Francesca Hong Is a Socialist Running for Wisconsin Governor

Francesca Hong

This divide has been manufactured by austerity politics that pits workers and communities against one another by scapegoating diverse cities like Milwaukee and Madison. But right now there is a growing resentment toward politicians and the establishment, which requires a working-class candidate that is relatable.

It is imperative we stay hyper-disciplined on affordability, with the plan to implement that agenda: universal childcare, paid leave for all, fully funding public education, cheaper, fairer health care.

We maintain a razor-sharp focus on those issues, but at times how I communicate it will vary depending on the community I’m in. Rural communities are not a monolith. Urban communities are not a monolith. At times I have to use the psychology of asking folks: Aren’t you angry? Doesn’t it make you scared that we have a legislature that is closing your schools because they won’t fund them? Or we can’t fix roads because your municipalities don’t have money from the state to actually make sure that you have good parks and libraries?

So the messaging and how we have these conversations may change depending on where people are. But naming a villain, presenting a plan to fix things, and ensuring that this is the campaign of change that you can take a chance on — because I’m unlike any other candidate.

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Family searching for man last seen Thursday in Austin

article

AUSTIN, Texas – A 22-year-old man has been reported missing since Thursday in Austin.

Family members are concerned for his wellbeing, saying he was experiencing delusions when he was last seen.

Avalon Stanley Adams reported missing

What we know:

Avalon Stanley Adams was last seen Thursday, Jan. 15, outside Dell Seton Medical Center on 15th and Red River in Austin.

He’s described as 5’4″, with brown hair, brown eyes, and light facial hair. He was last seen wearing a charcoal Champion branded hoodie, dark plaid pants, a dark T-shirt, sage green high-top shoes, a woven bracelet and a silver chain bracelet.

Family members say Adams may have been taken to a hospital and listed as a John Doe, as he was not carrying ID. They’re asking hospitals, emergency responders and the public for help in their search for Adams.

Anyone with information about Adams’ whereabouts is asked to contact Austin PD.

The Source: Information in this article comes from family members of the missing person.

Austin Missing Persons

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Trump administration’s legal setbacks are good news for offshore wind — and the grid | TechCrunch

The Trump administration suffered a series of legal setbacks this week after judges allowed work to restart on several offshore wind farms under construction on the East Coast.

The Department of the Interior had ordered a stop to five projects totaling 6 gigawatts of generating capacity in December, citing national security concerns. The judicial orders will allow three projects to resume construction: Revolution Wind off Rhode Island, Empire Wind off New York, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind off — you guessed it — Virginia.

The developers each filed lawsuits shortly after the Trump administration issued the stop work order, which had been effective for 90 days.

When announcing the halt just days before Christmas, the government cited concerns the wind farms would interfere with radar operations. It’s a valid concern, and one the government and project developers grappled with throughout the siting and permitting process. Wind farms can be located to minimize disruption to existing radar facilities, and the radar equipment itself can be upgraded to filter out noise generated by whirling turbine blades.

President Trump himself has made it no secret that he’s not a fan of offshore wind: “I’m not much of a windmill person,” he told oil executives last week.

In early hearings, judges weren’t impressed with the government’s line of reasoning. In three separate courtrooms in Virginia and Washington, DC, the Trump administration’s arguments were met with skepticism.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, pointed out the government failed to address several of plaintiff Equinor’s arguments in its lawsuit. Equinor, which is developing Empire Wind, had alleged the Interior department’s order was “arbitrary and capricious.” “Your brief doesn’t even include the word arbitrary,” Nichols said, according to the Associated Press.

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Nichols also questioned why the Trump administration was asking for construction to be halted when its main concern regarding national security appeared to be over the operation of the wind farm.

U.S. District Judge Jamar Walker, who heard Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind developer Dominion Energy’s lawsuit, questioned the government along a similar line. He also said the Interior department’s order was overly broad when viewed in context of the Virginia project.

Two projects remain in limbo as their lawsuits work their way through the courts. Ørsted, which is developing Sunrise Wind, has a hearing scheduled for February 2, while Vineyard Wind 1’s developers only filed their lawsuit on Thursday.

