Mamdani Revokes Eric Adams' Executive Orders Since Indictment
On his first day in office, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order revoking all prior mayoral directives issued by former Mayor Eric Adams on or after Sept. 26, 2024, the date Adams was federally indicted on corruption charges.
Mamdani's executive order revoked Adams' implementation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, but preserved the Office to Combat Antisemitism that Adams had established in May 2024.
Mamdani revived the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants and appointed Cea Weaver, a tenant organizer and housing advocate, to lead the office. The office will serve as a central coordinating body to defend tenants' rights and confront negligent landlords.
Republican narrative
Mamdani's first act as mayor was eliminating protections against antisemitism by undoing the IHRA definition, breaking his promise of unity and revealing his true priorities. This isn't a new era — it's a dangerous abandonment of Jewish New Yorkers who watched him campaign on divisive promises while the governor refused to act. His radical socialist agenda, from rent freezes to millionaire taxes, threatens to drive out the wealthy taxpayers who fund the city's services.
Democratic narrative
Mamdani delivered a clean slate by wiping out Adams' corrupt legacy, ensuring working-class New Yorkers get a government that actually serves them instead of slumlords and the wealthy. His bold housing orders hold landlords accountable, protect tenants from dangerous conditions and maintain the Office to Combat Antisemitism. Governing as a democratic socialist means no apologies for fighting for the many instead of the few.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that the year-over-year rent increase will be 0.712% in New York City in December 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Congo Accuses Rwanda of Killing Over 1,500 in M23 Offensive
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has accused Rwanda of killing more than 1,500 civilians in eastern Congo since early December, when the M23 militia launched a fresh offensive. Congolese authorities described the attacks as "a clear act of aggression against national sovereignty."
Kinshasa claimed the death toll was linked to Rwanda’s use of "bombs and kamikaze drones" in the region, saying that "three new Rwandan battalions" had entered South Kivu since early December, with intentions toward the strategic Kalemie axis in the southeastern mining province of Tanganyika.
M23 rebels took control of the strategic city of Uvira in South Kivu province in early December, causing tens of thousands of people to flee across the border into Burundi. The offensive occurred just days after the DRC and Rwandan governments signed a U.S.-brokered peace deal on December 4.
Narrative A
Rwanda's military aggression in eastern Congo has killed over 1,500 civilians since December through coordinated drone strikes and ground operations, directly violating the U.S.-brokered peace agreement signed just days earlier. Kigali deployed thousands of troops and backed M23's seizure of strategic cities, including Uvira, displacing over half a million people and triggering a massive humanitarian catastrophe across the region.
Narrative B
Genocidal rhetoric from Congolese officials targeting Tutsi communities has reached alarming levels, with military spokesmen echoing the same dehumanizing language that preceded the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The Tshisekedi regime openly collaborates with FDLR genocidaires while promoting hate speech that labels Tutsis as "cockroaches" and "viruses," creating imminent danger for Congolese Tutsi populations who face systematic persecution and violence.
Nerd narrative
There is a 59% chance that the Democratic Republic of Congo will experience a civil war before 2036, according to the Metaculus predicition community.
Brazil: Bolsonaro Returns to Jail After Medical Treatment
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro left a hospital in Brasília early Thursday evening, returning to the country's federal police headquarters to continue serving his prison sentence.
Bolsonaro had been hospitalized since last week to undergo a scheduled double hernia surgery on Christmas Day. While the surgery was successful, he later underwent additional medical procedures to address his persistent hiccups.
This comes as Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes denied another request from Bolsonaro's lawyers for their client to serve his sentence in house arrest on humanitarian grounds, two weeks after the rejection of a similar request.
Right narrative
Moraes is torturing Bolsonaro with sarcastic decisions, ignoring clear medical evidence that permanent care cannot be guaranteed in prison for the man whose health has never recovered since a leftist militant stabbed him in 2018. Medical reports explicitly warn of stroke risk from ongoing health complications, yet the Brazilian justice system dismisses these dangers. Forcing Bolsonaro back to prison now shows cruel disregard for his condition.
Left narrative
Medical reports actually confirm that Bolsonaro's condition has improved after elective surgeries, not worsened as his defense falsely claimed. Furthermore, the Federal Police facility provides hour medical care, full access to doctors, physical therapy, and all necessary treatments without any health risks. Had Bolsonaro not decided to lead a coup plot in 2022, or at least not violate the terms of his ankle monitor, he would not have to go to prison.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be reelected as president of Brazil in October 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Maduro Open to U.S. Talks Amid Drug Trafficking Strikes
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated in a pre-recorded interview published Thursday that Venezuela is open to negotiating an agreement with the U.S. to combat drug trafficking and is ready for U.S. oil investment "whenever they want it, wherever they want it and however they want it."
