Category: News
Oil, Precious Metals Tumble After Report Signaling No Imminent Action Against Iran
Oil, Precious Metals Tumble After Report Signaling No Imminent Action Against Iran
With traders across the globe refreshing their X accounts every 3 seconds, expecting to see news of imminent “kinetic action” in Iran, what they got instead was a report from NBC which indicated that military action is far from certain, and at best could take days before it is launched.
According to the report which cites multiple anonymous sources – including a U.S. official, two people familiar with the discussions and a person close to the White House – Trump has told his national security team that “he would want any U.S. military action in Iran to deliver a swift and decisive blow to the regime and not spark a sustained war that dragged on for weeks or months.”
“If he does something, he wants it to be definitive,” one of the people familiar with the discussions said.
The punchline: Trump’s advisers have so far not been able to guarantee to him that the regime would quickly collapse after an American military strike, and there is concern that the U.S. may not have all the assets in the region it would need to guard against what administration officials expect would be an aggressive Iranian response.
Indeed, earlier today we showed that US aircraft carriers – so critical in supporting any type of operation against Iran – are days away from reaching the gulf, which means that any full-blown assault would likely have to be delayed.
US aircraft carriers around the globe (USS Theodore Roosevelt – CVN 71 is leaving San Diego) pic.twitter.com/IUqByeuBge
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 15, 2026
It also means that as we suggested earlier, the current dynamics “could lead Trump to approve a more limited U.S. military offensive in Iran, at least initially, while reserving options to escalate — if he decides to take any military action at all,” said the U.S. official and one of the people familiar with the discussions.
They also said that it is a fast-evolving situation and that as of Wednesday afternoon no decisions had been made. During a visit to Detroit on Tuesday, Trump told protesting Iranians that “help is on its way” and called the situation in the country “fragile.”
Meanwhile, the question of what happens to the power vacuum in Iran has also reared its head, and in a separate report, Trump told Reuters on Wednesday that while Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi “seems very nice”, he expressed uncertainty over whether Pahlavi would be able to muster support within Iran to eventually take over.
In other words the CIA does not have a ready plan for who will step in to fill the power vacuum once the current regime is forced out.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where thousands of people have been reported killed in a crackdown on the unrest against clerical rule. But he was reluctant on Wednesday to lend his full support to Pahlavi, the son of the late shah of Iran, who was ousted from power in 1979.
“He seems very nice, but I don’t know how he’d play within his own country,” Trump said. “And we really aren’t up to that point yet.
“I don’t know whether or not his country would accept his leadership, and certainly if they would, that would be fine with me.”
Trump’s comments went further in questioning Pahlavi’s ability to lead Iran after saying last week that he had no plans to meet with him.
Trump also said it is possible the government in Tehran could fall due to the protests but that in truth “any regime can fail.”
“Whether or not it falls or not, it’s going to be an interesting period of time,” he said.
Trump’s comments to Reuters and the NBC report have effectively eliminated the probability of an imminent action, and as a result crude oil, which was rising again on geopolitical fears, tumbled with WTI set to dip below $60 after trading above it all day…
… while silver plunged as much as $6, from $92 to $86, in seconds as stop loss selling kicked in, in a preview of how painful the unwind of the current historic rally will eventually be.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/14/2026 – 20:59
FIFA afirma haber recibido más de 500 millones de solicitudes de entradas para el Mundial 2026
CORAL GABLES, Florida, EE.UU. (AP) — La FIFA informó el miércoles que ha recibido más de 500 millones de solicitudes de entradas para la Copa del Mundo de este año.
El organismo rector del fútbol señaló que, fuera de los países anfitriones Estados Unidos, México y Canadá, la mayoría de las solicitudes fueron realizadas por aficionados residentes en Alemania, Inglaterra, Brasil, España, Portugal, Argentina y Colombia.
La FIFA está pidiendo hasta 8.680 dólares por entrada. Tras las críticas, la organización anunció el mes pasado que ofrecerá entradas de 60 dólares para cada partido a las 48 federaciones nacionales en el torneo.
Las propias federaciones decidirán cómo distribuir esos boletos entre sus aficionados que asistieron a sus partidos anteriores.
El organismo indicó que el partido más solicitado en la tercera fase de ventas, que se llevó a cabo del 11 de diciembre hasta el martes, fue el Colombia vs. Portugal del 27 de junio en Miami Gardens, Florida; seguido por México vs. Corea del Sur el 18 de junio en Guadalajara, México; la final el 19 de julio en East Rutherford, Nueva Jersey; el partido inaugural entre México y Sudáfrica el 11 de junio en la capital mexicana; y un partido de segunda ronda el 2 de julio en Toronto.
