News of the Week for January 25th, 2026
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Socialized Medicine
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Abortion
Court Cases & Legislation
Pro-life leaders firmly reject Trump’s call for Hyde Amendment ‘flexibility’ in healthcare talks
Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding for most elective abortions
Gun Rights
Second Amendment Roundup: Hawaii Sticks to Its Black Code Precedent
Its Amici in Wolford v. Lopez abandon the embarrassing “analogue.”
Second Amendment Roundup: Hawaii’s Ban on Firearms on Property Open to the Public
In Wolford, the Supreme Court should clarify the facial/as-applied issue.
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Illinois finally abandons its ban on new nuclear plants
Gov. JB Pritzker (D), eyeing 2028, reverses his opposition and follows progressive public opinion.
Socialized Medicine
Government in Healthcare
Lawsuit in Canada to Force Catholic Hospitals to Permit Euthanasia
Freedom of religion is on the ropes in increasingly authoritarian Canada — despite a specific charter guarantee of “freedom of religion and conscience.” Indeed, an Ontario court ruled previously that doctors can be coerced under threat of professional discipline to perform lethal jabs or abortions against their religious beliefs and conscience objections. Why? The court ruled that the unenumerated right of patients to receive any legal procedure paid for by the government superseded the specific charter protection. If doctors don’t want to kill, the court also ruled, they can either provide an “effective referral” — meaning soliciting a doctor known to be willing to kill — or get out of medicine.
Trump’s Not So Great Health-Care Plan
President Trump deserves credit for thus far resisting Democrats’ demands to throw more money at the failed Obamacare program. But on Tuesday, he offered a one-page policy response, characteristically titled, “The Great American Healthcare Plan,” that leaves much to be desired.
The suicide pod for couples: Inventor of the Sarco death capsule reveals new euthanasia device that will see two people end their lives together
Double Dutch Sarco pod, a new-and-improved euthanasia capsule, now augmented with AI and purpose-built for couples who want to draw their last breaths side by side.
War & Terror
Iran Death Toll at 3,000; US Orders Citizens Out
If Donald Trump plans to intervene in Iran to protect protesters from reprisal massacres, the time has arrived. While the crackdown on both the rebellion and on communications has proven severe, even officials are telling news agencies that the number of dead is rising rapidly in Tehran and elsewhere. Reuters reported that the death toll has risen above 2,000, and may be much higher than that:
Bipartisan group of lawmakers introduces bill to prevent military action against NATO members
The legislation would prevent the Trump administration from taking action to invade a NATO country or territory, such as Greenland.
A Perfidious Charge of Perfidy?
The New York Times is accusing the Trump administration of prosecuting a war crime.
Has the U.S. Cracked the Havana Syndrome Mystery?
On the menu today: The U.S. may well have solved the mystery of “Havana Syndrome,” and the news aligns with a strange and fascinating account of the U.S. raid that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. You’re going to want to read this one, all the way to the end.
Uncovered: Secret room beneath Chinese embassy that poses threat to City
Telegraph obtains unredacted plans showing how close the underground complex will come to cables carrying sensitive British financial data
Trump: Venezuela’s Delcy Rodríguez Is a ‘Terrific Person’
Perhaps the circumstances in Venezuela require the U.S. to not unduly antagonize Rodríguez, as part of an effort to both cajole and strong-arm her into enacting policies that align with U.S. interests. But is it really too much to ask that the president of the United States not call a hard-line socialist and notorious human rights abuser with deep ties to the cartels a “terrific person”? Is that really setting the bar too high?
Trump’s Sudden Reversal on Iran
For the last week or so, President Trump has taken a bellicose stance toward the teetering Iranian regime. A week ago, the president warned, “If they start killing people, which they tend to do during their riots, we’re going to hit them very hard.” Earlier this week, he urged the Iranian protesters to keep at it, declaring, “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. . . . HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” And then, Wednesday afternoon, seemingly out of nowhere, Trump said he had been reliably informed that the Iranian mullahs were no longer killing people. If this is genuinely the president’s intended course of action, you’re going to hear the acronym “TACO” — “Trump Always Chickens Out” — a lot in the coming days and weeks, and deservedly so.
Losing Canada
Donald Trump (and others) have correctly identified the Arctic as an increasingly important area of strategic competition between the U.S., China and Russia.
