(Composite by Hannah Yoest / Photos: GettyImages / Shutterstock) MEDIA MATTERS, THE LEFT-LEANING WATCHDOG of right-wing media that has been a staple of blue Twitter for nearly two decades, will cease posting on the site starting tonight—a direct result of their lengthy legal fight with the company now known as X and its owner, Elon Musk. Their reason for going dark, according to staff: changes to X’s terms of service, scheduled to go into effect at midnight tonight, that seem specifically designed to hurt Media Matters’ chances in their legal battle—and highlight the lengths to which Musk will sometimes go to punish his critics. “Some of the changes to X’s terms of service underscore Elon Musk’s ability and seeming willingness to change the rules of the platform to punish speech,” said Angelo Carusone, chairman and president of Media Matters, in a statement on Wednesday evening. “There’s little reason to believe similar tactics wouldn’t be used again at crucial moments, like in the runup to elections. Having so much power to control the flow of information should concern everyone invested in democracy.” The two companies have been fighting in court since 2023. That November, Media Matters published a report criticizing Musk’s anything-goes moderation policies and demonstrating that advertisers’ content was sometimes showing up next to hate speech and neo-Nazi posts. X—which was then suffering through a damaging exodus of advertisers due to exactly these concerns—quickly filed what Musk described as a “thermonuclear lawsuit” accusing Media Matters of gaming X’s algorithm in a way that “misrepresented the real user experience.” Media Matters called the lawsuit “frivolous,” accused Musk of trying to weaponize the law to silence critics, and vowed to fight it out in court. Share Much of the recent court wrangling, however, hasn’t concerned the merits of Musk’s accusation but a preliminary procedural matter: Which court or courts provide the proper venue for trying the case? X didn’t file its lawsuit in San Francisco, where X was then based, or in Washington, D.C., home of Media Matters. Instead, it brought the case in the Northern District of Texas—a frequent court-shopping destination for conservatives looking for legal advantage—where it landed on the desk of Chief Judge Reed O’Connor. In addition to a lengthy track record of pro-conservative rulings, O’Connor has faced criticism for presiding over Musk-related lawsuits while personally owning Tesla stock. While O’Connor recused himself from a different 2024 case brought by X—Musk’s attempt to punish businesses for no longer buying ads on his platform—he declined to do so in the Media Matters case. The new X terms of service specifically require that all cases involving the company be filed in the Fort Worth division of the Northern District of Texas. There are just three judges assigned to that division, including O’Connor. Because one is a senior-status judge with a reduced caseload, the odds of any case filed in that division being assigned to O’Connor are greater than one in three. Media Matters has been fighting Musk’s maneuver to get the suit in front of O’Connor. In response to X’s lawsuit, they argued that, by suing in Texas, X had violated its own terms of service—which stipulated at the time that all disputes involving X be brought “solely in the federal or state courts located in San Francisco County” and under California law. Media Matters made the same claim in a countersuit filed against X in California. (In October 2024, Musk belatedly updated X’s terms of service to require all future litigation involving the company to be brought in North Texas.) But a new change in X’s terms of service, announced last month and effective as of tomorrow, seems designed specifically to undercut Media Matters’ venue argument. Now, in addition to insisting that all new federal disputes be held in Judge O’Connor’s district, X is also attempting to bind its users to an agreement that all pre-existing U.S. disputes be litigated there as well. Here’s the relevant passage (emphasis added): The choice of law and forum selection provisions of this paragraph shall apply to pending and future disputes and shall apply to your dispute regardless of when the conduct relating to the dispute arose or occurred. Ongoing use of X requires ongoing assent to the company’s terms of service. In Media Matters’ case, that would mean providing Musk with a weapon to deploy against them in court. As a result, when the new terms go into effect tonight, Media Matters will stop all publishing on the platform. Their accounts won’t be deleted—Media Matters says it doesn’t want to free up the handles for impersonators or trolls—but there will be no further engagement on the platform from the nonprofit or its employees, according to a person familiar with the group’s thinking. Media Matters’ official account has nearly 415,000 followers on X; some of the organization’s most well-known personalities, like senior fellow Matthew Gertz, have hundreds of thousands. Treat yourself: Join Bulwark+ for 2026 Unsavory terms of service agreements are hardly unique to X. Most users breeze through such agreements without taking in a word; courts, on the other hand, have typically treated them as binding legal contracts. And tech companies habitually take full advantage, slipping in all sorts of self-dealing legal goodies: venue stipulations, caps on damages they can be sued for, requirements to solve disputes through arbitration rather than lawsuits, bans on class-action suits, and so on. “This has been going on for like twenty years—not with X in particular, but with data privacy in general,” said Nancy Kim, a law professor and expert on contract law at Illinois Tech’s Chicago-Kent College of Law. “We’re just getting our rights slowly eroded, and these platforms are just increasingly getting more and more powerful, and they’re doing this through terms of service.” But X’s conduct stands out for a few reasons. For one, there’s the obviously personal nature of the proposed changes. The lawsuit against Media Matters is a personal hobbyhorse of Musk’s, who has repeatedly described the organization as “pure evil,” “evil incarnate,” “evil to its core,” a “scam,” and “a radical left propaganda machine.” Compared to the practices of other businesses, it’s significantly outside the norm for Musk—especially after having already made it harder for any future litigants to win in court against X—to further tinker with the terms of service to bolster his side in one particular set of ongoing lawsuits. Then there’s the fact that X—for better or worse—still functions, in many respects, as a digital public square. Discourse there still sets the table for much of the political conversation in the rest of the country. Media Matters’ decision to stop posting means X will lose a significant voice pushing back on the monsoon of fact-agnostic MAGA infotainment that’s become ubiquitous on the platform. As Musk’s endless campaign against Media Matters continues to show, the openness of that discourse rests on the whims of one crabby, strung-out, impetuous billionaire, whose devotion to the ideals of free and open communication tends to shrivel up quickly when it comes into tension with his various political campaigns, ideological beliefs, or personal vendettas. If Musk is willing to repeatedly revise X’s terms of service just to make it easier to punish Media Matters, what else might he do to restrict what was once regarded as a national, or even global, public square? And to what extent are other users who remain on the platform1 enabling him to do so—and exposing themselves, perhaps, to liability of their own—by continuing to use it? Leave a comment Share