La FIFA indicó que notificará a las personas sobre sus solicitudes de entradas no antes del 5 de febrero y las asignará aleatoriamente para los partidos en los que la demanda supere la disponibilidad.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Senate Passes Bill Allowing Victims To Sue Over Deepfake Porn Videos
Senate Passes Bill Allowing Victims To Sue Over Deepfake Porn Videos
Authored by Jackson Richman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
WASHINGTON—The Senate unanimously passed a bill on Jan. 13 allowing victims to sue producers and distributors of deepfake porn videos.
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Jan. 8, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times
The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act, or DEFIANCE Act, now goes to the House, where its fate is uncertain.
It was introduced by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and was in response to X allowing nonconsensual illicit deepfakes.
“Imagine losing control over your own likeness and identity. Imagine how powerless victims feel when they cannot remove illicit content, cannot prevent it from being reproduced repeatedly, and cannot prevent new images from being created. The consequences can be profound,” Durbin said on the Senate floor.
Durbin went on to say what those consequences look like.
“Victims may endure threats to their employment, education, or reputation, or suffer additional criminal activity, such as extortion and stalking,” he said. “Many experience depression, anxiety, and fear being in public. And in the worst cases, victims have been driven to suicide.”
The legislation has the support of more than a dozen groups, including the National Women’s Law Center, National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), Raven, Public Citizen, and the Sexual Violence Prevention Association.
Durbin’s office cited that since 2019, the number of nonconsensual pornographic deepfake videos available online has increased ninefold. These videos have been viewed almost 4 billion times.
The Senate passed Durbin’s bill in 2024, but the House did not vote on it.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) introduced a companion bill in the House.
“Victims of nonconsensual pornographic deepfakes have waited too long for federal legislation to hold perpetrators accountable. As deepfakes become easier to access and create—96 percent of deepfake videos circulating online are nonconsensual pornography—Congress needs to act to show victims that they won’t be left behind,” she said in a statement. “The DEFIANCE Act will allow victims to finally defend their reputations and take civil action against individuals who produced, distributed, or received digital forgeries.”
President Donald Trump signed a similar bill in May 2025 that seeks to reduce the spread of nonconsensual intimate imagery and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated deepfakes.
“With the rise of AI image generation, women have been harassed with deepfakes and other explicit images distributed against their will,” the president said during the event where he signed the bill, called the Take It Down Act. “It’s just so horribly wrong, and it’s a very abusive situation … and today we’re making it totally illegal.”
The Take It Down Act requires online platforms to remove nonconsensual intimate deepfake videos. Violators are subject to a maximum of three years in prison.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/14/2026 – 20:30
Greg Biffle’s North Carolina home burglarized weeks after retired NASCAR driver’s death in plane crash
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Sheriff’s deputies are investigating an alleged break-in and theft last week at the North Carolina home of retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, one of seven people who died in a plane crash last month.
The alleged burglary and forcible entry into the Biffle home in Mooresville was reported Jan. 8, according to an incident report from the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Darren Campbell said Wednesday that investigators believe someone entered a safe in the home. In addition to $30,000 in cash and a backpack identified in the incident report as stolen, Campbell said some guns and memorabilia also are gone.
Campbell said no arrests have been made and that no one else was in the home at the time of the alleged crimes. The incident report said the home was last known secure the afternoon of Jan. 7.
“We’re working the case. We are waiting on some digital evidence,” Campbell said, adding that interviews also were being conducted.
A business jet carrying Biffle, Biffle’s wife and two children and three others crashed Dec. 18 while trying to return to an airport in Statesville — located about 45 miles north of Charlotte — minutes after taking off from there.
Federal investigators said the Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground short of the runway. Everyone on board died.
No cause of the crash has been released. Biffle was one of three people on board with a pilot’s license. Investigators said during the crash’s immediate aftermath that they didn’t know who was the lead pilot on the flight.
A public memorial service for Biffle, who won 19 NASCAR Cup Series races over his career, and the six others killed is scheduled for Friday morning at a Charlotte arena.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/greg-biffle-home-burglarized-after-death/
Amateur player stuns Jannik Sinner on way to 1 Point Slam title — and $1 million — at Australian Open event
MELBOURNE, Australia — A little-known local amateur player beat Jannik Sinner and went on to make himself a millionaire in Australian dollars after winning the 1 Point Slam on Wednesday at the Australian Open’s pre-tournament event.
