Filipina Journalist Sentenced to 18 Years on Terrorism Charges
Filipina journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, 26, was convicted Thursday of financing terrorism and sentenced to between 12 and 18 years in prison by a Tacloban City Regional Trial Court. She was acquitted of illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges.
Cumpio was arrested in February 2020 during a raid on her boarding house, where authorities allegedly found a hand grenade, firearm and communist flag in her bed, along with approximately 557,000 Philippine pesos in cash. She has maintained her innocence throughout nearly six years of detention.
Prior to her arrest, Cumpio served as executive director of Eastern Vista news website and hosted a radio show on Aksyon Radyo-Tacloban DYVL, where she reported on community issues including alleged police and military abuses in the Eastern Visayas region.
Government-critical narrative
The conviction of Frenchie Mae Cumpio on fabricated terrorism charges represents a devastating failure of the Philippine justice system and blatant disregard for press freedom. Evidence clearly shows weapons were planted during her arrest after she reported on military abuses against farming communities. Her six-year detention without trial is a travesty of justice that exemplifies how red-tagging is weaponized to silence journalists who expose government wrongdoing.
Pro-government narrative
The terrorism financing conviction proves the justice system works independently based on evidence, not political pressure. The court found Cumpio directly provided cash and supplies to the CPP-NPA after it was designated a terrorist organization, satisfying all legal elements for conviction. The same court acquitted her on firearms charges, demonstrating judicial independence and demolishing claims of political persecution.
Qatar-Gifted Air Force One Delivery Expected by Summer 2026
The United States Air Force confirmed that a Boeing 747-8 aircraft gifted by Qatar will be delivered "no later than summer 2026" as a temporary alternative to Air Force One. Valued at about $400 million, the jet, described as a "flying palace," is undergoing security and operational modifications.
U.S. President Donald Trump accepted the luxury jet from Qatar’s royal family in May 2025 as an interim solution while Boeing’s Air Force One replacements face major delays, with the two Boeing VC-25B, or Air Force One aircraft, now expected around mid-2028 instead of 2024.
The current Air Force One fleet consists of two Boeing VC-25A aircraft, in service since the early 1990s. Their age was underscored this week when a "minor electrical issue" forced President Trump’s plane to turn back about an hour into its flight to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Pro-Trump narrative
Accepting Qatar's $400 million luxury jet makes practical sense when Boeing has failed to deliver the new Air Force One fleet on time and the current aircraft are nearly 40 years old. The plane would be given to the Department of Defense as a gesture of gratitude for the U.S. protection of Qatar, not to any individual, so no constitutional violation would apply. President Trump shouldn’t reject a free, state-of-the-art aircraft when taxpayers would otherwise absorb enormous costs and delays to keep aging planes operational.
Anti-Trump narrative
This $400 million jet represents the most valuable gift ever given to the U.S. by a foreign government, raising concerns about corruption and influence peddling, as Trump’s family simultaneously pursues billion-dollar deals across the Gulf. The plane will ultimately land in Trump’s personal presidential library, meaning a foreign monarchy is effectively buying the president a private jet. Constitutional limits on foreign gifts exist precisely to prevent this kind of corruption, and no legal gymnastics can disguise what it is.
Nerd narrative
There is a 2% chance that Donald Trump will be jailed or incarcerated before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
TikTok Reaches Deal for US Joint Venture to Avoid Ban
TikTok announced on Friday that it has reached a deal to establish a majority American-owned joint venture (JV) to run its U.S. operations and secure U.S. data. The deal marks a major milestone for the short-form video app after years of regulatory and legal battles.
Under the terms of the agreement, ByteDance will retain 19.9% ownership of the new U.S. entity, while Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX will each hold 15% stakes. The JV will be governed by a seven-member board of directors, with a majority of them Americans.
The JV will retrain, test and update the content recommendation algorithm on U.S. user data, with the algorithm secured in Oracle's U.S. cloud environment. U.S. user data will be protected in Oracle's secure U.S. cloud environment under a data privacy program.
