Washington National Opera Is Leaving the Kennedy Center  —  The opera, which has performed at the arts center since 1971, was concerned about declines in attendance and donations during President Trump's second term.  —  The Washington National Opera decided on Friday to move its performances …

Videos Show How ICE Vehicle Stops Can Escalate to Shootings  —  A WSJ visual investigation found that the Minneapolis ICE killing is one of 13 incidents where federal immigration agents have used deadly force against civilians in vehicles since July  —  A killing in Minneapolis and the shooting …

Musk says X outcry is ‘excuse for censorship’  —  Elon Musk has said critics of his social media site X are looking for “any excuse for censorship”, after its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Grok drew criticism over its use to create sexualised images of people without their knowledge or consent.

Iran protests latest: Tehran says it has arrested 100 ‘armed rioters’ after threatening death penalty  —  At least 65 people have been killed since demonstrations began on 28 December  —  On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents

Scoop: Bannon quietly making moves toward 2028 run  —  Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon is laying the groundwork for a 2028 run for president, two people familiar with his thinking tell Axios. … Instead, he's told allies he wants to shape the debate and pressure Republican candidates …

Judge Blocks Trump Officials From Freezing Billions in Social Services Funds  —  The ruling temporarily halted plans to freeze more than $10 billion in funds for anti-poverty programs bound for five Democratic-led states.  —  A federal judge in New York temporarily blocked the Trump administration …

Feds pay $125K after Border Patrol agent pointed gun at Portland hotel worker  —  The federal government Friday agreed to pay $125,000 after a judge found a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent liable for civil assault for pointing a gun at a hotel maintenance man who came to the agent's room to unclog a toilet.

‘F**king Bitch’: Watch What ICE Agent Said Right After Renee Nicole Good's Murder in Minneapolis  —  Newly released cell phone video shows the moment when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, identified as Jonathan Ross, murdered Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, in Minneapolis …

Why Putin Went Quiet When Challenged by Trump Over Venezuela  —  For the Russian leader, courting President Trump to secure a favorable resolution in Ukraine, and possibly more, is far more important.  —  Sitting on a gilded chair in the green drawing room of the Grand Kremlin Palace …

Congress Is Reversing Trump's Steep Budget Cuts to Science  —  After the White House called for billions of dollars in funding reductions, senators and representatives are rescinding the proposed cuts and even boosting funds for basic research.  —  Congress is racing to undo thousands of cuts …

Trump says he will temporarily cap credit card rates … It is unclear what authority the president could use to impose such a cap without authorization by Congress.  —  Legislation sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and cosponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) would impose a 10 percent cap on credit card rates for five years.

Trump dials Collins with ‘profanity-laced rant’ over Venezuela war powers vote  —  President Trump on Thursday laid into Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) with a “profanity-laced” phone call after she supported a Democratic-led war powers resolution over his actions in Venezuela.

Trump, Venezuela and the doctrine that wouldn't die … We might call it the Monroe Creed, because, really, it is more an article of faith than a doctrine of international law.  “I believe strictly in the Monroe Doctrine, in our Constitution, and in the laws of God,” wrote the founder of Christian Science Mary Baker Eddy in 1905.

January 9, 2026  —  Beginning in 1943, the War Department published a series of pamphlets for U.S. Army personnel in the European theater of World War II.  Titled Army Talks, the series was designed “to help [the personnel] become better-informed men and women and therefore better soldiers.”

Leading conservative group pulls support for GOP Obamacare defectors  —  The conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity says it's pulling support for Republicans who vote in favor of reviving the expired Obamacare subsidies, adding new strain on the GOP as it scrambles to preserve …

Trump's plan to strong-arm insurers into lower prices is met with skepticism … That's because the biggest culprit in rising health care costs is the rates charged by hospitals and doctors' offices, which are in turn covered by insurers, experts say.  The cost of getting health care in the U.S. is higher …

What Kind of Immunity for ICE Agents?  —  Professor Michael Mannheimer (Northern Kentucky University) is the author of an important new article on “Unpacking Supremacy Clause Immunity.”  The issue of federal officer immunity from state prosecution is of obvious importance, given recent events.

How the US shut the door on asylum-seekers  —  One of the most consequential changes to immigration in the US under Trump, explained. … When he first emerged on the political stage more than a decade ago, Donald Trump made closing America's borders and remaking our immigration system a central plank of his agenda.

The NIH has lost its scientific integrity.  So we left … Chou resigned Friday from the position of program director at the National Cancer Institute.  Grothaus retired on Dec. 31, 2025, from the position of program officer at the National Institute of Aging.

Handing Out Free Tickets, Mamdani Says Theater Should Not Be ‘a Luxury’  —  The mayor said a new initiative by the Under the Radar festival exemplified an arts affordability agenda that he intends to pursue.  —  New York City's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, was elected on an affordability agenda focused on free buses and child care.

Phillips O'Brien on Venezuela and More  —  And why America wins battles but loses wars  —  I talk again with my favorite military historian/analyst about the regime change that wasn't and why America wins battles but loses wars.  Transcript follows.  —  . . .  TRANSCRIPT:  —  Paul Krugman: Hi, everyone.

Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai are cowards  —  X's deepfake porn feature clearly violates app store guidelines.  Why won't Apple and Google pull it? … Since X's users started using Grok to undress women and children using deepfake images, I have been waiting for what I assumed would be inevitable …