This comes after President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. had struck a docking facility along the Venezuelan shore that allegedly served drug trafficking boats, though he declined to specify whether it was a military or CIA operation.
Maduro declined to confirm or deny the reported attack on Venezuelan soil, stating that it could be something discussed in a few days, while insisting that Venezuela has defended itself well against the U.S.'s military campaign at sea and that its people remain "safe and in peace."
Establishment-critical narrative
America's assault on Venezuela — through sanctions, sabotage, and regime-change schemes — has strangled its economy and imperiled its people. Washington's aggression, not Maduro, is the architect of this crisis. While he extends olive branches, U.S. hawks plot a catastrophe a hellscape merging Gaza's devastation with Colombia's civil war, unleashing fresh migrant waves and untold suffering.
Pro-establishment narrative
Maduro himself is solely responsible for Venezuela's collapse and the destabilization of the entire region through systematic human rights abuses, narcotics trafficking and stolen elections. The regime has turned Venezuela into a criminal enterprise that threatens hemispheric security. Military pressure may finally force regime insiders to recognize that life without Maduro is preferable to his continued rule.
Nerd narrative
There is a 75% chance there will be a fatal clash between the military forces of the U.S. and Venezuela before March 1, 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Rogue Planet Mass and Distance Measured for First Time
Astronomers have detected a rogue planet with a mass approximately 22% that of Jupiter using gravitational microlensing, a technique where the planet's gravity briefly magnifies light from a distant background star. The planet is located roughly 3,000 parsecs from the center of the Milky Way.
This marks the first time astronomers have measured both the mass and distance of a free-floating planet, overcoming a limitation known as mass-distance degeneracy that previously prevented independent measurements of these properties through microlensing alone.
The discovery, published in the journal Science on Thursday, was made possible by simultaneous observations from ground-based telescopes in Chile, South Africa and Australia, along with the Gaia space telescope positioned 930,000 miles from Earth. Tiny differences in the arrival times of light at these separated locations enabled precise parallax measurements.
Techno-optimist narrative
Astronomers have for the first time measured the mass of a rogue planet floating without a star by observing how its gravity bent starlight during a microlensing event. The planet weighs about as much as Saturn and opens exciting new possibilities for studying lonely cosmic wanderers and free-floating worlds across the galaxy.
Techno-skeptic narrative
Calling it a breakthrough may overstate the findings the mass estimate depends on complex microlensing models and a rare alignment of observations, meaning the result could be less certain than headlines suggest. Without repeated detection or direct imaging, interpretations about the planet's nature and prevalence remain tentative.
Nerd narrative
There's a 12% chance that Planet Nine will be discovered before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Trump Discusses CT Scan and Health in WSJ Interview
U.S. President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Thursday that he underwent a CT scan, not an MRI, during an October 2025 visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. One of his doctors, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, stated the scan was performed "to definitively rule out any cardiovascular issues," and no abnormalities were found.
Trump expressed regret about undergoing the advanced imaging as it gave critics "a little ammunition" to question his health. He said he would have been better off not taking the scan because it raised public questions about whether something was wrong.
Trump takes 325 mg of aspirin daily, a higher dose than his doctors recommend, which he attributes to being "a little superstitious" after 25 years of use. He said the aspirin causes bruising on his hands, which he sometimes covers with makeup that takes about 10 seconds.
Democratic narrative
Trump's persistent bruising on both hands, unexplained MRI visits and repeated instances of appearing to doze off during official meetings reveal a troubling pattern that demands transparency. The administration's evasive responses and attempts to cover up visible health issues with makeup and bandages only fuel legitimate concerns about fitness for office. At 79, these aren't minor cosmetic issues but potential indicators of undisclosed conditions that voters deserve to know about.
Pro-Trump narrative
President Trump's physician has certified his remarkable health — his heart functioning like that of someone 14 years younger, with stellar results across every vital measure. Yet the same media voices now questioning his fitness previously praised Biden as "healthy and vigorous" after stumbles and decline. The hypocrisy is glaring identical outlets championed Biden's wellness while now casting doubt on Trump's objectively superior health.
Nerd narrative
There is a 20% chance J.D. Vance will become President of the United States before Jan. 20, 2029, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Officials: Switzerland Bar Fire Likely Caused by Champagne Sparklers, Death Toll Rises to 47
Swiss authorities are urgently working to identify the victims of a deadly blaze that swept through a packed bar during a New Year's Eve celebration, killing 47 people and injuring 119 in the Alpine ski resort of Crans-Montana on Thursday. Six Italians are still missing, all teenagers.
Officials said Friday that the fire was likely caused by sparklers placed in champagne bottles, though a criminal probe is still ongoing. Investigators are looking into whether acoustic soundproofing foam lining the bar’s ceiling was installed correctly and complied with applicable safety regulations.
