If You Tax Them, Will They Leave?

Economy
A California wealth-tax proposal makes a high-stakes bet on billionaire psychology
By Rogé Karma
January 28, 2026

To hear some Silicon Valley insiders tell it, California is on the verge of economic suicide. This November, Californians will likely vote on a ballot initiative that would levy a one-off tax on the wealth of about 200 of the state’s richest residents. Garry Tan, the CEO of the start-up incubator Y Combinator, posted on X that the measure would “kill and eat the golden goose of technology startups in California.” Investors and tech executives are threatening to leave the state. Governor Gavin Newsom, who has been angling for a centrist presidential pivot, has vowed to “do what I have to do” to stop the initiative.

Senate reaches deal ahead of shutdown deadline to fund government, continue ICE talks, source says

By Kaia Hubbard, Caitlin Yilek
Updated on: January 30, 2026 / 12:21 AM EST / CBS News

Washington — The Senate agreed Thursday to move forward with a government funding package while negotiations continue over reforms to immigration enforcement in the wake of last weekend's fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis, a Senate Democratic source told CBS News — though the deal hit a snag as at least one Republican senator pushed back.

US Armada, EU Sanctions Ratchet Up Pressure on Iranian Regime

By John Ainger

Bloomberg

January 29, 2026, at 6:04 AM PST

The government in Tehran is being squeezed by the arrival of a US armada in the Middle East and a new set of EU sanctions.

To paraphrase German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Iranian regime’s days may be numbered. Donald Trump’s “beautiful armada” — led by the USS Abraham Lincoln — has arrived in Middle Eastern waters, and the US president warned that the threat of military strikes is a real possibility unless Iran comes to the table to forge a nuclear deal.

China Executes 11 Convicted of Internet Fraud and Criminal Activity Abroad

efsyn.gr

ASIA/PACIFIC 29.01.26
Among those executed were "key members" involved in telecommunications fraud.

Chinese authorities on Thursday executed 11 individuals linked to criminal gangs in Myanmar, including "key members" of rings involved in telecommunications fraud.

Federal agents involved in fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis placed on leave

28 January 2026
US & Canada
Summary

• Two federal agents involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have been placed on leave, law enforcement officials tell the BBC
• Pretti, a US citizen, was shot and killed on Saturday in an incident which has sparked ongoing protests
• Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump warns Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is "playing with fire" after Frey said "Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws"
• Responding to Trump's post on social media, Frey says "The job of our police is to keep people safe, not enforce fed immigration laws"
• Trump's comments come after Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar was attacked at an event she was hosting on Tuesday, when an audience member used a syringe to spray an unknown liquid at her
• Omar, a Democrat who has frequently clashed with the Trump administration over its immigration policies, was not hurt and continued to speak

European leader spoke of shock at Trump’s state of mind after Mar-a-Lago meeting

The Slovak PM, a Trump ally, told leaders at last week’s EU summit he was concerned about the way the U.S. president spoke to him, European diplomats said.

Exclusive

January 28, 2026 4:38 am CET

By Nicholas Vinocur and Zoya Sheftalovich

BRUSSELS ― Slovakia’s prime minister told EU leaders at a summit last week that a meeting with Donald Trump left him shocked by the U.S. president’s state of mind, five European diplomats briefed on the conversation said.

Man arrested after charging Rep. Ilhan Omar, spraying her with liquid during town hall: Police

The congresswoman continued her remarks after the incident.
By John Parkinson
January 27, 2026, 11:00 PM

During a town hall in Minneapolis on Tuesday, a man charged the podium where Rep. Ilhan Omar was giving remarks, appeared to squirt a liquid at her and was then tackled to the ground by a security guard after a brief struggle.

‘Very low bar’: analysts say Starmer faces slim pickings in China

Lisa O’Carroll Tue 27 Jan 2026

Experts say business with China is always a double-edged sword let alone when its overheated economy can offer only marginal gains

Is Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ an effort to curtail Europe’s middle powers?

Most European countries have declined or demurred on their invitations to join the US president’s initiative to rebuild Gaza.

Mourners react next to a body during the funeral of Palestinians killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza, January 24, 2026 [Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters]

ByJohn T Psaropoulos - Published On 28 Jan 2026

Canadian PM Carney unveils multibillion-dollar push to lower food costs

Al Jazeera
Carney has been under pressure from the opposition to lower prices of food and other essentials for lower-income people.
AL Jazeera Staff
Published On 26 Jan 2026

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a multibillion-dollar package as part of a series of measures aimed at lowering the costs of food and other essentials for low-income families.