Losing Svalbard?
As I mentioned the other day, Greenland is not the only large, strategically located and sparsely populated island under Nordic control in the High Arctic
Greenland: Digging a Deeper Hole
Using a bad tactic to pursue a counterproductive strategy, the president is now threatening to use tariffs as a weapon against countries that oppose his wish that the U.S. should take over Greenland.
National
Federal Prosecutors Open Investigation Into Fed Chair Powell
The investigation, which is said to center on renovations of the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington, is an escalation of the president’s long-running pressure campaign on Jerome H. Powell.
Fed Chair Powell says he’s under criminal investigation, won’t bow to Trump intimidation
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is under federal criminal investigation related to the $2.5 billion renovation of the central bank’s headquarters and his congressional testimony about that, Powell said. Powell said the probe was the result of the Fed “setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of” President Donald Trump. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, and Banking Committee member, said he would oppose any nominee by Trump to replace Powell, and any Fed board nominee, “until this legal matter is fully resolved.”
Feds vs. the Fed
As I write (Sunday, 8:40 p.m.), the price of gold is spiking, having reached $4,590 per ounce, compared with just under $4,520 recently. There’s quite a bit going on that might explain that, but the main reason must be the news that the Justice Department has served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas.
Gen Z are arriving to college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduates
As Gen Z ditch books at record levels, students are arriving to classrooms unable to complete assigned reading on par with previous expectations. It’s leaving colleges no choice but to lower their expectations.
GOP angst grows over Powell investigation
Senate Banking Republicans are set to meet Monday night about crypto legislation, and some members expect to discuss the Powell probe as well.
FBI: Arson suspect admitted to starting fire at Mississippi’s largest synagogue ‘due to building’s Jewish ties’
The suspect in an investigation of a fire at a prominent Jackson, Mississippi, synagogue confessed to starting the blaze because of its “Jewish ties,” according to a criminal complaint submitted by the FBI.
Conservative pundit and ‘Dilbert’ creator Scott Adams dead at 68
Cartoonist, author, and political commentator Scott Adams died Tuesday after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 68.
Republican lawmakers speak out against the Justice Department’s Federal Reserve investigation
Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the investigation is “nothing more than an attempt at coercion,” while House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill warned it would create “an unnecessary distraction.”
FBI executes search warrant at Washington Post reporter’s home
The FBI executed a search warrant Wednesday morning at a Washington Post reporter’s home as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials.
‘A bombshell’: doubt cast on discovery of microplastics throughout human body
Some scientists say many detections are most likely error, with one high-profile study called a ‘joke’
Supreme Court Seems Ready to Let States Ban Men from Women’s Sports
The Supreme Court heard arguments this morning in two cases on whether state laws are permitted to keep biological males out of girls’ and women’s sports. While it is, as is often the case, unclear exactly how the Court will decide these two cases and what rules will emerge from the decisions, there appeared to be little doubt that the state laws will survive challenge.
Supreme Court Allows Candidates to Challenge Election Laws Before the Election
It would appear that rumors of an impending Supreme Court ruling on tariffs have misled a lot of the bar and Supreme Court press (even the solicitor general was in the courtroom Friday just in case), but that doesn’t mean that we came away empty-handed. Three decisions today included Case v. Montana, which emphasized that the familiar objective-reasonableness test under the Fourth Amendment governs when police, without a warrant, can enter a house on an emergency call rather than a criminal investigation (in Case, a report that a man inside was suicidal).
Whistleblower accuses state of ‘cover-up’ after Gov. Moore denies SNAP scheme allegations
A former senior official at the Maryland Department of Human Services is questioning the credibility of an investigation that Gov. Wes Moore says occurred, regarding the whistleblower’s recent allegation about the state’s food stamp program.
ICE error meant some recruits were sent into field offices without proper training, sources say
An AI tool used to help ICE identify potential new recruits with law enforcement experience wrongly categorized some potential new officers, sources say.
Donald Trump’s first Venezuela oil sale deal goes to megadonor’s company
Senior Vitol trader met US president at White House last week and gave millions of dollars to his re-election campaign
Bodnar plans Senate run as an independent, and Tester’s apparent support angers Democrats in Montana
A text message allegedly sent by former U.S. Sen. Jon Tester states not only that a Democrat cannot win the race, but that the party’s brand had become a drag on his last two elections.
