News of the Week for January 11th, 2026
- Abortion
- Gun Rights
- Hide the Decline
- Socialized Medicine
- War & Terror
- National News
- Economy & Taxes
- International News
- Opinion
Abortion
Court Cases & Legislation
Trump Tells House Republicans to Be ‘Flexible’ on Hyde Amendment in Health-Care Negotiations
President Donald Trump urged House Republicans on Tuesday to be “flexible” on Hyde Amendment protections in any health-care package the party considers in the new year, frustrating pro-life groups and lawmakers who view the legislative provision that prohibits taxpayer funding for most abortion procedures as a nonnegotiable in any GOP-drafted legislation to bring down health-care costs.
Gun Rights
Appeals panel says California’s ban on open carry in more populated counties is unconstitutional
A federal appeals panel has ruled that a California law prohibiting open carry of firearms in heavily populated counties is unconstitutional.
Hide the Decline
Environment &“Green Energy”
Bees Granted Rights in Peru
The rights of nature movement has been more successful than the animal rights movement. Geological features such as rivers, but few animals, have been granted rights. But now in a merger of sorts of these worldviews, stingless bees have been granted rights in two local ordinances in Peru.
RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Schedule Endgame
How the health secretary finally abandoned pretexts in reducing the number of shots U.S. children receive.
Socialized Medicine
Government in Healthcare
RFK Jr. to America: Just trust me!
Who needs the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, anyway?
Practitioners of Infanticide
Aphysician declares his dying patient—a seven-pound baby boy—”dangerous as dynamite,” a “menace to society.” A routine medical procedure could save the boy’s life, but he was born deformed. Later reports will find that most of the deformities are cosmetic: He is missing his right ear, and the skin on his shoulder is defective. But, critically, there is a blockage at the end of his intestine.
War & Terror
US spy jet circles Mexico coast as Trump threatens Venezuela-style military attack
It is not clear whether the deployment is linked to Trump’s comments.
Today’s Geopolitical Madness
For years, there were reports that Tucker Carlson was battling the “suits” at Fox News behind the scenes. We conservatives were naturally on Tucker’s side. It turns out, though, that Fox executives were trying to keep him in the sane lane, from which, now on his own, he has veered wildly. Check out Carlson’s latest nugget: we seized Nicolas Maduro in order to bring gay marriage to Venezuela, in Tucker’s eyes the most “conservative” country in the New World.
Arizona Supreme Court evacuated after package tests positive for explosives
The Arizona Supreme Court building near downtown Phoenix was evacuated while authorities investigated a package that tested positive for explosive substances on Monday morning.
Civil war fears grow as heavily armed far-left militias take over streets of Caracas
Gunfire was heard across Caracas last night as tensions remain sky high after the US raid captured the country’s president
How the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ Reinforces Xi’s Vision of Power in Asia
The U.S. assault on Venezuela points to a world where big powers seek to call the shots in their regions, an idea Beijing knows well.
A Taiwan strike would come with heavy costs for Beijing: report
German Marshall Fund study predicts 100,000 casualties for Chinese military
Lawmakers seek to limit DHS power to shuffle cash in funding bill
“I know that the secretary doesn’t like that,” said Rep. Mark Amodei.
US forces dramatically seize Russian-flagged oil tanker in the Atlantic
The seizure of Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera was supported by the British armed forces, the Ministry of Defence revealed, claiming the ship was also linked to the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah.
Trump may regret bypassing Congress on Venezuela
If the United States gets dragged in to a longer conflict, the absence of authorization will matter.
Donald Trump ‘orders army chiefs to draw up plan to invade Greenland’: US President emboldened by success of Maduro capture operation
Donald Trump has ordered his special forces commanders to draw up a plan for the invasion of Greenland – but is being resisted by senior military figures, The Mail on Sunday has learned.
National
Democrats are talking about a midterm blue wave. A Montana smokejumper could help make it a reality.
If the hope among Democrats for a decisive blue wave in the 2026 midterms has a chance of coming to pass, the party would likely have to win difficult House contests in redder parts of the country.
