Update 1-18-2026 (World)

Venezuela:

Militarily, it was brilliant. Geopolitically, from a grand strategy viewpoint it is necessary to clean up America’s backyard (Refer to Hal Brands, The Eurasian Century, 2025. Michael Beckley, Hal Brands, Danger Zone, 2023). Maduro had allowed Venezuela to be used by China, Russia, Cuba, even Hamas and others to be used as terrorist training grounds. Trump’s strategy is to prevent it from hostile nations’ influence and at the same time, enable changes gradually (e.g. WSJ 1-13 U.S. Blows Up China’s Latin America Ambitions With Maduro Ouster). If this works, it would be considered a genius strategy. If not, some might criticize that Trump did not finish the job. So far, it seems good for now. 

Iran:

Iran is much more complicated. First, it is strategically very important. If Iran is changed to a normal nation, then the chance of peace in the Middle East will improve significantly. However, from a number of experts, it is not easy to overthrow the Iran Islamic regime. Trump will have a difficult decision to make. 

World 

1. January 17, 2026: Cotton joins Fox News Live 

2. Keane: Trump is 'obviously' preparing for strike (1-18)   

3. *Niall Ferguson: The U.S. Should Finish the Job in Iran (1-16-2026) 

4. All-In Iran's Breaking Point, Greenland, Energy Costs, Billionaire Tax Backlash (1-17) 

5. How Trump transformed the US presidency | Ian Bremmer Explains (1-17)  

6. Fareed WaPo 1-17 The world is adjusting to an unreliable United States

7. This is a HUGE sign to the Iranian protestors that we still support them: Retired general

8. Keane: US to put Iranian regime on 'PATHWAY TO COLLAPSE' (1-17) 

9. Iran has been a 'real threat' to America: Ari Fleischer (1-16)  

10. 'YOU HIT, WE HIT’: US sends military assets to Middle East as Trump weighs (1-16)  

11. BREAKING: US signs trade and investment deal with Taiwan (1-16) 

12. The Truth Why Trump Wants To Buy Greenland... But Has No Allies On His Side (1-16) 

13. Dan Senor: U.S. military action in Iran would weaken the regime (1-16) 

14. How Should the U.S. Respond to Iran's Brutal Crackdown? (1-15) 

15. BREAKING: Iran shuts down airspace after Trump's latest demands (1-15) 

16. EXCLUSIVE: Inside Iran’s Violent Crackdown on Anti-Regime Protesters (1-14)  

17. China's economy isn't very good, but 'is good enough for Xi': Leland Miller (1-14) 

18. WSJ 1-13 U.S. Blows Up China’s Latin America Ambitions With Maduro Ouster

19. *Congratulations, the Multipolar World You Ordered Is Here - K Kisin (1-14) (a bit oversimplified) 

20. Gerard Baker 1-12 Iran Cracks Down. Where Are the Western Protests?

21. Walter Russell Mead WSJ 1-11 Trump Captivates the Globe

22. Will the Iranian Regime Fall? TFP (1-13)  

23. Iran protests: Fact-checking claims of AI manipulation, low turnout • F24 (1-13) 

24. China struggles to turn its economy around | DW News (1-13)  

25. *Breaking down Greenland’s strategic importance (1-13)  

26. Here's how Trump can 'win it all' in Venezuela: Mike Pompeo (1-11) and Iran 

27. How Does Western Hemisphere View Trump Following Maduro Ousting? (1-11-2025) 

28. Hal Brands The "Free World" Is at Peak Disunity | American Enterprise Institute - AEI (12-2025) 

29. Former CIA Chief in Venezuela Explains Why Russia and China Are Terrified (1-11)  

30. If I was Iranian regime, I would take President Trump ‘dead serious’: Gen. Jack Keane (1-11)  

31. WaPo Marc A. Thiessen 1-8 This is the real MAGA foreign policy

Legal 

1. DHS reveals HUNDREDS of criminal aliens shielded by Minnesota leaders (1-17) 

2. BREAKING: Walz, Frey under DOJ investigation (1-17)

3. Trump: Revoke Citizenship Naturalized Immigrant Convicted Of Defrauding (1-15) 

4. James Comer Asked: 'What Does The Clintons' No-Show Say To You?' (1-15) 

5. Rep. Hill on Powell probe: High construction costs don’t justify accusing crime (1-15)  

6. *Levin: Supreme Court has some 'monumental' decisions to make (1-13) 

7. *John Yoo: This is a SERIOUS escalation (1-13) Trump vs. Fed Res.  