It was a life-changing day for Jordan Smith in the Rod Laver Arena, with the event including top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz.
All the matches lasted just one single point in a knockout bracket that included men and women, professionals and amateurs, plus celebrities like Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou, who was knocked out without hitting the ball after an ace from Petar Jovic.
Smith emerged in triumph from a state qualifying event to get the winner-take-all prize of 1 million Australian dollars, or around $670,000.
The Australian won on the third stroke of the final when Joanna Garland, the women’s No. 117 from Taiwan, sent a two-handed backhand wide.
Garland had service which was decided by playing rock, paper, scissors. Not that serving was always an advantage.
Sinner lost his third-round point against Smith, by netting his serve.
So did Coco Gauff against Donna Vekić while Frances Tiafoe sent his serve to Iga Swiatek too long — mishaps that provoked giggles and laughs from the players involved.
Garland lost in Australian Open qualifying this week yet surged through the 1-Point Slam bracket beating Alexander Zverev and Nick Kyrgios, plus Maria Sakkari and Vekić. Sakkari had eliminated Alcaraz.
The Australian Open starts Sunday.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/amateur-millionaire-jannik-sinner-australia/
Venezuela war powers resolution fails in Senate as 2 Republicans bow to Trump pressure
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans voted to dismiss a war powers resolution Wednesday that would have limited President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks on Venezuela after two GOP senators reversed course on supporting the legislation.
Trump put intense pressure on five Republican senators who joined with Democrats to advance the resolution last week and ultimately prevailed in heading off passage of the legislation. Two of the Republicans — Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Todd Young of Indiana — flipped under the pressure.
Vice President JD Vance had to break the 50-50 deadlock in the Senate on a Republican motion to dismiss the bill.
The outcome of the high-profile vote demonstrated how Trump still has command over much of the Republican conference, yet the razor-thin vote tally also showed the growing concern on Capitol Hill over the president’s aggressive foreign policy ambitions.
Democrats forced the debate after U.S. troops captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid earlier this month
“Here we have one of the most successful attacks ever and they find a way to be against it. It’s pretty amazing. And it’s a shame,” Trump said at a speech in Michigan Tuesday. He also hurled insults at several of the Republicans who advanced the legislation, calling Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky a “stone cold loser” and Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine “disasters.” Those three Republicans stuck to their support for the legislation.
Trump’s latest comments followed earlier phone calls with the senators, which they described as terse. The president’s fury underscored how the war powers vote had taken on new political significance as Trump also threatens military action to accomplish his goal of possessing Greenland.
The legislation, even if it had cleared the Senate, had virtually no chance of becoming law because it would eventually need to be signed by Trump himself. But it represented both a test of GOP loyalty to the president and a marker for how much leeway the Republican-controlled Senate is willing to give Trump to use the military abroad. Republican angst over his recent foreign policy moves — especially threats of using military force to seize Greenland from a NATO ally — is still running high in Congress.
Two Republicans reconsider
Hawley, who helped advance the war powers resolution last week, said Trump’s message during a phone call was that the legislation “really ties my hands.” The senator said he had a follow-up phone call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio Monday and was told “point blank, we’re not going to do ground troops.”
The senator added that he also received assurances that the Trump administration will follow constitutional requirements if it becomes necessary to deploy troops again to the South American country.
“We’re getting along very well with Venezuela,” Trump told reporters at a ceremony for the signing of an unrelated bill Wednesday.
As senators went to the floor for the vote Wednesday evening, Young also told reporters he was no longer in support. He said that he had extensive conversations with Rubio and received assurances that the secretary of state will appear at a public hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Young also shared a letter from Rubio that stated the president will “seek congressional authorization in advance (circumstances permitting)” if he engaged in “major military operations” in Venezuela.
The senators also said his efforts were also instrumental in pushing the administration to release Wednesday a 22-page Justice Department memo laying out the legal justification for the snatch-and-grab operation against Maduro.
That memo, which was heavily redacted, indicates that the administration, for now, has no plans to ramp up military operations in Venezuela.
“We were assured that there is no contingency plan to engage in any substantial and sustained operation that would amount to a constitutional war,” according to the memo signed by Assistant Attorney General Elliot Gaiser.
Trump’s shifting rationale for military intervention
Trump has used a series of legal arguments for his campaign against Maduro.
