Reza Pahlavi, living in exile in the United States, has long marketed himself as a future leader of Iran. His fathers repressive legacy casts a long shadow.

The Iranian authorities have imposed an information blackout as they try to quell protests, but eyewitness testimony and videos conveying the deadly toll have made their way out.

Animals that researchers call supersucklers come back for their mothers milk even after they can hunt, mate and fend for themselves.

Companies that already have operations in the country stand to benefit, but those that have profited from a standoff between Caracas and Washington could lose out.

A video of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell plays on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)2026-01-13T11:12:08Z FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) Central bankers from around the world said Tuesday they stand in full solidarity with U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, after President Donald Trump dramatically escalated his confrontation with the Fed with the Justice Department investigating and threatening criminal charges.Powell has served with integrity, focused on his mandate and an unwavering commitment to the public interest, read the statement signed by nine national central bank heads including European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.They added that the independence of central banks is a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability in the interest of the citizens that we serve. It is therefore critical to preserve that independence, with full respect for the rule of law and democratic accountability. The dispute is ostensibly about Powells testimony to Congress in June over the cost of a massive renovation of Fed buildings. But in a statement Sunday, Powell, abandoning his previous attempt to ignore Trumps relentless criticism, called the administrations threat of criminal charges pretexts in the presidents campaign to seize control of U.S. interest rate policy from the Feds technocrats. Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell and the Fed for not moving faster to cut rates. Economists warn that a politicized Fed that caves in to the presidents demands will damage its credibility as an inflation fighter and likely lead investors to demand higher rates before investing in U.S. Treasurys. Other signatories of the statement carried on the ECBs website were Erik Thedeen, governor of Swedens central bank; Christian Kettel Thomsen, chair of Denmarks central bank; Swiss National Bank Chair Martin Schlegel; Michele Bullock, governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia; Tiff Macklem, governor of the Bank of Canada; Bank of Korea Governor Chang Yong Rhee; Gabriel Galipolo, governor of the Banco Central do Brasil. Also attaching their names were Franois Villeroy de Galhau, board chair of the Bank for International Settlements, and Pablo Hernndez de Cos, BIS general manager. The BIS is an international organization of central banks based in Basel, Switzerland. One prominent central bank not included in the statement was the Bank of Japan. The statement said that more signatures could be added later.

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez speaks at a campaign event for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Nov. 1, 2024, in Little Chute, Wis. (AP Photo/Andy Manis, File)2026-01-13T11:02:57Z MADISON, Wis. (AP) Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is questioning whether a proposal from his own lieutenant governor to ban federal immigration enforcement actions around courthouses, schools, day cares and other locations can, or should, be done.Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, a Democrat, is running for governor this year after Evers decided against seeking a third term. She is one of several Democrats vying to succeed Evers in the open race. Evers and Rodriguez were elected together in 2022 after Rodriguez won the lieutenant governor primary.Rodriguez proposed Monday that civil immigration enforcement actions in Wisconsin should be banned around courthouses, hospitals and health clinics, licensed child care centers and day cares, schools and institutions of higher learning, domestic violence shelters and places of worship. Rodriguez said there would be exceptions if there is a judicial warrant or an immediate threat to public safety. Im not sure we have the ability to do that, Evers said when asked about her proposal at a Monday news briefing.Evers also expressed concern about how such a move would be received by President Donald Trumps administration. We can take a look at that, but I think banning things absolutely will ramp up the actions of our folks in Washington, D.C., Evers told reporters. They dont tend to approach those things appropriately. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on Rodriguez put out her plan after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Renee Good in neighboring Minnesota last week. That killing has sparked protests across the country, including in Wisconsin, in opposition to Trumps aggressive deportation operations. Minnesota, joined by Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, sued the Trump administration on Monday to try to stop an immigration enforcement surge. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order to halt the enforcement action or limit the operation. Rodriguezs proposal to limit ICE actions in Wisconsin is largely based on proposals being offered in other Democratic-controlled states including California, New York, Illinois and New Jersey.Rodriguez is also calling for all ICE agents operating in Wisconsin to be unmasked, clearly identified and wearing a body camera.No one should be afraid to drop off their kids at school, seek medical care, go to court, or attend worship because enforcement actions are happening without clear rules or accountability, Rodriguez said. When asked if ICE agents were welcome in Wisconsin, Evers said, I think we can handle ourselves, frankly. I dont see the need for the federal government to be coming into our state and making decisions that we can make in the state. SCOTT BAUER Bauer is the APs Statehouse reporter covering politics and state government in Madison, Wisconsin. He also writes music reviews. twitter mailto