Walz, Democrats’ 2024 VP pick, drops bid for third term as Minnesota governor; Klobuchar considers
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Democrats’ 2024 candidate for vice president, is ending his bid for a third term as governor amid President Donald Trump’s relentless focus on a fraud investigation into child care programs in the state.
Chief Justice Roberts on the Declaration of Independence
Roberts’ year-end report on the federal judiciary includes some notable statements about the Declaration and its relevance to constitutional interpretation and judicial review.
Sudden death of Republican lawmaker shaves GOP House margin to three votes
California Republican Congressman Doug LaMalfa has suddenly passed away at the age of 65, per statements issued by his Capitol Hill colleagues on Tuesday.
US Citizen Left Scared For Life as Armed ICE Agents Storm Small Business Over ‘No ICE Welcome’ Sign
A small-business owner’s claim of heavy law enforcement after an anti-ICE sign highlights tensions over immigration
OnlyFans models and social media influencers are claiming half of coveted US visas meant for movie stars
They came here with nothing but the clothes off their backs. A shocking number of US visas reserved for artists of “extraordinary ability” are going to scantily-clad OnlyFans creators and other social media influencers.
ICE Officer Fatally Shoots Minnesota Woman During Operation, DHS Says She ‘Weaponized Her Vehicle’
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers fatally shot a woman during an operation in Minneapolis Wednesday.
‘Ban on Plato’: Professor says Texas A&M censored materials in contemporary morals class
A philosophy professor says Texas A&M University recently demanded that he remove sections about “race” and “gender ideology” – including readings by Plato – from his spring “Contemporary Moral Issues” class to comply with a new course review directive.
After 25 days, ICE releases Maryland woman who says she is a US citizen
The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday released a Maryland woman who was held for 25 days despite evidence that her lawyers say proves she was born in the United States and is a citizen.
Favorability Wars: The Democrats catch the GOP
The Democratic Party’s favorability is now better than the Republican Party’s, though both remain in net negative territory
Feds pay $125K after Border Patrol agent pointed gun at Portland hotel worker
The federal government Friday agreed to pay $125,000 after a judge found a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent liable for civil assault for pointing a gun at a hotel maintenance man who came to the agent’s room to unclog a toilet.
Judge blocks Trump effort to pull election funding for states that don’t adjust voting forms
It’s at least the third ruling against the president’s March executive order targeting state election processes.
ICE changes story on Christmas Eve shooting by agents in Glen Burnie
Federal officials on Friday changed their account of the Christmas Eve shooting by immigration agents in Glen Burnie, reversing course after repeatedly doubling down on their story. It came a day after Anne Arundel County Police publicly disputed it.
Suspect arrested in predawn fire that left parts of Mississippi’s largest synagogue in charred ruins
Jackson Fire Department rules arson at Beth Israel Congregation, the city’s only Jewish house of worship.
Videos Show How ICE Vehicle Stops Can Escalate to Shootings
A WSJ visual investigation found that the Minneapolis ICE killing is one of 13 incidents where federal immigration agents have used deadly force against civilians in vehicles since July
Economy & Taxes
Secret Service: Man arrested, accused of breaking windows at JD Vance’s home
A man has been taken into custody by Cincinnati police after officers and Secret Service agents responded to the Cincinnati home of Vice President JD Vance overnight.
Misplaced Blame: Targeting Institutional Investors Won’t Solve the Housing Crisis
In the ongoing debate over housing affordability, institutional investors have become a favorite target of state lawmakers. Across the U.S., 22 states introduced legislation in 2025 aimed at curbing large-scale investors’ role in the single-family housing market. From California to Texas, from New York to Indiana, these efforts share a common goal: limit corporate ownership of homes to make housing more accessible to regular buyers.
