NuseReal

Trump & Co Watch January 2026

Trump says 8 European countries will be charged a 10% tariff rising to 25% on June 1 for opposing US control of Greenland: hits Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland — (LINK)< span class="media">ground.news: 11 media reports — 17 January 2026 (LINK)

Trump asks countries to pay $1 billion for permanent Peace Board seats, a claim the White House denies as misleading — (LINK) ground.news: 62 media reports — 17 January 2026 (LINK)

Trump threatens to sue JPMorgan Chase for 'debanking' him following the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol (LINK) 17 January 2026

Trump names Rubio, Blair, Kushner to lead Gaza Board of Peace — (LINK) ground.news: 519 media reports — 16 January 2026 (LINK)

WEF: Donald Trump set to dominate Davos 2026 whose theme is A Spirit of Dialogue, starting 19 January (LINK) 16 January 2026

— Donald Trump will be joined by more than 60 heads of state and government, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Argentinian President Javier Milei, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, China's Vice Premier He Lifeng, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa. Trump is leading the largest US delegation ever to Davos, comprising five cabinet secretaries and other senior officials. Top tech leaders such as Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Nvidia's Jensen Huang and Google's AI chief Demis Hassabis will be at the event.

— Trump is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kyiv's G7 allies — including leaders from Germany, Italy, France, the UK, Canada and the European Commission president — on the sidelines of the main event to seek US backing for security guarantees for Ukraine after a possible peace agreement with Russia, the Financial Times reported.

— The strong US presence would be complemented by the first-ever "USA House" — a venue housed in a small church on the town's main Promenade street, where US officials will host events and network with investors.

— This year's meeting would be the first without WEF founder Klaus Schwab at the helm. The German-born economist resigned in April 2025, amid allegations that he and his wife used WEF funds for personal use. An independent inquiry, however, found no criminal misconduct, only minor irregularities. Schwab has been succeeded by interim co-chairs Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, and Andre Hoffmann, vice chair of Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche Holdings.

Gavin Newsom is heading to Davos with plans to call out Trump — (LINK)

— Trump is scheduled to speak at Davos on January 21. Newsom is scheduled to speak on January 22. The governor's office said he plans to challenge CEOs and institutions that it says have been complicit in Trump's efforts to erode democracy. He also plans to make the case for "democratic capitalism" as opposed to "crony capitalism."

US justice department investigating Minnesota Democrats Gov Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over alleged obstruction of ICE (LINK) 16 January 2026

Trump offers to mediate Egypt-Ethiopia dispute on Nile River waters — (LINK) ground.news: 124 media reports — 16 January 2026 (LINK)

Elon Musk seeks up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft in 'wrongful gains' from his early support (LINK) 16 January 2026

— OpenAI gained between $65.5 ?billion and $109.4 billion from the billionaire entrepreneur's ?contributions when he was co-founding what was then a startup from 2015, while Microsoft gained between $13.3 billion and $25.1 billion, Musk said in the federal court filing ahead of his trial against the two companies. "Without Elon Musk, there'd be no OpenAI. He provided the bulk of ?the ?seed funding, lent his reputation, and taught them all he knows about scaling a business. A pre-eminent expert quantified the value of that," Musk's lead trial lawyer Steven Molo said in a statement to Reuters.

The Martha Graham Dance Company, on a centennial nationwide tour, has announced it will no longer be performing at the Kennedy Center in April, joining a slew of other cancelations at the historic performing arts center in the wake of Donald Trump's controversial takeover. (LINK) 16 January 2026

Twice convicted, twice pardoned: Trump again pardons South Bay businesswoman convicted of fraud with brother (LINK) 16 January 2026

— Precisely why the two siblings were pardoned is unclear. No reason was given in the order Trump signed. The brother and sister were convicted by a jury in 2024 for running a scheme where several Otay Mesa companies they controlled bought an array of household goods from various companies and promised they would sell the products in Mexico or in domestic prisons and rehabilitation centers. That allowed them to purchase the goods at a discounted price. Instead, the products were sold back into the U.S. market – at U.S. level prices. After her release, both Adriana and Andres Camberos made a maximum $360 campaign fund to John McCann's 2022 mayoral campaign.

Venezuela: Machado gives Trump her Nobel Peace Prize (LINK) 15 January 2026

— Trump sidelined Machado after the US kidnapped Maduro, saying she didn't "have the support within or the respect within the country" to be in charge. On Thursday, the White House said Trump has not changed his opinion on Machado.