Of the injured, 113 individuals have been identified so far, including 71 Swiss nationals, 14 from France and 11 from Italy. Officials have cautioned that identifying all those who died could take days or even weeks.
Government-critical narrative
This disaster exposes catastrophic regulatory failure in Switzerland. Flammable soundproofing materials and indoor fireworks should never have been permitted in any licensed venue. Canton authorities failed to enforce basic fire safety standards, allowing unacceptable, dangerous conditions to exist.
Pro-government narrative
The tragedy resulted from a specific accident when sparklers on champagne bottles ignited ceiling materials during a celebration. A single narrow staircase exit turned a flashover into mass casualties as panicked patrons couldn't escape the basement venue quickly enough. This heartbreaking incident transformed a night of celebration into unimaginable horror.
Saudi Warplanes Strike Yemen's UAE-Backed Separatists
Saudi-led coalition fighter jets targeted forces loyal to Yemen's UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Hadramout province after Saudi-led forces allegedly staged ambushes against Yemeni government troops on Friday.
Yemen's Saudi-backed government had launched an operation to reclaim military positions from UAE-backed southern separatists in Hadramout. The STC reported that seven Saudi airstrikes occurred shortly after the operation was announced.
Hadramout Governor Salem al-Khanbashi stated that the operation was peaceful and aimed at restoring security, describing it as a responsible measure to prevent chaos. The STC accused Saudi Arabia of misleading the international community by announcing a peaceful operation while launching airstrikes.
Narrative A
Saudi Arabia's military strikes were deadly, escalating violence despite claims of peaceful operations. The Saudi-backed government's power grab in Hadramout, granting full military authority to its governor, represents a dangerous overreach that threatens to plunge Yemen into a new cycle of violence. Riyadh's demand for UAE troop withdrawal and its air blockade tactics reveal Saudi Arabia's destabilizing role in southern Yemen.
Narrative B
STC leader Aidarus al-Zubaidi's military attacks on Hadramout and Mahra terrorized civilians, killed innocent people and rejected weeks of Saudi diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions. His refusal to allow a Saudi peace delegation to land in Aden and his shutdown of air traffic demonstrate reckless pursuit of personal gain over Yemeni interests. The STC's aggressive actions exploit the legitimate Southern Cause while undermining political solutions.
Narrative C
Saudi Arabia's recent strike on Yemen's Mukalla port exposed deep fractures with its former ally, the UAE, undermining the unity of the anti-Houthi coalition and weakening Yemen's internationally recognized government. The feud has divided Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council along external loyalties, eroded government authority and risks plunging the country into further political and military turmoil. This shifts focus away from battling the Houthis.
Narrative D
The internal war in Yemen has entered a volatile phase as Saudi- and UAE-aligned forces clash directly. Saudi-backed troops launched an operation to retake southern bases held by Emirati-supported separatists, calling it peaceful, even as airstrikes, convoys and counterattacks escalated fighting. Accusations of flight blockades signal a rupture among Gulf allies, threatening wider regional instability beyond Yemen and carrying implications for oil politics and security balances.
Nerd narrative
There's a 15% chance that Saudi Arabia will get a nuclear weapon before 2035, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Trump Threatens to Intervene as Iran Protests Spread Nationwide
President Donald Trump warned Friday that the U.S. would intervene if Iran "shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters," adding "we are locked and loaded and ready to go." Iran responded, saying any U.S. interference would result in regional chaos.
Trump's warning follows U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June, carried out with Israel. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged his government's failings, telling protesters, "We are to blame...Do not look for America or anyone else to blame."
Protests erupted across Iran on Sunday, initially centered in Tehran's business district over economic grievances after the country's currency hit a record low against the dollar. The demonstrations have since spread to dozens of places like Isfahan, Lorestan, and Fars.
Pro-Iran narrative
Trump's threats against Iran represent dangerous interventionism. The U.S. has imposed crippling sanctions that directly harm ordinary Iranians, restricting access to medicine and essential goods while driving up living costs. Washington's track record in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria proves that American intervention brings destruction, not liberation, and Trump's recent admission of involvement in illegal June attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure exposes the hypocrisy of claiming to protect the Iranian people.
Anti-Iran narrative
The Iranian regime is brutally shooting its own citizens in the streets for demanding basic freedoms and economic relief. This moment demands unequivocal Western support for regime change, not cautious diplomacy that repeats Obama's 2009 mistake of abandoning the Green Movement. With Iran's military degraded, economy collapsing and infrastructure failing, standing firmly with brave protesters isn't escalation but a moral responsibility that could finally end the regime's tyranny.
Nerd narrative
There is a 4% chance the Iranian government will lose power before 2027, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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