The briefing for Sunday, January 11.

Meta announced Friday it has signed three deals to power its artificial intelligence data centers with nuclear energy, securing enough electricity to power the equivalent of about 5 million homes. The agreements with TerraPower, Oklo, and Vistra will support up to 6.6 gigawatts of new and existing clean energy by 2035, with the first power targeted for Meta's Prometheus AI data center in New Albany, Ohio, expected to come online this year.

The deals include funding for TerraPower to develop two Natrium units capable of generating up to 690 megawatts by 2032, with rights for six additional units totaling 2.1 gigawatts by 2035. Meta will also purchase more than 2.1 gigawatts from three existing Vistra nuclear plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Vistra said the agreements provide certainty for seeking 20-year license renewals for the reactors, though electricity will continue running through the mid-Atlantic grid for all customers.

The move highlights the massive energy demands of AI infrastructure and raises concerns about strain on regional power grids. Princeton energy systems professor Jesse Jenkins warned that bringing Prometheus online without new power sources will increase electricity rates across the mid-Atlantic grid, where ratepayers are already paying higher bills to support data centers. Tech companies have faced pressure in the stressed mid-Atlantic region to build dedicated power sources rather than drawing from existing grid capacity.

A federal judge in Seattle blocked most of President Trump's executive order on elections Friday in a lawsuit brought by Washington and Oregon, marking the second major judicial defeat for the administration's voting requirements. U.S. District Judge John H. Chun found that Trump's demands for documentary proof of citizenship and Election Day ballot receipt deadlines exceeded presidential authority, following similar rulings in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. cases.

The order, issued in March 2025, threatened states' federal funding if election officials didn't comply with the new requirements. Washington and Oregon, both exclusively vote-by-mail states, argued the changes would disenfranchise thousands of voters. Washington officials counted nearly 120,000 ballots in the 2024 general election that were received after Election Day but postmarked by it, while Oregon received nearly 14,000 such ballots.

Judge Chun ruled that Trump's efforts violated the separation of powers, noting the Constitution grants Congress and the states—not the president—authority to regulate federal elections. Washington Attorney General Nick Brown called the ruling "a huge victory for voters" and "for the rule of law." While Trump and other Republicans have promoted concerns about noncitizen voting, such cases are rare and can result in felony charges and deportation when discovered.

President Trump signed an executive order Saturday declaring Venezuelan oil revenue protected from seizure in judicial proceedings, saying such action could "undermine critical U.S. efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela." The order comes as the administration attempts to encourage U.S. oil company investment in Venezuela following the capture of now-deposed leader Nicolás Maduro.

During a Friday meeting with oil executives, Trump tried to address concerns about investing in Venezuela, a country with a history of state asset seizures, ongoing U.S. sanctions, and decades of political uncertainty. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods told Trump that under current conditions, Venezuela is "uninvestable." The president assured executives they would be dealing directly with the U.S. rather than the Venezuelan government.

The White House is framing its Venezuela policy in economic terms after Maduro's dramatic capture. Trump has seized tankers carrying Venezuelan oil and claims the U.S. is taking over sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned crude, with plans to control sales worldwide indefinitely. The executive order designates the oil revenue as Venezuelan property held by the U.S. for "governmental and diplomatic purposes," invoking the National Emergencies Act to declare potential judicial seizure an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to American interests.

President Trump revived a campaign pledge Friday night, proposing a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates in a move that could save Americans roughly $100 billion annually. The announcement drew immediate opposition from the banking industry, which has been a major donor to Trump's campaigns and second-term agenda. Trump did not specify whether the cap would be implemented through executive action or legislation.

Americans currently pay between 19.65% and 21.5% in credit card interest on average, according to Federal Reserve data—near historic highs since tracking began in the mid-1990s. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said he spoke with Trump Friday night and would work on legislation with the president's "full support." Existing bipartisan bills from Sens. Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley, as well as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Anna Paulina Luna, propose similar caps.

The banking industry issued a joint statement opposing the proposal, with the American Bankers Association warning the cap "would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives." Researchers studying Trump's campaign pledge found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would remain profitable, though rewards and perks might be scaled back. The proposal comes despite the Trump administration's generally friendly approach to the credit card industry, including minimal resistance to Capital One's merger with Discover Financial that created the nation's largest credit card company.

Nationwide protests challenging Iran's theocracy crossed the two-week mark Sunday with demonstrators flooding streets in Tehran and Mashhad, the country's second-largest city. The death toll has reached at least 116 people with 2,600 detained, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Iran's complete internet shutdown and cut phone lines have made gauging demonstrations from abroad increasingly difficult.

Iran's attorney general escalated threats Saturday, warning that anyone taking part in protests will be considered an "enemy of God"—a death penalty charge. The statement said even those who "helped rioters" would face the charge. Online videos, likely transmitted via Starlink satellite devices, showed protesters peacefully marching and honking horns in Tehran's Punak neighborhood, with authorities shutting off streets. In Mashhad, home to Shiite Islam's holiest shrine, footage showed confrontations between protesters and security forces with flaming debris blocking roads.

The protests began December 28 over the collapse of Iran's rial currency and have evolved into broader calls for ending Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's clerical rule. President Trump offered support for protesters on social media, with the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporting he's been given military options for strikes on Iran but hasn't made a final decision. Iran pulled the internet plug Thursday following a playbook used in previous demonstrations and war, with experts saying even Starlink receivers may be facing GPS jamming similar to tactics Russia used in Ukraine.

The killing of Minnesota resident Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer is reverberating across Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are demanding actions ranging from full investigations to defunding ICE operations and impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. New video released Friday showed the shooting from the perspective of ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who fired at Good while recording on his cellphone as she drove her Honda Pilot SUV.

The 47-second video shows Ross circling Good's vehicle with sirens blaring while Good's wife also recorded the encounter. After other officers approached demanding Good exit the car, Ross was at the front driver's side when Good reversed briefly, then turned the steering wheel and drove forward. Ross opened fire as the vehicle moved, with Good's SUV subsequently crashing into parked cars. Vice President JD Vance said the video shows self-defense, while Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called any self-defense argument "garbage."

Democrats are pledging to use legislative leverage as Congress handles Department of Homeland Security appropriations to prevent another government shutdown when funding expires at the end of January. Sen. Chris Murphy plans to introduce legislation restricting federal agents' authority, including requiring Border Patrol stick to the border and DHS enforcement officers be unmasked. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called the videos "deeply disturbing" and demanded "a thorough and objective investigation" along with policy changes, saying "this cannot happen again." Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, was shot after dropping off her 6-year-old at school, with her wife saying the couple "had whistles, they had guns."