As he built up a naval force in the Caribbean and destroyed vessels that were allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, the Trump administration tapped wartime powers under the global war on terror by designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
The administration has claimed the capture of Maduro himself was actually a law enforcement operation, essentially to extradite the Venezuelan president to stand trial for charges in the U.S. that were filed in 2020.
Paul criticized the administration for first describing its military build-up in Caribbean as a counternarcotics operation but now floating Venezuela’s vast oil reserves as a reason for maintaining pressure.
“The bait and switch has already happened,” he said.
Trump’s foreign policy worries Congress
Lawmakers, including a significant number of Republicans, have been alarmed by Trump’s recent foreign policy talk. In recent weeks, he has pledged that the U.S. will “run” Venezuela for years to come, threatened military action to take possession of Greenland and told Iranians protesting their government that “ help is on its way.”
Senior Republicans have tried to massage the relationship between Trump and Denmark, a NATO ally that holds Greenland as a semi-autonomous territory. But Danish officials emerged from a meeting with Vance and Rubio Wednesday saying a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains.
“What happened tonight is a roadmap to another endless war,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said at a news conference following the vote.
More than half of U.S. adults believe President Donald Trump has “gone too far” in using the U.S. military to intervene in other countries, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
How Republican leaders dismissed the bill
Last week’s procedural vote on the war powers resolution was supposed to set up hours of debate and a vote on final passage. But Republican leaders began searching for a way to defuse the conflict between their members and Trump as well as move on quickly to other business.
Once Hawley and Young changed their support for the bill, Republicans were able to successfully challenge whether it was appropriate when the Trump administration has said U.S. troops are not currently deployed in Venezuela.
“We’re not currently conducting military operations there,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune in a floor speech. “But Democrats are taking up this bill because their anti-Trump hysteria knows no bounds.”
Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, who has brought a series of war powers resolutions this year, accused Republicans of burying a debate about the merits of an ongoing campaign of attacks and threats against Venezuela.
“If this cause and if this legal basis were so righteous, the administration and its supporters would not be afraid to have this debate before the public and the United States Senate,” he said in a floor speech.
Kaine vowed to force votes on war powers resolutions that would apply to a number of potential military conflicts, including Greenland. House Democrats have also filed a similar war powers resolution and can force a vote on it as soon as next week.
Associated Press writers Josh Goodman, Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Joey Cappelletti in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.
Senate Defeats Bill To Block Military Action In Venezuela After Two R’s Flip, Vance Breaks Tie
Senate Defeats Bill To Block Military Action In Venezuela After Two R’s Flip, Vance Breaks Tie
The US Senate killed a Democrat-led resolution that would constrain President Donald Trump (and the next guy’s) ability to wage continued military action against Venezuela.
The War Powers resolution, sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), was on track to make it to a final vote until Sen. James Risch (R-ID) raised a point of order challenging the premise of Kaine’s resolution. Then, Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Todd Young (R-IN) voted to support said point of order after coming under intense pressure from Trump – who earlier called for their ouster from the Senate last week.
Vice President JD Vance then stepped in with a tie-breaking vote to break the 50-50 deadlock, handing Democrats a loss.
NOW: U.S. Senate votes 51–50 against effort to block Trump from further Venezuela military action without Congress’ authorization, Vance breaks the tie. pic.twitter.com/GAiB2xTjrN
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 14, 2026
Democrats forced the debate after US troops captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a nighttime raid a few weeks ago.
“Here we have one of the most successful attacks ever and they find a way to be against it. It’s pretty amazing. And it’s a shame,” said Trump on Tuesday during a speech in Michigan, slamming several Republicans who advanced the legislation including Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky (a ‘stone cold loser’), and Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine (‘Disasters’). Those three Republicans stuck to their guns in support of the Democrat legislation.
Trump’s latest comments followed earlier phone calls with the senators, which they described as terse. The president’s fury underscored how the war powers vote had taken on new political significance as Trump also threatens military action to accomplish his goal of possessing Greenland.
The legislation, even if it had cleared the Senate, had virtually no chance of becoming law because it would eventually need to be signed by Trump himself. But it represented both a test of GOP loyalty to the president and a marker for how much leeway the Republican-controlled Senate is willing to give Trump to use the military abroad. Republican angst over his recent foreign policy moves — especially threats of using military force to seize Greenland from a NATO ally — is still running high in Congress. -AP
Hawley – who initially helped advance the resolution last week – said Trump’s message during a phone call was that the legislation “really ties my hands,” and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised him “point blank, we’re not going to do ground troops.”
