Category: News
Today in Chicago History: Lackluster coronavirus precautions cause CPS students to walk out
Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Jan. 14, according to the Tribune’s archives.
Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.
Front page flashback: Jan. 15, 2022
Chicago Public Schools students participated in a walkout on Jan. 14, 2022, at their respective schools then later in the day outside CPS headquarters over what they felt was a lack of classroom safety amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Chicago Tribune)
2022: Chicago Public Schools students staged a walkout over the return to in-person learning amid lackluster COVID precautions.
Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)
High temperature: 60 degrees (1928)
Low temperature: Minus 14 degrees (1979)
Precipitation: 1.1 inches (1871)
Snowfall: 6.3 inches (1929)
Bill Hewitt, who played for the Chicago Bears from 1932 to 1936, is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame because many consider him the best two-way player of his era, 1932 to 1943. But he is best remembered for his stubborn refusal to wear a helmet until the league made a rules change that forced him to wear one. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)
1947: Former Chicago Bears end Bill Hewitt — one of the last NFL players to not wear a helmet — died at 37 after his car skidded off a wet road and hit a culvert in Pennsylvania.
In 1949, Halas decided to retire the uniform numbers of the most important players in team history. He chose three: Red Grange’s 77, Bronko Nagurski’s 3 and Hewitt’s 56.
From Halas to Hester: The 32 Chicago Bears inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Hewitt was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971 — with President Richard Nixon as the guest speaker.
Ends and backs view film of previous games during a grading session at Chicago Bears training camp on Aug. 19, 1960. At the projector is offensive backfield coach Chuck Mather. The Bears training camp was held in Rensselaer, Indiana. (Al Phillips/Chicago Tribune)
1961: Chicago Bears end Willard Dewveall — who was no longer under contract with the team and was replaced when the Bears signed Mike Ditka — became the first NFL player to join the American Football League when he signed a deal with the Houston Oilers.
With attorneys nearby, Micheail Ward speaks during his sentencing hearing on Jan. 14, 2019, at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago. Ward was found guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated battery in the slaying of Hadiya Pendleton. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
2019: Micheail Ward was sentenced to 84 years in prison for the fatal January 2013 shooting of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton in Harsh Park.
More than two months after the Illinois Supreme Court allowed his conviction to remain overturned, a judge once again ordered Ward held in jail in March 2025 while awaiting trial.
Want more vintage Chicago?
Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago’s past.
Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Kori Rumore and Marianne Mather at krumore@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/january-14-chicago-history/
Today in History: Summer of Love begins
Today is Wednesday, Jan. 14, the 14th day of 2026. There are 351 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Jan. 14, 1967, the “Summer of Love” unofficially began with a “Human Be-In” involving tens of thousands of young people at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
Also on this date:
In 1784, the United States ratified the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War; Britain followed suit in April.
In 1858, Napoleon III survived an assassination attempt by an Italian revolutionary and accomplices who threw explosives at the emperor’s carriage as he and wife Eugénie headed to the opera in Paris. Though bystanders were killed, the emperor and empress were unharmed and the revolutionary was swiftly captured and later executed.
In 1943, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and French Gen. Charles de Gaulle opened a wartime conference in Casablanca, Morocco.
In 1952, NBC’s “Today” show premiered, with Dave Garroway as host.
In 1963, Democrat George C. Wallace was sworn in as governor of Alabama with the pledge, “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!” It was a view he later repudiated.
In 1970, Diana Ross and the Supremes performed their last concert together, at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas.
In 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk signed the Trilateral Statement, an accord to dismantle the nuclear arsenal of Ukraine.
In 2006, Eminem remarried Kim Mathers in Detroit. He filed for divorce 82 days later.
In 2013, cyclist Lance Armstrong ended a decade of denial by confessing to Oprah Winfrey during a videotaped interview he’d used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France seven consecutive times. The interview was aired as a two-part special later in the week.
