The briefing for Saturday, January 10.

The United Nations pushed back Thursday against President Trump's decision to withdraw from 31 UN-related agencies and commissions, asserting the US has a legal obligation to continue funding. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said through his spokesperson that assessed contributions to the UN regular budget and peacekeeping operations remain binding under the UN Charter for all member states, including the United States. The withdrawal includes the UN Population Fund, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and dozens of other organizations focused on climate, labor, migration and other issues.

The White House announcement surprised diplomats who learned about the decision through news reports and social media rather than formal communication. UN officials said they had not received official word from the US government detailing the withdrawal or its implications. Trump's executive order follows a yearlong review of US participation in international organizations and represents an expansion of previous withdrawals from the World Health Organization, UNRWA, the UN Human Rights Council, and UNESCO. The administration is taking an à la carte approach to UN involvement, selecting which operations align with its agenda.

The move threatens to strain the relationship between the US and the world body it helped found after World War II. UN officials had spent much of the past year attempting to convince Trump not to abandon the institution entirely, including securing a $2 billion humanitarian assistance agreement last month. America's retreat has already influenced other Western countries including France and the UK to reevaluate humanitarian funding, with many shifting money toward military spending.

A federal judge ruled Friday that the Trump administration cannot block more than $10 billion in federal funds for child care subsidies and other social programs from flowing to five Democratic-led states. US District Judge Arun Subramanian granted a 14-day protective order for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York after the states argued that a policy announced Tuesday was creating immediate operational chaos. The Department of Health and Human Services had announced it was pausing funding because it had reason to believe the states were granting benefits to people in the country illegally, though it provided no evidence or explanation for targeting those specific states.

The affected programs include the Child Care and Development Fund, which subsidizes child care for 1.3 million children from low-income families; the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program providing cash assistance and job training; and the Social Services Block Grant. The five states say they receive a total of more than $10 billion annually from these programs. The government had also requested extensive data including names and Social Security numbers of everyone who received benefits since 2022.

The states argued the effort is unconstitutional and intended to target Trump's political adversaries rather than combat fraud, which they say they already address. At least four of the states had already experienced delayed funding after requesting it. Judge Subramanian did not rule on the legality of the freeze but said the states met the threshold to protect the status quo while arguments proceed. Shortly after the ruling, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a separate freeze of about $130 million annually in federal funding to Minnesota, citing the state's inability to stop fraud schemes linked to the Feeding Our Future case.

US forces seized another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Friday morning, the fifth vessel intercepted as the Trump administration expands its control over Venezuelan oil exports. The predawn raid on the Olina was carried out by Marines and Navy sailors from the USS Gerald R. Ford, according to US Southern Command, which declared there is no safe haven for criminals. The Olina had been sanctioned for moving Russian oil under its prior name, Minerva M, and was attempting to evade US forces after departing Venezuela.

The vessel was allegedly flying a false flag registered to Timor-Leste and had been running dark with its location beacon turned off since November. Maritime risk company Vanguard Tech said the seizure followed a prolonged pursuit of tankers linked to sanctioned Venezuelan oil shipments in the region. Earlier this week, the US seized two other tankers in back-to-back operations, including the Russian-flagged Marinera with help from the UK Royal Navy. Venezuela's interim government acknowledged it was working with US authorities to return the Olina, calling it an unauthorized departure.

President Trump said the US and Venezuela are working well together on rebuilding the country's oil infrastructure and expects to sell 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the proceeds would be dispersed in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people. Trump met with oil company executives Friday to discuss the arrangement, which he expects to continue indefinitely as part of the broader effort to restore Venezuela's battered oil industry and economy.

Venezuela's interim government began releasing political prisoners Friday in what officials described as a goodwill gesture, following the US seizure of former President Nicolás Maduro in a raid last weekend. Spain's foreign ministry confirmed five of its nationals were released, including prominent Venezuelan-Spanish human rights activist Rocío San Miguel, whose family confirmed she was taken to the Spanish embassy in Caracas. Jorge Rodríguez, head of Venezuela's National Assembly and brother of interim president Delcy Rodríguez, announced that a significant number would be released immediately without specifying the total.

San Miguel, a vocal critic of Maduro and defense expert, was arrested in 2024 and accused of involvement in a plot to kill the then-president. She faced charges of treason, conspiracy and terrorism. Her arrest shocked human rights activists, and her case was labeled as potential enforced disappearance by the UN Human Rights Office. Venezuelan human rights organizations, some with members or founders in jail, welcomed the news with caution given that hundreds of political prisoners remain detained.

President Trump wrote on Truth Social that the release was a very important and smart gesture from Venezuela, adding that he had canceled a previously expected second wave of attacks on the country as a result. The move comes shortly after Trump announced he had given orders to close the notorious El Helicoide prison, where 50 to 80 prisoners are believed held and where human rights groups have documented torture. Trump also said opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is expected to visit the US next week and suggested he would accept her offer to give him her Nobel Peace Prize.

The European Union reached a free trade agreement with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay on Friday, concluding 25 years of negotiations despite opposition from farmers across Europe. The deal with the Mercosur trading bloc will create the EU's largest free trade accord to date and requires approval from the European Parliament within the next few months. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hailed it as a historic day for multilateralism, while EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the agreement will bring meaningful benefits to consumers and businesses on both sides.

The agreement comes against the backdrop of President Trump's tariffs and his recent military intervention in Venezuela. EU officials positioned the deal as a win-win that will boost trade and political ties while fighting climate change through commitments to halt deforestation. The Commission expects the deal to save local companies €4 billion annually in export duties and ensure reliable flows of raw materials including gold, copper and critical minerals required for renewable and battery technology. South American countries boast significant deposits of materials critical for the global green transition.

Farmers in France and Belgium held last-ditch protests against the deal, with demonstrations using tractors on motorways. Critics argue cheap imports may undercut European farmers in products including beef, poultry and sugar. Von der Leyen said the Commission had listened to farmers' concerns and introduced robust safeguards to protect their livelihoods. A broad majority of EU member states confirmed support Friday afternoon, though voting in the European Parliament is expected to be close. The agreement will be phased in over 15 years, with economists noting the macroeconomic impact may be limited at an estimated 0.05% increase in EU economic output.

Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok has restricted image generation and editing to paying subscribers after a global backlash erupted over sexualized deepfakes of people created without their knowledge or consent. The chatbot, accessed through Musk's X social media platform, had been granting malicious user requests to modify images including putting women in bikinis or sexually explicit positions. Researchers warned that some images appeared to depict children. On Friday, Grok began responding to image requests with a message limiting the features to paying subscribers, though the standalone Grok website and app still allowed access Friday afternoon.

The restrictions followed condemnation from governments around the world and investigations by regulators. The European Commission ordered X to retain all internal documents and data relating to Grok until the end of 2026 as part of a wider investigation under EU digital safety law. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the behavior disgraceful and disgusting, threatening unspecified action against X. British media regulator Ofcom and the privacy watchdog both contacted X and xAI seeking information on compliance measures.

Musk responded on social media saying critics were looking for any excuse for censorship. A Downing Street spokesman called the subscriber-only change insulting to victims of sexual violence, noting it shows X can move swiftly when it wants to. Conservative influencer Ashley St Clair, the mother of one of Musk's children, told BBC she had been a victim of Grok creating sexualized images of her as a child and accused the platform of not taking enough action. France, Malaysia, India and a Brazilian lawmaker have also launched scrutiny of the platform. While there was a noticeable decline in explicit deepfakes being generated, the change did not satisfy European authorities who said paid or non-paid subscription makes no difference to their fundamental objection.