The East Coast could deliver up to 110 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2050, according to a Department of Energy study published in 2024. That would provide a significant boost to some of the most densely populated cities — and data center regions — in the country. The Northeast currently has some of the highest electricity costs in the nation, while the Mid-Atlantic’s grid operator has recently come under fire for rising electricity prices in its territory. Offshore wind, as one of the cheapest forms of new generating capacity, has the potential to slow or reverse the trend.

The potential is even bigger when viewed on a national scale. Offshore wind could generate 13,500 terawatt-hours of electricity per year, which is three times more than the U.S. currently consumes.

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Tesla Granted More Time in US Investigation Into Its Self-Driving Tech

Posted on January 16, 2026

Federal auto safety regulators have granted a five-week extension for Tesla to respond to allegations that its vehicles have broken traffic laws while operating in what the electric automaker calls “full self-driving” mode. Tesla now has until Feb. 23 to answer the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration’s request for information. The original deadline was Jan. 19, 2025. The preliminary investigation of Tesla’s full-self driving feature was opened in early October of last year after the NHTSA said it had collected dozens of reports of the cars running red lights or driving on the wrong side of the road, sometimes crashing into other vehicles and causing injuries.

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‘Look at That’: Trump Close-Up Has People Zooming In on His ‘Super Small’ Pupils and Something Else Even More Disturbing

President Donald Trump’s latest viral moment didn’t come from a speech, a soundbite, or a clash with critics. The latest uproar is about a simple photograph that failed to portray his tough guy image.

During Trump’s stop in Dearborn, Michigan, he toured Ford’s River Rouge plant alongside company leadership and members of his administration.

‘Lmaoooooo…I Can Never Unsee It!’: Newsom Goes for the Jugular, Blasts Trump’s ‘Unflattering’ TIME Cover in His Most Ruthless Post Yet

The visit was designed to underscore his economic agenda, highlight U.S. manufacturing, and spotlight Ford’s F-150 pickup truck as a symbol of American industry.

Trump later addressed business leaders in Detroit, framing the day around jobs, production, and domestic manufacturing. While several moments from the visit drew coverage, one image quietly took over the conversation, drawing attention almost immediately to his appearance.

One person wrote, “Got that skin texture of a rotting orange.”

got that skin texture of a rotting orange pic.twitter.com/Mu2Hx8JxJL

— Caitlin⁷ ⊙⊝⊜ (@maltiroo) January 14, 2026

Another added, “The orange is rotting quickly. The real ‘America Liberation day’ is coming soon… more than probably, before the 250th Nation’s birthday.”

Social media users zoomed in on his skin, his eyes, and his expression, turning a routine presidential appearance into a viral spectacle that moved faster than any policy takeaway.

“He’s high as f—k too. His pupils are super small,” one post claimed, while another said, “His eyes look like a predatory lizard’s.”

The reaction that stuck the hardest and spread the fastest distilled the moment into a single line: “Look at that f—king GOBBLER there.”

Trump’s neck piece has long drawn attention from critics, especially around Thanksgiving when he came face to face with someone viewers called his “twin.”

Trump is so funny man.

He channeled his WWE days when pardoning this year’s White House Turkey. pic.twitter.com/4MNYzAUjVG

— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) November 25, 2025

Holiday-season jokes comparing his neck shape to a turkey’s wattle have become a recurring feature of online commentary, resurfacing year after year regardless of the setting. The Michigan image revived that running joke, even though the visit itself had nothing to do with the holiday.

The viral reaction also fit into a pattern that’s followed Trump through recent months.

In December, some viewers watching him speak at a formal White House event quickly stopped focusing on his remarks. Instead, online attention shifted to how tightly his collar pressed into his neck, turning a ceremonial moment into another visual talking point. Screenshots circulated faster than summaries of what he actually said.

The same thing happened again around the new year, when another widely shared photo sparked renewed scrutiny. People dissected his eyes, forehead, and overall appearance, comparing the image to earlier photos and debating what looked different. The discussion wasn’t driven by new information, just a familiar cycle of observation and reaction.

Even earlier appearances followed the same script. Official settings, formal remarks, and carefully staged visuals repeatedly gave way to online fixation once a single detail caught viewers’ attention. Shirts, collars, lighting, posture — nothing escaped commentary once the images hit social media feeds.