European military personnel arrive in Greenland as Trump says US needs island (LINK) 15 January 2026

European survey finds only 16 percent still consider the U.S. an ally, against 20 percent who view America as a rival or enemy (LINK) 15 January 2026

Elon Musk's xAI datacenter generating extra electricity illegally, regulator rules: Memphis activists who say 'Colossus' facilities add extra pollution to already overburdened communities (LINK) 15 January 2026

Trump using Insurrection Act in Minneapolis would be a huge risk — even by his standards: the shooting episode that's viewed as triggering a possible government military crackdown is … something the American people blame on the government itself — and by wide margins (LINK) 15 January 2026

Heather Cox Richardson: U.S. Department of Justice has released less than 1% of the Epstein files despite the law, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed requiring the release of those files in full no later than December 19 (LINK) 15 January 2026

Trump says 'anything less' than US control of Greenland is 'unacceptable': Vice President JD Vance is set to host a meeting Wednesday morning with the Danish foreign minister and his Greenlandic counterpart alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio (LINK) 14 January 2026

Iran's judiciary vows fast trials for arrested protesters despite Trump threats: Rights groups say thousands have been arrested and fear the judiciary will make extensive use of capital punishment (LINK) 14 January 2026

U.S. Supreme Court delays Trump tariff decision without new date for hearing — Bitcoin rockets towards $97K (14 January 2026

Trump threatens to halt federal money next month to sanctuary cities, states (LINK) 13 January 2026

At least 1,850 protesters reported killed in Iran as Trump says 'help is on its way': cancelled meetings with Iranian officials (LINK) 13 January 2026

US tariff revenue dropped by almost $3 billion from November to December: the second straight monthly decline after Trump dialed back key tariffs last November, and a more than 10% drop from the October high (LINK) 13 January 2026

U.S. Justice Department sees no basis for civil rights probe into Minnesota ICE shooting of Renee Good, official says: (LINK) 13 January 2026

— CNN: "Also this week, roughly half a dozen federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned and several supervisors in the criminal section of the Civil Rights Division in Washington gave notice of their departures amid turmoil over the federal probe, according to people familiar with the matter. Hundreds of Justice Department lawyers have been fired or have left voluntarily over the last year [...] from concerns over political pressure or shifting priorities under the Trump administration.

FIFA to refund 16,000 2026 world cup tickets amid Trump USA boycott (LINK) 12 January 2026

Minnesota and Illinois are suing the Trump administration over immigration operations (LINK) 12 January 2026

Sen. Mark Kelly sues Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over efforts to reduce his military retirement rank (LINK) 12 January 2026

Malaysia and Indonesia become the first countries to block Musk's Grok over sexualized AI images (LINK) 12 January 2026

Paul Krugman: The ignominious death of drill, baby, drill (LINK) 12 January 2026

— 'Darren Woods, the CEO of ExxonMobil, blurted out the awkward truth — namely that Venezuela is "uninvestable" under current conditions. On Sunday evening Trump responded by saying that he was "inclined" to block ExxonMobil from investing in Venezuela. "I didn't like their response." The Bureau of Land Management auctioned off more than 20,000 acres of public land in Colorado for oil and gas drilling. Or I should say, tried to auction the land off — because there were no bids, despite the fact that the land was offered at very low prices.'

Trump warns Cuba: 'Make a deal, before it is too late': Cuba defiant — (LINK) ground.news: 402 media reports — 11 January 2026 (LINK)

— Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said the U.S. actions are `an act of state terrorism` and `a shocking violation of the norms of international law`, while analysts warned the loss of Venezuelan oil would devastate power and fuel supplies.

Fed served with DOJ subpoenas threatening a criminal indictment related to June congressional testimony on ongoing renovations of the Fed's headquarters, Powell vows to stand firm (LINK) 11 January 2026

Trump denies involvement: 'I don't know anything about it' — (LINK)

— "I don't know anything about it, but he's certainly not very good at the Fed, and he's not very good at building buildings," Trump said of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in a brief interview with NBC News Sunday night.

Trump weighs potential military intervention in Iran (LINK) 11 January 2026

Iran threatens preemptive strikes against Israel and US bases (LINK) 10 January 2026

U.S. researchers discover how conservatives pick political positions: the probability a participant would rely on a single data point for their conclusions rose from about 4 percent for "very liberal" people to over 37 percent for "very conservative" folks. (LINK) 11 January 2026

— University of Idaho researchers: those on the Left "tend to be more likely to consult a comprehensive set of statistical data relative to those on the Right. People's political beliefs influence how they look for information (often without them realizing it)."

