World

U.S. seizes fifth oil tanker tied to Venezuela in Caribbean

Time reports the United States seized another oil tanker overnight in the Caribbean Sea, the fifth vessel taken in recent weeks as the Trump Administration intensifies efforts to choke off Venezuela’s oil exports. The vessel, the Olina, was boarded and taken into U.S. custody early Friday in an

Crypto

Bitcoin steadies near $90K as traders await US Supreme Court tariff ruling

Bitcoin traders largely refrained from taking positions as the cryptocurrency's price held around $90,000, while markets awaited a US Supreme Court decision on trade tariffs. Market participants cited sideways BTC price action and avoided fresh bets amid the quiet price movement. Markets remained in a holding pattern

Culture

Helena Jhong makes custom wigs for red‑carpet stars

Helena Jhong, the owner of Helena Collection Wigs in Midtown Manhattan, has built a business creating custom wigs and hair pieces that have appeared on major red carpets, including styles worn by Sydney Sweeney and Greta Lee. A 33‑year veteran, Ms. Jhong said much of her work has come

Crypto

Bitcoin Consolidates Near $90,000 Ahead of Supreme Court Tariff Ruling

Beincrypto reports Bitcoin is consolidating near $90,000 as markets brace for a rare convergence of a US Supreme Court ruling on the legality of Trump-era tariffs and US unemployment data. The Court’s decision is expected at 10:00 a.m. ET, following the US unemployment report due at

Culture

Five children’s films to stream this month

This month’s picks include a sequel to the Paw Patrol franchise and a Disneynature documentary that follows a polar bear and her cub as they cope with melting ice. In Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (2023), Skye, the cockapoo who handles aviation, takes center stage. The villain, Victoria Vance

Culture

Luthier Mario Miralles lost lifetime wood collection in Altadena Eaton fire

Mario Miralles, a renowned luthier based in Altadena, Calif., lost a lifetime collection of spruce and maple and much of his home when the Eaton fire swept the area; he and his girlfriend evacuated on Jan. 7, 2025, and he managed to rescue a nearly finished violin destined for Gustavo

Culture

Bill Skarsgård Leads Gus Van Sant's Dead Man's Wire in a Strong Return

Collider calls Dead Man's Wire a return to form for director Gus Van Sant, led by what the review describes as a career-best turn from Bill Skarsgård. The film, based on a real-life case, stars Skarsgård as Tony Kiritsis, a man in Indianapolis who holds Richard "Dick&

Science

Eric and Wendy Schmidt fund four fast-build telescopes including Lazuli

Eric and Wendy Schmidt’s philanthropic group, Schmidt Sciences, unveiled plans at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Phoenix to finance four major new telescopes — including an orbital observatory called Lazuli — and aims to have all four up and running within four years. The projects, grouped as the Eric and

Sports

Van Dijk defends Liverpool after Martinelli drags injured Conor Bradley at Emirates

Virgil van Dijk defended his Liverpool team-mates after Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli attempted to drag injured Conor Bradley off the pitch at the Emirates Stadium, Goal reports. Martinelli dropped the ball on Bradley and then tried to remove him, sparking a melee that involved players from both sides. Ibrahima Konate

Tech

RingConn Gen 3 debuts at CES 2026 with blood pressure insights

RingConn unveiled the RingConn Gen 3 smart ring at CES 2026, offering several upgrades over its second-generation model. The new ring includes hypertension or blood pressure insights that monitor blood pressure trends for risk assessment rather than providing precise readings or a diagnosis. RingConn also adds a smart vibration feature

Culture

Dwayne Johnson says Gene Wilder was his first cinematic crush

Dwayne Johnson said Gene Wilder was his first "cinematic crush," according to MovieWeb, which published the report 11 minutes ago. The piece notes Johnson has starred with leading actresses including Emily Blunt, Gal Gadot and Karen Gillan and is known for roles such as Luke Hobbs in the

Tech

VPNs can be used to access ePorner when regional blocks are in place

Mashable says users can unblock the adult site ePorner for free by using a VPN, which hides a device's real IP address and connects it to a secure server in another location to bypass network blocks. The outlet notes that more than a third of U.S. states

Culture

Ten years on, David Bowie’s musical reach shows signs of fading

Ten years after his death, David Bowie’s musical legacy shows signs of fading, with signs in posthumous earnings, streaming figures and the ability to reach younger listeners. After a burst of interest in 2016—Bowie ranked No 11 on Forbes’s posthumous rich list with estimated earnings of $10.