Pro-Trump narrative
The TikTok deal is a massive win for American interests, transferring ownership to great American patriots and investors while securing the platform that helped connect with young voters. This beautiful conclusion preserves an important voice for Americans and demonstrates effective dealmaking that brought China to the table.
Anti-Trump narrative
The TikTok deal is actually a complete victory for ByteDance, allowing China to keep control of the algorithm and technology while only surrendering content moderation. Instead of forcing a real divestment, this franchise-style arrangement removed political constraints from a Chinese tech champion at the exact moment it's outpacing Meta and investing billions in AI.
Establishment-critical narrative
The TikTok deal was never about security — it's about protecting Silicon Valley's monopoly. After decades of promoting internet freedom globally, the U.S. forced a foreign competitor to hand over equity to American investors the moment it challenged Meta's dominance. Real data privacy concerns would require industry-wide regulation, not singling out one Chinese app while Oracle profits from the arrangement.
Nerd narrative
There is a 2% chance that at least 20 million people will follow a new, AI-created religion by the end of 2035, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Russia, Ukraine, US Delegations Head to UAE for First Trilateral Meeting
Delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. headed for Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday for trilateral talks to end the war, marking the first time the countries will convene in the same room since the start of the fighting nearly four years ago.
The talks were confirmed in the early hours of Friday after a delegation of U.S. officials — including Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and White House adviser Josh Gruenbaum — travelled to Moscow from Davos and held roughly four hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin officials.
Yury Ushakov, an aide to Putin, described talks as frank and constructive, and thanked U.S. officials for their work in preparing the UAE meeting. However, he added that "a long-term solution should not be expected to be achieved unless the territorial issue is resolved based on the formula agreed on in Anchorage," referring to the meeting between Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska last year.
Pro-Russia narrative
Russia has a sincere commitment to settling the Ukraine crisis by political and diplomatic means. However, a long-term solution should not be expected unless the issue of territory is settled on the same formula agreed in Anchorage. If not, Russia will persist to achieve its goals on the battlefield.
Pro-Ukraine narrative
It is not only Ukraine that needs to compromise. For peace to be achieved, Russia must also do the same and this is an important point for Ukraine. The issue of Donbas is central to these negotiations.
Pro-Trump narrative
The Russia-Ukraine war is not the top priority for the U.S., but President Trump is working to get this resolved in order to stop the killing as thousands are dying every week. Both sides will need to make concessions in order to reach a deal.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that there will be a bilateral ceasefire or peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine by April 2027, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Bangladesh Begins Campaigning in First Post-Uprising Vote
Campaigning began on Thursday for Bangladesh's general elections scheduled for Feb. 12, the first national elections since the 2024 uprising that ousted longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Nearly 2,000 candidates are contesting for 300 parliamentary seats.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has fielded 288 candidates, while Jamaat-e-Islami has nominated 224 candidates for the electoral race. BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in exile, launched his campaign in Sylhet.
The interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has pledged to hold a free and fair election. Yunus, 85, assumed office in August 2024 following Hasina's departure and will step down after the polls.
Left narrative
Student leaders who risked everything to topple an authoritarian regime are getting sidelined in a desperate alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, securing just 30 seats while the Islamist party grabs 179. This miscalculation betrays the democratic ideals that fueled the uprising and raises serious doubts about whether Bangladesh will become a secular democracy or slide into an intolerant, Islamist state.
Right narrative
The Feb. 12 election is a fully prepared, free and fair democratic process that will set the benchmark for all future polls in Bangladesh. With EU observers monitoring and vital reforms already implemented, this festive election marks the country’s successful transition from crisis to credible democracy under strong leadership, ensuring stability, inclusion, transparency, accountability, institutional confidence and renewed trust.
Narrative C
This is not a genuine vote; it's a calculated trap. The election in Bangladesh is a carefully staged exercise intended to legitimize authority while suppressing the will of the people. With major opposition parties deliberately excluded, participation promotes fundamentalism rather than democratic governance. The decision before the nation is a moral one — to legitimize a political farce or to reject complicity to safeguard Bangladesh’s future, sovereignty, stability and the conscience of its people.