The Senate on Wednesday blocked a bipartisan measure that aimed to prevent President Donald Trump from taking further military action in Venezuela, after two Republicans withdrew their support under pressure from the administration.Upgrade for 3 extra accounts to sharePremium comes with extra access for friends and family, plus more benefits.See more details Republicans succeeded in a last-minute push to halt debate on the resolution, arguing that the administration’s military action in the South American country had concluded and that the bill was thus irrelevant. That procedural effort succeeded by a vote of 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance breaking a tie. Three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Rand Paul (Kentucky) — joined all Democrats in voting to continue consideration of the resolution. The vote comes a week after five Republicans helped advance the largely symbolic resolution following this month’s stunning military raid to apprehend Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Trump lashed out after the earlier vote, attacking the GOP lawmakers in a social media post and personally calling some of them as he sought to tank the measure, according to their public comments. Follow Trump’s second term One, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), had publicly wavered this week after Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured him in a phone call that the administration did not intend to deploy U.S. troops to Venezuela. Rubio has come under intense criticism from Democrats, who have accused him of misleading Congress about the administration’s intentions with respect to Venezuela. “He addressed my concerns really directly in terms of occupying forces, further military hostilities with ground troops,” Hawley said of Rubio, while addressing reporters. “He said point-blank: We don’t want to do that.” Sen. Todd Young (R-Indiana), who cast the other decisive vote against the measure, said in a statement that he had received a “commitment that if President Trump were to determine American forces are needed in major military operations in Venezuela, the Administration will come to Congress in advance to ask for an authorization of force.” Speaking with reporters after the vote, Young declined to define “major military operations.” Rubio also agreed to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the coming weeks to discuss Venezuela, Young said in his statement. Trump had previously said he was unafraid to use the military “as it pertains to oil,” amid the administration’s push to secure the country’s vast petroleum reserves. Trump also had threatened a “second wave” of attacks if Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, did not accede to U.S. demands for access to the country’s oil — though he said later that further strikes would not be necessary. In early November, as Trump made repeated threats to carry out an attack on Venezuela, Rubio sought to reassure members of Congress that, despite the president’s public assertions, no such operation was imminent. The United States, Rubio told lawmakers then, lacked legal authority to invade the South American country and said that doing so would carry major risks, according to people who attended his classified briefing. This week, Sen. James E. Risch (Idaho), Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to the White House asking for confirmation that “U.S. military personnel are no longer involved in hostilities in Venezuela,” according to Jan. 13 correspondence reviewed by The Washington Post. Rubio responded to Risch, saying there were “currently no U.S. Armed Forces in Venezuela” and that the administration would notify Congress if further operations occurred, consistent with the War Powers Act, which requires notification within 48 hours. The administration did not notify Congress ahead of the Maduro raid, according to multiple lawmakers. The administration has framed the attack in Caracas as a law enforcement operation designed to enforce a U.S. warrant against the Venezuelan leader Maduro and his wife, who are under indictment on drug and weapons charges. On Tuesday night, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel published a previously secret memo attempting to justify the raid by arguing that the president is not constrained by international law and that the operation did not rise to the level of war. The publicly released memo is heavily redacted, but lawmakers had the chance to review the full, classified version this week. Many Democrats have cast doubt on the administration’s legal defense and questioned any private assurances from officials like Rubio in light of his past statements to lawmakers on the matter. Rubio has denied that he lied to lawmakers, arguing instead that the operation did not amount to an invasion. “It doesn’t to my point of view put much of a constraint on the executive,” said Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California), one of the sponsors of the resolution, in a news conference following the vote. In the months before the Maduro raid, some Republicans had signaled that directly attacking Venezuelan territory without congressional authorization was a red line for them, even as they continued to support the administration’s deadly campaign against alleged drug traffickers in the waters off Latin America. Republicans in the House and the Senate previously rejected four other war powers resolutions seeking to block the boat strikes or direct military action against Venezuela. Democrats have vowed to continue forcing votes on the use of military force as Trump threatens further attacks, including against Iran, Cuba and Greenland, part of Denmark, a NATO ally.

