January 23, 2026
Funding and Shutdown
Good morning, everyone!
At the end of the week, I wanted to welcome all of our new readers, and those loyal ones who have been here from the beginning of this project. Here, each day, you will receive all of the day’s news in one place, providing you with everything you need to know for the day to be informed.
I hope that it keeps you well informed in your journey through the world, and that you consider sharing it with a friend.
Today, we will look at a looming partial U.S. government shutdown, tensions in Europe, and a series of historical entries.
Let’s get to it.
United States
-President Donald Trump yesterday predicted that the federal government would likely partially shut down at the end of the month amid a funding standoff over immigration enforcement.
Absent congressional action, several government departments and agencies will shutter after January 30.
Yesterday, the House of Representatives narrowly approved a funding package covering a large swath of the government despite opposition from Democrats over the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Seven House Democrats backed the funding bill, which will fund the Department of Homeland Security through September.
The Senate is expected to take up the package next week, where attention will be focused on Democratic lawmakers who hold the necessary votes for final passage.
-An autopsy showed that Renee Good, a Minneapolis resident who was killed by an ICE officer earlier this month, was shot three times, according to her lawyer.
-Vice President JD Vance was in Minneapolis, Minnesota, yesterday amid widespread protests against the administration’s immigration crackdown there.
Speaking in Ohio before his visit, Vance said the Twin Cities would be “less chaotic” if local authorities cooperated with ICE.
-Former Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought criminal charges against Trump in two separate investigations, testified before the House Judiciary Committee yesterday.
View the fiery testimony here:
-California Governor Gavin Newsom, a prospective 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, sat for an interview yesterday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
View it here:
-The House narrowly defeated a measure that would rein in Trump’s authority to authorize military action against Venezuela.
The resolution was defeated in the Senate last week.
-Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota filed the necessary paperwork to run for governor, a move likely to clear the Democratic primary field.
Earlier this month, Governor Tim Walz announced he would not seek a third term amid a federal investigation into alleged fraud in the state’s daycare facilities.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced earlier this week that he would not enter the race.
-On this day in 1737, John Hancock was born in Braintree, Massachusetts.
Hancock, a merchant and statesman, served as the president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence.
In 1907, Charles Curtis of Kansas was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first Native American to serve in the upper chamber.
He would go on to become the majority leader of the body before serving as vice president under President Herbert Hoover.
In 1964, the Twenty-fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, barring the federal and state governments from imposing poll taxes on citizens seeking to vote.
The taxes had been used as a mechanism to prevent African Americans from voting in the Jim Crow-era South.
In 1973, President Richard Nixon announced an agreement to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam in a national address.
In 1997, Madeleine Albright was sworn in as secretary of state, becoming the first woman to serve as America’s top diplomat.
Other Links:
Anti-ICE protest at Minnesota church leads to arrests but no charges for journalist Don Lemon - AP
Federal officers detain a 5-year-old boy who a school official says was used as ‘bait’ - AP
Trump sues Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase over debanking the suit calls ‘political’ - CNBC
Trump threatens pollsters after New York Times survey shows sagging disapproval - Politico
White House warned CBS of lawsuit if Trump’s Dearborn interview was cut - Detroit Free Press
Trump Administration Backs Down in D.E.I. Schools Lawsuit - The New York Times
Clintons are ‘working in good faith’ toward Epstein testimony, Jeffries says - Politico
Health insurance CEOs grilled on high costs of care in back-to-back House hearings - NBC
Paris Hilton pushes for passage of Defiance Act - The Hill
Pritzker, Gallego head to Nevada in latest 2028 moves - Axios
Gov. Josh Shapiro alleges in memoir that Kamala Harris’ team asked him if he had ever been an Israeli agent - ABC
Michele Tafoya Announces Senate Run in Minnesota - The New York Times
Trump says heavy bruise on his left hand came after he ‘clipped it on the table’ - CNN
Homicide rate declines sharply in dozens of US cities, a new report shows - AP
Africa
-The United Nations warned yesterday that some 35 million people in Nigeria are at risk of hunger this year, with three million children at risk of severe malnutrition, following cuts to international food aid.
