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7:20 PM ET, January 2, 2026

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 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.
RELATED:
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.”
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.
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.
RELATED:
Ron Filipkowski / Meidas+:
Today in Politics, Bulletin 278. 1/2/26  —  ... WSJ: “Jeffrey Epstein wasn't just a frequent visitor to Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  The club was also sending spa employees—usually young women—to Epstein's nearby mansion for massages, manicures and other spa services …
NBC News:
Trump says U.S. will intervene if Iran kills peaceful protesters as economic unrest spreads
Jeet Heer / The Nation:
Mar-a-Lago Was Key to Jeffrey Epstein's Criminal Enterprise
Discussion: Grabien and Mock Paper Scissors
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
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 …
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 …
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.
RELATED:
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.
RELATED:
Pamela Herd / Can We Still Govern?:
Understanding Mamdani's Vision
Discussion: CNN and New York Times
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 …
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Maduro says US ‘invented’ accusations of Venezuelan drug trafficking amid Trump pressure campaign … Trump has piled on the pressure against Maduro in recent weeks, imposing a blockade on Venezuela in December and classifying Maduro and other high-ranking members of the country's government …
RELATED:
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 …
RELATED:
Reuters:
US says it thwarted potential ISIS-inspired New Year's Eve attack in North Carolina
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: The Hill, Axios, Reason and The Daily Wire
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: The Independent and Joe.My.God.
Michael O'Keeffe / Newsday:
‘Wicked’ composer Stephen Schwartz says he won't appear at Kennedy Center  —  The iconic “Wicked” composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz told Newsday on Thursday that he will join the artists who have said they will not perform at the Kennedy Center after President Donald Trump's name was added to the building.
Chris Geidner / Law Dork:
The latest effort to hold Gregory Bovino accountable for his disregard of the rule of law  —  Gregory Bovino always finds a way.  —  Unfortunately for the rule of law, it appears generally to be a way to violate court orders, the law, or the Constitution itself.
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.
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 …
New York Times:
Israeli Government Accuses Mamdani of Antisemitism Over Canceled Orders  —  Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York canceled executive orders issued by his predecessor that had barred city agencies from boycotting Israel and defined some criticism of Israel as antisemitic.
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 …
Io Dodds / The Independent:
Elon Musk indicates he's ‘going all in’ on financing the GOP ahead of the midterms: ‘America is toast if the radical left wins’  —  After faltering in his plan to found a new ‘America Party’, the world's richest person is returning to the GOP fold  —  In the aftermath of his spectacular falling …
Ed Morrissey / HotAir:
Today's Deep Question: What Exactly Is ‘The Warmth of Collectivism’?  —  Ah, yes.  The “warmth of collectivism,” as demonstrated by more than a century of collectivist experiments?  Or as pledged by those who insist that all of the previous collectivist regimes had never practiced true collectivism?
 
 
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 More Items: 
Rachel Frazin / The Hill:
Offshore wind companies challenge Trump anti-wind orders
Dustin Gardiner / Politico:
As Mamdani rises in New York, San Francisco turns away from the left
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
Marjorie Taylor Greene bets the Republican troll era is over
Discussion: Raw Story
 Earlier Items: 
Steve Benen / MS NOW:
Trump gives away the game on his motivations for the first vetoes of his second term
Discussion: NewsMax.com, HuffPost and KUSA-TV
Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
Talarico brings in nearly $7M with latest haul for Texas Senate race
Discussion: Washington Examiner and Raw Story
Gabe Cohen / CNN:
Exclusive: DHS begins slashing FEMA disaster response staff as 2026 begins
Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Trump says he ‘aced’ third cognitive exam in defense of ‘perfect’ health
Ben Berkowitz / Axios:
Trump's wealth grew in 2025, but his investors took lumps
Discussion: Daily Mail and Raw Story
Stephen Fowler / NPR:
With few Epstein files released, conspiracy theories flourish and questions remain
Discussion: NewsNation and Raw Story