News of the Week for January 4th, 2026
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Socialized Medicine
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Abortion
Court Cases & Legislation
Kentucky woman charged with fetal homicide after KSP says she ordered abortion medication online
A Kentucky woman was charged with fetal homicide after Kentucky State Police said she ordered abortion medication online and buried the baby in her backyard.
Gun Rights
Second Amendment Protects Right to Open Carry, Ninth Circuit Panel Holds (2-1)
If the decision doesn’t go en banc, it may go to the Supreme Court, because the Second Circuit held the opposite (and there’s thus a circuit split).
“Our Constitutional Rights … Should Not Hinge on a Where’s Waldo Quiz”
From Judge Kenneth Lee’s concurrence in today’s Baird v. Bonta, joined by Judge Lawrence Vandyke
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
CLAIM: Efficient method to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere developed
A new method to capture carbon dioxide from the air has been developed at the University of Helsinki’s chemistry department.
Socialized Medicine
Government in Healthcare
Will Assisted Suicide Coupled with Organ Harvesting Come to the U.S.?
Once someone is considered killable or supported in suicide, they may become objectified so as to be used instrumentally. Such is the case with people requesting to be euthanized. The idea is that they are going to die anyway, want to die–even as they do not receive suicide prevention — so we might as well get good use out of them such as by conjoining their hastened deaths with organ harvesting.
War & Terror
Trump Says U.S. “Locked and Loaded” if Iranian Regime “Kills Peaceful Protesters”
“We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
US captures Venezuela’s leader and his wife in a stunning operation and plans to prosecute them
The United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and flew him out of the country in an extraordinary military operation early Saturday that plucked a sitting leader from office. President Donald Trump insisted the U.S. government would run the country at least temporarily and would tap Venezuelan’s vast oil reserves to sell “large amounts” to other countries.
Trump’s snatching of Maduro shows a new level of unrestrained global power
Expressions of unbridled power don’t come blunter than abducting a sitting president from his capital in the dead of night.
Trump Did Not Seek Congressional Authorization to Capture Maduro
Democrats raised constitutional concerns and said the Trump administration had misrepresented its goals in Venezuela, while most Republicans cheered the action
Shocked Venezuelans hunker down, unsure of what comes next
Venezuelan security forces patrolled largely empty streets at dawn in the capital, Caracas, on Saturday, hours after loud explosions woke residents to the news that U.S. commandos had bombed the country and captured President Nicolas Maduro.
Chaos in Caracas: Supporters of captured Nicolas Maduro take to the streets to decry ‘absurd’ raid in protests
Venezuela was plunged into chaos on Saturday as armed supporters of captured Nicolas Maduro flooded the streets, sparking riots, shuttering transport networks and forcing terrified residents to barricade themselves inside their homes.
Venezuela’s new leader Delcy Rodriguez is hardline socialist who kept Maduro in power for years… and she’s already making threats against Trump
Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, has hurled threats at Donald Trump after the capture of the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, who is now languishing in a New York federal jail.
National
10 races for governor to watch in 2026
Across the country, 36 governor’s elections are on the ballot this year, including six in presidential battleground states.
Short Circuit: An inexhaustive weekly compendium of rulings from the federal courts of appeal
Flashing blue lights, veteran housing, and DEI trainings.
San Francisco Mayor Signs Reparations Bill, Admits There’s No Money to Pay Them
“We are not allocating money to this fund — with a historic $1 billion budget deficit, we are going to spend our money on making the city safer and cleaner”
The Other Socialist Mayor: Katie Wilson Sworn in in Seattle
“The speech did not include new timelines, funding details or specific policy proposals.”
Rep. Harrigan to Newsmax: Leak Problem Exists, Legal Guardrails Still Apply
Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., on Saturday on Newsmax said he agreed with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Congress has a serious problem with leaks while stressing that constitutional and legal guardrails still matter.
Economy & Taxes
Worrying update on mom-and-pop bankruptcies shows recession has begun
A frightening recession indicator is flashing red — and Americans can see it all over Main Street.
USS Nimitz reactors could power future land-based AI data center
A pair of nuclear reactors that have propelled a U.S. Navy supercarrier to hot spots around the world for half a century could end up repurposed to power a data center in Tennessee.
International
Iran Says Regime Loyalist Killed as Protests Turn Violent
Hard-liners have promised a harsher crackdown if protests spiral out of control.
Venezuela Detains Americans Amid Growing U.S. Pressure
The number of American citizens held in Venezuela has grown since the start of the U.S. military and economic campaign against President Nicolás Maduro.
Opinion
It’s Time to Mandate Merit
NAS’s model Faculty Merit Act will expose and prevent faculty-hiring discrimination.
What’s happening at Heritage?
The institution can return to its roots or watch its credibility crumble
On the Legality of the Venezuela Invasion
Executive branch precedents can be garnered to support the action—which does not, of course, mean that it is lawful.
Mr. President: Let the Venezuelan People Run Venezuela
The seizure of Maduro was a triumph. Trump’s comments afterwards were ominous.