-Leaders of six Central African countries met for a summit meeting in the Republic of the Congo yesterday, where they called for major reforms to overhaul the region’s ailing economy.
-Two prominent journalists in Tunisia were sentenced to prison yesterday. The sentencing comes as President Kais Saied has moved to crush dissent in the North African country.
-The West African country of Guinea Bissau scheduled presidential and legislative elections to be held on December 6, just two months after military officers seized power following a general election.
Other Links:
In Davos, African president pitches business deals to Trump’s son Eric - Reuters
After presidential election, Ugandan police detain a key ally of opposition figure Bobi Wine - AP
Mali’s junta creates a new ministerial-level post to oversee the mining sector - Africa News
Death toll in South Africa school bus crash rises to 14 as the driver is charged with murder - AP
New $1B climate finance fund commits 40% to Africa - Semafor
Americas and the Caribbean
-The Venezuelan government released the son-in-law of opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González yesterday after 380 days in detention.
-President Trump said yesterday that he had spoken to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado by phone.
-Machado met with Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last Shah, yesterday. In a statement on her social media, Machado said they both sought the “liberation of Iran and Venezuela from oppression.”
-Trump said yesterday that he was rescinding his invitation to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to join the U.S.-backed Board of Peace to oversee post-war Gaza.
The move is the latest in the spiraling relationship between the two leaders. Earlier this week, in his speech at the World Economic Forum, Trump said “Canada lives because of the United States.”
In response, Carney said, “Canada doesn’t live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”
-The United Nations-backed security force in Haiti is set to receive more troops in April, according to the body’s special envoy.
The multilateral force, made up of mostly Kenyan soldiers, was deployed to the Caribbean nation in June 2024 to quell the country’s endemic violence brought by criminal gangs.
Currently, the force is around 1,000 soldiers strong.
Meanwhile, there are an estimated 12,000 Haitian police officers and a similar number of gang members that are well armed.
The country has slid further into tumult in recent years as the gangs have taken control of much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, while a transitional governing council has been beset by political squabbling and accusations of corruption.
-The Colombian government said it would halt electricity sales to Ecuador yesterday after Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa imposed tariffs on Colombian goods, accusing Bogota of not cooperating to combat drug trafficking along their shared border.
Colombia denies the accusation.
Colombia currently provides Ecuador with around 10% of its power consumption, according to Colombia’s energy minister.
-Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke by phone yesterday, with Modi saying he planned to host Lula in India soon for a state visit.
The two countries are members of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) bloc of developing nations, and have recently discussed ways to counter tariffs imposed by Trump.
-Massive wildfires have rocked Chile recently.
Other Links:
Venezuela opens debate on an oil sector overhaul as Trump seeks role for US firms - AP
Trump taps Joint Chiefs adviser as top Venezuela diplomat - The Hill
Milei at Davos hails Argentina’s China ties in defence of trade - Buenos Aires Times
US sanctions Costa Rican drug network, including a beauty salon, for trafficking cocaine - AP
EU-Mercosur deal likely to take effect provisionally from March, says EU diplomat - Reuters
Asia/Indo-Pacific
-The United States and China finalized a $14 billion deal yesterday that would hand control of TikTok’s U.S. operations from its Chinese owner to a group of investors backed by the Trump administration.
-Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will dissolve parliament today, making way for a snap election on February 8.
Takaichi assumed her post in October, becoming the country’s first female leader, and will be seeking a mandate for her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
The party suffered a major electoral defeat last year in upper house elections, losing its majority there for the first time since its founding in 1955.
-Unemployment in Australia slowed to a seven-month low in December.
-A massive landslide rocked New Zealand’s North Island on Thursday.