Related Articles
Today in Chicago History: Lackluster coronavirus precautions cause CPS students to walk out
Claudette Colvin, who refused to move seats on a bus at start of civil rights movement, dies at 86
La Grange OKs demolition of historic Jackson Square building for condo development
Today in History: Japan apologizes for forcing Korean women to serve as ‘comfort women’
Today in Chicago History: For the second time, Michael Jordan retires from the Bulls
In 2024, Denmark’s prime minister proclaimed Frederik X as king after his mother Queen Margrethe II formally signed her abdication, with massive crowds turning out to rejoice in the throne passing from a beloved monarch to her popular son.
Today’s birthdays: Drag racer Don “Big Daddy” Garlits is 94. Actor Faye Dunaway is 85. Actor Holland Taylor is 83. Guitarist-producer T-Bone Burnett is 78. Filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan is 77. Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is 63. Actor Emily Watson is 59. Rapper-actor LL Cool J is 58. Actor Jason Bateman is 57. Rock musician Dave Grohl is 57. Rock singer-musician Caleb Followill (Kings of Leon) is 44. Actor Zach Gilford is 44. Actor Grant Gustin is 36. Singer Ryan Castro is 32.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/today-in-history-summer-of-love-begins/
Ukraine Blocks Polymarket, Classifies Prediction Markets As Gambling
Ukraine Blocks Polymarket, Classifies Prediction Markets As Gambling
Authored by Amin Haqshanas via CoinTelegraph.com,
Ukraine has blocked access to the prediction market platform Polymarket, classifying its activities as unlicensed gambling under national law.
The decision was issued by the National Commission for the Regulation of Electronic Communications (NCEC) on Dec. 10, 2025, under Resolution No. 695. The ruling requires internet service providers to restrict access to online resources that organize, conduct or facilitate gambling without a valid license.
As part of the enforcement, the domain polymarket.com has been added to Ukraine’s public register of blocked websites, effectively cutting off local access to the platform, local news outlets reported on Monday.
Polymarket differentiates itself from traditional betting sites by allowing users to buy and sell shares tied to the outcome of real-world events, with prices reflecting market-implied probabilities, rather than offering fixed odds.
Ukraine slams Polymarket over war-related bets
The ban on Polymarket comes as Ukrainian authorities have criticized the platform for facilitating bets on geopolitical events linked to Russia’s invasion.
Polymarket is restricted across 33 other countries, including France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Iran, Singapore, Iraq, North Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Australia.
Polymarket already blocks some regions in Ukraine. Source: Polymarket
Founded in 2020 by Shane Coplan, Polymarket has grown into one of the most prominent prediction platforms globally, with an estimated valuation of $8 billion. All bets on Polymarket are placed using the USDC stablecoin on the Polygon blockchain, making transactions and settlements publicly verifiable.
US lawmaker looks to ban insider trading on prediction markets
As Cointelegraph recently reported, US Representative Ritchie Torres is preparing legislation that would restrict insider trading on prediction markets, following scrutiny over a highly profitable bet linked to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The proposed measure, known as the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026, would bar federal lawmakers, political appointees and executive branch employees from trading contracts tied to political or policy outcomes when they possess nonpublic information gained through their official roles.
Last week, Tennessee’s sports betting regulator also ordered Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com to halt the offering of sports event contracts to residents of the state.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/14/2026 – 05:00
https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/ukraine-blocks-polymarket-classifies-prediction-markets-gambling
Serbios celebran el Año Nuevo ortodoxo según la antigua tradición
Associated Press
BELGRADO, Serbia (AP) — Casi dos semanas después de celebrar el Año Nuevo, muchos serbios volvieron a festejar el martes por la noche, esta vez según la antigua tradición cristiana ortodoxa.
Algunas iglesias ortodoxas orientales siguen el antiguo calendario juliano, que tiene 13 días de retraso con respecto al gregoriano, utilizado por las iglesias católicas y protestantes y gran parte del mundo secular.
