Greetings! Happy New Year’s Eve to those celebrating.

This is our 100th issue! Let’s get into today’s top stories.

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🌎 Midnight goes global as 2026 arrives. Paris lit the Eiffel Tower while Moscow kept it muted. The New York Police Department (NYPD) said security stayed high. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns deployed extra patrols and visible rifles after a Dec. 14 attack killed 15 at Bondi Beach. Indonesia scaled back festivities after floods and landslides killed 1,100. Hong Kong cut celebrations after a fire killed 161. In Gaza, Palestinian Mirvat Abed Al-Aal asked for “one good year”, tempering hope and reality.

🇲🇾 MH370 hunt restarts with new robots on deck. Malaysia’s Transport Ministry said the vessel Armada 86 05 reached the search zone. Two autonomous underwater vehicles are onboard for the grid search. Malaysia renewed a no-find, no-fee deal with Ocean Infinity. Chief executive Oliver Plunkett says upgraded tech narrowed the likely crash site. The jet vanished March 8, 2014 with 239 aboard. A 15,000 sq km search paused this past April after rough weather.

🗳️ Trump’s veto pen finds “easy wins” and makes them messy. President Donald Trump vetoed 2 bipartisan bills he branded wasteful. One would back drinking-water pipelines in Colorado, pushed by Representative Lauren Boebert. Another would support the Miccosukee Tribe’s land control after a federal lease. Trump also vetoed a fix to reduce unspent local funds, flagged by Representative Carlos Gimenez. Representative Jeff Hurd said the bills were careful and paid-for. Congress can try overrides, but the math is now the message.

🧸 Minnesota child care funds frozen amid fraud fallout. President Donald Trump’s administration said it will freeze 2026 child care aid to Minnesota. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said $185M a year is on the line. The agency says the money supports care for about 19,000 children. O’Neill demanded an audit after fraud cases, including the $300M Feeding Our Future scheme. Governor Tim Walz called the move political and punishing. Federal officials say oversight must tighten before checks keep clearing.

©️ Betty Boop and Blondie enter 2026 with no permission slips. On Jan. 1, works from 1930 fall out of copyright. Fleischer Studios’ Betty Boop joins the public domain, dog origins and all. Chic Young’s comic-strip heroine Blondie follows, now reusable without licenses. Duke University Center for the Study of the Public Domain director Jennifer Jenkins says it’s the steady 95-year clock. Nancy Drew, Sam Spade, and Miss Marple arrive as headline detectives. Expect remixes, reprints, and lawsuits.

⚖️ Jack Smith says Jan. 6 does not happen without Trump. Former special counsel Jack Smith told lawmakers Trump was “most culpable.” The House Judiciary Committee released video and a transcript of Smith’s Dec. 17 deposition. Smith said the case leaned on cooperating Trump allies and supporters. He called the riot foreseeable and said Trump refused to stop it. Smith said investigators checked Cassidy Hutchinson’s account of Trump’s anger in the presidential vehicle. Both federal cases were dropped after Trump’s 2024 win under policy on sitting presidents.

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