Minneapolis Calling: When CEOs Fall Short of People's Expectations Due to Fear of Failing Trump

The Greek Courier

Source: CNN

For far too long, corporate silence reigned supreme over the streets of Minneapolis, where voices rose in passionate demand for the abolishment of ICE. The tragic death of yet another innocent citizen at the hands of this agency pierced the veil of complacency. It took the harrowing reality of Alex Pretti’s murder and a dramatic turn from the Trump administration for CEOs to finally find their voices. Yet their response was tepid and driven by fear rather than genuine conviction.

Geologists reveal the world’s largest iron deposit worth $6 trillion that could reshape the global economy

January 20, 2026 by Futura Team  

A colossal iron ore deposit buried deep beneath Western Australia has stunned scientists — with far-reaching consequences for global markets, industrial balance, and our understanding of Earth’s geology itself.

In one of the most significant geological discoveries in decades, researchers have identified a deposit in the remote Hamersley region that could rewrite both mining economics and Earth’s ancient history. Already renowned for its mineral wealth, Hamersley is now home to what experts describe as the largest iron ore formation ever found — an estimated 55 billion metric tons of ore with iron content exceeding 60%.

Inside Stephen Miller’s Dark Plot to Build a MAGA Terror State

Greg Sargent

December 15, 2025

Illustration by Matt Mahurin

Stephen Miller’s ancestors first arrived in the United States in 1903. That’s when a man named Wolf Laib Glosser disembarked at Ellis Island after leaving behind his hometown in Antopol, a small town in the part of the czarist Russian empire that is now Belarus. Wolf Laib, who was fleeing a life marked by anti-Jewish pogroms and forced conscription, quickly set about trying to raise more money to bring over relatives.

Top U.S. & World Headlines — January 26, 2026

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Trump's JPMorgan lawsuit underscores his growing clash with Wall Street

By Lananh Nguyen, Manya Saini and Douglas Gillison

January 26, 20264:03 AM PST

Updated 9 hours ago

Summary

• Trump's lawsuit against JPMorgan highlights political conflict with Wall Street banks
• Banks face unpredictable policy environment, affecting reputation and advocacy efforts
• Despite conflicts, industry expects capital relief and regulatory changes to boost profits

'They saw them on their dishes when eating': The mushroom making people hallucinate dozens of tiny humans

Colin Domnauer
4 days ago

Only recently described by science, the mysterious mushrooms are found in different parts of the world, but they give people the same exact visions.

Every year, doctors at a hospital in the Yunnan Province of China brace themselves for an influx of people with an unusual complaint. The patients come with a strikingly odd symptom: visions of pint-sized, elf-like figures – marching under doors, crawling up walls and clinging to furniture.

Gun rights groups and legal experts question Trump administration’s stance on the Second Amendment after shooting

Claims by Trump administration officials that the man fatally shot by a federal agent in Minneapolis lacked a right to possess a firearm and that his killing was justified are being dismissed by legal experts and assailed by gun rights groups ordinarily aligned with the president.

By Devan Cole, Josh Campbell

The rhetoric from Trump law enforcement officials, including his FBI director and the top Border Patrol agent, goes against the decadeslong GOP effort to throttle gun control rules.

Trump’s New National Security Memo Is 30 Pages of Insanity

Interview with Greg Grandin
Released just before Christmas, Donald Trump’s National Security Strategy memo is a bizarre and frightening manifesto for MAGA’s second term. To help make sense of the document, Jacobin turned to Latin American historian Greg Grandin.
Interview by Sebastiaan Faber, Álvaro Guzmán Bastida

A year into his second term, President Donald Trump is wasting little time scouring American history for precedents that he believes legitimize his global belligerence. The latest US National Security Strategy (NSS), released in early December, resurrects the Monroe Doctrine — what began in 1823 as a simple declaration that Europe’s colonial ambitions would no longer be tolerated in the Americas. The NSS also rejects the “globalist” illusions that have guided the United States’ foreign policy for decades, announces the “civilizational erasure” of Europe, and proclaims the need to increase the number of “strong, traditional families” with “healthy children.” The thirty-page document prompts two basic questions: Who the hell wrote this? And what on earth does it mean?