Las calles en la zona peatonal comercial del centro de Belgrado estaban llenas de gente el martes por la noche, y las decoraciones de Navidad y Año Nuevo seguían colgadas.
“Celebro el (Año Nuevo) serbio”, afirmó Zoran Todorovic, un residente en Belgrado. “Vamos a salir. Daremos un paseo, tomaremos vino caliente, comeremos dulces tradicionales y luego iremos a casa a disfrutar de un festín. Me siento muy bien”.
Jovan Brkic, también de la capital serbia, se mostró escéptico. “No celebro el Año Nuevo serbio. No le presto mucha atención”.
“Creo que es lo mismo que el no serbio, el habitual, el Año Nuevo comercial”, agregó. “Es solo un truco económico para que la gente gaste un poco más, para darles una razón para estar alegres”.
A medianoche hubo un espectáculo de fuegos artificiales y drones en un bloque residencial de nueva construcción y muy criticado junto al río Sava en Belgrado, que contó con el apoyo del presidente, el populista Aleksandar Vucic.
Sin embargo, en la ciudad de Cacak, en el centro del país, los manifestantes lanzaron bolas de nieve a un cantante folclórico que actuaba en la plaza principal, enojados porque las autoridades locales estaban utilizando dinero público para las celebraciones, reportó la televisora regional N1.
Durante todo el año pasado, Vucic enfrentó protestas callejeras contra su gobierno autocrático luego de una tragedia en una estación de tren en noviembre de 2024 que causó 16 fallecidos en una ciudad del norte.
___
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
The best bunion splints designed for comfort and stability
Which bunion splints are best?
A bunion is a bony, painful bump that forms on the outside of your big toe joint, as the bones and ligaments of your foot shift out of alignment. About one-quarter of all adults experience bunions, and they can appear at any time. Bunion splints can help slow the progression of your bunion and relieve both pain and pressure. They may also deflect or delay the need for foot surgery.
What to know before you buy a bunion splint
Type of splint
There are several different kinds of bunion splints to choose from, including toe splints, toe spacers, bunion guards or pads and night splints.
Toe splints create extra space between the second toe and big toe to correct the toe position during dynamic and static movement.
Toe spacers either fit over 1-2 toes or separate all 5 toes to relieve tendons, ligaments and tight muscles.
Bunion guards or pads cushion the bunion from rubbing on a neighboring toe or shoe. They are typically made of moleskin or gel.
Night splints are meant for nighttime use, since they don’t allow dynamic movement.
Buy extra splints
Buy a few extra splits once you find a style you prefer, so you always have a dry, clean splint that’s ready to wear. Splints are small and easy to lose, so keeping a few extra splints around means that you will always have one nearby if you need it.
Avoid high heels
Wearing high heels doesn’t necessarily lead to bunions, but they can aggravate your bunions and make them worse. The extra height on the heel causes the weight of your body to rest squarely on your toe’s joint, which adds a lot of pressure. This additional pressure can cause more inflammation and pain.
Take care of your feet
You need to take care of your feet when wearing a splint. Wash and completely dry your feet, including between your toes, before putting on your splint at night. Any moisture trapped in your splint could cause a case of foot fungus.
What to look for in a quality bunion splint
Pad style
Bunion cushions and pads come in multiple styles, including sleeves, gel pads and cushions.
Gel pads offer a protective barrier between your shoe’s interior surface and your bunion, and they move with the foot to decrease irritation. These pads work well, but they also break down easily and quickly get dirty.
Cushions cover your bunion to keep it from rubbing against the shoe and getting irritated. Some cushions adhere directly to the foot, while others adhere to your shoe’s surface.
Sleeves fit around the big toe with a bang around the center of the foot to hold a cushion over your bunion. These can be worn without socks and stay in place well.
Materials
Most splints are composed of silicone, fabric, gel and/or plastic.