2 people were shot by a federal agent after accusations of having ties to a notorious gang (LINK) 10 January 2026

Trump threatens to take Greenland 'the hard way', citing Arctic strategy (LINK) 9 January 2026

Trump to meet Peace Prize winner Machado, says it would be 'great honour' to "accept" her Nobel Prize (LINK) 9 January 2026

US intercepts fifth tanker, third in a week, as it tightens control over Venezuelan oil (LINK) 9 January 2026

U.S. oil giants tell Trump they're noncommittal on Venezuela (LINK) 9 January 2026

Judge temporarily blocks Trump from freezing $10 billion in child, family aid to five Democrat-led US states (LINK) 9 January 2026

National Review: Renee Good belonged to 'ICE Watch' group that trained activists to interfere with agents, block vehicles (LINK) 9 January 2026

Renee Nicole Good said 'I'm not mad at you' before ICE agent shot her, video shows (LINK) 9 January 2026

— Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that the footage was authentic while claiming that Good "was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to federal law enforcement" and the "officer was in fear of his own life".

Washington National Opera bows out of Kennedy Center (LINK) 9 January 2026

U.S.: House passes bill to extend health care subsidies in defiance of GOP leaders: 230-196 (LINK) 8 January 2026

Spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary-General on US decision on withdrawal from UN entities (LINK) 8 January 2026

— "As we have consistently underscored, assessed contributions to the United Nations regular budget and peacekeeping budget, as approved by the General Assembly, are a legal obligation under the UN Charter for all Member States, including the United States."

Donald Trump reacts after Republican Senators vote to curb his war powers (LINK) 8 January 2026

— Democrats were joined by five Republican Senators in the 52-47 vote to advance the war powers resolution, setting up a later vote on final passage. The measure is unlikely to become law because it would need to pass the House and be signed by Trump. But the vote signaled unease among some Republicans after U.S. forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid.

Judge disqualifies US attorney in New York, tosses out subpoenas against Letitia James (LINK) 8 January 2026

U.S. citizens are now banned from entering Mali and Burkina Faso in retaliation (LINK) 8 January 2026

Trump administration suspends support for 66 international organizations, agencies and commissions (LINK) 7 January 2026

— France24: Most of the targets are UN-related agencies, commissions and advisory panels focused on climate, labour and other issues the Trump administration has categorised as catering to diversity and so-called "woke" initiatives, according to a partial list obtained by The Associated Press.

— "The Trump Administration has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation's sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity," the State Department said in a statement.

Trump moves to pull US out of bedrock global climate treaty, becoming first country to do so (LINK) 7 January 2026

UN experts condemn US aggression against Venezuela (LINK) 7 January 2026

Trump's attack on Venezuela backs FIFA into a corner over World Cup (LINK) 7 January 2026

Woman in Minnesota fatally shot by ICE agent during raid, video shows (LINK) 7 January 2026

— Guardian: Mayor says ICE claims incident was self-defense are not true, and tells agency to 'get the fuck out of Minneapolis'. Ilhan Omar, the Democratic Minnesota congresswoman, said the victim was "a legal observer" of action ICE, which had sent a surge of agents into the city in recent days tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. A witness to the incident, Emily Heller, told local media that the victim was shot in the face multiple times. Heller said she saw a car blocking traffic that appeared to be part of a protest against the ICE operation, and heard an agent telling the driver, a woman, to "get out of here". "She was trying to turn around, and the ICE agent was in front of her car, and he pulled out a gun and put it right in — like his midriff was on her bumper — and he reached across the hood of the car and shot her in the face like three, four times," Heller told MPR News, a Minneapolis public radio station.

Trump's Jan. 6 propaganda website unveiled on 6 January: clash on CNN (LINK) 6 January 2026

US seizes Russian-flagged tanker that broke its blockade of Venezuela (LINK) 7 January 2026

US forces attempt to board oil tanker after pursuit across Atlantic: US officials have confirmed that Russia has sent a submarine and other navy vessels to escort the tanker (LINK) 7 January 2026

— Previously named Bella 1, its name has been changed to Marinera and it has also reportedly been reflagged from a Guyanese to a Russian vessel. The US Coast Guard tried to board it last month in the Caribbean when it was believed to be heading towards Venezuela. The Coast Guard had a warrant to seize the ship over its alleged breaking of sanctions. The US Coast Guard tried to board it last month in the Caribbean when it was believed to be heading towards Venezuela. The Coast Guard had a warrant to seize the ship over its alleged breaking of sanctions.

Trump suggests US taxpayers could reimburse oil firms for Venezuela investment (LINK) 6 January 2026

Donald Trump has again proposed annexing Greenland, after Denmark's leader urged him to "stop the threats" over the island.' (LINK) 5 January 2026

Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty during their first court appearance this afternoon in New York. He is facing drug and weapons charges (LINK) 5 January 2026

Trump threatens Colombia with military action (LINK) 5 January 2026

Tiny Dominica reaches deal with US government to accept asylum-seekers (LINK) 5 January 2026