Category: News
NBC News Analysis Of ICE Shooting Video Opens Door To Self-Defense
NBC News Analysis Of ICE Shooting Video Opens Door To Self-Defense
On Wednesday morning, during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good accelerated towards an ICE agent with her car, and he responded with lethal force. Good was shot and killed.
Democrats and media figures rushed to condemn the shooting as an unjustified murder.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey claimed to have watched the video and dismissed the federal government’s claims of self-defense as “bullshit.”
SHAMELESS!
Jacob Frey absolves the victim who tried to run over ICE agents of any responsibility and blames ICE for “killing people.” pic.twitter.com/p6alPKJkJf
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 7, 2026
Gov. Tim Walz claimed to have watched the video and disputed the Department of Homeland Security’s assessment that the ICE officer acted in self-defense.
I’ve seen the video.
Don’t believe this propaganda machine.
The state will ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice. https://t.co/3faWW4bQvV
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) January 7, 2026
Others were even less subtle.
”The officer not only needs to be fired and suspended, but based on the video, he needs to be charged with murder,” Rep.Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) claimed.
Dan Goldman dumps gas on the fire: “It was an outright m*rder.”
“This officer…needs to be charged with m*rder.”
Democrats doing their level best to ensure Minneapolis is in flames tonight.pic.twitter.com/io75RP6MrL
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) January 7, 2026
All claimed to have watched the video of the incident, and many people in the legacy media and on social media rushed to condemn the ICE agent. However, NBC News chose to take an objective look at the video evidence and the facts and vindicated the ICE agent.
NBC correspondents Tom Winter and Tom Llamas reviewed the footage on air, highlighting critical details that undercut the narrative being pushed by members of the Democratic Party.
Based on the footage, Winter concluded that Renee Nicole Good had to have been aware that it was law enforcement officers who were confronting her. “We don’t know what happened before this, but they’re definitely gonna look at the fact this is an unmarked vehicle, but the lights are on, these are clearly members of law enforcement, so that’s at least known to this driver,” he explained.
“Those officers approach the vehicle, they try to open the door,” Llamas added.
“Whatever is said here, what these officers say, if the driver said anything or not, could really help them understand whether or not they thought there was some sort of an imminent threat. Was this person trying to listen to them? Were they scared?” Winter said.
Llamas then described the sequence that led to the shooting. “And then, of course, what the driver does next … trying to leave there. One of the officers felt like they were forced to fire, and they do,” he said.
The footage they reviewed showed the vehicle accelerating with an officer positioned directly in front of it. But the more telling footage came from a different angle, making the danger posed to the ICE agents even clearer.
“Well, this appears to show an officer right in front of the vehicle. That, and between the way that the vehicle was moving and the timeline of that, how was the officer responding in that split second gonna be critical for investigators,” Winter explained.
NBC Nightly News was the only legacy evening newscast to report that the woman shot by the ICE officer in Minneapolis was in fact obstructing ICE by blocking traffic pic.twitter.com/qQCjO5cShE
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 8, 2026
NBC’s video analysis laid out the key facts in a surprisingly objective way. They saw was anyone could see just by watching: Agents confronted a vehicle blocking them. The driver knew law enforcement was present based on the emergency lights. An officer stood directly in front of the car before it accelerated. The agent made a split-second decision to fire as the vehicle moved forward.
While there will obviously be an investigation, what we can say for sure at this point is that in all the videos circulating on social media showing the shooting from different angles, they all show the driver accelerating into the ICE agent before he fired his weapon.
In a separate segment, Winter also revealed what law enforcement sources told him about the optics versus the legality.
“I think from a law enforcement perspective, what you’ve heard law enforcement say is that they don’t – they don’t like the way that this shooting looks,” he explained. “And in speaking with people from law enforcement, from that part of the country, they use a phrase that is sometimes heard in law enforcement circles: lawful but awful. They don’t like the look of it, but from a legal perspective, it might be okay,“
NBC’s Tom Winters with an accurate reaction from the 4pm hour to the deadly ICE-involved shooting:
“I think from a law enforcement perspective, what you’ve heard law enforcement say is that they don’t — they don’t like the way that this shooting looks. And in speaking with… pic.twitter.com/kVvY5oR9Vo
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 8, 2026
Additionally, Amy Swearer, a senior legal fellow at conservative nonprofit Advancing American Freedom, told the Daily Mail that under the law, the use of deadly force is justified when an officer can reasonably perceive a threat of serious bodily harm or death.
