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January 2, 2026
Danish PM strikes defiant tone on Greenland in New Year's speech as Trump rehashes annexation plans
(The Independent) The prime minister of Denmark has issued a defiant rebuke to U.S. President Donald Trump in her annual New Year's speech, insisting that it will "stand firm" against his plans to take over Greenland. In a televised message Thursday evening, Mette Frederiksen, of the ruling Social Democrats party, said she was rapidly beefing up the Scandinavian kingdom's military force and strengthening security in the Arctic. Her theme was echoed by King Frederik X's annual New Year's Eve address, who highlighted new military training programs and praised Greenlanders' "strength and pride" in a "turbulent time".
Go to discussionJack Smith says Trump acknowledged to others that he lost 2020 election
(Reuters) Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel who brought two now-dropped criminal cases against U.S. President Donald Trump, said that the Republican had acknowledged to others that he lost the 2020 election against former President Joe Biden, according to a transcript of a testimony by Smith.
Go to discussionFore! Trump spent nearly a quarter of 2025 at his golf clubs
(The Independent) President Donald Trump has spent nearly a quarter of his second term at a golf club, according to a tracking website. The 79-year-old has visited golf clubs at least 79 times since taking office on January 20, 2025, or about 22.8 percent of the presidency, according to DidTrumpGolfToday.com. The tracker, which compiles data based on Trump’s public schedule, does not note how many of those days the president actually hit the courses. It also does not include data from December 2025. Since returning to office, Trump’s golf club visits have cost taxpayers an estimated $110,600,000, according to the website.
Go to discussionWicked composer says he'd never 'set foot' in Trump-Kennedy Center as he cancels performance over rebrand
(The Independent) Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz has pulled out of a scheduled performance at the Kennedy Center over President Donald Trump’s renaming of the historic venue. Three-time Oscar winner Schwartz, 77, has joined a growing list of artists to boycott the cultural center over Trump’s potentially illegal attempt to rebrand the institution as the Trump-Kennedy Center. Schwartz, who was scheduled to host the Washington National Opera Gala at the Kennedy Center on May 16, told Newsday there was “no way” he would enter the venue now.
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ICE planning to expand detention by using warehouse-style holding centers near major logistics hubs to speed deportation
(The 50501 Movement) This weekend, the Washington Post reported that ICE is exploring a plan to expand detention by using warehouse-style facilities near major logistics hubs, describing large-scale holding centers designed to speed up deportations. Reuters reported the administration is preparing to expand immigration enforcement in 2026 and that a GOP-backed spending package would provide $170 billion in additional funding through September 2029 for ICE and Border Patrol. This is not simply enforcement; it is industrial scaling.
Go to discussionTesla loses title as world's biggest electric vehicle maker as sales fall for second year in a row
(AP) Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle maker on Friday as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row. Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9% from a year earlier. Chinese rival BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, is now the biggest EV maker.
Go to discussionVideos released in Epstein files raise fresh questions about jail footage
(CBS News) A recently released cache of surveillance video from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City is raising new questions about the prison cameras at the facility where Jeffrey Epstein died in his cell in 2019. The videos were among a huge cache of materials released on Dec. 23 by the Department of Justice as congressionally mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Rather than clarifying events surrounding Epstein's death, the footage appears to complicate the official narrative, and contradicts some prior statements about the prison's surveillance system.
Go to discussionCNN Medical Expert Baffled by Trump's 'Unorthodox' Aspirin Regimen: 'It Makes No Sense'
(Mediaite) CNN Medical Analyst Jonathan Reiner expressed puzzlement at President Donald Trump’s habit of taking aspirin to supposedly make his blood thinner. On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported on Trump’s health, which has recently garnered attention because of the bruises on the president’s hands, as well as his occasional nodding off during public meetings. The president blamed the bruising on his aspirin regimen.
Go to discussionDHS begins slashing FEMA disaster response staff as 2026 begins
(CNN) The Trump administration is abruptly cutting dozens of staff who are at the forefront of disaster response and recovery at the Federal Emergency Management Agency this week, according to internal emails obtained by CNN and sources familiar with the plan. On New Year’s Eve, some employees received emails saying their positions “would not be renewed” and “therefore, your services will no longer be needed” after their contracts expire in the first days of January.
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