Gel offers a flexible, semisoft surface that can both correct and cushion the bunion. The sticky surface can sometimes attract debris and dirt.
Fabric and gel help hold the gel in place while covering the sticky surface to keep it clean.
Fabric, silicone and plastic are often used to make night splints. The plastic is outside the fabric and silicone for comfort. These splints can’t bear the weight needed for walking and can’t be worn in shoes, so they’re primarily meant to be used as night splints.
Comfort
Splints are meant to make your foot more comfortable but not necessarily while the splint is on. For instance, night splints can be uncomfortable to sleep in, but they’re also very effective. Try a few different splint designs to find a durable splint that fits in your shoes and feels good.
How much you can expect to spend on a bunion splint
Bunion splints range in price from about $5-$20, depending on the construction, materials, quality and features of the bunion splint.
Bunion splint FAQ
Does the kind of shoe you wear make a difference?
A. The kind of shoe you wear affects your bunions. High heels, particularly heels with narrow toe boxes, cause more bunion pain. Other kinds of shoes might irritate your bunion as well. Shoes with wide toe boxes allow sufficient room for the foot to move around without rubbing or irritating the bunion. They also allow for more room for your foot to fit if you’re wearing a splint.
Do bunion splint sets have sleeves for both feet?
A. If the set comes with a sleeve, it typically comes with one sleeve for each foot, but check the set closely. When purchasing night splints, toe splints or single sleeves, check which foot they’re for, so you buy the right one.
What’s the best bunion splint to buy?
Top bunion splint
Caretras 2-Pack Bunion Corrector
What you need to know: This two-pack of bunion braces is recommended by podiatrists and each brace is adjustable to different foot sizes.
What you’ll love: You can adjust the heel, toe and foot straps. The material is very breathable. The foam layer reduces shock.
What you should consider: Some users did not find it comfortable.
Top bunion splint for the money
Flyen Bunion Corrector and Bunion Sleeves Kit
What you need to know: This kit offers everything you need for effective toe alignment, protection and pain relief.
What you’ll love: This customizable product features protective gel padding, built-in toe separators, comfortable gel-padded sleeves, standard spacers for corrective support, pliable breathable guards to help with tight shoes and a big toe strap for strengthening and exercising your muscles.
What you should consider: There are occasional reports of the sleeve spacers falling off in the wash.
Worth checking out
Natracure Gel Bunion Guards and Toe Spreaders
What you need to know: This product provides instant soothing protection and keeps your skin in amazing shape.
What you’ll love: This splint is adjustable for use on both feet, extremely comfortable and enhanced with aloe vera, vitamin E and slow-release, medical-grade mineral oil. The product also features a toe spreader for proper alignment and a soft gel design that decreases the pain caused by friction and pressure.
What you should consider: This splint might shift if you wear it without any socks.
Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.
Check out our Daily Deals for the best products at the best prices and sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter full of shopping inspo and sales.
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Get more space with the best external hard drive
Which external hard drive is best?
Whether you are an information professional, a die-hard video gamer with more titles than space on your console or looking to preserve your family photos in a more durable form, external hard drives are an excellent way to increase your storage space. With a slim and powerful unit like the Western Digital My Passport Ultra at your disposal, you can save tremendous amounts of data to your heart’s content, and rest assured, it will be well-protected outside of your PC.
What to know before you buy an external hard drive
Consider how much storage is needed
For those unfamiliar with exactly how much data is contained in a terabyte, a single terabyte possesses the same storage capacity as eight average smartphones with 128 gigabytes of internal storage. To clarify further, a terabyte can store up to 6.5 million digital document files like Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat, 250,000 photos taken by a 12-megapixel camera or a full 500 hours of HD video content (or roughly 250 average-length movies).
The average netizen can probably get away with only a 4TB external hard drive. Still, if your internal hard drives are already full to bursting, it can be well worth spending the extra money on an 8TB unit to not run out of storage space for the foreseeable future.
