Thursday morning news: January 15, 2026

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Iran latest » Conflicting reports today about a violent crackdown by Iran’s government on protesters there.

President Trump on Wednesday said he had it on good authority that Iran would not be executing demonstrators.

TRUMP:  We've been told that the killing, uh, in Iran is stopping and it's stopped, it's stopping. And, uh, there's no plan for executions.

And in an interview with Fox News last night, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi called claims about protester deaths "baseless." He said his country is not executing peaceful protesters:

ARAGCHI: Hanging is out of the question, as I said.

Araghchi claimed Israeli intelligence is the real culprit, claiming the Israelis infiltrated the protests to incite violence.

But human rights groups say the death toll from Iran’s protest crackdown now numbers in the thousands, a scale far too great to be explained by Iran’s claims of Israeli involvement. And some observers say the violence against demonstrators is not slowing down.

Israel/Gaza phase-2 » The United States says the ceasefire it brokered in Gaza is now moving into its second phase. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher reports:

BENJAMIN EICHER: President Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, made the announcement on Wednesday.

Officials say the next steps focus on disarming Hamas and rebuilding Gaza.

It also calls for a group of Palestinian experts to run daily affairs in Gaza, under U.S. oversight.

But major challenges remain. First and foremost: There’s no evidence that Hamas has actually agreed to lay down its weapons.

And reconstruction will be a massive project. U.N. estimates put the price tag at about $50 billion dollars.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

Venezuela Senate vote » The US Senate last night voted down a resolution that sought to limit President Trump’s authority to conduct another military strike in Venezuela without consent from Congress.

Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote on a measure to dismiss that resolution.

VANCE:  On this vote, the yeas are 50, the nays are 50. The Senate being equally divided, the vice president votes affirmative and the point of order is sustained.

That came after two GOP senators who had voiced support for the resolution reversed course.

Senators Todd Young and Josh Hawley changed their minds after Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised a public hearing and pledged that the president would seek congressional approval before any major military action, if circumstances allow.

Trump speaks with acting Venezuelan president » But President Trump, for his part, says he does not foresee any further action against Venezuela.

He said of the country's new leader, Delcy Rodriguez:

TRUMP:  We just had a great conversation today, and she's a terrific person. I mean, she's somebody that we've worked with very well. Marco Rubio is dealing with, I dealt with her this morning. We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things, and I think we're getting along very well with Venezuela.

Officials say the two countries are now talking about restoring diplomatic ties and reopening embassies.

And Venezuela has begun releasing some detained U.S. citizens as a goodwill gesture. Both sides are exploring cooperation on oil, trade and security issues.

Greenland and Denmark officials meet at White House » Denmark says it still has a major disagreement with President Trump over Greenland, following talks at the White House on Wednesday.

Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. She said Denmark and Greenland made their limits clear but want continued cooperation.

MOTZFELDT:  That doesn't mean that we want to be owned by a United State, but, uh, as allies, how we can strengthen our corporation. It's all our interest.

President Trump was not a part of the meeting, but later repeated his view that the United States needs Greenland. He said if the US does not take possession of it, Russia or China will.

But Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who was also a part of the meeting said threats from the likes of Russia or China is why the NATO alliance exists.

RASMUSSEN: We have been pushing for quite a while in NATO, for a stronger collective role in Greenland, together with a number of allies. And we are eager to work with the US on advancing this agenda.

Denmark announced that it will increase military activity in the Arctic, working with NATO allies, and the two sides agreed to form a working group to keep talks going.

State Dept pausing visas » The U.S. State Department says it will pause immigrant visa processing for citizens of 75 countries starting next Wednesday. WORLD’s Paul Butler has more.

PAUL BUTLER: The State Department says the pause will remain in place while it reviews and updates its vetting procedures.

Officials say they want to ensure they’re not allowing immigrants in who will rely on taxpayer funded public assistance.

The pause applies only to immigrant visas, which are used for permanent residence. It does not affect tourist, student, or business visas.

Those temporary visas account for most travel to the U.S. The affected countries are mostly located in Africa and Asia as well as Latin America and the Caribbean region.

For WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

And I'm Kent Covington.

Still ahead: British lawmakers consider legalizing assisted suicide. Plus: debate surrounding new government dietary guidelines.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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