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)2026-01-13T09:10:40Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Russia launched a second major drone and missile bombardment of Ukraine in four days, officials said Tuesday, aiming again at the power grid and apparently snubbing U.S.-led peace efforts as the war approaches the four-year mark.Russia fired almost 300 drones, 18 ballistic missiles and seven cruise missiles at eight regions overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.One strike in the northeastern Kharkiv region killed four people at a mail depot, and several hundred thousand households were without power in the Kyiv region, Zelenskyy said. The daytime temperature in the capital was -12 C (around 10 F). The streets were covered with ice, and the city rumbled with the noise from generators.Four days earlier, Russia also sent hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles in a large-scale overnight attack and, for only the second time in the war, it used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in what appeared to be a clear warning to Kyivs NATO allies that it wont back down. On Monday, the United States accused Russia of a dangerous and inexplicable escalation of the fighting, when the Trump administration is trying to advance peace negotiations. Tammy Bruce, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Washington deplores the staggering number of casualties in the conflict and condemns Russias intensifying attacks on energy and other infrastructure. Russia has sought to deny Ukrainian civilians heat and running water in the freezing winter months over the course of the war, hoping to wear down public resistance to Moscows full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian officials describe the strategy as weaponizing winter.In Ukraines Kharkiv region, the Russian attack also wounded 10 people, local authorities said. In the southern city of Odesa, six people were wounded in the attack, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the regional military administration. The strikes damaged energy infrastructure, a hospital, a kindergarten, an educational facility and a number of residential buildings, he said.Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is counting on quicker deliveries of agreed upon air defense systems from the U.S. and Europe, as well as new pledges of aid, to counter Russias latest onslaught.Meanwhile, Russian air defenses shot down 11 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russias Ministry of Defense said Tuesday. Seven were reportedly destroyed over Russias Rostov region, where Gov. Yuri Slyusar confirmed an attack on the coastal city of Taganrog, about 40 kilometers (about 24 miles) east of the Ukrainian border, in Kyivs latest long-range attack on Russian war-related facilities.Ukraines military said domestically-produced drones hit a drone manufacturing facility in Taganrog. The Atlant Aero plant carries out design, manufacturing and testing of Molniya drones and components for Orion unmanned aerial vehicles, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Explosions and a fire were reported at the site, with damage to production buildings confirmed, the General Staff said.It wasnt possible to independently verify the reports.___Katie Marie Davies contributed to this report from Manchester, England.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine ILLIA NOVIKOV Novikov is an Associated Press reporter covering news in Ukraine since 2022. He is based in Kyiv. instagram mailto

We take a look at the protests that have engulfed the streets of Iran.

White House officials have explored a vast array of ideas as the president looks to unfurl a housing affordability plan at an economic conference this month.

The increase in planet-warming emissions came after two years of decline as demand for electricity has been surging.

In one highly self-referential year, he has broken with presidential norms on naming.

Her reimagining of CBS Evening News is under heavy scrutiny, and even became a punchline on her own network on Sunday at the Golden Globes.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00049-2Studies aiming to maximize human creativity demonstrate that people work best when buoyed up by others who show them new ways to innovate.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00076-zDiscoveries in Jurassic rocks reveal that birds were adept fliers earlier than scientists realized.

The defense comes after Jerome Powell pushed back on what he described as pressure by the Trump administration to cut interest rates in the United States.

Times journalists got a rare look inside one of the compounds where the online fraud industry makes its billions. Inspirational slogans (Keep going) were just the start.

Administration officials have been urging Americans to get married and procreate, but some conservatives are frustrated by a lack of action.

The scammers at a vast office park in Myanmar wielded deepfake technology, doctored videos and pinpoint conversational ploys that differed by the ages and nationalities of their victims.

Some students are still mentioning their race or immigrant status as the Trump administration cracks down on diversity efforts. But many are avoiding sensitive aspects of their identity.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00075-0Artificial-intelligence systems are feeding on Wikipedia without giving back, and academic indifference is threatening the survival of what is arguably the most widely used reference work on the planet.

Denmark does not want to sell its territory. But for a real estate mogul turned president, the worlds largest island may be irresistible.

Former Federal Reserve chiefs, Republican senators and perhaps most important, many bond investors raised concerns about an investigation into the banks leader.

The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in Manhattan, claims that state officials use solitary confinement for minor misbehavior and as a way to mitigate low staffing.

Psilocybin-assisted therapy is legal in three states, but access has so far been limited and expensive.

Doesnt your oath of office to America have a noncompete? the Daily Show host asked President Trump.

Due to a hospital room mix-up, Keith Belden, 71, died peacefully surrounded by friends and family of Maurice Simpkins, 81.The post Keith Belden appeared first on The Onion.

The post RFK Jr. Coughs Up Pair Of Jeans appeared first on The Onion.

MILWAUKEEAfter instructing his 5-year-old son to imagine a bunch of birthday candles at the other end of the tube, local dad Rick Cerney, 41, reportedly rewarded the childs blow into his car Breathalyzer Monday with a dicey trip to an ice cream shop.Great job, buddyjust like a balloon, right? Cerney said as he used his knees to steer onto a busy road so he would have both hands free to crack open his next beer. Here, hold the wheel for a second while I find my koozie. Whoa, that guy came out of nowhere, huh? Hey, put your seatbelt onI cant risk getting pulled over again. What do you say we stop off to see Uncle Frank and Uncle Jimmy at the bar? You wait in the car while I run in and say hi, then well go find the ice cream, okay?At press time, the 5-year-old was seen enjoying a scoop of cotton candy ice cream and driving home with his dad passed out in the backseat.The post Childs Blow Into Car Breathalyzer Rewarded With Dicey Trip To Ice Cream Shop appeared first on The Onion.

