WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 14: U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a news conference after a weekly Republican conference meetingin the U.S. Capitol Building on November 14, 2023 in Washington, DC. During the news conference House Republican leadership spoke to reporters about a range of topics including the upcoming vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government through early 2024. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Minnesota state law enforcement officials are working with the FBI to investigate the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officer. U.S. forces boarded a tanker carrying sanctioned oil after a two-week chase across the Atlantic, as the Trump administration expands plans to take control of Venezuela’s oil sales indefinitely. And Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new dietary guidelines flip decades of advice, elevating meat and dairy and alarming many public health researchers.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Rebekah Metzler, Kelsey Snell, Kate Bartlett, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from David Greenburg. Our technical director is Stacey Abbott.
And our deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens.
Noah Cyrus is turning 26 today, so we’re flooding your timeline with her sexiest pics and a little game of trivia about the indie-pop darling. While the biblical Noah saved pairs of animals from the rain, our Noah reined in her assets from the…
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WASHINGTON-(MaraviPost)-U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the Ranking Member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has issued a statement condemning the ongoing repression of opposition figures, civil society leaders, and activists in Uganda as the country gears up for its tightly contested January 15, 2026 general election.
Senator Shaheen has demanded that Ugandan authorities must “refrain from violence and suppression especially around the elections,” warning that “the arrests of citizens, opposition figures, and civil society leaders cannot go unaddressed.”
The Senator has particularly called for the immediate release of human rights lawyer Sarah Bireete, writing, “I call on the Ugandan authorities to release Sarah Bireete immediately.”
Bireete’s arrest has become emblematic of broader concerns over shrinking civic space in Uganda.
Sarah Bireete, the Executive Director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG) and head of regional election-observer coalitions, was detained on December 30, 2025, after security forces surrounded her home in Kampala, according to multiple reports.
She was subsequently charged with unlawfully obtaining or disclosing personal data under Uganda’s Data Protection and Privacy Act, alleged to involve National Voters’ Register information.
During her appearance at Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Court, she denied the charges and was remanded to Luzira Prison while a bail hearing is set for later in January.
The circumstances of the arrest have drawn widespread condemnation from local and international observers, with civil society organisations arguing that the charge is politically motivated and part of a broader pattern of intimidation aimed at stifling critics ahead of the polls.
Amnesty International has documented reports of security forces using tear gas against peaceful crowds, pepper-spraying and beating individuals, and launching what its Regional Director for East and Southern and Africa, Tigere Chagutah, called a “brutal campaign of repression” that inhibits fundamental freedoms ahead of the elections.
The international community is increasingly concerned about the shrinking civic space in Uganda and the government’s crackdown on opposition voices, with Senator Shaheen’s statement adding to the growing pressure on Ugandan authorities to respect human rights and ensure a free and fair election.
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The High Court in Lilongwe has dismissed an application by the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet to discharge a stay order obtained by five senior Malawi Defence Force (MDF) officers, challenging their redeployment to civilian institutions.
Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda ruled that the substantive judicial review proceedings will be heard in open court on January 16, 2026.
The five officers, Major Generals Francis Kakhuta Banda, Swithun Mchungula, Chikunkha Soko, Saiford Kalisha, and Brigadier General Harold Dzoole, had filed an application on November 20, 2025, seeking a stay of their secondments and permission to pursue judicial review.
The court initially granted the stay and leave to commence judicial review, but the hearing was halted following an application by the Attorney General on December 10, 2025, seeking to discharge the stay order.
The redeployment of these senior MDF officers to civilian institutions, including roles as directors of security at state-owned enterprises such as ESCOM, NOCMA, ADMARC, and EGENCO, has sparked controversy.
Critics argue that the move risks politicizing the MDF and undermining its institutional integrity.
Lawyer for the MDF officers, Alan Chinula SC, confirmed that arguments in the judicial review will proceed on the scheduled date, stating, “We have been granted permission to proceed with the judicial review application and interim relief orders against the redeployments”
The court’s decision has been seen as a significant development in the ongoing debate about the government’s handling of security personnel redeployments.
Observers warn that such moves could compromise the independence and effectiveness of national security organs, and call for transparent and justified personnel movements.
The affected officers’ challenge to their redeployment is seen as a test of the government’s commitment to respecting institutional norms and the rule of law.
The outcome of the judicial review is eagerly awaited, with implications for the future of security governance in Malawi.
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Ray J is reportedly being treated at a Las Vegas hospital for a severe case of pneumonia.
Ray J, 44, was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday, January 6, with pneumonia and heart pains, TMZ reported on Wednesday, January 7, citing a “source close to the R&B singer.”
According to the outlet, Ray J previously suffered from the illness — which affects the lungs and can be caused by a viral or bacterial infection, according to the Mayo Clinic — in 2021 and “thought he could die.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Ray J’s team for comment.
A few weeks prior to his hospitalization, Ray J shared an unusual update via Instagram, revealing that he’s part of a new show called Celebrity Hitchhiker.
“I’m hitchhiking right now to try to get a place to stay tonight,” he wrote in his December 13 message. “Hopefully I can meet a new family, and it can take me in and teach me about their rules and their goals and life, and then send me on my way to the next destination.”
Ray J had filmed the video in Tampa, Florida, and said that he wanted to make it to Los Angeles in time for Christmas. At the time, he was by himself.
“I need some food and I need shelter,” he told his followers. “Just a lot of s*** that’s happened. And I just wanna get back home and see my kids. It’s a hitchhiking show, but it’s real though at the same time, and I wanna make it really authentic. I just do it for real on my phone. I mean, I have a camera in there too, but it’s just me.”
The singer, whose real name is William Ray Norwood, Jr., was arrested on Thanksgiving Day of last year for making threats to his estranged wife, Princess Love. He did an Instagram Live that day, saying that he had “the worst Thanksgiving in the f***ing world.”
In his Live, he appeared to pull a gun on Love, 41, and at least one of their children.
“Y’all wanna drive drunk? Y’all wanna drive drunk? Drive drunk. Drive drunk, Princess,” he said, to which Love replied, “Ray, you just pointed a gun— .”
Ray J was released from jail on the day of his arrest, TMZ reported at the time. (Us reached out to his representatives for comment. He has since claimed that he nearly got into a fight with a fellow inmate while behind bars.)
Ray J and Love filmed the early years of their marriage for the VH1 reality series Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood. They tied the knot in 2016 and have filed for divorce multiple times. They share daughter Melody Love, 7, and son Epik Ray, 6.
Days prior to the incident involving Love, American Express sued Ray J and his company Tronix Network in Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing him of owing a massive credit card debt — $139,849.85, to be exact. He allegedly stopped making payments in May 2025. Ray J has yet to respond to the lawsuit.
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