President Trump redefined the January 6 riot as a “day of love”
Four years ago today, protesters outraged by Donald Trump’s lies that the election was stolen stormed the Capitol with clubs, chemical irritants, and other weapons.
Several people died during and after the riot, including one demonstrator by gunfire and four police officers by suicide. More than 140 police officers were injured. After the attack, Trump’s political career appeared to be over. But in two weeks he will take the oath of office.
In the years since the riot, he and his supporters have gone to great lengths to recreate the events. They have been spreading conspiracy theories for ultimate political gain. As his allies in Congress and the media downplayed the attacks and shifted blame, the violent rioters who were indicted, convicted, and imprisoned became patriotic martyrs.
Now President Trump has a platform to further develop this attack into what he calls a “day of love.” He has vowed to pardon the rioters within the first hour of taking office, but his supporters in Congress are calling for criminal charges against those who investigated his actions. In this way, Trump reversed his violent days and turned them into political capital.
Russia and others are using hybrid tactics to target Western countries.
Russia, Iran, and other adversaries are increasingly bold in carrying out “gray zone” attacks against the West, including hacking sensitive computer systems, suspected assassination plots, and flying surveillance drones near military bases. It has become.
Officials say the Baltic and Nordic countries, which are close to the borders of Britain, Germany, the United States and Russia, are among the countries most targeted by hybrid threats, in part due to their prominent support for Ukraine. said. Russia denies launching hybrid attacks against NATO, but NATO officials said Russia has set up a special directorate focused on carrying them out.
These pose a complex problem for defense officials: How can countries stop such actions without provoking broader conflict? And if the strikes are planned to avoid responsibility, how do they hold them accountable?
Syrians are regaining normal freedom
Picnics and fireworks are now held on the mountaintop, where non-soldiers were once prohibited from firing shots into rebel-held areas below. Protest songs that once might have meant a prison sentence can now be heard on the streets. Hundreds of people gathered to hear activists speak, and dollars and imported Nescafé traded freely.
“It feels like the city has come back to us,” dental student Mohammad Katafani, 21, said of Damascus.
“For almost 24 years, I have killed and disposed of many bodies. I’m trying to remember them, but I can’t remember them all.”
Edgar Matobato said he killed many times for former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. He was part of Duterte’s brutal and violent extrajudicial campaign against drugs and other social evils that claimed at least 20,000 lives. Now he is on the run, trying to stay alive to testify.
Life lived: Tomiko Itooka, believed to be the world’s oldest person, passed away at a nursing home in Ashiya City. She was 116 years old.
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Hong Kong taxi drivers are at the end of an era
Hong Kong’s taxi drivers, often grumpy and rushing to the next fare, have been doing things their own way for decades. They often drive fast and recklessly, treat customers roughly, and usually only accept cash. They are an anomaly in the city’s sophisticated transportation network, emblematic of the stressful, no-frills culture of the working class.
But complaints from passengers and the need to boost the sluggish tourism economy prompted the government to adopt new regulations last month. By 2026, all taxis must be equipped with systems for credit cards and digital payments, and equipped with surveillance cameras.
In this city of 7 million people, there may be no harder task than changing the habits of taxi drivers, but one taxi driver says: “The world has changed and we have to accept it.”