Young, meanwhile, pointed to a letter from Rubio which stated that Trump will “seek congressional authorization in advance (circumstances permitting)” if he engaged in “major military operations” in Venezuela.
The Senators also said Rubio’s efforts were instrumental in the administration releasing a 22-page DOJ memo which laid out the legal justification for snatching Maduro – which suggested that the administration has no current plans to ramp up military action in the country.
“We were assured that there is no contingency plan to engage in any substantial and sustained operation that would amount to a constitutional war,” reads the memo signed by Assistant Attorney General Elliot Gaiser.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/14/2026 – 19:27
Recalled Super Greens diet supplement powder sickens 45 with salmonella
At least 45 people in nearly two dozen states have been sickened with salmonella food poisoning tied to the Super Greens brand of diet supplement powder, federal health officials said Wednesday.
Superfoods Inc., which makes Live it Up-brand Super Greens powder, recalled products including its original and wild berry flavors with expiration dates of August 2026 to January 2028. Consumers should not eat, sell or serve the products and should throw them away or return to the place of purchase.
lllnesses tied to the supplement were reported from Aug. 22 to Dec. 30, 2025. At least 12 people were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The products were distributed nationwide. Case have been reported in 21 states: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
An FDA investigation is continuing and additional products could be contaminated, the agency said.
Symptoms of salmonella poisoning usually start within hours or days of eating a contaminated food product. They include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Most people recover without treatment within a week, but infections can be serious in children younger than 5, adults 65 and older and people with weakened immune systems.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/super-greens-supplement-salmonella/
Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey made a secret stop at the Art Institute
The sexiest man alive and the blond star of “Wicked” apparently made a stealth visit to the Art Institute of Chicago to promote an upcoming production of “Sunday in the Park with George” — in London.
An Instagram post on Wednesday featured Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey staring thoughtfully at each other on folding chairs in front of the Georges Seurat painting “A Sunday on La Grand Jatte,” one of the museum’s marquee attractions.
Bailey and Grande will star in a new stage production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George,” slated for summer 2027. The musical is likely to be a very hot ticket, and was inspired by the painting.
The photo of the pair, which appears to be genuine, was taken by photographer Katia Temkin, known for her work with Grande, including for album covers. No other visitors are visible, suggesting that the museum gave the pair special access. (The Art Institute did not return a request for comment on the circumstances of the visit.)
Performances of the musical, which will feature a book by James Lapine, music by Sondheim and direction by Marianna Elliot, with design by Tom Scutt, are slated for next summer at London’s Barbican Center. Empire Street Productions is the producer.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
cjones5@chicagotribune.com
Caleb Williams creates viral moment with Jumpman throw, but ‘I’m kind of used to it,’ Chicago Bears QB says
Caleb Williams not only kept the Chicago Bears’ playoff run alive with a fourth-quarter, fourth-down completion to Rome Odunze, he created a viral moment: the Jumpman pass.
A quick back story: During the Bears’ 31-27 come-from-behind win Saturday in a wild-card-round game against the archrival Green Bay Packers, the Bears faced a fourth-and-8 from their 43-yard line with 5 minutes, 37 seconds left.
On a twist, Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie chased Williams from the backside and swiped at his legs, causing Williams to jump and — in defiance of gravity and all conventional wisdom about arm strength — lob a right-handed, 27-yard pass to Odunze as Williams fell to his left.
“It was just a good moment and ended up giving Rome the right football to be able to allow him to make the adjustment,” Williams told reporters Wednesday at Halas Hall.
Bears wide receivers Rome Odunze (15) and DJ Moore (2) celebrate after their victory over the Packers in an NFC wild-card game Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Of course, the fact Williams made the clutch throw is just secondary, as far as the Internet’s meme-makers were concerned.
They freeze-framed Williams’ leap and the pose bore an eerie resemblance to another Chicago sports icon: Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan’s Jumpman logo.
Nike’s Air Jordan shoes feature the logo, inspired by Jacobus Rentmeester’s photograph for Life magazine in 1984 of Jordan holding a basketball while leaping toward a hoop.
Williams has seen the comparisons on social media, but to him, he has made similar throws.
For example, during a September 2023 road win against the Colorado Buffaloes, Williams scrambled left and struck a similar pose while throwing a 71-yard touchdown pass to Tahj Washington on third-and-4 in the first quarter.
“I’ve had a couple passes like that going left where I’ve ended up being in the air in that way a few times in college and things like that and high school,” Williams said. “I’m kind of used to it.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/caleb-williams-chicago-bears-jumpman/