A day of press raids, DOJ walkouts, Iran’s soaring death toll, vanished Venezuelan deportees, Kremlin bravado, and Trump’s factory-floor fury.

Press raids, prosecutor walkouts, mass protest deaths, U.S. losing track of 137 deported Venezuelans, Kremlin Greenland fantasies, and Trump’s factory-floor flare-up.

Democrats got burned by “Defund the Police.” This is different.

Roughly half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota have resigned amid turmoil over the federal investigation into the killing of a woman by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, according to people familiar with the matter. Several supervisors in the criminal section of the Justice Department's civil rights division have also given notice of their departures, they said. The resignations follow growing tensions over a decision by the Trump administration to block the state out of the investigation into the shooting of Renee Good, who was fatally shot in the head by an immigration agent last week. Lawyers in the civil rights division, which generally investigates high-profile officer shootings, were also recently told that the section would not be involved in the probe at this stage, two people familiar with the matter said. The Justice Department does not believe there is currently any basis to open a criminal civil rights investigation into Good's killing, a top department official said Tuesday. The decision to keep the division out of the investigation marks a sharp departure from past administrations, which have moved quickly to probe shootings of civilians by law enforcement officials for potential civil rights offenses. Among the departures in Minnesota is First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson, who had been leading the sprawling investigation and prosecution of fraud schemes in the state, two other people said. Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Joe Thompson, speaks to reporters at a news conference on July 15, 2025, in Minneapolis. Thompson is among the federal prosecutors who have resigned. (Steve Karnowski/The Associated Press) At least four other prosecutors in the Minnesota U.S. attorney's office joined Thompson in resigning amid a period of tension in the office, the people said. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.Concerns over political pressure The resignations are the latest in an exodus of career Justice Department attorneys who have resigned or been forced out over concerns over political pressure or shifting priorities under the Trump administration. Hundreds of Justice Department lawyers have been fired or have left voluntarily over the last year. WATCH | Several Minnesota prosecutors resign:The state of Minnesota along with the cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul are suing the federal government to try and block the surge of thousands more immigration and customs enforcement officers, a move that followed an ICE officer's fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good. Minnesota Democratic lawmakers criticized the departures, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, calling the resignations "a loss for our state and for public safety" and warning that prosecutions should not be driven by politics. Gov. Tim Walz said the departures raised concerns about political pressure on career Justice Department officials. The resignations of the lawyers in the civil rights division's criminal section, including its chief, were announced to staff on Monday. The Justice Department on Tuesday said those prosecutors had requested to participate in an early retirement program "well before the events in Minnesota," and added that "any suggestion to the contrary is false." Founded nearly 70 years ago, the civil rights division has a long history of investigating shootings of civilians by law enforcement officials even though prosecutors typically need to clear a high bar to mount a criminal prosecution. In prior administrations, the division has moved quickly to open and publicly announce such investigations, not only to reflect federal jurisdiction over potential civil rights violations but also in hopes of soothing community angst that sometimes accompanies shootings involving law enforcement. In Minneapolis, for instance, the Justice Department during the first Trump administration opened a civil rights investigation into the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of city police officers that resulted in criminal charges. The Minneapolis Police Department was separately scrutinized by the Biden administration for potential systemic civil rights violations through what's known as a "pattern or practice" investigation, a type of police reform inquiry that is out of favor in the current Trump administration Justice Department.

ICE Detention Expands Dramatically; 70,000 Immigrants Now Jailed, Deaths Increase Listen Reporter Ken Klippenstein’s latest investigation into the inner workings of the Trump regime finds that immigration enforcement agencies ICE and Border Patrol have relaxed recruitment and deployment guidelines in an effort to fill the administration’s sweeping deportation goals. “There’s splits within the agency about the shooting [of Renee Good] and the general mission,” says Klippenstein, whose reporting is based on leaked documents and interviews with officials from the Department of Homeland Security. Because “they’re worried about sending more experienced agents there who might not agree with the mission,” he explains, DHS is heavily recruiting volunteers with little vetting or training to carry out its deportation mandate. “They have more money than they know what to do with, and they need to fill those roles, and they’re doing everything they can to create them so that the actual personnel head count can match the resources that they now have.” Please check back later for full transcript.