HDD or SSD, which is better?
There are currently two major types of hard drives used in both internal and external applications: the hard disk drive and the solid-state drive. HHDs are mechanical in nature and rely upon moving parts like discs and arms to carry out operations, while SSDs have no moving parts and instead use microchips to receive and transfer data.
If you are simply looking for a relatively inexpensive way to store files externally and keep them protected, you can likely get by with a conventional HDD unit. However, as the latest generation of external hard drives, SSDs offer the advantage of no moving parts, making them more reliable and resistant to external damage. Furthermore, SSD external hard drives tend to be smaller in size and can write data anywhere up to 15 times faster than HDDs can manage.
What to look for in a quality external hard drive
This section should detail the primary features available in different models of this product, both fundamental features and optional features or upgrades. On average, expect to have three to six features. If there are a few key players synonymous with the product type (e.g., with smartphones, there is Apple vs. Android), cover their key points of differentiation.
Security
Suppose you have any experience with typical external hard drives. In that case, you might be wondering how safe data stored on such devices can be if all you need to access it is a functioning computer with a compatible operating system and USB port. However, modern external hard drives now come equipped with security features like password protection backed up by 256-bit AES hardware encryption. As an encryption protocol adopted by the U.S. government and nations around the world, 256-bit AES hardware encryption protection abilities have been calculated.
Easy of use
Having the ability to plug and play with devices of all ages is key to transferring and preserving your data.
Durability
Let’s face it, many of us have dropped an expensive piece of electronic equipment harder than we’d like and hoped against hope that it would start up again without any issues. Of course, if your product has been designed to withstand a weight of up to one ton and is resistant to dust, rain, drops and shock, you can rest much easier if it happens to fall out of your computer bag. Not every hard drive can prevent such damage and destruction, so it is well worth considering purchasing a more durable unit for your needs.
How much you can expect to spend on an external hard drive
Depending on your desired features and how much memory you would like, an external hard drive can cost between $120-$220 and sometimes more.
Best external hard drive FAQ
How easy is it to connect my new hard drive to my PC or console?
A. Ideally, your external hard drive should be compatible with your OS and plug-and-play directly into a compatible USB port, though using these units as consoles will often require them to be reformatted before they can effectively store games.
What’s the best external hard drive to buy?
Given their overall superiority in data transfer speeds and load times, SSD is generally the superior choice, though HDDs are just fine for less sensitive data.
Top external hard drive
Western Digital My Passport Ultra
What you need to know: This is a handsome and streamlined unit formatted for Windows 10 or Macs.
What you’ll love: It comes with USB-C and USB 3.1 ports with metal cover, password protection with 256-bit AES hardware encryption and a three-year limited warranty.
What you should consider: Users have reported issues with electrical failures and being unable to “safely remove” the hard drive without losing files.
Top external hard drive for the money
What you need to know: This rugged and durable external hard drive protects your data on the move.
What you’ll love: It is resistant to shock, drops, water and dust, and includes a free month of Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps Plan.
What you should consider: If using this with a Mac computer, you must reformat the hard drive first.
Worth checking out
What you need to know: It’s portable, and users love how it works with their various gaming consoles.
What you’ll love: It works well with both PCs and Mac though separate adapters are required, and it comes with three years of rescue services and a limited warranty.
What you should consider: Users have reported issues with slow file transfer speeds and unwanted file deletions.
Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.
Check out our Daily Deals for the best products at the best prices and sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter full of shopping inspo and sales.
BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/14/get-more-space-with-the-best-external-hard-drive/
“Spy Center”: China Plans Secret Room Near Sensitive Cables In London Mega Embassy
“Spy Center”: China Plans Secret Room Near Sensitive Cables In London Mega Embassy
Chinese officials plan to construct a concealed underground chamber adjacent to some of Britain’s most sensitive communications infrastructure as part of their proposed new “super embassy” in London, according to planning documents reviewed by The Telegraph.
