- The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas (which both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are trying to take credit for) has experienced a last-minute hiccup after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu delayed the cabinet meeting where this was supposed to be ratified. Netanyahu claims that Hamas made demands for a "last minute concession"; Hamas denies this, and Netanyahu refuses to discuss what part of the agreement Hamas has reneged on. Extremist members of his cabinet had allegedly threatened to resign if the agreement is ratified, which would bring down the government and possibly end Netanyahu's premiership - and with it the protection from prosecution that he has enjoyed until now. In any case, these issues seem to have been contained; Netanyahu now expects the deal to be approved today.
- South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, who is suspended pending his impeachment trial in the country's Constitutional Court, has been arrested following a lengthy standoff, something that has never previously happened to a sitting president in the country.
- Residents of the Ukrainian city of Kherson are accusing Russian drone pilots of using civilians for target practice. Local officials say that at least 16 people have been killed and 144 injured in this way.
- The City of Winnipeg has cancelled a plan to save money for the snow clearing budget by deferring residential plowing until 15 cm of snow have fallen, instead of the current 10 cm. Mayor Scott Gillingham says that his office received more complaints about this proposal than about a planned tax increase.
- China's demand for oil seems to have peaked in 2023; an increase in aviation fuel consumption was more than offset by a decrease in other fuel use, as surface transportation has been increasingly electrified. This is good news for the climate, though nowhere near good enough to prevent an awful lot of bad stuff in the coming decades. I suspect it's got the Russians worried too.
- A Donald Trump campaign rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota last summer has left the city wondering how to collect on a $209,000 bill for measures taken to accommodate the rally. Trump's campaign says the costs are the responsibility of the Secret Service; the SS, for their part, claim that the agency "lacks a mechanism" to reimburse states or municipalities for these costs.
- Trump wants to stop the impending TikTok ban, presumably because no other social media platform is as effective at rallying the sheeple for him.
- A SpaceX rocket disintegrated shortly after launch, forcing several flights to alter their courses to avoid falling debris. In response Elon Musk, trying to put the best possible face on the situation, tweeted that "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!"
- The Washington Post has scrapped the slogan "Democracy Dies in Darkness" in favour of a new one, "Riveting Storytelling for All of America". Because journalism is just storytelling, right? I guess in Trump's America, Jeff Bezos doesn't want it to be more than that - certainly not any journalism that the administration can associate with him, lest he fall out a window or something. One is also reminded of Google's abandonment of their old motto "don't be evil" a few years back.
- An employee of a flight training school in St. Andrews, Manitoba was severely injured after attempting to hand-prop an aircraft and getting hit by the propeller.