By the time the Michigan photo finished making its rounds, it was clear the moment had little to do with manufacturing or economic messaging.

Ultimately, the Dearborn stop underscored a familiar imbalance. Despite the careful staging, industrial backdrop, and economic messaging, the lasting impression came down to optics rather than substance. One photograph reinforced how easily Trump’s public appearances can be overtaken by the visual moments that linger long after the event itself fades from view.

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Gen Zers and millennials go analog with letter writing, typewriter clubs and calligraphy to take a break from screen time | Fortune

At a time when productivity means optimizing every second and screens blur the line between work and home, some people are slowing down and disconnecting by looking to communication devices from the past.

Tactile activities ranging from writing letters and typewriter clubs to TikTok communities showcasing calligraphy skills and wax seals are giving retro writing instruments a resurgence. More than quaint throwbacks, the pursuits provide their enthusiasts with opportunities to reduce their technology use, be more intentional with time and build meaningful connections with others.

“I feel as though my pen pals are my friends. I don’t think of them much differently than if I were chatting with a friend on the phone, in a coffee shop or at another person’s house,” said Melissa Bobbitt, 42, a devoted letter-writer who corresponds with about a dozen people from her home in Claremont, California, and has had up to 40 pen pals at one time. “Focusing on one person and really reading what they are saying, and sharing what’s on your heart is almost like a therapy session.”

Ink, paper and other tools that once were the only way to send a message from afar are continuing to bring people together from around the world. Below, some of them explain the appeal of snail mail and give recommendations for getting started.

Writing can be an escape

In a society shaped by constant availability, hands-on hobbies like writing letters and scrapbooking require focus and patience. The act of picking up a pen, sealing an envelope with wax and laying out pages may yield aesthetically pleasing results, but it also creates a space for reflection.

Stephania Kontopanos, a 21-year-old student in Chicago, said it can be hard to put her phone and computer away, especially when it seems all of her friends and peers are on social media and her classes and personal life revolve around being online.

“There are times when I’m with my friends and at dinner, I’ll realize we are all on our phones,” Kontopanos said, adding that she tries to put her phone down at those moments.

Kontopanos also unplugs consciously by sending postcards to her family and friends, scrapbooking, and junk journaling, which involves repurposing everyday materials like tickets and receipts to document memories or ideas. She says going to the post office has become an activity she does with her mother back home in Kansas and includes sharing stories with the postal workers, people she would not have routinely encountered.

Nostalgia can foster community

Writing and sending letters is nostalgic for KiKi Klassen, who lives in Ontario, Canada. The 28-year-old says it helps her feel more connected to her late mother, who was a member of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, which represents mail carriers and other postal employees.

In October 2024, Klassen launched the Lucky Duck Mail Club, a subscription-based monthly mail service that sends participants a piece of her art, an inspiring quote and message. She says her membership includes more than 1,000 people across, at most, 36 countries.

“When I sit down, I’m forced to reflect and choose my words carefully,” Klassen said. “It also lends itself to vulnerability because it is easier to write down how you are feeling. I’ve had people write me back and I’ve cried hearing so many touching stories. I think for a lot of people paper creates a safe space. You write it down, send it off and don’t really think about it after.”

For Bobbitt, who has corresponded by mail for years, there is a “grand excitement” when she opens her mailbox and finds something that is not a bill or advertisement. “If we all filled each other’s mailboxes with letters, we would all be kinder and, at the very least, won’t dread checking our mailboxes,” she said.

Bobbitt says she first joined a pen pal club in second or third grade and later was connected to more writers through Postcrossing, an online project that partners people around the world to send and receive postcards. She says some of the postcards turned into letters as friendships grew between her and some other regular writers.

It’s a similar feeling of connection that inspired DJ Robert Owoyele, 34, to create CAYA, a monthly “analog gathering” in Dallas. Owoyele launched the event less than a year ago and has since organized evenings with letter writing, coloring, vinyl listening sessions and other activities.

“We live in a digital age that fosters a false sense of connection, but I think true connection happens in person,” he said. “When we are able to touch or see something, we are more connected to it naturally. These analog activities are a representation of that.”