Illustration via The Telegraph
The chamber forms part of an extensive subterranean complex comprising 208 rooms beneath the embassy site at the former Royal Mint.
The Telegraph reports:
The drawings show that a single concealed chamber will sit directly alongside fibre-optic cables transmitting financial data to the City of London, as well as email and messaging traffic for millions of internet users.
The same hidden room is fitted with hot-air extraction systems, possibly suggesting the installation of heat-generating equipment such as advanced computers used for espionage. The plans also show that China intends to demolish and rebuild the outer basement wall of the chamber, directly beside the fibre-optic cables.
The revelations have prompted sharp criticism from senior UK Conservative figures, including Alicia Kearns, the shadow national security minister, who described approving the plans as providing “a launchpad for economic warfare at the heart of the central nervous system of our critical national infrastructure”.
Illustration via The Telegraph
“The unredacted plans reveal a concealed room running immediately alongside the fibre-optic cables critical to the City and Canary Wharf. Telegraph readers don’t need me to spell out the obvious threats posed, nor China’s subterfuge – so why does the Labour Government?” Ms. Kearns told the newspaper.
Illustration via The Telegraph
The Telegraph further reports on why the proximity to the cables is cause for national security concerns:
Carrying signals bearing the innermost financial secrets of the British economy, the cables stretch between the Telehouse group of data centres in Docklands and other centres around the capital. Linked together, these form the core of the London Internet Exchange (Linx). Beyond London, they connect to Atlantic cables linking to the US.
Linx is one of the biggest internet exchange points in the world, handling vast volumes of data spanning everything from financial transactions to instant messages and emails.Its cables carry the financial transaction data relied upon by banks to update withdrawals and deposits, such as ordinary people’s salary packets and payments for goods bought online.
Professor Alan Woodward, a security expert at the University of Surrey, told The Telegraph that China’s plans pose a “red flag.”
“There’s a long history of cable-tapping by East and West alike. Anyone who can do it has done it,” Woodward said. “Espionage isn’t just about state secrets. Economic intelligence is central to the mission of foreign intelligence services.”
“If I were in their shoes, having those cables on my doorstep would be an enormous temptation,” he added.
Dominic Cummings, who served as then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief aide, said MI5 warned him China was “trying to build a spy centre underneath the embassy”.
Illustration via The Telegraph
Nonetheless, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly expected to approve the embassy construction plans ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s high-stakes visit to Britain.
Just bloody brilliant, mate!
Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/14/2026 – 04:15
West Africa Under Jihadist Threat: Sahel States Surrendering Sovereignty To Islamic Terrorist Groups
West Africa Under Jihadist Threat: Sahel States Surrendering Sovereignty To Islamic Terrorist Groups
Authored by Lawrence Franklin vi The Gatestone Institute,
Al-Qaeda’s branch in Africa’s Sahel region has been laying siege to Mali’s capital city, as well as other areas of the country. The Algerian-based Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its affiliated Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (Support Group for Islam and Muslims, JNIM) are cutting a wide swath of terrorist operations across West Africa’s Sahel region. This coalition of Jihadist groups now threatens the sovereignty of Mali and several other Sahelian states.
Islamist operatives now control all the main routes in and out of Bamako, Mali’s capital city, cutting it off from fuel, food, and friendly neighbors. JNIM militants have also targeted Mali’s transport, communications, educational network, and economic infrastructure in rural regions. Some towns in Mali are negotiating deals with Jihadist groups to secure some semblance of liberty and save their lives by agreeing to adopt Islamic Sharia law and pay “protection taxes” (jizyah) to Islamic officials.