SEATTLEIn an effort to help U.S. homebuyers find the kinds of neighborhoods theyre looking for, online real estate marketplace Zillow announced Monday that it had provided each property listing with a segregation score, allowing users to quickly gauge an areas racial homogeneity.Every home on Zillow now includes a rating of one to 100 based on the ethnic exclusivity of the surrounding community, said company spokesperson Susan Corwin, who explained that the new feature lets buyers narrow their search with filters bearing labels such as Fully Gentrified, Historically Redlined, No Blacks, and No Puerto Ricans. Tell our app how far you want to live from people who dont look like you, and whether its 20 blocks or 20 miles, Zillow will show you which areas fit your comfort level. Let us help you find a neighborhood with good schools, nice walkability, maximum genetic purity, or a shorter commute. Zillows segregation scores are reportedly determined by an AI tool that is trained on census records, mortgage-lending data, and the frequency of Nextdoor posts beginning with Not to be racist, butThe post Zillow Adds Segregation Score appeared first on The Onion.

Ill take one in every color. READ MORE...

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Attendees listen to a virtual speech delivered by U.S. president Donald Trump, at the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file)2026-01-13T14:23:15Z GENEVA (AP) U.S. President Donald Trump will return to the World Economic Forums annual meeting of business, political and cultural elites in Davos, Switzerland next week, leading a record-large U.S. delegation, organizers said Tuesday. The Geneva-based think tank says Trump, whose assertive foreign policy on issues as diverse as Venezuela and Greenland in recent months has stirred concerns among U.S. friends and foes alike, will be accompanied by five Cabinet secretaries and other top officials for the event running from Monday through Jan. 23.A total of 850 CEOs and chairs of the worlds top companies will be among the 3,000 participants from 130 countries expected in the Alpine resort this year, the forum says.Forum President Borge Brende says six of seven G-7 leaders including Trump will attend, as well as presidents Volodymyr Zelenskky of Ukraine, Ahmad al-Sharaa of Syria and others. A total of 64 heads of state or government are expected so far also a record though that number could increase before the start of the event, he said. Chinas delegation will be headed by Vice Premier He Lifeng, Beijings top trade official, Brende said. The forum, which held its first annual meeting in 1971, has long been a hub of dialogue, debate and deal-making. Trump has already attended twice while president, and was beamed in by video last year just days after being inaugurated for his second term. Critics call it a venue for the worlds elites to hobnob and do business that sometimes comes at the expense of workers, the impoverished or people on the margins of society. The forum counters that its stated goal is improving the state of the world and insists many advocacy groups, academics and cultural leaders have an important role too.

The defunct food publication is re-emerging as a newsletter, with new leadership and zero approval from its original owner.

Beef, coffee and produce are among the items that have gotten more expensive recently, inflation data on Tuesday showed.

The couple denounced the efforts by Representative James R. Comer, the chairman of the Oversight Committee, to force them to appear, setting the stage for a legal battle.

If President Trump follows through, some of Irans biggest trading partners, including China and India, could be hit hard.

Ms. Le Pen, whose far-right party leads polls in France, was convicted last year of embezzlement. The outcome of her appeal, which started on Tuesday, will determine if she can run for president next year.

Now it's a streamlined, functional space!READ MORE...

