2026.02.12

[lsanderson]

“Minnesota Democratic Sen. Tina Smith said Sunday that the Trump administration was ‘attempting to cover up what happened‘ in the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday,” ABC News reports. “‘I think what we are seeing here is the federal government — [Department of Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem, Vice President [JD] Vance, [President] Donald Trump — attempting to cover up what happened here in the Twin Cities, and I don’t think that people here and around the country are believing it,’ Smith told ABC News’ ‘This Week’ co-anchor Martha Raddatz.”
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/minnesota-senator-white-house-attempting-cover-good-shooting/story?id=129100690

Four members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe were detained by ICE agents in Minneapolis, according to WCCO. “President Frank Star Comes Out [said] in a Facebook post said the four men are homeless and were living under a bridge near the Little Earth housing complex in the East Phillips neighborhood. Attorneys who represent the tribe were “instructed” [to] reach out to Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan about where they are being detained and what their names are, he said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/oglala-sioux-tribe-members-detained-ice-minneapolis/

Trump threatens to block ExxonMobil from Venezuela after CEO calls country ‘uninvestable’
US president says company is ‘playing too cute’ after CEO responds sceptically to his push for oil investment after deposing Nicolás Maduro
Reuters
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/12/donald-trump-threatens-block-exxonmobil-venezuela

We have always been at war with East, err, Malaysia
Malaysia blocks Elon Musk’s Grok AI over fake, sexualised images
Country follows Indonesia in restricting access after global outcry over X’s AI tool
Rebecca Ratcliffe and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/12/malaysia-blocks-elon-musk-grok-ai-fake-sexualised-images-indonesia-x-chatbot

Trump’s cannabis order will still leave users at risk of prosecution, experts say
Justice department is pushing to pursue simple possession cases, and ICE uses cannabis offenses to speed deportation
Hannah Harris Green
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/12/trump-cannabis-executive-order-reschedule

Germany rejects RFK Jr claims about Covid vaccine exemption prosecutions
Health minister Nina Warken says Robert F Kennedy Jr’s assertions that German doctors are facing legal action are unfounded
Jon Henley Europe correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/11/germany-rejects-rfk-jr-claims-about-covid-vaccine-exemption-prosecutions

Chalamet a smash, Sinners shut out: the key Golden Globes snubs and surprises
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another looks unstoppable ahead of the Oscars, despite Timothée Chalamet’s triumph over Leonardo DiCaprio for best actor
Catherine Shoard
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/jan/12/golden-globes-snubs-surprises-timothee-chalamet-one-battle-after-another

How the US supreme court case on trans athletes could unravel LGBTQ+ rights
Sam Levin in Los Angeles
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/12/trans-athletes-supreme-court-lgbtq-rights

I loved my teaching job. But as a trans man in Texas, quitting was the only way to get my dignity back
After the state’s bathroom ban went into effect in December amid a slew of new anti-trans policies, I couldn’t keep trying to hide my identity at work
As told to Alaina Demopoulos
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/12/trans-public-school-teacher-texas

‘Big step forward’: Myanmar military faces Rohingya genocide case at UN court
Survivors of violence hope proceedings will bring justice a step closer and set a precedent for future genocide allegations
Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/12/myanmar-military-rohingya-genocide-case-un-court

Flying foxes die in their thousands in worst mass-mortality event since Australia’s black summer
Volunteers found thousands of dead bats at Melbourne’s Brimbank park, wildlife expert says
Petra Stock
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/12/flying-foxes-die-in-their-thousands-in-worst-mass-mortality-event-since-australias-black-summer

Newly discovered ‘Port Talbot Pompeii’ may have been Roman centre for agriculture
Academics say the villa, found in Welsh deer park, shows the area was not on fringes of Roman empire
Steven Morris
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/12/newly-discovered-port-talbot-pompeii-may-have-been-roman-centre-for-agriculture

Five decapitated heads displayed on Ecuador beach (Paywalled?)
Vanessa Buschschlüter
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2e13mlr17go

Shamelessly stolen from Tom Scott's newsletter:
The annual, unofficial "Worst in Show" awards from this year's Consumer Electronics Show. Turns out people don't really want to have a conversation with their coffee pot.
https://www.ifixit.com/News/115344/worst-in-show-returns-at-ces-2026-calling-out-gadgets-that-make-things-worse