Burkina Faso and Niger, two other Sahel states, landlocked like Mali, are also under severe pressure by the al-Qaeda affiliated JNIM to surrender their sovereignty to hardcore Sunni Islamic extremists. All three countries, once colonies of France’s West African Empire, have in the past five years expelled French troops who had been assisting the host governments. All three are governed by non-democratic military juntas with little popular support, and thus have been unable to deal effectively with their common Jihadist threat.
These military regimes, which have formed the “Alliance of Sahel States,” brought in mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group and Africa Corps to replace French troops. Yet the Russians have been failing in their mission to shore up the juntas. Moscow’s mercenaries suffered a major defeat in July 2024, near Mali’s border with Algeria, at the hands of Tuareg rebels, who are also allied with the Al-Qaeda-linked Jihadists. Reportedly, dozens of Russian troops were killed during an ambush that occurred during a desert sandstorm.
Jihadist recruits in the Sahel are primarily ethnically Tuareg, some of whom desire to establish an independent state in what is now northern Mali. The region’s other minorities, particularly in Mali, are also attracted to Islamist terrorist groups, including semi-nomadic Fulani tribesmen who populate the semi-deserts of the Sahel. Criminal networks have similarly thrown their lot in with the Jihadists, making money from kidnap ransoms and the sale of purloined gold shavings from Sahelian mines.
The Jihadist threat is not limited to the Sahel, but exists in the entirety of West Africa. For example, JNIM attacks now include assaults on the coastal African countries of Togo and Benin. There is even a report of a JNIM-sponsored foray across the border into Northwest Nigeria.
While most of the terrorist violence can be attributed to al-Qaeda-affiliated groups, Islamic State militants are also a predatory agent in the region. Fortunately, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadists also clash against one another.
Unless there is some urgent military assistance from the West, the success of the terrorists will continue. Logistical requirements of such external-based military aid would probably necessitate the establishment of a rescue corridor inside the territory of Ghana or the Ivory Coast. Alternatively, the juntas may be able to strike a temporary deal with either the Al-Qaeda or Islamic State proxies over sharing governmental powers — further delegitimizing the junta regimes and deteriorating the future of West Africa. Unless there is an immediate Western intervention, one or more of these military regimes is likely to suffer a terrorist takeover in 2026.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/14/2026 – 03:30
Venezuela Begins Gradual Release Of Imprisoned Americans Post-Maduro
Venezuela Begins Gradual Release Of Imprisoned Americans Post-Maduro
After US forces on January 3rd helicoptered into Caracas as Navy warships and aircraft bombed Venezuelan territory, and seemingly effortlessly nabbed President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, one wonders what took so long?
“The Venezuela government has started releasing prisoners with US citizenship, people with knowledge of the situation said,” Bloomberg reports Tuesday evening. “The authorities on Tuesday released at least one US citizen who already left the country, the people said, declining to identify the individual for security reasons.”
There is a planned for gradual release of American prisoners, of which there are not believed to be many.
Just ahead of the Trump-ordered military strikes and brief invasion, various reports indicated at least 5 Americans were being held, including a New York man who only recently went missing after entering Venezuela (it’s not known whether he had a visa or not).
As The NY Post detailed:
At least five Americans, including a New Yorker, are being detained in Venezuela following the Trump administration’s latest military and economic pressure campaign against Caracas, according to a new report.
James Luckey-Lange, 28, of Staten Island, is among the recently US citizens imprisoned in Venezuela, with the New Yorker deemed to be wrongfully detained, officials told the New York Times.
Luckey-Lange, whose family reported him missing earlier this month, disappeared soon after entering Venezuela’s border as part of a long trip across Latin America that was inspired by the death of his mother, musician Diane Luckey.
The latest reports after Maduro’s ouster indicate he’s still in the custody of the country’s federal police, and that the new administration of acting President Delcy Rodríguez has not released him. Lucky-Lange’s family is pleading for his release, and has appealed to both Trump and the Rodríguez government.
Trump has controversially praised the Rodríguez government, saying last week in a Fox interview: “they’ve been great. … Everything we’ve wanted, they’ve given us.”