President Donald Trump made an obscene gesture with his middle finger and mouthed an expletive to a factory employee who shouted at him during a tour of a Ford plant in Michigan on Tuesday — a reaction the White House said was “appropriate” given the heckling.Upgrade for 3 extra accounts to sharePremium comes with extra access for friends and family, plus more benefits.See more details A cellphone video captured Trump, who was visiting the Ford F-150 plant in Dearborn, twice mouthing “f--- you” as he pointed to someone calling up to him from the factory floor below. The president subsequently raised his middle finger toward the heckler as he continued walking. He then waved. Out of frame in the video, a person can be heard yelling “pedophile protector” just before Trump mouthed the insult — an apparent reference to the Trump administration’s handling of the investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. White House communications director Steven Cheung confirmed that the scene captured in the video was authentic. Follow Trump’s second term “A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response,” Cheung said in a statement to The Washington Post. The incident was not the first of its kind in modern memory. In 1976, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller (R) was photographed raising his middle finger toward university students in Upstate New York. TJ Sabula, a 40-year-old United Auto Workers Local 600 line worker at the factory, told The Post that he was the one who shouted at Trump. He said he has been suspended from work pending an investigation. “As far as calling him out, definitely no regrets whatsoever,” Sabula said, though he added that he is concerned about the future of his job and believes he has been “targeted for political retribution” for “embarrassing Trump in front of his friends.” Sabula identifies as politically independent and said he never voted for Trump but has supported other Republicans. He estimated that he was roughly 60 feet away from Trump on Tuesday and that the president could hear him “very, very, very clearly.” He said he was specifically referencing Trump’s handling of the Epstein matter. “I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” Sabula said. “And today I think I did that.” An online fundraiser was started Tuesday evening that sought to raise money for Sabula after his suspension. “Let’s rally and support TJ and help him pay some bills,” read the description of the fundraiser, which had collected more than $150,000 as of Wednesday morning. Trump toured the factory before giving a speech at the Detroit Economic Club. Elsewhere on the tour, Ford workers could be seen cheering and taking selfies with the president. Officials at Ford did not respond to a request for comment. Trump was joined during the tour by Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chairman and the grandson of Henry Ford, and Jim Farley, the company’s president and CEO. Trump has faced criticism from Democrats — and in some cases from within his MAGA movement — for dismissing the federal investigation into Epstein. The president has also repeatedly referred to that investigation as a “hoax.” Trump was friends with Epstein and traveled in the same social circles before cutting ties in the early 2000s. He initially opposed legislation requiring the Justice Department to release its files on Epstein. After it became clear last year that Republicans did not have the votes to block the effort, Trump said he would no longer oppose releasing the files. Trump has not been accused of participating in Epstein’s criminal conduct.

A U.S. Air Force transport aircraft at Al Udeid Air Base. giuseppe cacace/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images The U.S. military is evacuating some personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a precaution, as President Trump considers ordering military action in Iran. The U.S. has begun to move some personnel out of the base, where the U.S. military has a major presence, given the escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, a U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter said. Trump on Tuesday told Iranians demonstrating against their government that “help is on its way,” a sign he may soon intervene to support the protests. He also told reporters Tuesday that Americans in Iran should consider evacuating the country. Trump has been leaning toward ordering military strikes in recent days, The Wall Street Journal previously reported, but has received briefings on a range of options. The president ordered a strike on key Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day war in June. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at Al Udeid, but did little damage, with most intercepted by air defenses. Iran warned Sunday it could strike U.S. bases in the Middle East, shipping lanes or Israel in the event of a U.S. attack. Trump’s stepped up warnings to Iran come as the death toll grows in protests that are now in their third week. The group Human Rights Activists in Iran said Wednesday the toll had surpassed 2,400, as the regime has moved to crush demonstrations. It said more than 140 members of the government security forces had been killed and that more than 18,000 people had been detained. Other rights groups have put the toll even higher, though a six-day continuing internet blackout and phone service disruptions have made it difficult to verify them. Iran signaled Wednesday it was preparing to conduct swift trials and the execution of antigovernment protesters, further defying Trump. Trump to Iranian Protestors: ‘Help Is on the Way’President Trump was speaking at the Detroit Economic Club. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Aboard Air Force One on Tuesday, the president told reporters he was expecting a report on the latest situation in Iran and dismissed a threat by the country’s leaders to retaliate to any U.S. attack. Trump for days has received briefings from top members of his team, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who have presented him with a suite of options. Many of the options don’t involve force of arms, including cyberattacks, sanctions or supporting antiregime messaging online, officials said. Trump for now has ruled out negotiations with Iran, he said Tuesday on Truth Social: “I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS.” If he does decide to authorize an attack, his options to do so are limited by the shift of military personnel and equipment to the Caribbean. There are currently only six U.S. Navy warships in the Middle East—three littoral combat ships and three destroyers—versus 12 in the Caribbean, according to a Navy official. There is no aircraft carrier strike group nearby either, since Trump ordered the Gerald R. Ford carrier group from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean in October. The Pentagon could still order Tomahawk missile strikes from destroyers in the Middle East, as well as send bombers and jet fighters stationed in the region equipped with long-range weapons. In contrast, during the June war launched by Israel, the U.S. was flush with military assets in the region. While Iran proved helpless against Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, it did launch barrages of ballistic missiles that got through Israeli defenses and depleted inventories of interceptors. Protecting American troops stationed in the region becomes more precarious without an aircraft carrier and its accompanying destroyers, which are equipped with the Aegis combat system that provides the ability to shoot down incoming missiles. But officials and experts say the U.S. still has the ability to defend its forces in the area by other means, including using Patriot batteries and air defense systems from regional partners across the Middle East. Write to Lara Seligman at [email protected] and Benoit Faucon at [email protected]