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)2026-01-13T13:30:40Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trumps administration has made good on its pledge to label three Middle Eastern branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, imposing sanctions on them and their members in a decision that could have implications for U.S. relationships with allies Qatar and Turkey. The Treasury and State departments announced the actions Tuesday against the Lebanese, Jordanian and Egyptian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which they said pose a risk to the United States and American interests. The State Department designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organization, the most severe of the labels, which makes it a criminal offense to provide material support to the group. The Jordanian and Egyptian branches were listed by Treasury as specially designated global terrorists for providing support to Hamas. These designations reflect the opening actions of an ongoing, sustained effort to thwart Muslim Brotherhood chapters violence and destabilization wherever it occurs, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. The United States will use all available tools to deprive these Muslim Brotherhood chapters of the resources to engage in or support terrorism. Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were mandated last year under an executive order signed by Trump to determine the most appropriate way to impose sanctions on the groups, which U.S. officials say engage in or support violence and destabilization campaigns that harm the United States and other regions. Muslim Brotherhood leaders have said they renounce violence.Trumps executive order had singled out the chapters in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, noting that a wing of the Lebanese chapter had launched rockets on Israel after Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel that set off the war in Gaza. Leaders of the group in Jordan have provided support to Hamas, the order said. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 but was banned in that country in 2013. Jordan announced a sweeping ban on the Muslim Brotherhood in April. Nathan Brown, a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, said some allies of the U.S., including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, would likely be pleased with the designation. For other governments where the brotherhood is tolerated, it would be a thorn in bilateral relations, including in Qatar and Turkey, he said.Brown also said a designation on the chapters may have effects on visa and asylum claims for people entering not just the U.S. but also Western European countries and Canada.I think this would give immigration officials a stronger basis for suspicion, and it might make courts less likely to question any kind of official action against Brotherhood members who are seeking to stay in this country, seeking political asylum, he said.Trump, a Republican, weighed whether to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization in 2019 during his first term in office. Some prominent Trump supporters, including right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, have pushed his administration to take aggressive action against the group. Two Republican-led state governments Florida and Texas designated the group as a terrorist organization this year. FATIMA HUSSEIN Hussein reports on the U.S. Treasury Department for The Associated Press. She covers tax policy, sanctions and any issue that relates to money. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a briefing at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2026-01-13T13:14:00Z WASHINGTON (AP) Denmark provided U.S. forces in the east Atlantic with support last week as they intercepted an oil tanker for violations of U.S. sanctions, a Danish government official confirmed on Tuesday, despite tensions between the allies over the Trump administrations desire for control of Greenland.The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, declined to provide details about what the support entailed.But acknowledgement of Danish support for the U.S. operation comes after tensions spiraled between the NATO allies as President Donald Trump renewed calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland. The vast Arctic island is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark. The U.S. interception in the Atlantic capped a weekslong pursuit of the tanker that began in the Caribbean Sea as the U.S. imposed a blockade in the waters of Venezuela aimed at capturing sanctioned vessels coming in and out of the South American country. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Danish support for the U.S. operation was first reported by Newsmax. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland on Wednesday at the White House to discuss Trumps interest in acquiring Greenland, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting has not yet been formally announced. Denmarks foreign minister, Lars Lkke Rasmussen, said earlier Tuesday that Vance would host a meeting with him and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, in Washington this week, with Rubio in attendance.Lkke Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister, has been foreign minister since 2022 in the government of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.At a joint news conference with Frederiksen in Copenhagen on Tuesday, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen reiterated that Greenland isnt for sale, Danish media reported. He said that the island is part of the kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland doesnt want to be owned or ruled by the U.S. Frederiksen also said Greenland isnt for sale and underlined Denmarks willingness to invest in Arctic security. She said it hasnt been easy to stand up to unacceptable pressure from a close ally and there are many indications that the most difficult part lies ahead.NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte refused to be drawn into the dispute, insisting that it was not his role to get involved.I never, ever comment when there are discussions within the alliance, Rutte said, at the European Parliament in Brussels. My role has to be to make sure we solve issues.He said that the 32-nation military organization must focus on providing security in the Arctic region, which includes Greenland. When it comes to the protection of the High North, that is my role.Tensions have grown this month as Trump and his administration push the issue and the White House considers a range of options, including military force, to acquire Greenland. Trump reiterated his argument that the U.S. needs to take Greenland, otherwise Russia or China would, in comments aboard Air Force One on Sunday. He said hed rather make a deal for the territory, but one way or the other, were going to have Greenland.A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation is headed to Copenhagen for meetings on Friday and Saturday in an attempt to show unity between the United States and Denmark. __ Geir Moulson in Berlin, Matthew Lee in Washington and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report. AAMER MADHANI Madhani covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, center, is framed by Louis Aliot, left, and conservative lawmaker Eric Ciotti during National Rally president Jordan Bardella's New Year address to the press, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)2026-01-13T05:00:48Z PARIS (AP) Frances far-right leader Marine Le Pen returned to court Tuesday to appeal an embezzlement conviction, with her 2027 presidential ambitions hanging on the outcome of the case.Le Pen, 57, is seeking to overturn a March ruling that found her guilty of misusing European Parliament funds. She was given a five-year ban from holding elected office, two years of house arrest with an electronic bracelet, a further two-year suspended sentence and a 100,000-euro ($116,800) fine.Le Pen did not talk during her arrival at the courthouse.As the trial was starting, she stood silently in front of the three-judge panel while reasons for the proceedings were read by the president of the court. The room was packed with dozens of reporters and general public.I hope Ill be able to convince the judges of my innocence, Le Pen told reporters Monday. Its a new court with new judges. The case will be reset, so to speak. A top presidential contenderLe Pen was seen as the potential front-runner to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in the 2027 election until last years ruling, which sent shock waves through French politics. She denounced it as a democratic scandal.Her National Rally party has been coming out on top in opinion polls, and Le Pen alleged that the judicial system brought out the nuclear bomb to prevent her from becoming Frances president.Anti-corruption campaigners argue that Le Pens conviction was proof that French democracy works, and that no one is above the law. Advocacy group Transparency France noted that her conviction came after years of investigation and a lengthy trial in which Le Pen and other party members were able to freely defend their positions. The