How to get started

While writing letters and engaging in other vintage pursuits might seem accessible, it is not always easy to get involved. For many people, carving out time to slow down can feel like another obligation in a schedule filled with to-dos.

Kontopanos says she decided it was important for her to reprioritize her time. “The older I get, the more I realize how much time had been wasted on my phone,” she said. Creating space to explore allowed her to discover the hobbies she loved doing enough to make them a priority, she said.

There are many hobbies to consider, some of which don’t require expensive tools or hours of free time. Frequenting spaces where communities centered around these hobbies gather can be a way to learn about the different activities. For example, participating in typewriter clubs such as Type Pals, attending events like the Los Angeles Printers Fair hosted by the International Printing Museum in California, and engaging with social media communities like the Wax Seal Guild on Instagram and The Calligraphy Hub on Facebook.

Klassen says that based on posts she’s seeing on her social media feeds, reviving vintage writing instruments and small tactile pleasures might be on the verge of becoming trendy.

“The girls are going analog in 2026,” she said.

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Man United stuns Man City 2-0 in Michael Carrick’s first game in charge

MANCHESTER – Manchester United’s latest reboot is off to a flying start.

In his first game in charge, Michael Carrick saw his team pull off a stunning 2-0 win against Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday to lift the gloom hanging over Old Trafford.

“It’s a great start, there’s no getting away from that,” Carrick said after goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu sealed victory in the 198th Manchester derby.

The job now is to keep the good times going.

“That’s the challenge ultimately, and I think it needs to be a version of normal,” said Carrick, who was appointed head coach this week.

The former United midfielder has only signed a contract until the end of the season and has 17 games to convince the club’s hierarchy to give him the job on a permanent basis after Ruben Amorim became the sixth permanent manager or head coach to be dismissed since club great Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

He could not have made a better first impression with a dominant performance against all-conquering City manager Pep Guardiola, who could do nothing but congratulate his opponent after the game.

“The better team won. There’s nothing more to say,” Guardiola said. “When a team is better you have to accept it. They had an energy we didn’t have. Congratulations.”

Victory had United fans singing in full voice inside Old Trafford and drowning out their fierce cross-city rivals.

“The supporters were incredible and I said yesterday that this could be a magical place,” Carrick said. “To get that feeling is exactly what we want. Hopefully it’s just the start and something that we need to build on.”

The win could have been even more emphatic, with United twice hitting the frame of the goal, forcing a string of saves from City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and having three goals ruled out for offside.

Not only did victory give United local bragging rights and boost its chances of Champions League qualification, but it also delivered another blow to City’s title challenge. Defeat extended City’s recent winless run in the league to four games.

United dominated the chances before and after halftime.

Harry Maguire headed against the bar inside three minutes and United saw two goals chalked off by VAR for offside before the break.

In the second half Donnarumma denied Amad Diallo, Casemiro and Mbeumo before the deadlock was finally broken in the 65th minute.

It came from another swift United attack with Bruno Fernandes leading the breakaway after a City free kick came to nothing.

Racing into the City half Fernandes slipped a pass into the run of Mbeumo and the Cameroon forward unleashed a first-time left footed shot low into the far corner.

Old Trafford erupted with chants of “United!”

It was the least Carrick’s team deserved after a performance full of attacking intent.

Dorgu doubled the lead in the 76th, converting from close range after beating Rico Lewis to substitute Matheus Cunha’s cross.

Amad then hit the post as United looked to press the advantage and there was still time for another substitute, Mason Mount, to find the back of the net with his first touch in the 89th, only for it to be deemed offside.

By that point, it mattered little. The day belonged to United and Carrick, who had a beaming smile on his face as he congratulated his players after the final whistle.

Up in the stands, watching on was managerial great Alex Ferguson, whose smile was as broad as anyone’s inside Old Trafford.

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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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Sewer Socialism Comes to the Pennsylvania Suburbs

David McMahon

During the NOPE campaign, when we were collecting thousands of petition signatures, people immediately understood what privatization meant in concrete terms: higher rates, less accountability, and the loss of public oversight over an essential service. There was nothing abstract about it. People recognized that if a community has an essential need, the most sensible approach is to pool our resources and provide that service ourselves, at cost.