Abu Dhabi’s pursuit of renewable energy at home and abroad is based on a conviction that electrification is growing at breakneck speed, driven in part by the proliferation of data centers, but also rising urbanization. Masdar’s interest in upping its renewables exposure in the US comes as the 20-year-old firm is midway through a rapid international expansion, with plans to invest up to $35 billion in equity and project financing over the next four years. The spending spree builds on $45 billion it has already deployed to help it reach a target of 100 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in its portfolio by 2030, a goal set in 2022 when Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas firm ADNOC, sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, and utility TAQA became Masdar’s three shareholders. Masdar is about two-thirds of the way there: It has 45 gigawatts of renewables capacity in operation or committed, and 20 more in the pipeline. To reach the final third, Masdar is looking to expand in its existing markets, Al Ramahi said, including the Gulf, Africa — where it is one of the largest international developers of renewables through its company Infinity Power — Europe, and the US. Its existing footprint is vast: At home, Masdar and EWEC, a UAE utility, broke ground last year on the world’s first large round-the-clock renewable energy project, combining a solar plant with a battery energy storage system. In Europe, Masdar has been a massive investor in offshore wind in the UK and Germany, and in Asia it has agreements for a floating solar project in Malaysia and a battery storage system in Uzbekistan. Batteries, and the ability to dispatch renewable energy 24/7 from storage, is an area of growth for the company, particularly in Europe, according to Al Ramahi.

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices increased in December, lifted by higher costs for rents and food as some of the distortions related to the government shutdown that had artificially lowered inflation in November unwound, cementing expectations the Federal Reserve would leave interest rates unchanged this month. But rate cuts this year remain on the table, with the report from the Labor Department on Tuesday showing moderate underlying inflation pressures last month, which economists said suggested the import tariffs pass-through to prices was slowing. Economists were split on whether inflation had peaked. Get a daily digest of breaking business news straight to your inbox with the Reuters Business newsletter. Sign up here. Nonetheless, expensive food, with prices increasing by the most in more than three years, and rents underscored the affordability crisis facing President Donald Trump, partly blamed by economists on the White House's policies, including sweeping import tariffs.Trump has made a flurry of proposals to lower the cost of living, including banning institutional investors from buying single-family homes, as well as instructing the Federal Housing Finance Agency - which oversees mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - to purchase $200 billion of bonds issued by the two companies in a bid to bring down mortgage rates. High inflation has eroded consumer confidence and Trump's approval ratings and will be a political hot button this year as Trump and his fellow Republicans battle to retain control of the U.S. Congress. Consumers were likely to care more about higher food and rental costs than the moderate pace of inflation that was cheered by investors. "Families may not closely track core inflation, but they see grocery prices and restaurant costs immediately," said Sung Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola Marymount University. "A renewed push in food prices is not merely a statistical detail, it can influence public perception, wage negotiations and ultimately economic behavior." The Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% last month, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said. A 0.4% increase in the cost of shelter, which includes rents, was the main driver of the rise in the CPI. Food prices surged 0.7%, the largest gain since October 2022. There were notable increases in the prices of fruits and vegetables as well as dairy products. Beef prices, which have angered many Americans, rose 1.0%, with steaks soaring 3.1%. Steak prices surged 17.8% year-on-year in December, the largest advance in four years. Coffee prices rose 1.9%, reflecting tariffs. But egg prices decreased 8.2%. The cost of food at restaurants and other outlets rose 0.7%, also the most since October 2022. Overall food prices increased 3.1% year-on-year in December. Trump has rolled back some agricultural tariffs to ease food prices. Economists said it would be some time before consumers see the effects. Energy prices increased 0.3% as a 4.4% surge in natural gas prices offset a 0.5% decline in gasoline. Electricity prices eased 0.1%, but climbed 6.7% year-on-year, reflecting increased demand from data centers amid an artificial intelligence investment boom. In the 12 months through December, the CPI advanced 2.7%, matching November's gain. The increase in the CPI was in line with economists' expectations. The BLS estimated the CPI rose 0.2% from September to November. The 43-day shutdown prevented the collection of prices for October, resulting in the BLS using a carry-forward method to impute data, especially for rents, to compile November's CPI report. While prices for November were collected, that was not until the second half of the month when retailers were offering holiday season discounts. The carry-forward imputation method treated October prices as unchanged. Item 1 of 2 Customers shop for groceries at a Walmart Supercenter retail store in North Bergen, New Jersey, U.S., November 21, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Segar [1/2]Customers shop for groceries at a Walmart Supercenter retail store in North Bergen, New Jersey, U.S., November 21, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Segar Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Stocks on Wall Street were lower. U.S. Treasury yields fell on the data. The dollar rose versus a basket of currencies.A line chart with the title 'US inflation and interest rates' Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI increased 0.2% in December. The BLS estimated the so-called core CPI climbed 0.2% from September to November. Economists said distortions from the shutdown remained in the CPI data. Despite the moderate rise in the core CPI, some details of its components were strong. Owners' equivalent rent increased 0.3%, while the cost of hotel and motel rooms jumped 2.9%. Airline fares soared 5.2% and apparel rose 0.6%. Healthcare costs advanced 0.4%. But prices for used cars and trucks dropped 1.1% and the cost of household furnishings and operations eased 0.5%. The cost of wireless telephone services fell 3.3%. The core CPI increased 2.6% year-on-year in December after rising by the same margin in November. Economists estimated that lingering distortions from the shutdown held down the annual CPI rate by at least a tenth of a percentage point. Core inflation could accelerate in January as businesses push through beginning-of-year price increases. "It is worth noting that the core CPI has jumped by 0.4% and more in each of the past four Januarys," said Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at Santander U.S. Capital Markets. "I would imagine that Fed officials are well aware of this history and are reserving judgment on inflation until they have a few more months of inflation data in hand." The U.S. central bank tracks the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price indexes for its 2% inflation target. Based on the CPI data, economists estimated the core PCE price index increased 0.46% in December, which would translate to a 2.9% rise year-on-year. The Fed is expected to keep its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range at its January 27-28 meeting.An escalation in tensions between Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Trump has left most economists not expecting a rate cut before Powell's term ends in May. The Trump administration has opened a criminal investigation into Powell, which the Fed chief called a "pretext" to influence rates. "Policymakers may lean more hawkish to signal institutional independence, while the episode also raises the probability that Powell remains on the board after his term as chair ends in mid-May 2026, given that his term as a governor runs through January 2028," said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Nick Zieminski, Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

