Good morning. It's Thursday, Jan. 8, and we're covering the US seizure of a Russian-flagged tanker, an updated food pyramid, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.5 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
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The US military said it had seized two Venezuela-linked oil tankers yesterday, including a Russian-flagged ship it pursued for more than two weeks.
The ship, formerly called the Bella 1, was working to evade the US Coast Guard in the northern Atlantic Ocean weeks after allegedly seeking to dock in Venezuela. On Dec. 24, the ship received approval from the Kremlin to reflag under Russia and has since changed its name to the Marinera. It was accompanied by Russian naval vessels and a submarine but was seized between the British Isles and Iceland with support from the UK military. A second tanker, the Cameroonian-flagged Sophia, was seized after allegedly leaving a Venezuelan port. The US seized two other tankers—the Centuries and the Skipper—last month.
The latest incidents come after President Donald Trump said the US will take possession of 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil from Venezuela—up to 15% of the country’s annual oil production. |
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, yesterday, after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer killed a 37-year-old US citizen.
The Department of Homeland Security says agents believed the woman, identified as Renee Nicole Good, was attempting to weaponize her vehicle to kill federal officers; Mayor Jacob Frey (D) disputes the account and accuses the ICE agent of “recklessly using power,” resulting in the woman’s death. Video footage shows federal agents approaching a vehicle that had been partially blocking a street and attempting to have the driver exit her vehicle. The car pulls forward and begins to turn before an agent fired at least two shots, according to the police. The car then crashed on the side of the roadway. See footage here (warning–graphic).
More than 2,000 federal personnel were deployed to Minneapolis this week as part of a 30-day surge following allegations of fraud in the state’s day care facilities and other federally funded programs. See previous write-up here. |
The Trump administration announced new federal dietary guidelines yesterday, urging Americans to eat more protein and dairy and, for the first time, formally advising against highly processed foods. See announcement here (w/photo).
The latest advice is depicted by an inverted pyramid, with proteins, dairy, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats—like avocados—lumped together at the top. Whole grains are deemphasized at the bottom. The graphic replaced the MyPlate visual introduced in 2011, which advises roughly equal portions of grains and vegetables, smaller servings of protein and fruit, and a side of dairy. Notably, the Trump administration's update moves away from limits on all fats, instead emphasizing different fat qualities. It also abandons daily limits on alcohol in favor of more general advice to drink less, and advises up to doubling protein intake. (More on America's current protein surge here, w/audio.)
The updates will be reflected in federal nutrition programs, directly affecting an estimated one in four Americans. See how US nutrition advice has changed since 1943 here. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Warner Bros. Discovery board advises shareholders to reject Paramount bid, stick with Netflix deal (More) | Judge delays Nick Reiner's arraignment to Feb. 23 after his attorney steps down from the high-profile double murder case (More) |
> "One Battle After Another" earns record seven nods for Actor Awards, formerly Screen Actors Guild Awards; Netflix to livestream March 1 ceremony (More) | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to shut down after 240 years, citing labor constraints and financial losses (More) |
> College Football Playoff semifinals begin tonight at 7:30 pm ET with No. 6 Ole Miss facing No. 10 Miami in the Fiesta Bowl (More) |
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> OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health, allowing users to connect medical records and wellness apps to the chatbot for better answers to medical questions; the feature is not intended for diagnosis or treatment (More) | Inside the ChatGPT black box (Spotify | Apple) |
> Astronomers discover fastest-ever spinning asteroid—over half a kilometer wide— using the world's largest digital camera stationed at the Rubin Observatory (More) |
> Engineers develop material that changes color and texture similar to an octopus, with potential applications in camouflage, art, robotics, and bioengineering (More) |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.3%, Dow -1.0%, Nasdaq +0.2%); S&P 500 and the Dow pull back from records (More) |
> Anthropic reportedly planning to raise $10B at $350B valuation (More) | Media startup Semafor raises $30M at $330M valuation (More) | Global startup funding rises 30% year-over-year in 2025 to $425B, marking third-highest venture-financing year on record (More) |
> JPMorgan Chase's asset-management arm cuts ties with proxy advisers, will use AI to make shareholder-voting decisions in move seen as an industry first (More) | JPMorgan reportedly taking over Apple credit card from Goldman Sachs (More) |
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$1.5M: Should I Do a Roth Ladder For RMDs? |
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> President Donald Trump announces he will work to bar Wall Street investment firms from purchasing single-family homes amid jump in housing costs (More) | Less than 1% of single-family homes are believed to be owned by investors (More) |
> Secretary of State Marco Rubio to meet with Danish representatives next week, will discuss Trump administration's efforts to acquire Greenland (More) |
> US population is projected to start to shrink for the first time in 2056 after reaching a peak of 364 million people; government cites declining birth rate, immigration policies (More) |
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LitHub | Chris Duffy. How jokes and laughter can make social change more effective, by easing tension, building community, and helping movements win hearts where outrage alone can’t. (Read) |
> The Curious Cult of Aldi
Bloomberg Businessweek | Deena Shanker, Tim Loh. Rock-bottom prices and obsessive efficiency have turned the 80-year-old German discount chain into America's buzziest grocers. (Read) |
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