Clarity is what made the campaign so successful, and it’s also what makes it a powerful starting point for broader conversations. People could see the same dynamic at work in the proposed sale of our sewer system to Aqua Pennsylvania. They see how we’re being ripped off more generally whenever essential needs are handed over to private corporations that prioritize shareholders over residents. Once that connection is made, it opens up real, grounded discussions about health care, childcare, housing, and public education, other areas where we’ve seen aggressive efforts to privatize public services or block public options altogether.

As I step into office, one of my earliest priorities is housing. Norristown is a majority-tenant community — about 60 percent of residents rent — and that shapes everything. Some steps can happen relatively quickly, like creating a publicly accessible landlord registry or strengthening basic tenant protections. Other efforts will take longer, like establishing a land bank, supporting the development of community land trusts, and pursuing other permanently affordable or social housing models.

While some of this work extends beyond the formal powers of municipal government, I also hope to help catalyze conversations that lead to the formation of a tenant union in Norristown. The lesson of NOPE is that when people understand how privatization and deregulation affect their daily lives — and when they organize collectively — they can win. I want to carry that approach forward, to start with concrete fights, build shared analysis, and use those victories to expand what people believe is possible and to develop real left-wing organization.

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Climate activist predicts high electricity prices and Trump’s attacks on green energy will hurt GOP

RIPTON, Vt. – At a time when the Trump administration rolled back numerous environmental regulations while global temperatures and U.S. carbon pollution spiked, longtime climate activist Bill McKibben finds hope in something that didn’t seem that strong on a recent single-digit-temperature day: the sun.

That sun has provided him cheap power for 25 years, and this month he installed his fourth iteration of solar panels on his Vermont home. In an interview after he set up the new system, he said President Donald Trump’s stance against solar and other cheap green energy will hurt the GOP in this year’s elections as electricity bills rise.

After the Biden and Obama administrations subsidized and championed solar, wind and other green power as answers to fight climate change, Trump has tried to dampen those and turn to older and dirtier fossil fuels. The Trump administration froze five big offshore wind projects last month but judges this week allowed three of the projects to resume. Federal clean energy tax incentives expired on Dec. 31 that include installing home solar panels.

Meanwhile, electricity prices are rising in the United States, and McKibben is counting on that to trigger political change.

“I think you’re starting to see that have a big political impact in the U.S. right now. My prediction would be that electric prices are going to be to the 2026 election what egg prices were to the 2024 election,” said McKibben, an author and founder of multiple environmental and activist groups. Everyday inflation hurt Democrats in the last presidential race, analysts said.

The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of governors on Friday tried to step up pressure on the operator of the nation’s largest electric grid to take urgent steps to boost power supplies in the mid-Atlantic and keep electricity bills from rising even higher.

“Ensuring the American people have reliable and affordable electricity is one of President Trump’s top priorities,” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers.

Renewable energy prices drop around the world

Globally, the price of wind and solar power is plummeting to the point that they are cheaper than fossil fuels, the United Nations found. And China leads the world in renewable energy technology, with one of its electric car companies passing Tesla in annual sales.

“We can’t economically compete in a world where China gets a lot of cheap energy and we have to pay for really expensive energy,” McKibben told The Associated Press, just after he installed a new type of solar panels that can hang on balconies with little fuss.

When Trump took office in January 2025, the national average electricity cost was 15.94 cents per kilowatt-hour. By September it was up to 18.07 cents and then down slightly to 17.98 cents in October, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

That’s a 12.8% increase in 10 months. It rose more in 10 months than the previous two years. People in Maryland, New Jersey and Maine have seen electricity prices rise at a rate three times higher than the national average since October 2024.

At 900 kilowatt-hours per month, that means the average monthly electricity bill is about $18 more than in January 2025.

Democrats blame Trump for rising electric bills

This week, Democrats on Capitol Hill blamed rising electric bills on Trump and his dislike of renewable energy.

“From his first day in office, he’s made it his mission to limit American’s access to cheap energy, all in the name of increasing profits for his friends in the fossil fuel industry. As a result, energy bills across the country have skyrocketed,” Illinois Rep. Sean Casten said at a Wednesday news conference.

