Legendary American rock climber Alex Honnold stunned the world yesterday when he scaled the 1,667-foot skyscraper Taipei 101 in Taiwan without any safety equipment. The entire 90-minute event was broadcast live on Netflix on Saturday with a ten-second delay after being postponed due to weather earlier in the week.  “It was like what a view, it’s incredible, what a beautiful day,” the 40-year-old climber said afterward, per Associated Press. “It was very windy, so I was like, don’t fall off the spire. I was trying to balance nicely. But it was, what an incredible position, what a beautiful way to see Taipei.” Honnold has done major climbs before, but nothing to this scale. Spectators watched captivated as the climber ascended the massive skyscraper, at one point, going hands-free, gripping only with his legs. A huge crowd of onlookers watched from the ground and in the building, which Hannold said was not the usual for him.  ALEX HONNOLD AFTER COMPLETING HIS FREE SOLO OF TAIPEI 101: “Sick.” The 101 story climb took 1 hour and 35 minutes #SkyscraperLIVE pic.twitter.com/TIzeRqiUcM — Netflix (@netflix) January 25, 2026 “When I was leaving the ground, you’re like oh it’s kind of intense, there’s so many people watching,” he said, per the AP. “But then honestly, they’re all wishing me well. I mean basically it just makes the whole experience feel almost more festive, all these nice people are out supporting me and having a good time.” The father of two first went viral in 2017 after becoming the first person to “free solo” on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, climbing 2,900 feet without safety equipment. The 2018 biographical documentary “Free Solo,” is about Hannold’s climbing career and won a BAFTA and an Academy Award. “Free solo” in rock climbing means climbing without any ropes or harnesses. It’s the most dangerous form of climbing and often proves fatal. One mistake can easily result in death.  Another climber, Alain Robert from France, climbed Taipei 101 in 2004 upon its completion. At the time, it was the tallest building in the world. However, Robert utilized ropes and harnesses for his ascent.

President Donald Trump confirmed that a new secret weapon he dubbed “The Discombobulator” played a decisive role in the January 3 capture Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, marking the first official acknowledgment of the technology’s existence. In an interview with the New York Post, Trump said the classified weapon disabled Venezuelan defenses as United States helicopters entered Caracas to seize Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on federal narcotics and weapons charges. “The Discombobulator. I’m not allowed to talk about it,” Trump said from the Oval Office, before confirming its use. “They never got their rockets off. They pressed buttons and nothing worked.” American officials had not publicly disclosed the use of any unconventional weapons for the Venezuela operation, but the president was questioned about the subject while discussing the raid. Trump’s remarks provide new confirmation of what American and Venezuelan sources have previously suggested: U.S. forces neutralized air defenses, communications, and command systems before inserting a small assault team into the capital.  The 88-minute operation resulted in no American casualties, according to the Pentagon. While details of the weapon remain classified, Trump said Venezuelan forces were unable to respond despite being armed with foreign-supplied weaponry. “They had Russian and Chinese rockets,” Trump said. “They were all set for us. And nothing worked.” In the days immediately following the raid, accounts from Venezuelan security personnel described severe physical effects among the defenders during the operation, with multiple witnesses reporting disorientation and incapacitation during the brief engagement. While those claims could not be independently verified at the time, Trump’s confirmation that a classified weapon was used seems to answer the unexplained aspects of the raid. “At one point, they launched something; I don’t know how to describe it. It was like a very intense sound wave. Suddenly I felt like my head was exploding from the inside,” one witness said, per the Post. Those early accounts from Venezuelan security personnel also described sudden system failures and a rapid collapse of organized resistance as U.S. forces entered Caracas. Several individuals who said they were present claimed that radar and defensive systems shut down without warning, leaving Maduro’s guards unable to respond before helicopters and drones appeared overhead. United States military officials had previously declined to describe the technology involved, but have acknowledged that Venezuelan defensive systems were disabled before helicopters and drones entered the area. Officials say the operation resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Maduro loyalists. Maduro, 63, is now being held in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn awaiting trial on narcoterrorism charges. His longtime ally Delcy Rodríguez has assumed the role of interim president. White House officials have characterized the operation as a demonstration of the United States military dominance and technological superiority. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the mission should serve as a warning to adversaries considering confrontation with the United States. While Trump declined to elaborate further on the “Discombobulator,” his confirmation that a secret system was deployed has renewed scrutiny of how emerging electronic and energy-based weapons are reshaping modern warfare and how much of that capability remains deliberately out of public view.