Debanking soars to record high
Farage blames ‘appalling’ half a million account closures on Europe’s financial rules
Do not mistake a resilient global economy for populist success
Protectionism is failing to revive manufacturing
International
Trump says U.S. needs Greenland for defense; Denmark says no
President Donald Trump said in an interview published Sunday that the United States needs to annex Greenland “for defense,” drawing condemnation and demands from Denmark to stop threatening annexation.
Venezuela’s men with guns remain the ultimate power after Maduro’s ouster
When Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez gave a speech condemning the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro, she was accompanied by two men who can make or break the regime’s future.
Venezuelan Acting President Blames “Zionists” For Maduro’s Capture
Delcy Rodríguez, the vice president of Venezuela who is now serving as acting president, accused Israel of orchestrating the U.S. operation that led to the capture of former leader Nicolás Maduro.
Opinion
Trump’s ‘American dominance’ may leave us with nothing
In George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, the world is divided into three spheres of influence: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia, all perpetually at war. Sometimes two of the states form an alliance against the third. Sometimes they abruptly switch sides. No reasons are given. Instead, the Party tells the proles, “We have always been at war with Eastasia.” Newspapers and history books are quickly rewritten to make that seem true.
Zohran Mamdani’s call for warm ‘collectivism’ is dead on arrival
The day before the Trump administration captured and extradited Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, many on the right (including yours truly) had a field day mocking something the newly minted mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, said during his inaugural address.
Don’t Replace One Nationalized Oil Industry With Another
In the wake of our surgical raid on Caracas, it is not at all clear that the United States has any control over what happens next in Venezuela. It seems that we have very little actual influence over the Marxist regime that remains in power. Yet the Trump administration and much of the commentary class are talking like we own the place. One of their ideas is that America will soon be able to tap Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, which have been largely off-limits to U.S. firms since 2007.
Don’t Annex Greenland
Even the results-oriented Trump foreign policy needs to distinguish between friend and foe.
How to ‘Lose’ Greenland
Moreover, even talking about seizing Greenland is making it less likely that Denmark and Greenland would agree to the deepening of a relationship with the U.S. of a type that would yield the military and other strategic results that this country should be looking for. Given goodwill on all sides, such a process could one day be taken a very long way, perhaps even as a far as an arrangement modeled on the Compact of Free Association that the U.S. has with Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands.
What’s the Plan in Venezuela?
It seems like there isn’t one.
Heading into the Midterms, Trump Is Sure the GOP Is Winning. He Can’t Figure Out Why Voters Disagree
Heading into the midterms, President Trump is confident that Republicans have policy wins to sell to voters — but he’s stumped as to why they’re not buying.
The Trump Administration Goes Full Tinfoil Hat in Its Revisionist History of January 6
This odious document should never have been published, much less on the taxpayer-funded White House website.
Trump’s Approach to Venezuela Lives Down to the Left’s Caricature of the Iraq War
For an administration beholden to a political movement that regards anti-George W. Bushism as its foundational ideological precept, this statement is even weirder. It is as if Trump and his inner circle internalized the caricature of the Bush administration and the Iraq War crafted and promulgated by the American left — a “war for oil,” a campaign of “conquest,” “imperialism,” and “colonialism” — and resolved to do it for real this time. For this iteration of the Trump administration, it’s as though real Bushism has never been tried.
Could Trump Lawfully Retain Control Over Venezuelan Oil Revenues?
President Trump has announced that Venezuela will give the United States “between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels” (Trump’s capitalization) and that he will control the revenues—1.5 to 2.5 billion dollars—that will result from the sale of the oil in order “to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.” He also reportedly expects that “we’re going to be taking oil” from Venezuela for years to come, so these initial revenues might just be a tiny part of a massive fund that he intends to control.
The Unnecessary Greenland Crisis
The Trump administration is right to highlight Greenland’s strategic importance. And it is right to want to advance American interests there. But the way it is going about it is crass, clumsy, and counterproductive.
Everyone Wants a Room Where They Can Escape Their Screens
Weary of ‘smart’ everything, Americans are craving stylish ‘analog rooms’ free of digital distractions—and designers are making them a growing trend