There has been much speculation online over the direction of the wheels as Good appears to be turning down the road away from the officers.
Others have questioned why Ross was standing in front of the car.
Swearer explained that both points are irrelevant to the law.
“He explicitly does not have a duty to retreat in the way that a civilian would under these circumstances,” she told the Mail.
“It doesn’t matter whether that driver subjectively was not trying to hit the officer,’ Swearer added.
“It matters what the officer can reasonably perceive. He can’t read her mind. He just knows that you have someone who’s ignoring lawful commands, who is moving the car toward him. That is deadly force.”
She compared it to a cop being confronted by a suspect who is reaching for a gun in his waistband while being asked to keep his hands up.
“They don’t have to wait until they’re actually being shot or actually being run over to respond,” she said.
While Democrats are hungry to politicize the shooting, the level-headed analysis from NBC News and Amy Shearer clearly opens the door wide for a self-defense argument by the ICE agent.
The FBI now handles the investigation. The footage will determine whether the shooting was justified under the law. But the detailed NBC breakdown already reveals what Democrats and local officials either missed or, perhaps more likely, chose to ignore in their rush to judgment.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 01/08/2026 – 18:30
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/nbc-news-analysis-ice-shooting-video-vindicates-ice-agent
Cámara baja de EEUU aprueba proyecto para extender subsidios de salud; pone presión sobre Senado
Por LISA MASCARO y KEVIN FREKING
WASHINGTON (AP) — En una notable muestra de rechazo a la dirigencia del Partido Republicano, la Cámara de Representantes de Estados Unidos aprobó el jueves por 230-196 una iniciativa de ley que extendería los ya vencidos subsidios a los seguros de gastos médicos para aquellos que obtienen cobertura a través de la Ley de Cuidado de Salud a Bajo Precio, luego de que algunos legisladores republicanos se unieron a prácticamente todos los demócratas para votar a favor de la medida.
La decisión de forzar el tema a votación se produjo después de que un puñado de republicanos firmara una “petición de descarga” para desbloquear el debate, eludiendo las objeciones del presidente de la cámara baja, Mike Johnson. El proyecto de ley ahora se dirige al Senado, donde se está acumulando presión para un compromiso bipartidista similar.
Las raras coaliciones políticas están tratando de resolver el estancamiento sobre los créditos fiscales mejorados que se implementaron durante la crisis de COVID-19 pero que expiraron a finales del año pasado después de que no se alcanzara un acuerdo durante el cierre del gobierno.
“La crisis de asequibilidad no es un ‘engaño’, es muy real, a pesar de lo que Donald Trump ha dicho”, señalo el líder demócrata de la Cámara de Representantes, Hakeem Jeffries, haciendo referencia a los comentarios del presidente estadounidense.
“Los demócratas dejaron claro antes de que el gobierno se cerrara que estábamos en esta lucha por la asequibilidad hasta que ganemos esta lucha por la asequibilidad”, expresó. “Hoy tenemos la oportunidad de dar un paso significativo”.
Antes de la votación, la Oficina de Presupuesto del Congreso, una entidad no partidista, estimó que el proyecto de ley, que proporcionaría una extensión de tres años del subsidio, aumentaría el déficit del país en aproximadamente 80.600 millones de dólares a lo largo de una década. Al mismo tiempo, aumentaría el número de personas con seguro de salud en 100.000 este año, 3 millones en 2027, 4 millones en 2028 y 1,1 millones en 2029, dijo la oficina.
Creciente apoyo para extender los subsidios
Johnson trabajó durante meses para impedir esta situación. Su oficina argumentó el jueves que la financiación federal de atención médica de la era COVID-19 está plagada de fraude, señalando una investigación en Minnesota, y urgió a votar en contra.
En el pleno, los republicanos argumentaron que los subsidios tal como están estructurados han contribuido al fraude, y que la cámara baja debería centrarse en reducir los costos del seguro de de gastos médicos para la población en general.