Health

Passenger with nut allergy saved after anaphylactic shock on Virgin Australia flight

People reports that Andrew Rawle, who has allergies to nuts and some medications, went into anaphylactic shock on a Virgin Australia flight to Newman on Sunday, Jan. 4, and was helped by cabin crew and a fellow passenger. Rawle told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that after being offered cheese

Politics

Victorian Liberals face internal turmoil under Jess Wilson ahead of November vote

The Victorian Liberal party heads into the November election under a new leader, Jess Wilson, who has vowed to drag the party to the centre and reconnect with voters it has lost. Across the aisle is a weary third‑term Labor government burdened by state debt forecast to hit $192bn

Tech

Grok producing widespread non-consensual sexualised images, reports show

Independent.co reported that Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok has been used to create non-consensual sexualised images, including an instance this week when the bot produced an image of Ofcom’s logo in a bikini after the UK regulator posted a statement on X. According to a review by

World

Trump says more U.S. attacks on Venezuela ‘will not be needed’ as ships remain

President Trump said he had canceled a "previously expected second Wave of Attacks" on Venezuela but that U.S. warships off the country's coast "will stay in place for safety and security purposes," praising cooperation from Venezuela's new leaders and the release

Politics

Trump to meet Venezuelan opposition leader who offered him her Nobel Prize

President Trump said on Thursday he will meet Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado next week in Washington, after she offered to give him the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year and following his refusal to back her to lead the country after the U.S. seizure of Nicolás

World

Exiled Reza Pahlavi lacks domestic base as protests convulse Iran

Time reports that for 12 days protests fuelled by a deepening economic crisis have convulsed Iran, with demonstrators in Tehran and smaller cities such as Abadan and the Kurdish-majority Malekshahi. Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed shah, has begun issuing statements and interviews calling for coordinated demonstrations, promising a smooth

Science

Rob Carver serves as director of resources management for NASA’s STMD

Rob Carver serves as Director of Resources Management for the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) at NASA Headquarters, responsible for overall management of the mission directorate’s approximately $900 million to $1 billion annual budget. Carver has more than 33 years of federal service in financial management, program analysis, allocation

Crypto

Chiliz re-enters CoinMarketCap Top 100 as SportFi roadmap advances

Beincrypto reports Chiliz ($CHZ) has re-entered the CoinMarketCap Top 100 in early 2026, marking a return for the sports-focused protocol amid a reshaped market. The outlet notes the Top 100 has become dominated by institutional capital and short-lived hype: comparing March 2021 to January 2026 shows a sharp cleansing, with

Crypto

Trader Says Bitcoin Could Reach $105,000 in Weeks on RSI Breakout

Trader BitBull said on X that Bitcoin could hit $103,000–$105,000 within three to four weeks after a breakout on the weekly relative strength index (RSI), even as price action remains rangebound. BitBull noted the weekly RSI broke out of a three-month downtrend that began in September and

Culture

2hollis and His Father Sit for First Joint Interview on Popcast

On The New York Times’s Popcast, rising pop artist 2hollis and his father, John Herndon of the post-rock band Tortoise, gave their first joint interview to discuss songwriting, fame and online debates about nepotism. The 22-year-old singer, rapper and producer, who released his major-label debut, "Star," last

Culture

The Pitt season 2 premiere introduces new attending Dr. Al-Hashimi

Collider reports that The Pitt's Season 2 premiere, '7:00 A.M.,' opens at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center during a chaotic Fourth of July shift and introduces Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi) as the attending who will replace Dr. Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch while

Culture

Bradley Cooper directs Will Arnett and Laura Dern in dramedy 'Is This Thing On?'

Bradley Cooper directed and stars in the dramedy Is This Thing On? alongside Will Arnett and Laura Dern, a film the three say draws on decades of shared friendship and was shot in New York comedy clubs. In the film Arnett plays Alex, a married father facing a divorce from