American Federation of Teachers sues over what it says are unconstitutional investigations into social media comments

A major Texas teachers’ union filed a federal lawsuit against the state on Tuesday challenging what it describes as unconstitutional investigations into hundreds of educators who posted comments on social media following the September killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The Texas American Federation of Teachers, which represents approximately 66,000 public school employees, is asking a federal court to block the Texas Education Agency and its commissioner, Mike Morath, from continuing investigations that the union argues violate teachers’ free speech protections.

Trilateral declaration of intent signed after ‘coalition of the willing’ summit in Paris with plan to establish military hubs

Britain and France have declared they are ready to deploy troops to Ukraine in the aftermath of a peace deal, a major new commitment that has been under discussion for months, although one which Russia is likely to block forcefully.

The announcement came after a summit in Paris hosted by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and attended by more than two dozen leaders of the states that make up the “coalition of the willing” of Ukrainian allies, plus the US envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who said the US president “strongly stands” behind the security protocols.

Justices rule 4-1 that laws, including a ban on abortion pills, violate a state amendment protecting healthcare choices

Abortion will stay legal in Wyoming after the state’s supreme court struck down two near-total abortion bans on Tuesday, ruling that the laws violate the constitution of the profoundly conservative state.

In a 4-1 decision, the justices decided that the two bans – which include the nation’s first exclusive ban on abortion pills – violated a 2012 state constitutional amendment. That amendment affirmed competent adults’ right to make their own healthcare decisions and was originally passed as part of Wyoming’s response to the Affordable Care Act.

Another 2,000 ICE and homeland security agents will reportedly head to the state, targeting immigrant populations

The Trump administration has sent more immigration agents to Minnesota, part of escalating attacks and rhetoric against the state and its immigrant populations in what immigration officials are saying is the agency’s “largest operation to date”.

“A 100% chance of ICE in the Twin Cities — our largest operation to date,” the official Immigration and Customs Enforcement account on X wrote on Tuesday afternoon. “If you’re a criminal illegal alien and/or you are engaged in fraud, expect a visit from ICE.”

The seizure of Venezuelan leader was induced by the prize of petroleum, but driven by spectacle, geopolitics and domestic politics

It’s all about oil. That was the reason Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan leader illegally abducted by US forces at the weekend, had given for Donald Trump’s fixation with his country. A better way to think about Venezuela is that oil was necessary but not sufficient. The presence of vast reserves made Mr Trump’s interest understandable – if Venezuela’s main export was bananas this would not have happened. But oil alone cannot explain the timing or scale of the move.

Venezuelan crude is extra-heavy as well as expensive and slow to bring online; it will not immediately transform US energy systems, nor rescue refineries that have already adapted to years without it. Instead, oil is the “prize” around which other agendas cohere. These include future profits for US firms; modest downward pressure on oil prices; depriving China of a meaningful ally in America’s backyard; putting pressure on Cuba; and US domestic political signalling in Florida. Each gain is small. But collectively Mr Trump could justify a high‑profile, theatrical – and unlawful – intervention even if the economic returns are incremental.

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Paramilitary groups known as colectivos patrol streets with assault rifles, stop and search cars and people’s phones

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Venezuela’s rulers have deployed armed militias to patrol streets, operate checkpoints and check people’s phones in a crackdown to consolidate authority after the US attack on Caracas.

Paramilitary groups known as colectivos criss-crossed the capital with motorbikes and assault rifles on Tuesday in a show of force to stifle any dissent or perception of a power vacuum.

Industry insiders say US oil firms want to ‘avoid getting screwed’ and will proceed with extreme caution in region

• Analysis: Trump’s focus on Venezuelan oil reinforces claim action was never about ‘war on drugs’

Industry experts have expressed skepticism over Donald Trump’s bullish prediction that US big oil firms will rapidly invest tens of billions of dollars to fix Venezuelan infrastructure and ramp up production after the rendition of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.

Without an “iron-clad guarantee” that the US federal government will fully reimburse them for the cost of rebuilding the country’s oil market, analysts expect global energy giants to proceed with extreme caution.

Democrats and ‘make America healthy again’ movement pushed back on the rider in a funding bill led by Bayer

In a setback for the pesticide industry, Democrats have succeeded in removing a rider from a congressional appropriations bill that would have helped protect pesticide makers from being sued and could have hindered state efforts to warn about pesticide risks.

Chellie Pingree, a Democratic representative from Maine and ranking member of the House appropriations interior, environment, and related agencies subcommittee, said Monday that the controversial measure pushed by the agrochemical giant Bayer and industry allies has been stripped from the 2026 funding bill.