F.B.I. agents conducted a search at the home of a Washington Post reporter on Wednesday, as part of what officials said was an investigation into the possible sharing of government secrets, according to people familiar with the matter. It is exceedingly rare, even in investigations of classified disclosures, for federal agents to conduct searches at a reporter’s home. Typically, such investigations are done by examining a reporter’s phone records or email data. The reporter, Hannah Natanson, has spent the past year covering the Trump administration’s effort to fire federal workers and redirect much of the work force to enforcing his agenda. Many of those employees shared with her their anger, frustration and fear with the administration’s changes. A spokesperson for The Washington Post said on Wednesday that the publication was reviewing and monitoring the situation. The paper reported that the search warrant and related F.B.I. affidavit indicated that law enforcement was investigating Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator in Maryland who has a top-secret security clearance and has been accused of gaining access to and taking home classified intelligence reports that were found in his lunchbox and his basement. Jameel Jaffer, the director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, described news of the search as “intensely concerning,” in part because of the chilling effect it could have “on legitimate journalistic activity.” “There are important limits on the government’s authority to carry out searches that implicate First Amendment activity,” Mr. Jaffer said. In a first-person account of her experience talking to federal employees, Ms. Natanson quoted some of the messages she received from them. “I understand the risks,” one Defense Department worker told her. “But getting the truth and facts out is so much more important.” A staff member at the Justice Department wrote, “I’d never thought I’d be leaking info like this.” Last year, the Trump administration ended a Biden-era policy that sharply limited the department’s authority to search or subpoena a reporter’s data in the pursuit of leak investigations. The reversal suggested that the Justice Department would once again pursue journalists’ data in an effort to identify and prosecute people who leak national security information. In a memo announcing the move, Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote that the change was necessary to safeguard “classified, privileged and other sensitive information.” The Justice Department, Ms. Bondi wrote, “will not tolerate unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump’s policies, victimize government agencies and cause harm to the American people.” From his first days in the White House in 2017, the president has complained bitterly about leaks of all kinds. Mr. Trump himself faced criminal indictment on charges of mishandling classified information after he left the White House. The case was ultimately dismissed. In the waning days of Mr. Trump’s first term, the Justice Department sought the phone and email records of reporters at The Washington Post, The New York Times and CNN as part of leak investigations. None of those cases involved searching journalists’ homes or seizing their devices. In typical leak investigations, a reporter is not a target for prosecution but can be viewed as an avenue for obtaining evidence against the person suspected of leaking information.

Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI agents searched a Washington Post reporter’s home on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of taking home government secrets, the newspaper reported. The FBI searched journalist Hannah Natanson’s devices and seized a phone and a Garmin watch at her Virginia home, the Post said. Natanson covers the Trump administration’s transformation of the federal government and recently published a piece describing how she gained hundreds of new sources, leading a colleague to call her “the federal government whisperer.” While classified documents investigations aren’t unusual, the search of a reporter’s home marks an escalation in the government’s efforts to crack down on leaks. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the search was done at the request of the Pentagon. President Donald Trump’s administration “will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our Nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country,” Bondi said in a post on X. An affidavit says the search was related to an investigation into a system administrator in Maryland who authorities allege took home classified reports, the newspaper reported. The system administrator, Aurelio Perez-Lugones, was charged earlier this month with unlawful retention of national defense information, according to court papers. Perez-Lugones, who held a top secret security clearance, is accused of printing classified and sensitive reports at work. In a search of his Maryland home and car this month, authorities found documents marked “SECRET,” including one in a lunchbox, according to court papers. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on Wednesday. Justice Department officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The Washington Post said Wednesday that it was monitoring and reviewing the situation. An email seeking comment was sent to lawyers for Perez-Lugones. The Justice Department over the years has developed, and revised, internal guidelines governing how it will respond to news media leaks. In April, Bondi issued new guidelines saying prosecutors would again have the authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make “unauthorized disclosures” to journalists. The moves rescinded a Biden administration policy that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations — a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.

Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Updated 7:16 PM PST, January 13, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran has surpassed 2,500, activists said, as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days Tuesday after authorities severed communications during a crackdown on demonstrators. The number of dead climbed to at least 2,571 early Wednesday, as reported by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, a placard is placed on bricks that reads in Farsi, “Long live the Shah,” referring to the Pahlavi dynasty that was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, during an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP) Iranian state television offered the first official acknowledgment of the deaths, quoting an official saying the country had “a lot of martyrs.” The demonstrations began in late December in anger over Iran’s ailing economy and soon targeted the theocracy, particularly 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Images obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press from demonstrations in Tehran showed graffiti and chants calling for Khamenei’s death — something that could carry a death sentence. As the reported toll grew Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” AP AUDIO: Death toll from nationwide protests in Iran spikes to at least 2,000, activists say AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports a user generated video purports to show mourners near Tehran, searching for their loved ones. He added: “I have canceled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP) However, hours later, Trump told reporters that his administration was awaiting an accurate report on the number of protesters that had been killed before acting “accordingly.” Trump said about the Iranian security forces: “It would seem to me that they have been badly misbehaving, but that is not confirmed.” Iranian officials once again warned Trump against taking action, with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, responding to U.S. posturing by writing: “We declare the names of the main killers of the people of Iran: 1- Trump 2-” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Death toll spikes The activist group said 2,403 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government-affiliated. Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said. Gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult, and the AP has been unable to independently assess the toll. Skylar Thompson with the Human Rights Activists News Agency told AP the new toll was shocking, particularly since it reached four times the death toll of the monthslong 2022 Mahsa Amini protests in just two weeks. She warned that the toll would still rise: “We’re horrified, but we still think the number is conservative.” Speaking by phone for the first time since their calls were cut off from the outside world, Iranian witnesses described a heavy security presence in central Tehran, burned-out government buildings, smashed ATMs and few passersby. Meanwhile, people were concerned about what comes next, including the possibility of a U.S. attack. “My customers talk about Trump’s reaction while wondering if he plans a military strike against the Islamic Republic,” said shopkeeper Mahmoud, who gave only his first name out of concern for his safety. “I don’t expect Trump or any other foreign country cares about the interests of Iranians.” Reza, a taxi driver who also gave just his first name, said protests are on many people’s minds. “People — particularly young ones — are hopeless, but they talk about continuing the protests,” he said. Iranians reach out, but world can’t reach in Several people in Tehran were able to call the AP on Tuesday and speak to a journalist. The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back. Witnesses said text messaging was still down, and internet users in Iran could connect to government-approved websites locally but nothing abroad. In this photo obtained by The Associated Press, Iranians attend an anti-government protest in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (UGC via AP) The witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said police stood at major intersections and security officials in plainclothes were visible in public spaces. Anti-riot police officers wore helmets and body armor while carrying batons, shields, shotguns and tear gas launchers, they said. Several banks and government offices were burned during the unrest, the witnesses said. Shops were open Tuesday, though there was little foot traffic in the capital. On the streets, people also could be seen challenging plainclothes security officials, who were stopping passersby at random. State television also read a statement about mortuary and morgue services being free — a signal that some likely charged high fees for the release of bodies during the crackdown. Security service personnel also apparently were searching for Starlink satellite internet terminals, as people in northern Tehran reported authorities raiding apartment buildings with satellite dishes. While satellite television dishes are illegal, many in the capital have them in homes, and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent years. Activists said Wednesday that Starlink was offering free service in Iran. “We can confirm that the free subscription for Starlink terminals is fully functional,” Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who has helped get the units into Iran, told The Associated Press in a statement. “We tested it using a newly activated Starlink terminal inside Iran.” Starlink itself did not immediately acknowledge the decision.

