Wednesday morning news: January 14, 2026

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Iran latest » President Trump is calling on Tehran to show protesters humanity amid reports of a deadly crackdown on demonstrators.

Trump says he has canceled planned talks with Iranian officials and told protesters that “help is on its way,” without explaining what that means.

TRUMP:   To all Iranian patriots, keep protesting. Take over your institutions if possible, and save the name of the killers and the abusers that are abusing you. You're being very badly abused.

Trump said he was reviewing information about the extent of violence against protesters by Iran’s government, calling it “significant.” And he said he was reviewing next steps with his national security team.

The President says right now, the U.S. is weighing diplomatic and economic options and has warned Iran against further violence.

TRUMP:   The message is, they've gotta show humanity. They've got a big problem, and I hope they're not gonna be killing people.

Human rights groups say more than 2,000 people may have been killed and more than 16,000 arrested since protests began late last month, but those numbers cannot be independently verified.

SCOTUS on trans sports » The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in two cases that could determine whether states can protect female athletes from having to compete against men and boys who identify as female.

At issue is whether laws in Idaho and West Virginia are discriminating based on sex as they prohibit biologically male athletes from competing in women’s sports.

West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey told reporters:

MCCUSKEY:   We believe we're right on the facts. We know we're right on the Constitution and we know we're right on the law. But most importantly, we're right on common sense. These laws make sense, they protect our women and girls.

Lower courts struck down the bans, claiming they violate Title IX and equal protection.

But there was no indication Tuesday that the high court plans to follow suit. A decision is expected by the early summer.

After Tuesday’s hearing, Kristen Waggoner with Alliance Defending Freedom lamented the voices that were not heard in the courtroom.

WAGGONER:  What you didn't hear enough of today in the courtroom were the real women that are hurt by this. Where are those women showing up in this hearing?

We’ll have more on this later in the program.

Inflation numbers / Trump speech » New numbers from the Labor Department show inflation holding steady in the month of December, largely beating expectations.

Consumer prices rose three-tenths of a percent (0.3%) last month, the same pace as November while core inflation, which strips out volatile sectors like food and energy, ticked up two-tenths of one percent.

Inflation now stands at 2.7 percent as compared to a year ago. That is well below the peak seen in 2022, but it remains stubbornly higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Ukraine latest » 2025 proved to be the deadliest year for civilians in Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion nearly four years ago as attacks continue. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: A new UN report states that more than 2,500 civilians were killed last year, many of them far from the frontlines. More than 12,000 others were wounded. That’s according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

Officials say Ukrainian casualties were up more than 30% from the year before. The report says the increase was driven in part by Moscow’s expanded use of long-range weapons.

Meanwhile:

SOUND: [Kharkiv attack]

FLAVIN: Authorities say four people died and six more were injured after the Russian military attacked a postal terminal in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

First responders rescued 30 people from the ruins of the building.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Clintons won't comply with Epstein subpoenas » Former President Bill Clinton is refusing to testify before the House Oversight Committee in its probe related to the Jeffrey Epstein files.

That is setting up a possible contempt of Congress fight.

Clinton fired off a letter to Chairman James Comer. In it, he accused the committee of selectively enforcing subpoenas and said two law firms reviewed the request and found it legally invalid.

For his part, Comer told reporters the committee only wants answers.

COMER: So no one's accusing Bill Clinton of anything, any wrongdoing. We just have questions and that's why the Democrats voted along with Republicans to subpoena Bill Clinton.

Comer noted flight records show Clinton traveled on Epstein’s plane at least 27 times.

Republican Congressman Tim Burchett says the committee is now preparing contempt proceedings.

Colvin obituary » Civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin has died at the age of 86.

Colvin was just 15 years old when she refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus in March of 1955 in Alabama. Police arrested her months before Rosa Parks made a similar stand drawing national attention.

Her arrest came as anger was building over segregation on city buses. That momentum led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which helped launch the national civil rights movement.

Colvin's record was cleared in 2021.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Much more on that Supreme Court case that could determine the future of sports for girls and women. Plus: World Tour.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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