CNN and New York Times
Joe Anuta / Politico:
The Mamdani era begins
The Mamdani era begins
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Times, NewsMax.com, USA Today, Newsweek, Breitbart, New York Daily News, MS NOW and El País
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
The blame for alleged fraud in Minnesota belongs to conservatives — 🆕 🕛 PN 2026 SPECIAL 🆕 🕛 Click the button below to sign up for an annual paid subscription for the special price of $40 ⬇️ — The internet is currently awash in right-wing propaganda …
Discussion:
CBS News, The Independent, Wonkette and The Gateway Pundit
Tom Phillips / The Guardian:
Maduro urges Trump to abandon ‘illegal warmongering’ and start ‘serious talks’ — Venezuelan president warns of a ‘forever war’ similar to Iraq after US counterpart claims first land strike on dock — The Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, has urged Donald Trump to abandon his …
Discussion:
CBS News, Reuters, NewsMax.com, New York Sun, Breitbart, The National Pulse, The Daily Caller, San Diego Union-Tribune and Semafor
RELATED:
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Maduro says US ‘invented’ accusations of Venezuelan drug trafficking amid Trump pressure campaign
Maduro says US ‘invented’ accusations of Venezuelan drug trafficking amid Trump pressure campaign
Discussion:
teleSUR English, UPI, Fox News, Ace of Spades HQ, Axios, HotAir, New York Post and Washington Examiner
US Department of Justice:
FBI Disrupts Alleged New Year's Eve Attack, Man Charged with Attempting to Provide Material Support to ISIS — For Immediate Release — Today, the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina announced that a Mint Hill …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Fox News, Washington Examiner, Straight Arrow News, Washington Post, Metro.co.uk, The National Pulse, WSOC-TV, Dallas Express, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Breitbart, UPI, Al Jazeera, Wall Street Journal, WUSA, The Western Journal, NewsNation, IJR, Joe.My.God., One America News Network, The Post Millennial, New York Post, Daily Mail and Grabien
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Adrian Carrasquillo / The Bulwark:
Scoop: ICE Plans to Descend on Phoenix — ALTHOUGH DONALD TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION AGENDA is becoming less and less popular with voters, the president has shown no interest in slowing it down or scaling it back in the new year. — In fact, the federal crackdown is likely to only grow in scope and intensity, as Reuters reported.
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
Max Rego / The Hill:
Ex-Cheney physician says Trump aspirin regimen ‘makes no sense’ — Dr. Jonathan Reiner, cardiologist to the late former Vice President Dick Cheney, dismissed President Trump's aspirin regimen Thursday. — The president told the Wall Street Journal that he takes a larger dose of the pain reliever …
Discussion:
CNN, Axios, Fox News, New Jersey Online, The New World, The Independent, Raw Story, New York Post, IJR and NewsNation
RELATED:
Nate Raymond / Reuters:
California ban on openly carrying guns is unconstitutional, court rules — A U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled that California's ban on openly carrying firearms in most parts of the state was unconstitutional. — A panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided 2-1 …
Discussion:
Reason and The Daily Wire
Nicholas Wu / Politico:
‘Mighty mad’: Democrats prepare to harness public anger over expired Obamacare subsidies … “The public now gets that the subsidies are what's keeping health care costs down,” said Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.). “I think the public's angry. So I think they will blame the party in charge.”
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Townhall, Raw Story, Blue Virginia, Associated Press and NewsNation
RELATED:
Alex Ellerbeck / New York Times:
A.C.A. Subsidies Have Expired. How Are You Affording Health Care?
A.C.A. Subsidies Have Expired. How Are You Affording Health Care?
Discussion:
Scripps News, El País, NPR, Straight Arrow News, UPI, Newsweek, Raw Story, Salty Politics … and MS NOW
Filip Timotija / The Hill:
SBA says it has suspended ‘6,900 Minnesota borrowers’ over suspected fraud — Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler said Thursday night that her agency has suspended “6,900 Minnesota borrowers” over suspected fraudulent activity regarding COVID-era lending programs.
Mark Hertling / The Bulwark:
What ‘Regime Change’ in Venezuela Would Really Mean — It's not clear the administration has settled on a goal, much less considered the consequences. — AS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION INCREASES military pressure on the Maduro regime in Venezuela, a debate has emerged about whether …
Charles Gaba / ACA Signups:
IMPORTANT: *Official* avg. 2026 premium hikes will likely be lower than KFF's 114% estimate for three critical reasons... Last week I issued a warning that once the 2026 ACA Open Enrollment Period ends in a few weeks, the Trump Regime is likely to crow about total enrollment “only” …