Nerd narrative
There's a 5% chance that Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will return from exile before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
UK Home Secretary Proposes AI 'Panopticon' Surveillance for Criminals
U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Monday that her vision for the criminal justice system involves using AI and technology to achieve what 18th-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham proposed with his Panopticon, where "the eyes of the state can be on you at all times."
Bentham's Panopticon was designed as a circular prison with a central watchtower allowing guards to monitor all inmates constantly without being visible themselves. A U.K. government source clarified that Mahmood's comments did not refer to watching non-criminals.
Police chiefs in England and Wales are evaluating around 100 projects testing AI use to combat crime. Sir Andy Marsh, head of the College of Policing, said predictive tools would be used to target 1,000 men believed to pose the highest risk to women and girls.
Pro-establishment narrative
Facial recognition technology delivers real results, with examples like the town of Croydon using cameras to nab criminals every 34 minutes and slash violent crime by 12%. The system caught suspects who evaded justice for two decades, proving this tech works when traditional policing fails. If it would achieve similar results on the national level, most people would gladly accept a split-second facial scan that's immediately deleted.
Establishment-critical narrative
Mahmood's AI panopticon will be used for much more than crime prevention. It represents state overreach disguised as innovation, invoking a surveillance model deemed too cruel even for 19th-century prisoners. Government tech projects consistently expand bureaucratic control while failing to deliver, from care.data to the Online Safety Act. Treating AI as an oracle won't fix broken policing when authorities already ignore burglaries and shoplifting.
Minnesota Protests ICE Enforcement With Mass Walkout
A large number of unions, progressive organizations and clergy groups urged Minnesotans to stay away from work, school and stores Friday to protest immigration enforcement in the state. Over 300 businesses, including bars, restaurants and museums, planned a closing.
This comes after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers this week detained a 5-year-old boy and his father after the boy returned from preschool. The child and father are reportedly being held at a detention center in San Antonio, Texas, according to the family's attorney Marc Prokosch.
Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino defended the detention of the 5-year-old, saying the child's father ran and left the boy behind in a vehicle. When officers returned the child to the residence, Bovino said that those inside "refused to let him in and open the door."
Establishment-critical narrative
This historic statewide economic pause to protest aggressive ICE actions and demand ICE leave the state is a peaceful show of community and economic power, condemning ICE’s violence, including the killing of Renée Good. ICE must leave the streets of Minnesota to protect its immigrant communities, and there must be more accountability for ICE's terrible actions.
Pro-establishment narrative
The economic blackout will only deepen the damage that protesters have caused — hurting local businesses and workers already struggling while doing nothing to change federal policy. What Minnesotans and their representatives need to do is turn down the temperature. If cooler heads prevail, this will work out well for everyone rather than continuing to destabilize the state.
Nerd narrative
There's a 49% chance that the United States will establish a government program rewarding information leading to deportations before Jan. 3, 2027, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Report: Venezuela's Rodríguez Claimed Maduro Allies Forced Into Cooperate or Die Choice
British outlet The Guardian on Friday picked up on a leaked recording, first reported by La Hora de Venezuela, in which Venezuela's Interim President Delcy Rodríguez told pro-government influencers that top officials were given 15 minutes to comply with U.S. demands or be killed after the seizure of Nicolás Maduro. Neither Venezuela nor the U.S. immediately commented on the report.
This comes after The Guardian reported that Rodríguez and her brother, Jorge, secretly pledged to cooperate with the U.S. once Maduro was gone, a claim that Caracas has dismissed as false. In October, The Miami Herald reported that the Rodríguez siblings had presented themselves to the U.S. as an alternative to Maduro.
Earlier this week, Reuters reported that communications between Venezuela's interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, and Trump administration officials began months before the seizure of Maduro. Caracas has also dismissed this as false, with Cabello daring anyone to show evidence.