“Sólo el 7% de la población depende de los planes del mercado de Obamacare. Esta cámara debería estar enfocada en ayudar al 100% de los estadounidenses”, dijo el representante republicano Jason Smith, presidente de la Comisión de Medios y Arbitrios de la cámara baja.
Aunque el impulso de la votación muestra el creciente apoyo a las exenciones fiscales que han ayudado a unos 22 millones de estadounidenses a tener acceso a un seguro de salud, el Senado no estaría obligado a abordar el proyecto de ley.
En cambio, un pequeño grupo de senadores de ambos partidos ha estado trabajando en un plan alternativo que podría encontrar apoyo en ambas cámaras y convertirse en ley. El líder de la mayoría del Senado, John Thune, dijo que para que cualquier plan encuentre apoyo en su cámara, necesitará tener límites de ingresos para asegurarse de que la ayuda financiera se enfoque en aquellos que más necesitan la ayuda. Él y otros republicanos también quieren asegurarse de que los beneficiarios tengan que pagar al menos una cantidad nominal por su cobertura.
Thune también dijo que sería necesaria alguna expansión de las cuentas de ahorro para la salud, que permiten a las personas ahorrar dinero y retirarlo libre de impuestos siempre que el dinero se use en gastos médicos calificados.
La senadora demócrata Jeanne Shaheen, quien forma parte de las negociaciones sobre reformas y subsidios para la Ley de Cuidado de Salud Asequible, dijo que hay acuerdo en abordar el fraude en la atención médica.
“Reconocemos que tenemos millones de personas en este país que van a perder, están perdiendo, han perdido su seguro de salud porque no pueden pagar las primas”, comentó Shaheen. “Y por eso estamos tratando de ver si podemos llegar a algún acuerdo que vaya a ayudar, y cuanto antes podamos hacerlo, mejor”.
Trump ha instado a los republicanos a enviar dinero directamente a los estadounidenses para cuentas de ahorro para la salud para que puedan eludir al gobierno federal y manejar el seguro por su cuenta. Los demócratas en gran medida rechazan esta idea porque considera que sería insuficiente para cubrir los altos costos de la atención médica.
Los republicanos se saltan a sus líderes
La acción de los republicanos para forzar una votación ha sido una afrenta para Johnson y su equipo de liderazgo, quienes esencialmente perdieron el control de lo que llega al pleno de la Cámara de Representantes cuando los legisladores republicanos se unieron a los demócratas para impulsar la votación.
Después de que el cierre del gobierno del año pasado no resolviera el problema, Johnson había discutido permitir que más legisladores republicanos políticamente vulnerables tuvieran la oportunidad de votar sobre otro proyecto de ley de atención médica que extendería temporalmente los subsidios mientras también agregaba cambios.
Pero después de días de discusiones, Johnson y el liderazgo republicano se alinearon con el ala más conservadora, que ha criticado los subsidios para la Ley de Cuidado de Salud a Bajo Precio, que consideran un programa gubernamental fallido. Ofreció una propuesta modesta de reformas de atención médica que fue aprobada, pero se ha estancado.
Fue entonces cuando los legisladores de base tomaron el asunto en sus propias manos, ya que muchos de sus electores enfrentaban aumentos en las primas de seguros de gastos médicos a partir de este mes.
Los representantes republicanos Brian Fitzpatrick, Robert Bresnahan y Ryan Mackenzie, todos de Pensilvania, y Mike Lawler, de Nueva York, firmaron la petición de los demócratas, llevándola al número mágico de 218 necesario para forzar una votación en la cámara baja. Los cuatro representan distritos clave en disputa que ayudarán a determinar qué partido tomará el control de la Cámara de Representantes el próximo año. ___
El periodista de The Associated Press Matt Brown contribuyó a este despacho.
___
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Trump Launches His Own QE: Directs GSEs To Purchase $200 Billion In Mortgage Bonds
Trump Launches His Own QE: Directs GSEs To Purchase $200 Billion In Mortgage Bonds
First, Trump short-circuited the Fed’s rate-cut process. Now he is going after QE by launching his own version of it.
In a post on late Thursday post on Truth Social, President Trump said he was directing the purchase of $200 billion in mortgage bonds, which he framed as his latest effort to bring down housing costs ahead of the November midterm election.
