Trump makes case as best choice for fascism and war
AP News, 1/7– President Donald Trump on Wednesday proposed setting U.S. military spending at $1.5 trillion in 2027, citing “troubled and dangerous times”…The 2026 military budget is set at $901 billion. Trump in recent days has also called for taking over the Danish territory of Greenland for national security reasons and has suggested he’s open to carrying out military operations in Colombia… Meanwhile, Trump on Wednesday also threatened to cut off Pentagon purchases from Raytheon, one of the biggest U.S. defense contractors, if the company did not end the practice of stock buybacks and invest more profits into building out its weapons manufacturing capacity.
Sudan war involves many regional players
Foreign Affairs, 1/8–Last summer, after more than two years of terrible fighting, it looked as though the United States might finally have landed on a viable approach for ending the civil war in Sudan… The war is already entangling Sudan’s African neighbors. The RSF’s supply lines run through Chad, Libya, Somalia, and South Sudan—and may yet involve Ethiopia and Kenya…the Sudanese war is also intermeshed with the volatile situation between Eritrea and Ethiopia, which threatens to devolve into a major war of its own…As the war drags on, the role of the UAE has become particularly fraught. While Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey back the SAF, there is now plentiful evidence that the Emiratis are providing arms to the RSF for its ongoing campaigns.
U.S. continues push for territorial expansion
Al Jazeera, 1/9–US President Donald Trump’s abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3 has emboldened him to proceed with the annexation of Greenland, a Danish-owned, self-governed territory, spelling the effective end of NATO and furthering Russia’s war aims in Ukraine, experts tell Al Jazeera… Trump…told The Atlantic, “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence.”
Russia gives up on Venezuela, perhaps to gain Ukraine
New York Times, 1/10–Sitting on a gilded chair in the green drawing room of the Grand Kremlin Palace, Nicolás Maduro, the leader of Venezuela, turned to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and spoke of their bright future together…Eight months later, Mr. Maduro is sitting…in a violent and overcrowded federal detention center in Brooklyn… A week has passed — and Mr. Putin has said nothing…“All the indicators in Russian foreign policy right now are that Ukraine trumps everything else by far, so why would you give the Americans a bloody nose there and get on their wrong side?” Ms. Notte said.
New York nurses threaten strikes against greedy hospitals
Gothamist, 1/10–New York City nurses are doubling down on their calls for increased security in private hospitals after police fatally shot a man who allegedly threatened staff and patients with a sharp object at NewYork-Presbyterian’s Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in Park Slope on Thursday…nurses say hospital safety is still one of several sticking points — along with clashes over pay, health benefits and staffing — that are driving them to strike Monday at multiple hospitals, including facilities run by NewYork-Presbyterian…Nurses are also planning strikes at three Mount Sinai locations and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
Antiracists protest against anti-migrant thugs
Bristol247, 1/10–Bristol saw its first major protests of 2026 on Saturday as a “Bristol Patriots” rally was once again met with a larger antiracist counter-protest….About 100 counter-protesters joined under the slogan: ‘We hate Keir Starmer more than you’, raising banners welcoming refugees and migrants to our city…approximately 40 protesters from the first group came together to wave Union Jacks and St George’s flags…Three arrests were made as Avon and Somerset Police used enhanced powers and large officer numbers to keep the groups apart…A poster pledging to challenge Saturday’s march read: “We stand against Bristol Patriots because of their racist and anti-migrant views, not because we support the current system…