New leadership claims former allies are trying to repurpose $160m in NRA Foundation donations for personal gain

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is suing its own charitable arm, the NRA Foundation, claiming that its leaders are trying to seize control of the gun rights organization and illegally “repurposing” $160m in donations to support their “thirst for power”.

The allegations come in a lawsuit filed on Monday in federal court in Washington DC laying bare the turmoil that has plagued the NRA since its disgraced longtime chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, was ousted in 2024 alongside other senior figures after a financial corruption scandal.

LaMalfa’s death cuts the House Republican majority to 218-213, tightening GOP control for passing bills

Doug LaMalfa, a California Republican who represented the state’s rural northern region in the House of Representatives and was known for his work on water and forestry policy, has died at age 65, according to statements from Republican officials.

LaMalfa, a fourth-generation rice farmer who previously served in the California state legislature, was in his seventh term representing California’s first congressional district. He sat on the House agriculture, natural resources, and transportation and infrastructure committees.

Pushback from Susan Collins and Thom Tillis is striking amid tepid response from most other Republican senators

Two senior Republican senators on Monday openly opposed Pentagon secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempt to punish their fellow Senator Mark Kelly by demoting him and cutting his pension after he released a video telling active-duty military to follow the law.

Susan Collins of Maine, who chairs the Senate appropriations committee with jurisdiction over the Pentagon’s budget, said she believed it was wrong to target Kelly’s military benefits because of a political video.

Grok still being used to digitally undress women and children, while US takes TikTok approach to drones

Hello, and welcome to TechScape. Happy new year! I hope your 2026 is off to a great start. Today in tech, we are examining the output of Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, and the US’s ban on foreign drones.

What happened after Tesla opened a diner in Los Angeles?

China’s BYD overtakes Tesla as world’s biggest electric car seller

Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice

Reddit overtakes TikTok in UK thanks to search algorithms and gen Z

Flores, Nicolás Maduro’s wife, wielded far more power than just being a first lady and played a front line role in politics

Before pleading “not guilty” at her first court hearing after she and her husband, Nicolás Maduro, were captured by US special forces, Cilia Flores made a point of adding, in Spanish: “I am first lady of the Republic of Venezuela.”

But Maduro himself and others close to the couple agree that she was always far more than that. Before her rendition to New York, Flores wielded power comparable with – and at times greater than – that of other figures from the regime, including Delcy Rodríguez, the former vice-president who is now the country’s acting leader.

From RFK Jr to Pete Hegseth, the president’s top aides have been disastrous. We shouldn’t be surprised

As 2024 ended and Donald Trump’s cabinet picks were rolled out, commentators scrambled to decide which one was the worst. Was it Matt Gaetz for attorney general? Or Pete Hegseth, for secretary of defense? Or maybe Robert F Kennedy Jr to lead the Department of Health and Human Services?

Soon after, the White House crowed that Trump had assembled “the greatest cabinet of all time”.

Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author or editor of more than 100 books, including Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America’s Death Penalty

Increasingly, teens are given only parts of books, and they often read not in print but on school-issued laptops

Reading fiction has been such a joy for me that my heart broke a little to learn recently that many schools no longer assign full books to high school students.

Rather, teens are given excerpts of books, and they often read them not in print but on school-issued laptops, according to a survey of 2,000 teachers, students and parents by the New York Times.

Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture

The moral purpose of civilized society is to prevent the stronger from attacking the weaker. The US was founded on that principle

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Trump’s domestic and foreign policies – ranging from his attempted coup against the United States five years ago, to his incursion into Venezuela last weekend, to his current threats against Cuba, Colombia, and Greenland – undermine domestic and international law. But that’s not all.

They threaten what we mean by civilization.

Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist and his newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com. His new book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, is out now

Guardian newsroom: Year One of Trumpism: Is Britain Emulating the US? On Wednesday 21 January 2026, join Jonathan Freedland, Tania Branigan and Nick Lowles as they reflect on the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency. Book tickets here or at guardian.live

Doug Ford’s move comes after Diageo announced plan to shutter Ontario whisky plant and move operations to US

Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, has warned rye drinkers they will need to “stock up” if they want to keep consuming Crown Royal, as he promised to make good on plans to banish the Canadian whisky brand from his province.

Ford has since September been locked in a simmering feud over tariffs and economic nationalism with the multinational spirits maker Diageo. This week, he renewed his threats to wield the power of the province’s liquor control board – one of the largest buyers of alcohol in the world – to banish Crown Royal.