-The third and final round of Myanmar’s general elections will kick off on Sunday.
Other Links:
China hits growth goal after exports defy US tariffs - BBC
China Sets Yuan Fixing Stronger Than 7 for First Time Since 2023 - Bloomberg
2 Tiananmen vigil organizers plead not guilty in Hong Kong national security trial - AP
ASEAN chair Philippines hopes to widen talks with anti-junta forces in Myanmar - Reuters
New Zealand annual inflation accelerates, supporting expectations of rate hikes - Reuters
South Korea launches landmark laws to regulate AI, startups warn of compliance burdens - AP
Europe
-In his address to the World Economic Forum yesterday in Davos, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized European leaders for looking “lost” amid their standoff with President Trump, saying they would rather “convince the U.S. president to change” rather than “taking the lead in defending freedom worldwide.”
The scathing remarks came just after Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump, which Trump characterized as “good.”
On the same day, Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Washington seeks to end the nearly four-year-long war.
In his remarks, Zelenskyy said Washington would convene trilateral meetings in the United Arab Emirates today and tomorrow between Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S.
-Leaders of the European Union convened yesterday in Brussels for an emergency meeting to discuss the continent’s standoff with Trump over the status of Greenland.
On Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, often described as a “Trump whisperer” for his ability to appeal to the American president, appeared on Fox News to address the showdown.
View the full interview here:
-France intercepted a Russian tanker in the Mediterranean Sea yesterday that is suspected of being part of Moscow’s fleet that transits Russian oil despite international sanctions.
Other Links:
Denmark and Greenland say sovereignty is not negotiable after Trump’s reversal on tariffs - AP
‘The damage has been done’: As Trump claims victory on Greenland, Europe loses trust - NBC
Finnish president Stubb says Trump is putting pressure on Russia - Reuters
Hungary’s opposition lead narrows slightly ahead of April vote, poll shows - Reuters
Ex-intelligence officer accused of betraying Austria in Russia spying trial - BBC
Middle East
-President Trump signed a charter document establishing his “Board of Peace,” an international body he has charged with overseeing post-war Gaza.
Representatives from nearly 20 countries attended the signing ceremony in Davos, Switzerland.
-Trump said yesterday that an “armada” was en route to Iran. The announcement follows weeks of widespread protests in Iran, with Trump warning the government against killing protesters.
The deployment will reportedly include the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers.
The anti-government demonstrations, which started late last year, have subsided in recent days. The United Nations said earlier this week that the death toll from Tehran’s brutal crackdown on the protesters could top 20,000.
Activists said today that the death toll has reached at least 5,002.
By comparison, the Iranian government has offered a significantly smaller number, saying 3,117 people have been killed.
-The United States is reportedly considering a complete withdrawal of its military forces in Syria, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The report comes after the collapse of the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which had aided Washington’s efforts to eliminate ISIS militants in the region.
There are roughly 900 U.S. soldiers stationed in the country, down from a peak of around 2,000 in late 2024.
Other Links:
Jared Kushner lays out Trump-backed ‘master plan’ for post-war Gaza - ABC
Israel strikes four Syria-Lebanon border crossings - Reuters
US military transfers first 150 Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq - AP
Syria accuses Kurds of breaking truce in threat to chances of deal - Reuters
Damascus brings more of Syria under its control as US policy shifts - Reuters
That’s all for today. See you next week.
Trump now saying NATO had no troops on the front line in Afghanistan - try telling that to the families who lost and buried fallen family members.
Try telling the British people who watch planes returning home with the bodies of our fallen and to the people who lined the streets every to pay there respect for every single coffin and for the tears shed.
Insult all you want but be warned, when you cross the line-up better watch out.
He is an ignorant fool. He refuses to know or learn history of any kind and his minions are either as ignorant as he is or afraid to cross him. When I look at him I cannot imagine being afraid, he’s become such a clown.