“This will drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable,” Trump wrote in his post.
He added that his decision not to sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during his first term allowed them to amass “$200 BILLION DOLLARS IN CASH” and that he was making his announcement “because of that.”
Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, said soon after that the president aims for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae to execute the purchases. Pulte said Thursday the bond purchases “can be executed very quickly. We have the capability, we have the cash to do it, and we are going to go about executing it very smartly and in a very big way.”
“It is one of my many steps in restoring Affordability, something that the Biden Administration absolutely destroyed,” the president said. Mortgage backed securities rallied relative to Treasuries on the news.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have added billions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities and home loans to their balance sheets in recent months, fueling speculation that they’re trying to push down lending rates and boost their profitability ahead of a potential public offering; now those speculations have been validated.
The government-backed housing-finance giants increased their retained portfolios, the portion of bonds and loans they hold onto rather than sell to investors, by more than 25% in the five months through October, according to recent figures.
The announcement comes one day after Trump said on Wednesday that he would seek to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes. The president’s advisers have repeatedly raised alarms that affordability has become a political albatross for the GOP and could cost the party control of Congress in the elections this fall.
In keeping with Trump’s housing obsession, overnight Politico reported that the White House is drafting an executive order broadly targeted at addressing Americans’ frustration with the cost of living, including a push to allow people to dip into their retirement and college savings accounts to afford down payments on homes.
Of course, by simply adding even more fuel to the demand side – which is what this kind of conversion from savings into home equity will do – it will achieve the opposite of what Trump is pursuing, which means even more mortgage bond purchases, which means even more rate cuts, which means even more direct intervention in the market by various third parties, which means even more endogenous liquidity generated, and so on. Of course, it also means we have barely scratched the surface of where gold and bitcoin will eventually trade.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 01/08/2026 – 18:05
Tax season is almost here. Here’s what to know and when you can begin filing.
WASHINGTON — Jan. 26 marks the official start date of the 2026 tax filing season, when the IRS will begin accepting and processing 2025 tax returns. April 15 is the filing deadline to avoid penalties and interest.
Tax season is the annual period when taxpayers prepare and submit their income tax returns for the previous calendar year to the IRS and most U.S. citizens and permanent residents need to file a tax return if they make more than a certain amount of money for the year.
Tax experts, including the IRS’ independent watchdog, have warned that this year’s filing season could be hampered by the loss of tens of thousands of tax collection workers who left the agency through planned layoffs and buyouts spurred by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano, who was named to the new role in October, said “the IRS workforce remains vigilant and dedicated to their mission to serve the American taxpaying public. At the same time, IRS information systems have been updated to incorporate the new tax laws and are ready to efficiently and effectively process taxpayer returns during the filing season.”
Bisignano is also commissioner of the Social Security Administration.
The IRS will also be responsible for implementing major provisions of Republicans’ tax and spending package signed into law last summer. Several provisions in the law retroactively affect the 2025 tax year, likely leading to more questions from taxpayers and requiring the IRS to update tax forms.
“President Trump is committed to the taxpayers of this country and improving upon the successful tax filing season in 2025,” said acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent in a news release. “I am confident in our ability to deliver results and drive growth for businesses and consumers alike.”
The IRS expects to receive roughly 164 million individual income tax returns this year, which is on par with what it received last year.
The average refund amount was $3,167, according to IRS data. Bessent has said on several occasions that the effects of Republican tax law will result in bigger tax refunds in 2026.
The latest National Taxpayer Advocate report to Congress published in June states that the IRS workforce has fallen from 102,113 workers at the end of the Biden administration to 75,702. The IRS website does not include the latest employment numbers on the agency’s workforce.
IRS employees involved in last year’s tax season were not allowed to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration until after the taxpayer filing deadline of April 15, 2025.
The June National Taxpayer Advocate report to Congress warned that the 2026 season could be rocky.
“With the IRS workforce reduced by 26% and significant tax law changes on the horizon, there are risks to next year’s filing season,” said Erin M. Collins, who leads the organization assigned to protect taxpayers’ rights.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/08/tax-filing-season-start-date/
University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen to retire in 2027
University of Illinois System President Timothy Killeen announced his retirement Thursday morning, writing in a letter to faculty and staff that he would step down at the conclusion of his contract in June 2027.
