No mention of Russia as US forces board an oil tanker in the North Atlantic after pursuing it for weeks.

Indonesian journalists demand better pay and protection of their rights amid a changing media landscape and restrictions on civic space

Reuters: China strongly condemned the US for redirecting Venezuelan oil exports to Washington and away from Beijing, after President Trump unveiled a plan to refine and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil stuck in the country under a US blockade.

Thinking about the victims of the Eaton Fire one year ago today, and the resilience of the survivors.

The image of the Director of the CIA, the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Secretary of Defense clustered in front of an emoji on X during the Maduro raid was just one of many Trump released on Truth Social. It conveyed a government completely besotted by social media.

Wonder how many US sailors realized they were signing up for piracy when they enlisted.

another word for this is "state capture"

New: I spoke with a Colombian asylum seeker who was the victim of a ‘Kavanaugh stop’ about what it was like to be racially profiled, abducted in front his family and held in ICE detention hours from home for more than a month—despite doing everything “the right way.” This is Nick’s story.

Rick Scott throwing around the word "fix" like we're neutering dogs.

this is how every outlet should refer to X

Robin Hood as Logan minus the adamantium claws? Sure, why not. It can't be any worse than Kevin Costner. Or Russell Crowe. Or Taron Edgerton. (I'm giving Cary Elwes a pass because Mel Brooks is turning 100 this year.)

For five years running, the first criminal docket of the year in DC has been a Jan6er. 2022: Dan Shaw 2023: Paul Modrell 2024: Christopher Keniley 2025: Timothy DesJardins 2026: Brian Cole FIVE YEARS of crimes Trump inspired. www.courtlistener.com/docket/72099...

MUNCHAU: ".. The scenario of a Greenland capture by the US is not hypothetical. .. Greenland would be an ideal launchpad for US ballistic missiles. .. What he says about Greenland does not sound to us like an invitation to negotiate." www.eurointelligence.com

If you only watch one video today about Jan 6, this is it.

My go-to January album hasn't changed for the better part of a decade: The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw, by Pelican.

the problem for Bari Weiss isn't that she's not a good journalist (which is true), it's that she's not good at propaganda, which is the whole reason she was hired she probably gets booted by summertime and replaced by some MMA bro better at agitprop and engagement trolling

My team at the @dfrlab.bsky.social put this together after the insurrection, analyzing all the #stopthesteal data we had been tracking since the previous September.

I do also suspect this. Adults are used to problematizing Roblox and Discord as things-the-kids-do while they use X for “normal” things

Really important point by @eliothiggins.bsky.social. The DSA's Preamble 87 explicitly cites the need for platforms to address "content representing non-consensual sharing of intimate or manipulated material through the rapid processing of notices and removal of such content without undue delay."

According to Ukrainian sources, Dmytro Kuleba may be appointed head of the Foreign Intelligence Service or take on a new role as a presidential advisor or representative. His future position is reportedly under active consideration.

Old laws, new tech: The massive litigation poised to define 2026 reut.rs/4qJ2wup

Yeah, it has long been the case that adult-oriented businesses have to be careful or risk the wrath of everyone from prosecutors to payment-processing companies, but "prominent social media company owned by world's richest person swiftly became world's largest CSAM producer" produces no reaction.

The consent manufacturing has begun.

NPR’s Jan. 6 archive brings together reporting, video, documents and testimony to show what really happened during the Capitol riot. Explore the timeline, cases and evidence behind the attack.

It’s not “international norms” that keep, say, China from landing in our capital and bombing the Washington Monument or whatever. It’s the threat of brute force. Being perfectly insulated from wars of aggression gives people funny ideas over time.

the latest example of ICE claiming a previously recognized government ID (issued by its own agency no less) is no longer valid

So, if Maduro is found guilty of 34 felonies, he gets returned to the presidency, right?

Every major free speech org has said the IHRA definition suppresses constitutionally protected speech. Every major human rights group has said it suppresses legitimate advocacy. The scandal is that Adams adopted the definition, not that Mamdani rejected it. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/04/n...

ha - NYT has now changed this sentence, managing only to amplify the absurdity and offense of the original: "Both Mr. Mamdani and Mr. Maduro describe themselves as socialists, though the policies Mr. Maduro presided over in Venezuela differ starkly from those Mr. Mamdani has vowed to pursue."

Analysis by Rory Carroll at @theguardian.com (who was based in Caracas 2006-12 and wrote a biography of Chávez) www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

In what Reuters called a "mass digital undressing spree,” Elon Musk is provoking outrage after his Grok chatbot responded to user prompts to remove clothing from images of women and to create "sexualized images of children" and post them on X. I spoke to Stanford HAI's Riana Pfefferkorn about it:

For all that the media has spent years freaking out about what social media does to our brains, I don’t understand why there appears to be little effort to grapple with the fact that these chatbots are, for some not insignificant portion of the population, literally psychosis machines

👇

Leaving the regime in place and forcing them to become a puppet government, or else. What could go wrong?

Despite the "dubious" headline, there is risk that @theguardian.com is laundering this "impending civil war" rage-bait narrative that is being drum-beaten on other platforms. Research on stochastic terrorism suggest narratives may increase risk of violence. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

For more information about stochastic terrorism, see Amman and Meloy 2021: Stochastic Terrorism and Incitement to Violence: A Linguistic and Psychological Analysis pt.icct.nl/article/stoc...

For more information about rage-bait tactics and how they undermine democratic and accountability infrastructure: youtu.be/yEjtLikxQGs?...

After ICE deported Andry from the U.S. to a El Salvador prison, he thought returning to Venezuela meant hell was over. But now his future is uncertain once more. The U.S. attacked Venezuela, threatening to worsen the very instability which made Andry flee his home.

So for months they have tried to blame the entire fentanyl crisis on Venezuela and the indictment only mentions cocaine, which they pardoned a different guy for weeks ago

It's hilarious to me that NYT reporters are still salty over Biden not doing enough interviews with them. Trump treats me them like enemies, regularly threatens them, and restricts access, but Biden didn't let Tyler Pager interview him and that is unforgivable.

More on Delcy Rodriguez: “'I’m not claiming that she’s the permanent solution to the country’s problems, but she’s certainly someone we think we can work at a much more professional level than we were able to do with him,' the official added.” (gift link)

Damn it Qatar I was enjoying this one not being about the Middle East

Gift Article wapo.st/4pjdAx3

Venezuela's oil is among the dirtiest oils in the world to produce when it comes to global warming. But revitalizing the industry will take years (it’s taken Iraq 20+). Even harder with only ‘concepts of a plan’ My thoughts for @juliaradio.bsky.social @npr.org www.npr.org/2026/01/04/n...

By a 4:1 ratio Americans do not want war with Venezuela open.substack.com/pub/gelliott...

“[F]racked gas companies are fully backed by the Trump administration, with its ideological dedication to fossil fuels and its cozy relationship with billionaire oil and gas donors. For its part, Big Tech is going along, largely sidelining its purported commitments to renewable energy."