appeal trial, involving Le Pen, 10 other defendants and the National Rally party as a legal entity, is scheduled to last for five weeks. The panel is expected to announce its verdict later, possibly before summer.Several scenarios are possible, from acquittal to another conviction that may bar her from running in 2027. She also could face an even tougher punishment if convicted anew up to 10 years in prison and a 1-million euro ($1.17 million) fine. Details about the caseIn March, Le Pen and other party officials were convicted of using money intended for EU parliamentary assistants who instead had other duties between 2004 and 2016, in violation of EU rules. Some did work for the party, known as the National Front at the time, in French domestic politics, the court said.In handing down the sentence, the judge said Le Pen was at the heart of a system set up to siphon off EU parliament funds including to pay for her bodyguard and her chief of staff.All defendants denied wrongdoing, and Le Pen argued the money was used in a legitimate way. The judge said Le Pen and the others did not enrich themselves personally.The legal proceedings initially stemmed from a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European Parliament, to French authorities.The case and its fallout weigh heavily on Le Pens political future after more than a decade spent trying to bring the far right into Frances political mainstream. Since taking over the party from her late father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, in 2011, she has sought to shed its reputation for racism and antisemitism, changing its name, expelling her father in 2015 and softening the partys platform and her own public image. Jordan Bardella, designated successorThat strategy has paid dividends. The National Rally is now the largest single political group in Frances lower house of parliament and has built a broad network of elected officials across the country.The National Rally is most well-known for its anti-immigration, nationalist stance and its rhetoric often targeting Muslims. Le Pen and other party members also have long criticized the EU and its rules and campaigned for more national sovereignty, even while serving in the EU Parliament.Le Pen stepped down as party president in 2021 to focus on the presidential race, handing the role to Jordan Bardella, now 30.If Le Pen is ultimately prevented from running in 2027, Bardella is widely expected to be her successor. His popularity has surged, particularly among younger voters, though some within the party have questioned his leadership. Le Pens potential conviction would be deeply worrying for (Frances) democracy, Bardella said Monday in a New Year address.___AP journalists Angela Charlton, John Leicester and Nicolas Vaux-Montagny contributed to this report. SYLVIE CORBET Corbet is an Associated Press reporter based in Paris. She covers French politics, diplomacy and defense as well as gender issues and breaking news. twitter RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A woman checks gas prices before she fills up her vehicle's gas tank at a gas station in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)2026-01-13T05:01:37Z WASHINGTON (AP) Inflation cooled a bit last month as prices for gas and used cars fell, a sign that stubbornly elevated cost pressures are slowly easing. Consumer prices rose 0.3% in December from the prior month, the Labor Department said Tuesday, the same as in November. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 0.2%, also matching Novembers figure. Increases at that pace, over time, would bring inflation closer to the Federal Reserves target of 2%. Many economists had expected inflation to jump last month as the government resumed normal data collection after the six-week shutdown last fall, so the modest increases that matched the November figures came as a relief. The price of manufactured goods was flat in December, a sign that the impact of tariffs may be starting to fade. Distortions caused by the government shutdown have made the inflation data harder to interpret, but the recent run of figures suggests inflation has peaked, Michael Pearce, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note to clients. Signs that inflation is cooling could make it more likely that the Federal Reserve will reduce its key interest rate later this year, which could translate into lower borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards. Even so, the large price increases in recent years for necessities such as groceries, rent, and utilities have left many American households feeling squeezed, turning affordability issues into high-profile political concerns. Food prices have jumped about 25% since the pandemic. President Donald Trump, stung by last years election results that suggested voters are souring on his handling of the economy, has responded with an array of initiatives intended to address rising costs, including a proposed ban on Wall Street firms buying homes, a 10% cap on credit card interest rates, and the suspension of many tariffs on imported goods, such as coffee, pasta, and furniture. Still, grocery prices jumped 0.7% in December from the previous month, a sign food costs remain elevated. Compared with a year ago, food prices have risen 2.4%, Tuesdays figures showed, a bigger increase than in 2024 or 2023. Trump celebrated Tuesdays figures on social media: Great (LOW!) Inflation numbers for the USA, he posted. He also celebrated estimates that the economy expanded at a solid pace in last years fourth quarter: Thank you MISTER TARIFF!Yet in a speech Monday, John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a key member of the Feds rate-setting committee, said that tariffs have likely increased inflation by about a half-percentage point. Tariffs aside, underlying inflation trends have been pretty favorable, and were seeing no signs of broader inflationary pressures, Williams said. He expects inflation will peak in the first half of this year, before declining toward 2% by 2027. Tuesdays report is the first clear measure of inflation since September. The six-week government shutdown last fall suspended the collection of price data used to compile the inflation rate, and the government didnt issue a report in October and Novembers figures were partially distorted by the impact of the closure. Most prices in November were collected in the second half of the month, after the government reopened, when holiday discounts kicked in, which may have biased November inflation lower. And since rental prices werent fully collected in October, the agency that prepares the inflation reports used placeholder estimates in November, that may have biased prices lower, economists said. Still, Tuesdays report suggested that inflation didnt change even with newer, more comprehensive figures. Consumer prices rose 2.7% in December, compared with a year ago, the same figure as November, while core prices increased 2.6% from a year earlier, also unchanged. Inflation has come down significantly from the four-decade peak of 9.1% that it reached in June 2022, but it has been stubbornly close to 3% since late 2023. The cost of necessities such as groceries is about 25% higher than it was before the pandemic, and other necessities such as rent and clothing have also gotten more expensive, fueling dissatisfaction with the economy that both President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden have sought to address, though with limited success. The Federal Reserve has struggled to balance its goal of fighting inflation by keeping borrowing costs high, while also supporting hiring by cutting interest rates when unemployment worsens. As long as inflation remains above its target of 2%, the Fed will likely be reluctant to cut rates much more. The Fed reduced its key rate by a quarter-point in December, but Chair Jerome Powell, at a press conference explaining its decision, said the Fed would probably hold off on further cuts to see how the economy evolves. Trump, meanwhile, has harshly criticized the Fed for not cutting its key short-term rate more sharply, a move he has said would reduce mortgage rates and the governments borrowing costs for its huge debt pile. Yet the Fed doesnt directly control mortgage rates, which are set by financial markets.In a move that cast a shadow over the ability of the Fed to fight inflation in the future, the Department of Justice served the central bank last Friday with subpoenas related to Powells congressional testimony in June about a $2.5 billion renovation of two Fed office buildings. Trump administration officials have suggested that Powell either lied about changes to the building or altered plans in ways that are inconsistent with those approved by planning commissions. In a blunt response, Powell said Sunday those claims were pretexts for an effort by the White House to assert more control over the Fed. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President, Powell said. CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Rugaber has covered the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for the AP for 16 years. He is a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb award for business reporting. twitter mailto