Kristi Noem Says Americans Should Be Prepared to Prove Their Citizenship as ICE Ramps Up Raids
The homeland security secretary told reporters that validating the identity of some people who ICE agents encounter is “something we’ve always done”
‘This Is Just a Lie’: Kristi Noem Denies ICE Is Using Show-Me-Your-Papers Tactics in Minnesota
“If you’re Black or brown, Kristi Noem thinks it’s fine to stop you, cuff you, and demand proof you’re American.”
Year in Prison for Role in Hate Crime Hoax
So Judge Regina M. Rodriguez (D. Colo.) decided yesterday in U.S. v. Blackcloud; for more on the case, see this November 2024 press release by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Colorado
ICE deports 5-year-old US citizen from Texas to Honduras, group says
Both Karen and her daughter were placed in a hotel in San Antonio while they waited to be deported, and that she was instructed not to share their location with anyone in order to avoid alerting community and media outlets, according to Grassroots Leadership.
He stoked ‘deep state’ conspiracy theories. Now they’re coming back to haunt him.
When Dan Bongino was named the FBI’s second-in-command last year, the right-wing podcaster’s fan base hailed it as a monumental victory. Bongino, it seemed, would finally be empowered to confront the “deep state” cabal he had long blamed for some of Washington’s darkest mysteries, including sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s death.
Americans Are Going Where No Man Has Gone Before
We’re back in the space race, and it’s awesome.
Economy & Taxes
Trump Should Hope His Credit Card Interest Cap Never Becomes Policy
It is difficult to overstate how badly this idea would backfire.
Newsom Vows to Stop Proposed Billionaire Tax in California
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was working behind the scenes to block a proposed tax on billionaires’ wealth and was committed to defeating the measure if it reached the ballot.
Trump turns to progressives for ideas on affordability
The president called Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., on Monday, and she said they discussed legislation to cap credit card interest rates.
China Announces Record Trade Surplus as Its Exports Flood World Markets
China’s surplus reached $1.19 trillion last year, a 20 percent increase from 2024, as Beijing kept the currency weak and pursued self-reliance to replace imports.
China’s Record Trade Surplus Defies Expectations for Tariff-Driven Slowdown
Export growth of 5.5% helped power surplus to $1.19 trillion in 2025, despite fall in exports to U.S.
Tariff Complexity Flowchart 2.0 Is Live
Back in December, we created a flowchart to map out the US tariff regime, which has become increasingly complex and convoluted due to President Trump’s tariff actions under Sections 232, 301, and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The Poverty of Vanceonomics
Vice-Presidents of the United States have mixed records in influencing policy. Neither Harry Truman nor Lyndon Johnson had much sway during their respective vice-presidencies. Dick Cheney, by contrast, has been described as one of the most powerful vice presidents in American history.
Inflation is not ‘defeated’
Trump cannot convince consumers that prices have fallen, but he can reset expectations around costs.
European Union and Mercosur bloc of South American nations sign landmark free trade agreement
The European Union and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries formally signed a long-sought free trade agreement on Saturday, strengthening commercial ties in the face of rising protectionism and trade tensions around the world.
International
U.S. Blows Up China’s Latin America Ambitions With Maduro Ouster
Beijing recalculating its policy of making inroads in Washington’s backyard after its top ally there was deposed
Opinion
Trump’s Shrinking Coalition
The president can no longer present himself as anti-system, because he has become the system.
The Trump Administration’s Lawfare Will Destroy More Than Just Itself
The cost of the politics of this era will be felt long after Trump is gone.
Congress Must Get to the Bottom of Jerome Powell’s Lawfare Allegations
All that I would add to Jeff’s comprehensive analysis of Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s seismic Sunday night statement is that, outside the MAGA faithful, it has the potential to transcend the partisan divide.
If You’re Going to Bomb Somebody, Get Congress to Sign On
Most Republicans in Congress fall on the hawkish side of the geopolitical spectrum. You certainly wouldn’t find a fan of Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro or his regime in the ranks of the GOP side. Even senator Rand Paul of Kentucky wrote, “even those who celebrate the demise of the socialist, authoritarian regime in Venezuela, as I do, should give pause to granting the power to initiate war to one man.”