(FOX 5/KUSI) — A former special forces service member who displayed extremist and anti-government beliefs was convicted of transporting explosives and intending to use them against California law enforcement. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Gregory Vandenberg, 49, a former Navy SEAL, reportedly set off from El Paso, Texas, with the intent of arriving in San Diego in mid-June 2025. He was detained near Tucson, Arizona, after being reported by convenience store employees after he purchased fireworks. Vandenberg reportedly planned to attend the “No Kings Day” protests in San Diego on June 14 and had bought the fireworks in New Mexico, where he told store clerks that he intended to throw the devices at law enforcement. The DOJ said Vandenberg asked the clerks about the amount of gunpowder in the fireworks and their ability to cause harm, and “repeatedly expressed a desire to throw fireworks at law enforcement officials at the protests in California.” Among his possessions was a hat with the Al-Qaeda flag. Gregory Vandenberg visited a travel center near Lordsburg, New Mexico on June 12, where he purchased dozens of fireworks. Vandenberg expressed his desire to use the explosives against California law enforcement. Among his possessions when arrested were shirts with anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi messaging and imagery, along with the ...Among his possessions when arrested were shirts with anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi messaging and imagery, along with the Al-Qaeda flag. Among his possessions was a hat with the Al-Qaeda flag. Gregory Vandenberg visited a travel center near Lordsburg, New Mexico on June 12, where he purchased dozens of fireworks. Gregory Vandenberg visited a travel center near Lordsburg, New Mexico on June 12, where he purchased dozens of fireworks. Vandenberg purchased six mortar fireworks and 72 M-150 fireworks from the travel center and left, after which employees reported his vehicle’s license plate to authorities. Federal agents were able to arrest him on June 13 after finding him sleeping in his vehicle near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. He reportedly lived primarily out of his vehicle and had no stable job. In his vehicle, agents recovered the explosives as well as clothing and imagery that displayed extremist and anti-Semitic views. Among his possessions were a shirt with the Al-Qaeda flag, another shirt with a message calling for the destruction of Judea, and another shirt with a neo-Nazi symbol. He also had a hat with an Al-Qaeda flag on it, the DOJ said. A search of his phone revealed more extremist content, including anti-Israel and anti-U.S. materials. Vandenberg was taken into custody and ultimately convicted by a federal jury of transportation of explosives with intent to kill, injure or intimidate and attempted transportation of prohibited fireworks into California. After his conviction, the court ordered that he stay in custody until his sentencing, where he could face up to 10 years in prison. Add as preferred source on Google Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Industrialist Anand Mahindra activated his Kolkata network to reach out to 94-year-old C.H. Chang to buy the “signed editions” of his handmade Santa Claus dolls. In a tweet, Mahindra shared that he had suggested that Chang make signed editions of his Christmas dolls to sell them at higher prices, adding that a friend's daughter helped convey his message. “I had posted earlier about the indomitable Mr Chang of Kolkata, who, at 94, continues to produce his handmade Santa Claus dolls every Christmas, despite rising odds,” he said. “I’m very grateful to Paroma, daughter of my friend Harsh Neotia, who connected with Mr Chang and conveyed my suggestion of making signed editions of his dolls, which could become higher-priced collector’s items, and help sustain his business,” Mahindra added. The industrialist also bought four “specially commissioned and signed” Santa dolls from Chang, in the hope of passing these “prized possessions” on to his future generations. “She placed my order and received my four specially commissioned and signed figures. My hope is that they will be prized possessions of my grandchildren long into the future…” he added. Mahindra, in an earlier tweet, had shared Chang’s “incredibly poignant” story. “At 94, his dedication to his craft is a reminder of why we should value artisanship over assembly lines,” he had said. The industrialist had previously shared his intention of reaching out to the artist in Kolkata via friends to convey his suggestion of making signed pieces, which Mahindra wanted to buy at a premium. “Not out of sympathy, but because his work is a rare treasure. An autographed Mr Chang original is a legacy worth owning,” he said. Social media users were in awe of Chang's work and wondered if he had a website from which they too can purchase his dolls. “Bravo, Mr Chang. Where could I buy his dolls? Any website for it? For international orders, too,” a user said. Another user lauded Mahindra for giving Mr Chang a platform. “Sir, some dreams are born in villages, sites, and dusty roads—not boardrooms. Give a young entrepreneur belief, and he will give the nation impact. Your faith in youth can turn struggle into strength.” “Scale, speed, and replication are common metrics for progress, yet it is through patience and hands-on work that meaning is preserved,” a user noted. “Mass manufacture meets consumer demand, while handiwork nourishes recollection. One makes inheritances, and the other makes inventories. Resilience communicated subtly, not nostalgia.”

The Trump administration does not know the whereabouts of 137 Venezuelans it unlawfully deported last year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, adding that attempting to offer them due process would impact US foreign policy interests in the country. “Given the passage of time, the U.S. government does not know—nor does it have any way of knowing—the whereabouts of class members, including whether anyone has departed Venezuela or whether the (Nicolás Maduro) regime subsequently took anyone back into custody,” Rubio said in a court filing Monday responding to a federal judge’s December ruling requiring the US to find ways to give the migrants due process. The secretary of state’s comments underscore the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration, which has escalated in recent months with federal agents sent to several cities for immigration enforcement. Monday’s filing also comes after President Donald Trump has said the US will “run” Venezuela following the capture of Maduro earlier this month. Considering those developments, Rubio argued that the matter of setting up hearings for those who were deported – whether that be by bringing them back to the US or through virtual hearings from Venezuela – “would risk material damage to U.S. foreign policy interests in Venezuela.” Judge James Boasberg had ruled in December that the 137 migrants “received constitutionally inadequate process” in March when they were not provided with meaningful notice or an opportunity to challenge their deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. Boasberg went on to say that the administration must facilitate “a meaningful opportunity (for them) to contest their designation.” The migrants, who the Trump administration alleged were affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, were deported to and imprisoned in El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, a sweeping wartime authority that gives the president the power to target and remove undocumented immigrants, and speed up the deportations. In July, El Salvador released “252 Venezuelan nationals, including the 137” migrants, Rubio said in the filing. As CNN previously reported, this release was part of a large-scale prisoner swap between US and Venezuela in which the Venezuelans were released in exchange for 10 US nationals. Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act in March swiftly drew legal challenges, including in this case — J.G.G v. Trump — from the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward, which resulted in Boasberg temporarily blocking Trump’s use of the authority. While the Supreme Court has allowed Trump to enforce the Alien Enemies Act, it ruled in April that officials must give migrants adequate notice that they are being removed pursuant to the wartime authority so they have “reasonable time” to bring habeas complaints, which are suits brought by people who claim they are being detained by the government unlawfully. CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.