Becky Pepper-Jackson poses for a photograph outside of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2026-01-13T05:08:25Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court is hearing arguments Tuesday over state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams.Lower courts ruled for the transgender athletes in Idaho and West Virginia who challenged the state bans, but the conservative-dominated Supreme Court might not follow suit.In just the past year, the justices ruled in favor state bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youths and allowed multiple restrictions on transgender people to be enforced.The legal fight is playing out amid a broad effort by President Donald Trump to target transgender Americans, beginning on the first day of his second term and including the ouster of transgender people from the military and declaring that gender is immutable and determined at birth.The culture war cases come from Idaho and West Virginia, among the first of the more than two dozen Republican-led states that have banned transgender athletes from girls and womens teams. The justices are evaluating claims of sex discrimination lodged by transgender people versus the need for fair competition for women and girls, the main argument made by the states. In the first case, Lindsay Hecox, 25, sued over Idahos first-in-the-nation ban for the chance to try out for the womens track and cross-country teams at Boise State University in Idaho. She didnt make either squad but competed in club-level soccer and running. Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 15-year-old high school sophomore, has been taking puberty-blocking medication, publicly identified as a girl since age 8 and has been issued a West Virginia birth certificate recognizing her as female. She is the only transgender person who has sought to compete in girls sports in West Virginia.Pepper-Jackson has progressed from a back-of-the-pack cross-country runner in middle school to a statewide third-place finish in the discus in just her first year of high school. Prominent women in sports have weighed in on both sides. Tennis champion Martina Navratilova, swimmers Summer Sanders and Donna de Varona and beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh-Jennings are supporting the state bans. Soccer stars Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn and basketball players Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart back the transgender athletes.The high-court arguments are expected to focus on whether the sports bans violate the Constitution or the landmark federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education. In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled LGBTQ people are protected by a landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in the workplace, finding that sex plays an unmistakable role in employers decisions to punish transgender people for traits and behavior they otherwise tolerate.But last year, the six conservative justices on the nine-member court declined to apply the same sort of analysis when they upheld state bans on gender-affirming care for transgender minors.The states supporting the prohibitions on transgender athletes argue there is no reason to extend the ruling barring workplace discrimination to Title IX, which dramatically increased opportunities for girls and women in school sports. Lawyers for Pepper-Jackson argue that the law protects people like their client from discrimination. They are asking for a ruling that would apply to the unique circumstances of her early transition. In Hecoxs case, her lawyers want the court to dismiss the case because she has forsworn trying to play on womens teams.Despite the small numbers of transgender athletes, the issue has taken on outsize importance. The NCAA and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees banned transgender women from womens sports after Trump, a Republican, signed an executive order aimed at barring their participation.The public generally is supportive of the limits. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in October 2025 found that about 6 in 10 U.S. adults strongly or somewhat favored requiring transgender children and teenagers to only compete on sports teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth, not the gender they identify with, while about 2 in 10 were strongly or somewhat opposed and about one-quarter did not have an opinion. About 2.1 million adults, or 0.8%, and 724,000 people age 13 to 17, or 3.3%, identify as transgender in the U.S., according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.A decision is expected by early summer.___This story has been corrected to show the basketball players surname is Bird, not Byrd.___Follow the APs coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court. MARK SHERMAN Sherman has covered the Supreme Court for The Associated Press since 2006. His journalism career spans five decades. He is based in Washington, D.C., and previously lived in New York, Paris and Atlanta. twitter mailto