“Serving in this role is truly the honor of my life. But my wife, Roberta, and I felt it was important to provide clarity about our family’s plans now, allowing ample time for the initiation of a thoughtful and thorough transition,” Killeen wrote in the letter.
Killeen has led the university system, which includes three campuses in Chicago, Springfield and Urbana-Champaign, since 2015. A researcher in geophysics and space science, Killeen took on the massive undertaking of overseeing the state’s largest public university at a time of economic uncertainty.
Since then, Board of Trustees Chair Jesse Ruiz said Killeen has guided the university through “periods of fiscal uncertainty, a global pandemic and a rapidly evolving regulatory environment.” Last year, when Killeen’s contract was renewed, U. of I. reported research funding grew to over $1 billion under his presidency.
Enrollment has also increased steadily, under Killeen’s leadership, even as many other colleges and universities across the country struggle to attract students and keep their budgets in the black. Each of the system’s three schools — in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield — has increased enrollment over the same 20-year period, with figures at the main campus in Urbana-Champaign climbing from 40,500 in fall 2004 to 59,000 last year. More than 100,000 students enrolled in fall 2025, Ruiz said.
In 2024, the university system piloted a program that would increase the number of students transferring from community colleges to four-year universities. The more than 28,000 students from underrepresented backgrounds at the university have increased 55% since 2016, Ruiz said.
Beyond enrollment, Ruiz said Killeen’s leadership helped strengthen the university system’s financial position, including raising $656 million in fiscal year 2025.
In fiscal year 2023, the university system added $24.9 billion to Illinois’ economy, according to a study it published earlier this year.
As for what’s next, Ruiz said the search for the university system’s 21st president will begin in the coming weeks.
“The selection of a president is perhaps the most important responsibility of the Board of Trustees,” Ruiz said. “In the coming weeks, the board will take its first steps to initiate the search process, fully committed to identifying a president who is capable of following in Tim’s footsteps of excellence and will propel our university system to new heights.”
While he is retiring next year, Killeen said his work is not done.
There is, of course, still much important work ahead, and I remain fully committed to advancing the ambitious goals before us,” he wrote. “I intend to see this contract period through with as much energy and dedication as ever.”
Tribune reporter Jeremy Gorner contributed.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/08/university-of-illinois-president-tim-killeen-retires/
Iran Plunged Into Internet Blackout, Protests Spread, As Trump Issues Fresh Warning
Iran Plunged Into Internet Blackout, Protests Spread, As Trump Issues Fresh Warning
By all accounts, protests and unrest have been spreading rapidly in Iran, now over a week-and-a-half into economic and anti-government protests which have begun to grind the country to a halt. On Thursday the demonstrations have disrupted life in the capital in a big way, and there are reports of nationwide internet and cellular outages.
Anti-government slogans and calls to “rise up” have been observed in Tehran and elsewhere, and in some places supporters of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi have actually heeded his repeat public calls to take to the streets (though this ‘pro-Shah’ contingent likely only remains an extreme minority at this stage).
NetBlocks has alleged that Iranian authorities have intentionally blocked internet access to the citizenry, possibly as a precursor to a bigger crackdown after dozens have been reported dead (some 45, based on unverified numbers, but which includes some security personnel) – but this remains speculation.
The internet outages were first reported in western city of Kermanshah earlier in the day Thursday, but into the night hours (local), the NY Times is freshly describing, “As the government cracked down in various cities, internet connectivity data showed an abrupt and near-total drop in connection levels in Iran on Thursday afternoon, according to NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, and the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Internet Outage Detection and Analysis database.”
The country is nearly completely offline and in the dark as far as online communication and access. This is likely to only compound the nation’s problems, and stir up more sustained protests, after late last month a sudden currency slide amid already difficult economic conditions resulted in key central Tehran shops shuttering in protest and panic. US-led sanctions have loomed large over all of this.
Iranian Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday called for restraint among police and security forces in dealing with the raging crowds. “Any violent or coercive behavior should be avoided,” said Pezeshkian in an online statement. He called for “utmost restraint” as well as “dialogue, engagement and listening to the people’s demands.”
