INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.

LONG ISLAND FIREFIGHTERS VS ICE EXCUSE ME WHAT IS HAPPENING

delighted to see that Mock the Week is now back on TV, on TLC (Sky channel 139). Just started at 9pm

Excellent example of statistical journalism by @jburnmurdoch.ft.com ; creating an index to demonstrate Trump's assault on democracy www.ft.com/content/b474...

This week's From Our Own Correspondent features a report by @sandrakanthal.bsky.social on the fight against TB in South Africa www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

New piece on the strongman fallacy; they are highly unlikely to make good decisions and highly likely to be corrupt and tyrannical philipcoggan.substack.com/p/the-strong...

Incarcerated for journalism. And for sticking it to various frauds & grifters who profess to care about ‘free speech’.

Just a thought. Trump has announced he has reached deals before with the UK, EU and others. Hasn't stopped him making new demands and threatening tariffs later on www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

So manufacturing construction (like manufacturing employment) rose under Biden and has contracted under Trump. Populism is quack medicine

Trump's speech suggests a compromise. We could sell him Iceland, the frozen food company. Tell him it has the strategic reserves of burgers and fries on which the US depends. On current form, he won't know the difference

Translating Davos speak www.ft.com/content/ab4f...

Very much agree with others that this Carney speech is worth a read. However, while it may be admirably clear-sighted, it will be fiendishly difficult for the "middle powers" to get their act together as he wishes paulwells.substack.com/p/the-carney...

The dollar is down, as are US government bond prices and stock futures… Read the live blog as.ft.com/r/ee1554dc-a...

There's always a tweet or in this instance, a press release

Starmer is learning what countless business colleagues and former political allies have learned before him: trust Trump and he will ruin your reputation and go back on his word www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Striking that this message comes from Shashank, one of the Economist's most respected journalists. Hope this means the Economist will become as robust about Trump as the FT has been

The Norwegian letter should make it clear to everyone on the planet that the US President has the mindset of a spoiled toddler. What is interesting is why, with the exception of precious metals traders, no one else in the financial markets seems to care much

This is a very good point. The November 2025 US National Security Strategy never mentions the Arctic at all. The idea that it's a genuine security priority for the Trump administration is not credible.

Not sure how likely a World Cup boycott is. Imagine what would happen to the Labour vote north of the border if Starmer blocked Scotland from participating for the first time since 1998.

well said, Gideon www.ft.com/content/2642...

Another round of PTSD (permanent tariff stress disorder) from Trump. New Substack piece philipcoggan.substack.com/p/another-ro...

How it started ... How it's going

Time for the EU, and Starmer, to discover a spine www.ft.com/content/6055...

This is Trump's last territorial demand in Europe...

Not so much Jenrick as Baldrick

There's always a tweet

Talking of The Traitors... www.ft.com/content/9912...

It is tempting to make an analogy with stock-picking. Just as it is hard to pick traitors given the limited information, even professionals struggle to find shares that will outperform the market

Help is no longer on its way www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Unifying theme of the Traitors so far this season is that the police staff haven't been very good at detecting and the barristers haven't been any good at convincing a jury

As of right now, 15 Men's World Cup qualified countries have had visa processing frozen. Full list in the picture. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

1970s-style debt crisis update – UK borrowing costs fall to lowest in more than a year www.ft.com/content/0574...

"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential, command" George Orwell www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...

We have reached the jello shots stage of the Trump Presidency. New piece on Substack philipcoggan.substack.com/p/the-jello-...

Regarding Trump's 25% US tariff on any country "doing business with Iran" - here's Iran's top 10 export trading partners in 2023...

Further embarrassment.

❤️‍🔥Tory sources confirm that Nadhim Zahawi made approaches to senior members of Kemi Badenoch's team about getting a peerage just weeks before defecting to Reform UK - but was turned down.

For all the talk of the AI boom, barely any companies think it is making a significant difference to their productivity

"What’s frightening is that in Farage’s Britain people like me could be lawfully discriminated against and British businesses would be encouraged to bin our CVs": Nadhim Zahawi. conservativehome.com/2015/03/23/n...

Ronald Reagan’s budget director.

Strange isn't it... the people who actually live in London overwhelmingly think it's safe.... almost like everyone else is falling for a lie

NOBEL COMMITTEE STATEMENT: “Once announced, the Nobel Prize cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to another person.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

My latest.

In case you've seen the story about “grok now only generates images for paid users”, it's untrue. Apparently everyone just reported it because… it was what grok told them 🤦🏼 www.theverge.com/news/859309/...

Sandra Kanthal went to South Africa to report on the battle against TB. You can listen to the programme here which includes the impact of US funding cuts, which stopped clinical trials half way through www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

We had a black and white dog and my Dad used to joke that we got it because the licence was cheaper

Two notes on a linked theme. First, Venezuela's oil reserves are only economic at $80 a barrel, well above the current price. www.economist.com/finance-and-... And secondly, Vince Beiser points out the metal reserves are in remote areas, beset by armed gangs. powermetal.substack.com/p/venezuelas...

"No one wants to go in there when a random fucking tweet can change the entire foreign policy of the country" - as.ft.com/r/18e31d1a-c...

Lol how can you tell this administration is lying to you? Because oil hasn't been shipped in actual barrels in over a century www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/b...