Pro-Trump narrative
Trump's brilliant strategy uses Delcy Rodriguez as a puppet to do the dirty work of dismantling the Chavista regime from within, without boots on the ground or nation-building chaos, while preventing the María Corina Machado-led opposition from facing dangerous establishment resistance that could create a failed state in Venezuela. Trump wants Venezuela to be a democracy, but first he must force corrupt insiders to purge their own ranks and clear the path for real democracy.
Anti-Trump narrative
Trump only wants oil access and geopolitical leverage, not democratic renewal, so the Venezuelan opposition faces a serious risk of being sidelined as the U.S. and Maduro loyalists reach deals without opposition involvement. It's urgent for them to mobilize mass protests with achievable goals, emancipate themselves from U.S. interests and form an international bloc with other democratic countries. Otherwise, the regime will continue in power in Venezuela.
Pro-Maduro narrative
Rodríguez has reasserted Venezuela's sovereignty, confronting U.S. aggression while preserving national stability. As opposition figures chase foreign patrons and stage legitimacy, the Bolivarian government governs, protects strategic resources and defends peace — proving that Venezuela's future is decided in Caracas, not in U.S. backrooms.
Nerd narrative
There's a 14.6% chance that Venezuela will announce a presidential election before April 1, 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
House Rejects Resolution Blocking Venezuela Military Action
The U.S. House rejected a Democratic-backed resolution on Thursday that would have required the removal of any military presence from Venezuela and prevented President Donald Trump from taking further military action in the country without congressional approval. The vote ended in a 215-215 tie that fell short of the majority needed for passage.
Republican leaders held the vote open for more than 20 minutes while Rep. Wesley Hunt, who had been campaigning for a Senate seat in Texas, rushed back to Capitol Hill to cast the decisive vote.
Two Republicans, Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted with all Democrats in favor of the resolution, which would have directed Trump to remove U.S. troops from Venezuela unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization.
Pro-Trump narrative
House Republicans rightfully defended presidential authority by defeating a misguided resolution that would have hamstrung the commander in chief's ability to protect national security and stop drug trafficking. The successful capture of Maduro represents one of the most effective law enforcement operations in history, bringing a narco-trafficking dictator to justice without boots on the ground in Venezuela.
Democratic narrative
Republicans shamefully voted to give unchecked war powers to a president who launched an unauthorized strike without congressional approval and can't explain what comes next. Holding a vote open for nearly half an hour to fly in a member from Texas just to end in a tie shows how uncomfortable this vote was for the GOP, exposing their willingness to abandon constitutional checks on executive power.
Nerd narrative
Thee is a 34% chance that the United States will invade Venezuela before Jan. 20, 2029, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Intel Shares Plunge 17% on Weak Guidance
Intel shares fell 17% on Friday after the company issued guidance below analyst expectations, projecting first-quarter revenue between $11.7 billion and $12.7 billion with earnings expected to break even, compared to expectations of $12.51 billion in revenue and 5 cents per share in earnings.
CEO Lip-Bu Tan stated during the fourth-quarter earnings call that Intel would not be able to meet full demand for its products and that production efficiency remains below his targets, describing the company as being "on a multiyear journey" that "will take time and resolve."
Intel reported a net loss of $333 million for the fourth quarter, worse than the $294 million loss expected by analysts, even as revenue came in at $52.8 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $0.42 exceeded analysts’ forecasts, according to FactSet.
Narrative A
Intel's massive stock run-up to 88 times forward earnings was completely unjustified for a struggling company with 35% gross margins trying to catch up to TSMC, which trades at under 20 times earnings. The foundry customer announcements won't come until late this year at the earliest, exposing Wall Street rumors as pure speculation that artificially inflated the stock price over 130% in six months.
Narrative B
Intel beat earnings expectations and is strategically focusing production capacity on high-margin Xeon processors to capitalize on the booming data center market, a smart move that positions the company for long-term success. Supply constraints are temporary and will improve starting in the second quarter, making current weakness a short-term issue rather than a fundamental problem with Intel's multiyear turnaround plan.
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