The Simple, the Complicated, and the Starting Point
First, I need to call your attention to Mississippi, where an arsonist burned down the state’s largest synagogue, or at least attempted to. The building is mostly in ruins now. It is another troubling data point in the rise of American antisemitism.
Practical Responses to the Trump DOJ’s Extortionate Investigation of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell
The politicized Powell probe is not a one-off. The Justice Department has a now extensive pattern of pursuing Trump’s political enemies and officials he seeks to scapegoat.
Trump Sets the House on Fire with Himself Locked Inside
The chances that Trump would investigate Federal Reserve officials like Chairman Jerome Powell and Lisa Cook if they were acquiescing to his demands instead of resisting them are zero — zilch, nada, none. Potentially negative, thus shattering the laws of mathematics. Everybody knows this.
Save the Federal Reserve’s independence by splitting the agency
How Congress can preserve the Fed’s independence from Trump and head off a constitutional showdown.
Trump’s Self-Defeating, Self-Destructive Lawfare
On the menu today: The Trump administration is far too combative with the Federal Reserve and the Danish, while being far too open to negotiations with the Iranian mullahs. Read on.
California Restricts Free Speech
California’s far-left Supreme Court has ordered restrictions on the speech and expressive conduct of California’s lawyers “at all times,” including during their unrelated business activities, political endeavors and personal lives.
Ode for Normalcy
The 19-year-old who torched the largest synagogue in Mississippi was a normal kid who got radicalized online and called the Synagogue a, well, guess
Another Self-Destructive Decision by the Trump DOJ
I was wondering if we might see a push from the Stephen Miller faction in the Trump administration to take the Minneapolis ICE shooting one step further and criminally charge Renee Nicole Good’s wife for inciting the shooting. That would be the classic Miller move, and one that goes a step further than the typical Trump DOJ pattern of lawfare against personal and policy enemies of the president. There’s more than a fig leaf of justification for such charges, as the wife seems to have gotten Good involved in ICE Watch as well as yelling “Drive, baby, drive” just before Good made the fatal decision to hit the accelerator; but it would nonetheless be a terrible idea to charge her unless there is some very significant new evidence we haven’t seen yet. Most prosecutors would classify her as having suffered enough for bad judgment.
First Amendment Protects Prof Against Intolerant University Officials
One of the favorite leftist tactics for undermining the legitimacy of America is the “land acknowledgement,” whereby officials wring their hands over the alleged fact that they are operating on land stolen from native peoples. Several years ago, the University of Washington suggested that faculty members ought to include such a statement on their syllabi. Of course, that statement had nothing to do with the subject matter of the course, but no matter.
The 2026 Unconstitutionality Index: 18 rules for every law
Article I of the Constitution vests enumerated legislative powers solely with Congress. In practice, however, administrative agencies do most of the lawmaking. Congress enacts weighty legislation — already problematic enough — and then delegates fleshing out the details to agencies. Agencies welcome this delegation and gleefully use it to expand their turf and power.
Adventures in Neoprohibitionism
Not content with widening the definition of “passive drinking,” some neoprohibitionists have been taking their war against alcohol to the next level, by restricting access to some alcohol-free drinks.
Adventures in Neoprohibitionism (Part 2)
In a recent article for National Review on neoprohibitionism, I touched on the controversy over a report on alcohol and health that had been commissioned by the Biden administration.
MAGA’s Jewish intellectuals helped create their own predicament
At a Turning Point USA conference in December, the podcaster Ben Shapiro delivered a speech that was hailed as the sort of moral stand one rarely encounters in the age of polarization. Confronting the right’s surging anti-Semitism, he denounced two of its most popular peddlers—Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens—by name. Speaking at a Heritage Foundation event the day before, Shapiro had called for “ideological border control,” a purge of the haters from the movement.
Our Impossibly Small-Souled President
This week the president of the United States finally achieved a lifelong dream, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. No, not from the Nobel Committee — they will never give anything to Donald Trump. Instead, Trump did what he is naturally best at: He extorted it from its rightful owner, and then posed with it as a trophy.
ICE’s Deadly Professionalism Deficit
When law enforcement agents dress for war, war follows.