“Donald Trump is the first president to intentionally raise the price of something that we all need,” Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, also a Democrat, said Wednesday on the Senate floor. “Nobody should be enthused about paying more for electricity, and this national solar ban is making everybody pay more. Clean is cheap and cheap is clean.”

Solar panels on McKibben’s Vermont home

McKibben has been sending excess electricity from his solar panels to the Vermont grid for years. Now he’s sending more.

As his dog, Birke, stood watch, McKibben, who refers to his home nestled in the Green Mountains of Vermont as a “museum of solar technology” got his new panels up and running in about 10 minutes. This type of panel from the California-based firm Bright Saver is often referred to as plug-in solar. Though it’s not yet widely available in the U.S., McKibben pointed to the style’s popularity in Europe and Australia.

“Americans spend three or four times as much money as Australians or Europeans to put solar panels on the roof. We have an absurdly overcomplicated permitting system that’s unlike anything else on the rest of the planet,” McKibben said.

McKibben said Australians can obtain three hours of free electricity each day through a government program because the country has built so many solar panels.

“And I’m almost certain that that’s an argument that every single person in America would understand,” he said. “I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t say: ‘I’d like three free hours of electricity.’”

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Swinhart reported from Vermont. Borenstein reported from Washington. Matthew Daly contributed to this report from Washington.

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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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Widespread Repression, Intimidation Mar Uganda’s Presidential Election

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at violent clashes following a crucial vote in Uganda, new trade commitments between Canada and China, and U.S. congressional support for Danish control of Greenland.

Uganda’s ‘Ominous’ Election

Incumbent Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni claimed a commanding lead on Friday in the country’s disputed presidential election held Thursday. According to the country’s Electoral Commission, Museveni has secured more than 75 percent of votes from nearly half of polling stations—sweeping main challenger Bobi Wine, who holds less than 20 percent of votes, as well as six other candidates. According to electoral chief Simon Byabakama, the final results will be announced by 5 p.m. local time on Saturday.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at violent clashes following a crucial vote in Uganda, new trade commitments between Canada and China, and U.S. congressional support for Danish control of Greenland.

Uganda’s ‘Ominous’ Election

Incumbent Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni claimed a commanding lead on Friday in the country’s disputed presidential election held Thursday. According to the country’s Electoral Commission, Museveni has secured more than 75 percent of votes from nearly half of polling stations—sweeping main challenger Bobi Wine, who holds less than 20 percent of votes, as well as six other candidates. According to electoral chief Simon Byabakama, the final results will be announced by 5 p.m. local time on Saturday.

However, reports of widespread repression, voter intimidation, and violence against the opposition have marred Uganda’s election, eliciting fierce condemnation from the United Nations.

Thursday’s presidential election was seen as a test for Museveni, who at 81 years old hopes to extend his 40-year grip on power. Museveni has previously accused the opposition of voter fraud, and he has reorganized the country’s Electoral Commission so that all of its members are hand-chosen by the president. Ahead of the vote, government authorities also imposed an internet blackout to prevent “misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks.” Some polling stations reported delayed openings due to the telecommunications shutdown.

Rights groups lambasted the blackout as a violation of democratic practices during a critical moment for Uganda. “It creates an information vacuum and a digital darkness that may provide cover for the perpetration of serious human rights violations,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s East and Southern Africa regional director. “The fact that no end date for the internet shutdown has been given is also ominous.”

Locals reported the arbitrary detention of hundreds of supporters of Wine in the lead-up to the vote, and according to the opposition National Unity Platform on Thursday, Wine’s home in Kampala was surrounded by security forces, “effectively placing him and his wife under house arrest.” Following Uganda’s 2021 presidential election, during which Wine secured 35 percent of the vote, state authorities also confined the opposition figure to his home for several days.

Wine has alleged mass fraud in Thursday’s election and has called on his supporters to protest the results. Since then, at least seven people have been killed and 25 others have been arrested during overnight clashes in the Ugandan town of Butambala. The U.S. Embassy in Uganda issued an alert on Friday following reports that security forces were “using teargas and firing into the air to disperse gatherings.”