NOW: Massive protest in Tehran, Iran. pic.twitter.com/qudbHcIkVA
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 8, 2026
People are watching President Trump’s reactions very closely, especially coming off his giving the order for military forces to go into Venezuela to oust Maduro. He has reiterated that the United States will strike “very hard” if Iran starts killing protesters.
However, he has also lately seemed to suggest that violence or deaths during “crowd control” can be ambiguous and hard to assess. This perhaps gives him an ‘out’ at a moment the US hawks are circling, and members of his own cabinet might be pressuring toward action.
But a fresh statement from Vice President J.D. Vance has just injected something new and raised the stakes in a significant way. He’s calling for the Iranians to enter fresh negotiations with Washington, or as he put it in fresh remarks to “actually have a real negotiation” over its nuclear program (which was set-back in a big way by the last June US bombing raid on three key nuclear development sites).
🇺🇸🇮🇷U.S. Vice President Vance on the current protests in Iran:
“Obviously, the Iranian regime has a lot of problems. And as the president The States has said, the smartest thing for them to have done, it was true two months ago, it’s true today, is for them to actually have a… pic.twitter.com/CZ0ILPq6eb
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) January 8, 2026
Tehran has every reason to not trust Washington at this point, for all the obvious reasons and fact that it was just bombed last summer at the very moment after it entered new dialogue with the US.
Iran’s leadership is increasingly pointing to the violence being unleashed on security forces and police by at least some of the protesters and rioters. Also, the scenario of Mossad or CIA operatives who might be exacerbating the situation remains a real and plausible threat. At the same time, there has appeared evidence purporting to show violent surprise attacks on police or security officials…
1/4 An Afghan national killed Lt. Col. Mahmoud Haqiqat, the police chief of Iranshahr, in a brazen, targeted attack in Iran’s southeastern Sistan–Baluchestan province. pic.twitter.com/dSMkllY9Ot
— South Asia Times (@_southasiatimes) January 8, 2026
Various external monitors have said the protests have now spread to over 100 cities and towns spanning all 31 of Iran’s provinces. At least 2,200 demonstrators have been detained, according to reports.
BBC Persian meanwhile says that it has independently verified the names and deaths of 21 individuals, while Iranian officials have announced that five security personnel have been killed. This suggests that at least in some locales, anti-government groups could become armed. There are some external powers – like Israel – that would probably applaud such internal fracturing, which would only serve to further weaken the Islamic Republic.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 01/08/2026 – 17:40
El papa marca un nuevo estilo de gobierno para la Iglesia con reuniones anuales de cardenales
Por NICOLE WINFIELD
CIUDAD DEL VATICANO (AP) — El papa León XIV indicó el jueves que pretende reunir anualmente a los cardenales del mundo, marcando un nuevo estilo de gobierno para la Iglesia católica que implica consultar regularmente y en grupo a sus principales líderes.
Al final de su primer consistorio —nombre que la Iglesia da a estas reuniones—, el pontífice les pidió a los cardenales que regresen a Roma para una segunda sesión a finales de junio y, a partir de entonces, de manera anual durante tres o cuatro días cada año, informó Matteo Bruni, portavoz del Vaticano.
Los cardenales señalaron que la fecha propuesta para la segunda sesión sería del 27 al 28 de junio, antes de la gran festividad del 29 de ese mes, en que se conmemora a los santos Pedro y Pablo.
El papa Francisco evitó en gran medida recurrir a los consistorios y al Colegio de Cardenales en su conjunto para ayudarle a gobernar. En lugar de ello, contaba con un grupo seleccionado de nueve cardenales que se reunían cada pocos meses en el Vaticano para asesorarlo.
Antes del cónclave de mayo en el que León fue elegido, algunos cardenales se habían quejado del estilo de gobierno solitario de Francisco, y le pidieron al nuevo pontífice que convocara a consistorios con regularidad para que los cardenales pudieran reunirse como grupo y asesorar al papa sobre problemas urgentes que enfrenta la Iglesia.
León dejó claro que había escuchado sus quejas y estaba respondiendo a ellas. Convocó a su primer consistorio al día siguiente de cerrar el Año Santo 2025, lo que de alguna manera marca el inicio de su pontificado, luego de que él concluyó las obligaciones del Jubileo iniciado por Francisco.