However, Americans deemed wrongfully detained are still apparently in custody. Last week some 100 political prisoners of Venezuelan as well as foreign nationalities were let go.
Venezuelan National Assembly President (and Delcy Rodriguez’s brother) announces Caracas will release a “significant amount” of political prisoners. Advocates estimate there are between 720 and 900 being held unjustly — at least five of them American.pic.twitter.com/8tSe2k0K3H
— Caitlin Doornbos (@CaitlinDoornbos) January 8, 2026
“Venezuela released a number of imprisoned high-profile opposition figures, activists and journalists — both citizens and foreigners — Thursday in what the government described as a gesture to ‘seek peace’ less than a week after former President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces to face drug-trafficking charges,” The Associated Press indicated.
Tyler Durden
Wed, 01/14/2026 – 02:45
El poder judicial de Irán anuncia juicios rápidos y ejecuciones para manifestantes detenidos
Por JON GAMBRELL
DUBÁI, Emiratos Árabes Unidos (AP) — El jefe del poder judicial de Irán señaló el miércoles que habría juicios rápidos y ejecuciones para aquellos detenidos en las protestas a nivel nacional, a pesar de una advertencia del presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump.
Los comentarios del jefe del poder judicial iraní, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, se producen después de que los activistas advirtieran que las ejecuciones de los detenidos podrían ser inminentes.
La sangrienta represión de las fuerzas de seguridad en las manifestaciones ya ha dejado al menos 2.571 muertos, informó la Agencia de Noticias de Activistas de Derechos Humanos, con sede en Estados Unidos. Esa cifra supera con creces el número de muertos de cualquier otra ronda de protestas o disturbios en Irán en décadas y recuerda al caos que rodeó la Revolución Islámica de 1979 en el país.
Trump ha advertido repetidamente que Estados Unidos podría tomar medidas militares por el asesinato de manifestantes pacíficos, apenas unos meses después de que bombardeara recintos nucleares iraníes durante una guerra de 12 días lanzada por Israel contra la República Islámica en junio.
Mohseni-Ejei hizo el comentario en un video emitido en internet por la televisión estatal iraní.
“Si queremos hacer un trabajo, debemos hacerlo ahora. Si queremos hacer algo, tenemos que hacerlo rápido”, afirmó. “Si se demora dos meses, tres meses después, no tiene el mismo efecto. Si queremos hacer algo, tenemos que hacerlo rápido”, añadió.
Sus comentarios suponen un desafío directo a Trump, quien advirtió a Irán sobre las ejecuciones en una entrevista con CBS emitida el martes:
“Tomaremos medidas muy fuertes”, advirtió Trump. “Si hacen tal cosa, tomaremos medidas muy fuertes”.
Mientras tanto, los activistas dijeron el miércoles que Starlink estaba ofreciendo servicio gratuito en Irán. El servicio de internet satelital ha sido clave para sortear un apagón de internet impuesto por la teocracia el 8 de enero. Irán comenzó a permitir el martes las llamadas al extranjero a través de celulares, pero las llamadas de personas fuera del país hacia Irán siguen bloqueadas.
“Podemos confirmar que la suscripción gratuita para los terminales de Starlink es completamente funcional”, dijo Mehdi Yahyanejad, un activista con sede en Los Ángeles que ha ayudado a llevar las unidades a Irán. “Lo probamos usando un terminal de Starlink recién activado dentro de Irán”.
Starlink en sí no reconoció de inmediato la decisión.
Las fuerzas de seguridad iraníes también parecían buscar antenas de Starlink, ya que personas en el norte de Teherán informaron que las autoridades estaban allanando edificios de apartamentos con antenas satelitales. Aunque las antenas de televisión satelital son ilegales, muchos en la capital las tienen en sus hogares, y las autoridades en general habían dejado de hacer cumplir la ley en los últimos años.
___
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