A handful of police departments that use Flock have unwittingly leaked details of millions of surveillance targets and a large number of active police investigations around the country because they have failed to redact license plates information in public records releases. Flock responded to this revelation by threatening a site that exposed it and by limiting the information the public can get via public records requests.Completely unredacted Flock audit logs have been released to the public by numerous police departments and in some cases include details on millions Flock license plate searches made by thousands of police departments from around the country. The data has been turned into a searchable tool on a website called HaveIBeenFlocked.com, which says it has data on more than 2.3 million license plates and tens of millions of Flock searches.The situation highlights one of the problems with taking a commercial surveillance product and turning it into a searchable, connected database of peoples movements and of the police activity of thousands of departments nationwide. It also highlights the risks associated with relying on each and every law enforcement customer to properly and fully redact identifiable information any time someone requests public records; in this case, single mistakes by individual police departments have exposed potentially sensitive information about surveillance targets and police investigations by other departments around the country.Flock is aware of the exposure enabled by its own product design and has tried to do damage control with its law enforcement customers by blaming increased public records act/FOIA activity seeking by the public, according to an email Flock sent to police obtained via public record request. Flock has threatened Cris van Pelt, the creator of HaveIBeenFlocked, by going after his web hosts and claiming that he has violated their intellectual property rights and is posting information that poses an immediate threat to public safety and exposes law enforcement officers to danger. In recent weeks Flock severely limited the amount of information available on its audit logs, which are designed to be a transparency tool, raising questions about how much information journalists, regulators, and government agencies will be able to get about police use of Flock cameras in the future.I set up HaveIBeenFlocked to show how pervasive and prevalent this monitoring is, and to show just how many searches are getting done. That information, by itself, is shocking, van Pelt told 404 Media. To me, as a private citizen, thats shocking, and I think thats kind of what Flock is trying to hide or bury. van Pelt added that he is committed to keeping the website online. As 404 Media has reported before, Flocks automated license plate reader cameras are connected to local, state, and/or national networks of cameras. When a police officer runs a search seeking the locations of a specific license plate, they are usually not just searching cameras owned by their own jurisdiction, they are usually searching all Flock cameras in that state or in the country. Each individual search creates a record of that search on as many as 80,000 different cameras around the country.As a compliance and transparency measure, these search records can be obtained through a search audit, which are essentially huge spreadsheets of specific Flock searches that contain not just the searches of local police but of all police who have ever searched that camera. Using this data, we have previously been able to report that local police are regularly giving Immigrations and Customs Enforcement side-door access to Flock cameras, and we also reported that Texas searched tens of thousands of cameras nationwide for a woman who self-administered an abortion. Flock search audits have also been used to catch police who have allegedly illegally stalked people or otherwise abused the system.An example of what search audits look like. License plate redaction done by 404 MediaBecause these search audits are important tools for police transparency and accountability, they have become a popular type of public record to request for journalists, concerned citizens, privacy experts, city councils, and government regulators. In the vast majority of cases, the police departments releasing the search audit files redact the surveillance targets license plate number. But in recent months, at least four police departments have released full Flock search audits without redacting anything at all, revealing information about a mix of more than a million individual surveillance targets, suspects, and crime victims. This means that any individual Flock customer could accidentally leak the specific search targets for millions of Flock searches nationwide; any single failure point anywhere in the country could dox the police activity and surveillance targets of other police departments elsewhere.With the license plate information, you can determine not just what police are using Flock for, but who they are using it against. An unredacted search log file obtained by 404 Media shows more than 700,000 individual searches from June 2025 alone, performed by hundreds of law enforcement agencies nationwide, including hundreds of searches performed by US Border Patrol agents. They show the specific date and time of a search, the name of the officer who did the search, sometimes show the specific case number of a search, the police-stated reason of a search, as well as the number of Flock cameras searched. Crucially, they also show the license plate, allowing someone to connect a specific license plate and therefore person to reasons like drug trafficking, fugitive, narc, immigration enforcement, homicide, oil and gas theft, etc. As the Electronic Frontier Foundation found, they also expose the victims of a host of biased policing tactics and dubious searches, including hundreds of searches of No Kings protesters, audit log reasons that included possible gypsy, and the search for a woman who had a self-administered abortion.EFF has had this [unredacted] information but weve chosen not to publish it or share it because of concerns about doxing peopleour policy is not to release data of surveillance victims, Cara Gagliano, a senior staff attorney at the EFF, told me.404 Media has also had unredacted versions of some of these files for months but has not published any of them. At first, just one or two police departments failed to do redactions. In recent weeks, however, it has become clear that many police departments are not redacting license plates; this led van Pelt to create HaveIBeenFlocked.com, a website that collates many of these search audit logs and allows people to search individual license plates to determine if they have been run through the Flock system, and if so, where and when. The number of police departments who have now released fully unredacted logs has become so numerous that it can no longer be ignored, and the releases have caused Flock to drastically reduce the amount of information that can be obtained from a search audit.Rather than simply making sure that search audits exported for public records requests do not include license plates or are redacted by default, Flock has totally overhauled how the search logs work; in a December email to police customers obtained by 404 Media, Flock said that to protect officer safety and active investigations, Network Audit Logs will no longer include: officer names, specific plates searched, vehicle fingerprint information.To be clear, Flock is not turning on license plate redaction by default: It is fully withholding officer names and license plate information from the police departments themselves.Flock is doing their best to have it both ways where they have no responsibility and also no accountability to the communities where their cameras are placed, Chris Gilliard, privacy expert and author of the forthcoming Luxury Surveillance, told 404 Media. Shoddy data hygiene by law enforcement is not seen as a threat or danger but accountability and transparency are.The letter from CybleIn recent weeks, Flock, via