On Friday, police spokesperson Lydia Tumushabe accused machete-wielding “goons” working for the opposition and organized by local parliamentarian Muwanga Kivumbi of attacking a police station and a vote-tallying center. She maintains that the deaths occurred outside during the clashes. However, Kivumbi told Reuters that 10 people were killed while waiting for the election results inside his home.

“They broke the front door and began shooting inside the garage,” Kivumbi said. “It was a massacre.”

Today’s Most Read

What We’re Following

Slashing duties. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping struck an initial agreement in Beijing on Friday to lower tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs) and canola. The deal aims to bolster economic relations between Ottawa and Beijing, as Canada seeks to diversify its markets to counter U.S. President Donald Trump’s global trade war. This was the first visit to China by a Canadian prime minister since 2017.

Under the agreement, Canada will cut its 100 percent tariff on Chinese EV exports and will place an annual cap of 49,000 vehicles to Canada that will grow to around 70,000 over five years. In exchange, China will reduce its duties on Canadian canola from 84 percent to about 15 percent.

However, not everyone in Canada is pleased with the deal. Ontario Premier Doug Ford warned on Friday that “China now has a foothold in the Canadian market and will use it to their full advantage at the expense of Canadian workers,” adding that a flood of cheap Chinese EVs could lead to domestic job losses. Ontario is the country’s main auto-manufacturing province.

Support for Greenland. A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation led by a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee arrived in Copenhagen on Friday to express solidarity with the Danish government. The lawmakers’ visit flies in the face of Trump’s threats to acquire Greenland, which would defy a 1916 agreement with Denmark and violate NATO’s founding principles.

“At a time of increasing international instability, we need to draw closer to our allies, not drive them away,” U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, who co-led the delegation, said this week. During the two-day trip, the 11-member delegation is expected to meet with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen, both of whom have rejected U.S. demands to take control of the resource-rich, strategically located territory.

Also on Friday, Danish and Greenlandic cabinet ministers convened to discuss the island’s military preparedness, just one day after six European nations deployed troops to Greenland to demonstrate that a U.S. takeover is unnecessary to safeguard the Arctic.

Trump maintains that ownership of Greenland is vital for U.S. national security, and he plans to send his new special envoy for Greenland, Jeff Landry, to the island in March to discuss potential acquisition. However, 75 percent of Americans oppose the White House’s efforts to control the Danish territory, according to a CNN poll published Thursday.

Behind bars. A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday to five years in prison for obstructing authorities’ attempts to arrest him following his short-lived martial law order in December 2024. He was also found guilty of fabricating official documents and failing to discuss his martial law order at a formal cabinet meeting before implementing it.

In January 2025, Yoon became the first sitting South Korean leader to be arrested. In the wake of the martial law declaration, Yoon ignored multiple summonses to appear for questioning, leading authorities to issue an arrest warrant. He then appeared to encourage his supporters to form a “human wall” to block investigating officers and police from entering the presidential compound; once they made it inside, they were further blocked by presidential security personnel.

Friday’s ruling—the first related to criminal charges against Yoon—follows South Korean prosecutors requesting earlier this week in a separate trial that the former president be given the death penalty if he is found guilty of orchestrating an attempted insurrection. Seoul has not carried out a death sentence in nearly 30 years.

What in the World?

What reason did the Israeli military give for striking Hezbollah targets in several areas of Lebanon on Thursday?

A. The group was violating the 2024 cease-fire agreement
B. It was firing at Israeli citizens across the southern border
C. It was fighting the Lebanese military to resist disarmament
D. It threatened attacks on Israeli government officials

Odds and Ends

Scientists have discovered the naturally mummified remains of cheetahs in northern Saudi Arabia, according to a new study published on Thursday. Ranging from 130 years old to more than 1,800 years old, the well-preserved specimens gave researchers the ability to extract and sequence the ancient big cats’ genes for the first time. Their findings, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, provide useful insights for conservation and rewilding efforts.

And the Answer Is…

A. The group was violating the 2024 cease-fire agreement

Israel believes Hezbollah is replenishing its weapons stores; it may risk an invasion of Lebanon to disarm the militant group once and for all, FP’s Anchal Vohra writes.

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Great Job Alexandra Sharp & the Team @ World Brief – Foreign Policy Source link for sharing this story.

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