Politics

1. 2026 PREDICTIONS: Why Dems are a 'bet' to RETAKE the House… (1-17) 

2. Fraud in Minnesota goes beyond day cares, it’s ‘all of the welfare programs’: Nick Shirley (1-17) 

3. Megyn Kelly on Outrageous Leftist Lawlessness Against ICE in Minnesota (1-16) 

4. Navy intel officer tracked $100Ms from MN day cares to terror groups | Vargas (1-15) 

5. BREAKING: Bondi says she fired disgruntled Minnesota prosecutors who intended to resign 

6. Michael Knowles Notices Something about the ICE Shooting That No One Noticed (clip) 

7. Watters: The hunt is ON  (1-13) 

8. This scandal is NOT over: Manhattan Institute senior fellow (1-13) 

9. All-In's 2026 Predictions (1-11) 

10. Michael Knowles Notices Something about the ICE Shooting That No One Noticed (1-10) 

11. Sheriff Judd on Minneapolis ICE agent shooting (Jan. 8, 2026)  

12. NEW: Details revealed about woman shot, killed by ICE agent in Minneapolis (1-11) 

13. Mark Halperin on Marco Rubio Stock Rising, JD Vance Will Be Nominee in 2028 (1-10) 

Economy & AI 

1. Ark Cathie Wood on 2026 outlook: Expect strong deflationary pressures (1-17) 

2. *AI coding enters the mainstream (Tech Check 1-17)  

3. Alphabet and OpenAI can both have massive ad businesses w AI, Gene Munster (1-17) 

4. This is another chance to buy quality names before their next leg up, Jim Cramer (1-16)  

5. *OpenAI rehires senior talent amid growing Google, Anthropic momentum (1-16) 

6. *The AI coding boom hits software (1-16) 

7. Larry Fink: We're too focused on monetary policy and not enough on fiscal discipline (1-16) 

8. *Pressure Points: AI Trade Update - Jan 2026 (1-16) 

9. ?Why AI will dwarf every tech revolution before it: robots, from CES 2026 (1-15)

10. *How AI Is Changing the Skills Employers Look For (1-15) Wharton Sch. 

11. Software stocks will rebound from AI scare, says D.A. Davidson's Gil Luria (1-15) 

12. China's global AI adoption accelerates (1-14)  tech check 

13. Dan Ives on GOOGL & AAPL, NVDA AI Dominance, TSLA Robotaxi Rollout (1-14)

14. Markets decided if you make software, AI will make you obsolete, Jim Cramer (1-14) 

15. Rick Reider: Fed chair is an independent seat (1-13) very smart, good pick on stocks  

16. *Google's LLM Gemini will be one of the winners, Needham's Laura Martin (1-13)  

17. *Apple needs to partner with Google in AI arms race, Wedbush's Dan Ives (1-13) 

18. Google likely number one beneficiary of AI in the long run, Glen Kacher (1-13) 

19. WaPo 1-12 Which jobs have grown (and declined) fastest during your working life?

20. WSJ 1-6 How Google Got Its Groove Back and Edged Ahead of OpenAI

21. Silicon Valley investor: XAI will be top AI contender if Elon Musk at the helm (1-11)  

22. These humanoid robots are ‘driven by AI’, says Arm CEO (1-11)   

Health 

1. *Doctor reveals two simple tests that predict how well you’ll age (1-13)  

2. WaPo Edi 1-10 The problem with national dietary guidelines

History 

1. *The Cold War Could Have Ended Very Differently – Sarah Paine (clip) 

2. *Soviet Economy Ran on Fake Data - Sarah Paine (clip) 

3. A Short History of Liberalism in the Middle East | Joshua Landis (1-13-2026)  so so 

4. The Day Russia Asked America Permission to Nuke China - Sarah Paine (clip 1-13) 

5. How America Actually Broke the Soviets - Sarah Paine (clip 1-11) 

   
   

Religions & Ideologies  

1. Woke Student Calls Dennis Prager "Islamophobic" Response Left Her SPEECHLESS! (1-2026)

2. “Outright Decline” — Peter Thiel Warns About the Coming Inflection Point (1-14)  

3. Why Marxists WON'T Condemn Terrorists | Freya Leach (clip 2026) 

Others

Hal Brands The "Free World" Is at Peak Disunity | American Enterprise Institute - AEI (12-2025)