Greetings! Happy National Milk Day to those celebrating.

Let’s get into today’s top stories.

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🇳🇮 Ortega signals detainee releases under American pressure. Nicaragua’s Interior Ministry said “dozens” will go free. The move follows Nicolás Maduro’s ouster in Venezuela, reshaping regional leverage. President Daniel Ortega’s government gave no names or conditions. The American Embassy said 60+ people remain detained or disappeared. Since 2018, authorities shuttered 5,000+ organizations and exiled critics. Rights advocate Danny Ramírez-Ayérdiz said surveillance will outlive paperwork.

🇮🇷 Iran’s protest toll spikes as crackdowns intensify. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) put deaths at 544, and stated that 496 were protesters and 48 were security personnel. It also reported 10,600+ detainees in two weeks of unrest. President Donald Trump said Tehran proposed talks after he threatened strikes. The protests began December 28th after the Iranian rial (IRR) slid past 1.4M to $1 (USD). Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged restraint.

🔫 Mississippi rampage kills 6 as suspect faces murder charges. Authorities arrested Daricka Moore, 24, near Cedarbluff before midnight. Investigators say he killed Glenn Moore, 67, and Quinton Moore, 33. They also named Willie Ed Guines, 55, and a 7-year-old cousin. Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said Moore forced entry and attempted battery. Officials say he then killed pastor Rev. Barry Bradley and Samuel Bradley at a church. District Attorney Scott Colom expects to seek the death penalty.

🎲 Trader pocketed $400K after betting Nicolás Maduro would fall fast. The wager hit hours before President Donald Trump announced the raid that captured him. The platform Polymarket drew fresh insider-trading questions because timing looked too neat. In the United States, event contracts fall under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Reporters noted the CFTC has 1 of 5 commissioner seats filled amid staffing cuts. Representative Ritchie Torres proposed a bill limiting government employees’ political trading. DraftKings ($DKNG), Robinhood Markets ($HOOD), and Trump Media & Technology Group ($DJT) are circling the boom.

🏳️‍⚧️ Becky Pepper-Jackson, 15, says this season may be her last. The West Virginia discus thrower finished third in state last year. State law bars transgender girls from girls’ and women’s sports, for now blocked. The Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday on whether the ban violates Title IX, the federal sex-discrimination law. West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey says biology makes boys bigger, stronger, faster. A parallel Idaho case features college athlete Lindsay Hecox challenging a similar rule. Pepper-Jackson’s mother, Heather Jackson, expects a ruling by early summer.

🕊️ Becca Good says her wife Renee Good was killed for showing up. Renee Good, 37, was shot in Minneapolis during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation. Becca said neighbors had whistles, while agents arrived with guns. Video shows three ICE officers surrounding the couple’s Honda Pilot SUV on snow. An officer fired at least two shots at close range as the vehicle moved. Trump administration officials called Renee a domestic terrorist who tried to hit an officer. Minneapolis officials and protesters rejected that label as the case spreads nationwide.

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That’s all for today!

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