January 2, 2026

EUROPE: Two dead and church gutted by fire in ‘unprecedented’ New Year’s violence in the Netherlands.

In the southeastern city of Nijmegen, a 17-year-old was killed in an incident involving fireworks shortly after midnight but police have given no further details.

And in the town of Aalsmeer south of the capital Amsterdam, a 38-year-old was killed in another incident involving fireworks which is still being investigated.

Nine Kooiman, the head of the Dutch Police Union, reported an “unprecedented amount of violence against police and emergency services” across the country on New Year’s Eve.
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Meanwhile, a massive inferno gutted a 19th-century church in Amsterdam. The blaze broke out in the early hours of Thursday at the Vondelkerk, a tourist attraction overlooking one of the city’s top parks since 1872.

The 50-metre-high tower collapsed,and the roof was severely damaged, but the structure was expected to remain intact, Amsterdam authorities said.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately apparent.

Developing…

Posted at 9:40 am by Stephen Green

MORE:

I’ve written here and at PJ Media for longer than I can remember, that when the middle class finally realizes how badly they’ve been ripped off, anything could happen.

Maybe now they’re starting to wake up.

Posted at 9:24 am by Stephen Green

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: WOW — This Year Is Really Flying By. “Today’s flashback episode is from New Year’s Day, 2021. I wanted to see where I was coming out of the Wuhan Chinese Bat Flu pandemic year. It was a bit weirder than I’d remembered. Also, this classic episode features some old Morning Briefing formatting, which I hope brings back fond memories. If anything is triggered, please consult your local electric shock therapist.”

Posted at 9:09 am by Stephen Green

THE MIND REELS:

Reminder: We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem — and a fraud & theft problem equal to a significant fraction of global GDP.

Posted at 8:53 am by Stephen Green

CHANGE: New Trump-ordered immigration restrictions go into effect Jan. 1.

Individuals from seven countries will not be able to travel to the United States starting Thursday, according to updated CBP guidance obtained by ABC News.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed executive orders limiting travel from Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Syria — with those restrictions now going into effect Jan. 1.

This applies to both immigrants and nonimmigrants, according to the CBO document dated Dec. 29.

The White House says the restrictions are for national security and public safety reasons, while immigrant advocates say the ban targets African and Muslim countries.

Both of those things are not only true, they’re inextricably intertwined.

Posted at 8:38 am by Stephen Green

THIS SEEMS CORRECT:

The Education Apocalypse created all kinds of damage downstream, all of which politically benefitted the same side that created the Education Apocalypse.

Posted at 8:22 am by Stephen Green

A METAPHOR FOR BLUE STATE INSTITUTIONS IN GENERAL:

Posted at 8:00 am by Glenn Reynolds

FOLLOW THE SCIENCE: “Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Agrees to Pay $15M to Settle Fraud Allegations Related to Scientific Research Grants.” “As part of the settlement, Dana-Farber admitted that its researchers used funds from six NIH grants to conduct research that resulted in 14 publications in scientific journals containing misrepresented and/or duplicated images and data. The publications reused images to represent different experimental conditions; duplicated images to represent different testing conditions, mice, and/or timepoints; or rotated, magnified, or stretched images. Further, Dana-Farber admitted that a supervising researcher failed to exercise sufficient oversight over these researchers, and that Dana-Farber spent funds from those six NIH grants that were unallowable. As part of the settlement, Dana-Farber also admitted that another researcher received four NIH grants after submitting grant applications that discussed a journal article authored by the researcher but did not disclose that certain images and data in that article were misrepresented and/or duplicated. The United States contends that Dana-Farber caused the submission of false claims to NIH by falsely certifying compliance with grant terms and conditions, spending grant funds on unallowable expenses, and obtaining grants through false and misleading statements.”

Note that this is a False Claims Act case, which allows a portion of the recovery to be paid as bounty to a whistleblower: “The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Sholto David. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. David will receive $2,625,000 under today’s settlement.”