El cardenal Stefen Brislin, arzobispo de Johannesburgo, señaló que la reunión de esta semana también les permitió a los cardenales conocerse entre sí, ya que muchos rara vez viajan a Roma y provienen de países remotos. Durante las reuniones previas al cónclave, los cardenales se habían quejado de que no se conocían, lo que para algunos representaba un problema a la hora de decidir por quién votarían para que fuese el próximo papa.
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La cobertura religiosa de The Associated Press recibe apoyo a través de la colaboración de la AP con The Conversation US, con financiación de Lilly Endowment Inc. La AP es la única responsable de este contenido.
___
Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Of Notoriety: South Shore Arts opens year with new exhibits, Rosie and Rivets back at Blue Chip
South Shore Arts at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, 1040 Ridge Road in Munster, has launched the 2026 exhibition calendar this month. “In this year of national importance, we intend to celebrate the excellence of local artists and promote our region’s creative spirit,” said South Shore Arts Executive Director Jonathan Canning. The year begins with the exhibition “Mark Makers,” focusing on regional artists with their national reputations for elevating the status of drawing and expanding the medium’s impact through the precision of execution and the emotional power of imagery. Among the display highlights are artist Tim Lowly’s portraits of his daughter, as well as innovative conceptual framework for the art of Mary Porterfield. The exhibition runs through March 14 with more details by calling 219-836-1839 or visiting http://www.southshoreartsonline.org.
Lead singer Christine Mikulskis, who also plays guitar, leads Rosie and The Rivets, a Chicago-based rock band performing one show Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, of favorite rock and soul smash hits from the 1960s, along with contemporary music with a vintage twist. (Blue Chip Casino/provided)
Riveting free entertainment
Self-described as “retro revivalists,” Chicago-based rock band Rosie and The Rivets perform the best of both worlds for music, from favorite rock and soul smash hits from the 1960s, along with contemporary music with a vintage twist. The group is returning to Michigan City after their audience raves in January 2025. This weekend, they will play center stage for a free concert starting at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, as the headliners at Live at Rocks Lounge in the lobby pavilion of Blue Chip Casino, Hotel and Spa, 777 Blue Chip Drive in Michigan City. Audiences have a hard time staying in their seats, and concerts often turn into dance parties with music salutes to early rock, rockabilly, girl groups and surf featuring chart hits from “Please, Mr. Postman” to “Stray Cats Strut.” For more information, visit bluechip.boydgaming.com or call 219-879-7711.
The Penguin Players Cabaret show Jan. 16-18, 2026, at Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso will showcase talented artists with developmental disabilities and their peer mentors to perform in inclusive, inspiring short productions for audiences of all ages. (Image courtesy of Memorial Opera House)
Creative crowd cabaret
Join The Penguin Players for their 2026 production of High Tide Cabaret, billed as “a vibrant beach vacation full of summer hits, sunshine and shared joy for stage entertainment.” Twice a year, this touring group hosts a magical celebration of the human spirit to unfold on stages across the country. From Friday, Jan. 16 to Sunday, Jan. 18, with a 7 p.m. Friday performance and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, The Penguin Players High Tide Cabaret will play Memorial Opera House, 104 Indiana Ave. in Valparaiso. Tickets range from $15 to $20 by calling 219-548-9137 or visiting www.memorialoperahouse.com. Penguin Players and Penguin Project is a unique community theater program organized to bring together talented artists with developmental disabilities and their peer mentors to perform in inclusive, inspiring productions. In High Tide Cabaret, artists with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, intellectual disabilities, and other developmental or neurological differences take center stage, showcasing their talents alongside peer mentors who volunteer to support and collaborate with them.
Rush it
Hailing from the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area, The RUSH Experience is a three-piece trio RUSH Tribute Act. Three musicians on stage fulfill the traditional roles of Geddy, Neil and Alex on bass, guitar and drums for a one-on-one replica of Neil Peart’s Rotating Drum KIT with symphonic percussion instruments. Playing one performance 8 p.m., Jan. 9 at Art Theatre in Hobart, the group celebrates the entire 40-year career of RUSH from their 1974 debut album through 2012’s epic swan song, “Clockwork Angels,” with a wealth of fan favorites and surprising deep cuts rarely performed by Rush themselves. For tickets, call 219-942-1670 or visit www.brickartlive.com.
Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and radio show host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at PhilPotempa@gmail.com.
Cámara de Representantes de EEUU aprueba iniciativa para extender subsidios a seguros de salud; pone presión a Senado
Cámara de Representantes de EEUU aprueba iniciativa para extender subsidios a seguros de salud; pone presión a Senado.
US Online Holiday Shopping Hits Record $257.8 Billion: Adobe
US Online Holiday Shopping Hits Record $257.8 Billion: Adobe
Authored by Andrew Moran via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
U.S. online holiday shopping was a record in 2025, fueled by a strong Cyber Week, according to new data released on Jan. 7 by Adobe.
Consumers spent $257.8 billion from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, representing a 6.8 percent year-over-year increase and a new record for online shopping.
This beat Adobe’s forecast of $253.4 billion.
Adobe calculates its estimates using direct online transactions and data from more than 1 trillion U.S. retail site visits.
The solid performance was driven by the five-day holiday—Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday—which generated more than $44 billion in overall online transactions. Within this period, Cyber Monday was the biggest e-commerce day of the season, accounting for $14.25 billion of sales.
Cost-conscious consumers were on the hunt for strong discounts, and they found savings, particularly in electronics, toys, apparel, and appliances. Discounts off the listed prices were higher than in the previous year, enabling shoppers to trade up and purchase higher-ticket items.
Three trends were also prevalent across the two-month Christmas shopping season, according to Adobe: mobile shopping; buy now, pay later programs; and use of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
“This 2025 holiday season, consumers embraced generative AI more than ever as a shopping assistant in their purchasing decisions,” Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement to The Epoch Times.
“Competitive discounts and flexible payment options like Buy Now Pay Later also contributed to driving record spend of $257.8 billion throughout this holiday season.”
Mobile shopping reached a new milestone, accounting for more than half (56.4 percent) of online transactions.
Buy now, pay later—a flexible payment method that allows consumers to pay for a purchase at a later date—climbed to an all-time high and contributed $20 billion in online spending. This was up nearly 10 percent from the same time a year ago.
Cyber Monday was the biggest day on record for buy now, pay later schemes, topping $1 billion.
An Adobe survey conducted in November found that consumers planned to use the program for apparel, electronics, furniture, and toys.
Meanwhile, generative AI-powered chat services were a crucial tool for shoppers to locate deals and research products throughout the holidays—and it paid off for retailers.
In total, traffic to retail sites driven by generative AI platforms jumped more than 693 percent year over year. On Cyber Monday alone, AI‑referred visits to U.S. retail websites surged by 670 percent.
“While the base of users remains modest, the uptick shows the value AI can deliver as a shopping assistant,” the report stated.
Consumers relied most heavily on these AI services for appliances, electronics, personal care products, toys, and video games.
Every year, retailers brace for a wave of post-Christmas returns—and 2025 was no different.
While overall holiday season returns were down 1.2 percent from a year ago, they climbed 4.7 percent year over year in the five days following Christmas Day.
In 2024, one out of every eight returns occurred between Dec. 26 and Dec. 31. This year, Adobe reported, it was one out of seven.
Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Overall, it was a terrific year for retailers as U.S. holiday spending rose at a non-inflation-adjusted pace of 4.2 percent, according to the annual Retail Spend Monitor report from Visa Consulting & Analytics.
Comparable to Adobe’s findings, artificial intelligence played a role, says Wayne Best, chief economist at Visa.
“This season also marked a turning point, with artificial intelligence shaping how people discover products, compare prices, and interact with offers. This led to a more informed, more intentional consumer, ensuring they could stretch their discretionary spending,” Wayne said in a news release.
Mastercard, meanwhile, reported that U.S. holiday in-store and online retail sales jumped by almost 4 percent from Nov. 1 to Dec. 21.
The credit card giant noted that consumers shopped early, took advantage of store promotions, and blended brick-and-mortar shopping with the online experience.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 01/08/2026 – 17:15
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/us-online-holiday-shopping-hits-record-2578-billion-adobe