a third party company called Cyble, has threatened van Pelt by filing bogus intellectual property takedown requests with Cloudflare and Hetzner, two of his web hosts. Takedown requests filed by Cyble state the site presents a significant security risk to our client and its users. The website poses an immediate threat to public safety and exposes law enforcement officers to danger, in clear violation of our clients users rights and its intellectual property rights. The website publicly and deliberately discloses extensive, sensitive information obtained from Flock and its automated license plate reader systems with the apparent intent to undermine law enforcement operations. It hosts three searchable databases that expose critical operational intelligence. Such disclosure of sensitive data substantially heightens the risk to officers and the public and necessitates urgent remedial action.Please be informed that our client is a renowned company in the US and directly works with government agencies, it continues. In view of the above, kindly suspend the services and stop the hosting of the website at the earliest convenience.The EFFs Gagliano told 404 Media that, though the EFF hasnt published license plate information, these takedowns are bogus. Theyre blatantly misrepresenting saying this data is obtained from Flockno, its data obtained from public records. There are issues around deciding whether you should make it all widely available, but it was received from public government agencies and Flock really doesnt have much standing to be taken down.Cloudflare refused to take action on HaveIBeenFlocked, saying that it found insufficient evidence of a violation, according to an appeal email van Pelt shared with 404 Media.Flock told 404 Media in an email That website that is doxxing cops during active investigations. Today, we're busy working with journalists to cover the fact that our technology was pivotal in cracking open the case that found the Brown university / MIT serial killer in New England. If you'd like to report the news that matters, we'd be happy to speak to you about bringing justice to victims instead of activists trying to let murderers go free. Cyble did not respond to a request for comment.In a December email to police customers titled What you Need to Know About Recent Online Disclosures, a Flock executive said We are aware that agencies across the country, particularly in states with broad public-records laws, are seeing increased PRA/FOIA activity seeking, among other things, LPR search logs. Recently, a third-party website began aggregating search information that has been released through these public-records processes.We recognize that seeing investigative search activity displayed publicly can raise understandable concerns about officer safety, investigative integrity, community perception, and compliance with state law.The email added To be clear: Flock has not been breached or compromised. We are CJIS compliant. Regardless, we are continuing to make changes to our Product to better protect you and your officers.That much is true, because in this case the sensitive material released was taxpayer-funded public records willingly released by police departments around the country.On the HaveIBeenFlocked website, van Pelt defends his decision to run the site: This website aggregates and reformats already-public information. This information represents a fraction of what's being shared with Flock and its government, commercial, and private partners on a daily basis, he wrote. Policies exist to prevent the release of this informationthey are not adhered to. Laws and regulations exist to enforce the policiesthey go unenforced. Police, Flock, and politicians have been ignoring these problems for years while your private movements continue to be collected, catalogued, sold and traded.This website exposes the problem because, as the old saying goes, sunlight is the best disinfectant. Law enforcement and legislation are needed to address the cause of the problem, and we highly encourage you to bring this site to the attention of your legislators, he added. We believe mass surveillance has no place in a free society, and this data should not be collected to begin with. If it is collected, warrants should be used, lookups should be rare, and police and private parties, like Flock and HaveIBeenFlocked.com, should not be permitted to act without functional restraints or oversight.A police accountability advocate who has seen the unredacted search audits but asked to remain anonymous because Flock has suggested such people are attacking the company and the police told 404 Media that the situation highlights broader problems with Flock."It could lead one to the conclusion that if that is an unacceptable outcome for customers, maybe they shouldn't be participating in a nationwide surveillance system," they said. "The platform is designed to collect as much data as possible. They want to make that as widely accessible and searchable as possible. They need the network effect so they can continue collecting data for their AI models. So, I struggle with the companys framing of whats happened. That framing is an attempt to dodge accountability for what their platform is doing which is collecting data without people's (and often informed elected officials') consent." Flock going after HaveIBeenFlocked on dubious intellectual property grounds is similar to its strategy against DeFlock, a website that hosts an open source map of ALPR locations.In a separate December email to Jim Williams, the police chief of Staunton, Virginia, Flock CEO Garrett Langley claimed that public records were being weaponized against the company. Langley claimed the company and police are under coordinated attack by activists trying to turn a public records process into a weapon against you and against us.Flock is building tools to help you fight the real crime affecting communities across the country. Many activists don't like that. Let's call this what it is: Flock, and the law enforcement agencies we partner with, are under coordinated attack. The attacks aren't new. You've been dealing with this for forever, and we've been dealing with this since our founding, from the same activist groups who want to defund the police, weaken public safety, and normalize lawlessness. Now, they're producing YouTube videos with misleading headlines, Langley wrote. They're also trying to turn a public records process into a weapon against you and against us. Make no mistake, we're fighting this fight for you, and, I hope, with you. I remain committed to building world-class technology to help you keep your communities safe. And doing so in a transparent, secure, and privacy centric way.Williams responded to Langley:As far as your assertion that we are currently under attack, I do not believe that this is so. I have dedicated the last 41 years of my life to serving the citizens of the City of Staunton as a police officer, the last 22 as the police chief, he wrote. What we are seeing here is a group of local citizens who are raising concerns that we could be potentially surveilling private citizens, residents and visitors and using the data for nefarious purposes. These citizens have been exercising their rights to receive answers from me, my staff, and city officials, to include our elected leaders. ln short, it is democracy in action.In a press release, the Staunton called Langleys email unsolicited and said The City of Staunton wants to make it clear that the Flock Safety CEOs narrative does not reflect the citys values. Staunton canceled its Flock contract days later.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00092-zAn analysis of more than one million people in the UK found that two-thirds of people who were vaccine-hesitant during the COVID-19 pandemic went on to get vaccinated.

Nature, Published online: 13 January 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03991-9A debate over a potential newly discovered species, and a tip for buying good sherry in this weeks pick from the Nature archive.

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