I expect many more such claims against universities in coming years.

Posted at 7:49 am by Glenn Reynolds

MAMDANI: SOUTH AFRICA IS MODEL FOR NEW YORK.

The newly-minted Mayor had the stage, but graciously acknowledged that the real star was socialism. “I was elected as a Democratic Socialist and I will govern as a Democratic Socialist.” He hailed an “era of big government,” vowed to govern “expansively and audaciously” and said he would “set an example for the world.”

The grimace-cum-smile on Chuck Schumer’s face – sitting hostage-like behind the mayor, who he has yet to endorse or even say if he voted for – told its own story about exactly how thrilled the mainstream Democratic party is to go into the midterms later this year, and more importantly the 2028 presidential campaign, with Mayor Mamdani as the party’s principal standard bearer. At some point grinning and bearing it won’t be an option, the radical Mamdani platform will have to be embraced or disavowed. It won’t be pretty.

So what can New Yorkers look forward to under their energetic and muscular new form of socialism? Mayor Mamdani gave them clues, advising them to “look to Madiba and the South African Freedom Charter.” The charter that Madiba – Nelson Mandela – helped forge with the ANC was the blueprint for post-apartheid South Africa. It opens with the words “our people have been robbed of their birthright to land, liberty and peace by a form of government founded on injustice and inequality.” Suggesting that apartheid is alive and well in New York will have brought another big gulp from Schumer and the Democratic establishment. The Democrat Socialists of America have so far failed to persuade the country that apartheid exists in Israel, so it’s ambitious to think they can make the case for its existence in New York. This is testing the very limits of grievance politics. And the current almost failed state that is South Africa, with white farmers fleeing to America as refugees, bodes particularly ill as a template for New York.

As in South Africa, the enemy in Mamdani’s New York is often white people. He has already vowed to target “whiter neighborhoods” for higher taxes. In his inaugural speech he zoned in on another set of unprosecuted criminals: billionaires. They think they “can buy our democracy” and for too long New York has belonged to “the wealthy and well-connected.” Billionaires seemingly the scourge of the city and also neatly the solution to its problems – just increase their taxes.

Are we sure it isn’t San Marcos?

Posted at 7:45 am by Ed Driscoll

HOW TIMES CHANGE: Illinois’ compact fluorescent bulb ban begins to take effect.

State Rep. Nicholas Smith, D-Chicago, introduced House Bill 2363 in February 2023. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure in August 2024.

The law prohibits the sale and distribution of screw-base and bayonet-base compact fluorescent lamps. Restrictions on pin-base compact fluorescent and linear fluorescent lamps are set to begin in 2027.

HB 2363’s Senate sponsor, state Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, said toxic pollutants in fluorescent bulbs pose a health risk.
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When “An Inconvenient Truth” documentary was released in 2006, former Vice President Al Gore encouraged Americans to replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents. Many environmental groups also promoted CFLs.

They also produce terrible light, require a warmup to come to full brightness, and the dimmable models are a joke.

Not sure there’s still a market left for them big enough worth banning.

But governments do love banning things, so there’s that.

Posted at 7:36 am by Stephen Green

#JOURNALISM:

Posted at 7:30 am by Glenn Reynolds

YEAH, GO FIGURE:

Posted at 7:18 am by Glenn Reynolds

ICYMI: SHOT:

CHASER:

Posted at 7:00 am by Glenn Reynolds

ICYMI:(How could you have) I have a (gynormous) book out and it is a Prometheus Award Nominee:  No Man’s Land Volume 1.

And it has a sound track which, even though it hasn’t been updated since last year (eh) will be updated this week, because (it was the ’tisms, m’lord) I can’t stand to leave things unfinished.)  Meh. My personal favorite is Thanks For the Boats, but I’m a child of the eighties. ;)

Posted at 7:00 am by Sarah Hoyt