Congressman Maxwell Frost says he was the victim of a racially motivated attack at a Hollywood party late Friday night, when a party crasher punched him in the face after saying President Donald Trump would “deport” him. The Florida Democrat claimed he was assaulted at the Park City High West Saloon during the Creative Artists Agency’s (CAA) Sundance Film Festival party. “Last night, I was assaulted by a man at Sundance Festival who told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face. He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off,” Frost wrote in an X post. “The individual was arrested and I am okay. Thank you to the venue security and Park City PD for assistance on this incident.” According to that report, the suspect had crashed the CAA party and “shocked” partygoers in the venue’s restroom by ranting about how proud he was of being white. The Park City Police Department issued a statement identifying the suspect as Christian Young and stating that Young had been detained after he “unlawfully entered a private party.” “Once inside the saloon, Young assaulted Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost and a female who was attending the private event,” the police statement continued, noting that Young had been apprehended with an administrative pass to the film festival that had someone else’s name on it, and that he had attempted to gain access to the party and had jumped a barrier fence when he was turned away. He jumped back over the fence when he was spotted, but reportedly jumped it a second time and managed to gain access without being seen. When he was apprehended, Young reportedly told police that he had no recollection of what had happened and could not recall his own name — despite answering to that name when police addressed him. The 28-year-old was charged with two counts of assault and one count of aggravated burglary. Critics were not entirely convinced by the story, however, recalling actor Jussie Smollett’s false claims about a racially motivated attack in January 2019. Dozens of replies contained references to Smollett and claims that Frost was making up his story. Witnesses, according to Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate, corroborated Frost’s story and recalled Young saying, “we are going to deport you and your kind.” Witnesses also say Young approached a woman with Frost and told her “you are the kind we are going to deport.”

President Trump confirmed he’s not attending the Super Bowl this year, complaining about the slate of performers and saying it ultimately came down to the distance he’d have to travel. Trump told The New York Post during an Oval Office interview that he wasn’t pleased with the selection of Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny for the halftime show, or with the addition of Green Day for the opening ceremony. Both bands have made statements against the Trump administration and their policies. “I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible,” the president said. He also noted that his reason for skipping was that the Super Bowl is being played this year in California. “It’s just too far away. I would. I’ve [gotten] great hands [at] the Super Bowl. They like me,” Trump told NY Post. “I would go if, you know, it was a little bit shorter.” Trump made history as the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl while in office last year when he watched the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. That game took place in New Orleans. Trump already said it was “absolutely ridiculous” that Bad Bunny was selected to perform at Super Bowl LX this year. “This guy does not seem like a unifying entertainer and a lot of folks don’t even know who he is,” Newsmax’s Greg Kelly said during a phone interview in October, as The Daily Wire previously reported. Kelly asked Trump if people should “entertain blowing off the NFL.” “I never heard of him. I don’t know who he is, I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s crazy, and then they blame it on some promoter that they hired to pick up entertainment, I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Trump added. Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Ocasio, had already said he refused to perform in the United States due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers doing their jobs and enforcing federal immigration laws. Ocasio referred to ICE agents as “motherf***ers” and “sons of b****es” in a video he posted to Instagram. The three-time Grammy Award-winner said during an interview that he didn’t book any tour stops in the United States because he was worried ICE agents would target concert attendees. “There was the issue of — like, f***ing ICE could be outside. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.” Social media users also pointed out that none of Bad Bunny’s songs are in English. He later addressed the backlash he and the NFL received following the announcement, advising viewers to learn Spanish if they didn’t like it.

More than 800,000 customers in the United States, as far west as New Mexico, were without electricity, and over 10,000 flights were canceled on Sunday ahead of a monster winter storm that threatened to paralyze eastern states with heavy snowfall. Forecasters said snow, sleet, freezing rain, and dangerously frigid temperatures would sweep the eastern two-thirds of the nation on Sunday and into the week. Calling the storms “historic,” President Donald Trump on Saturday approved federal emergency disaster declarations in South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Indiana, and West Virginia. “We will continue to monitor, and stay in touch with all States in the path of this storm. Stay Safe, and Stay Warm,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have declared weather emergencies, the Department of Homeland Security said. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, at a news conference on Saturday, warned Americans to take precautions. “It’s going to be very, very cold,” Noem said. “So we’d encourage everybody to stock up on fuel, stock up on food, and we will get through this together.” The number of power outages continued to rise. As of 10:18 a.m. EST (1518 GMT) on Sunday, more than 800,000 U.S. customers were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us, with at least 300,000 in Tennessee and over 100,000 each in Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana. Other states affected included Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Alabama. The Department of Energy on Saturday issued an emergency order authorizing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to deploy backup generation resources at data centers and other major facilities, aiming to limit blackouts in the state. On Sunday, the DOE issued an emergency order to authorize grid operator PJM Interconnection to run “specified resources” in the mid-Atlantic region, regardless of limits due to state laws or environmental permits. The National Weather Service warned of an unusually expansive and long-duration winter storm that would bring widespread, heavy ice accumulation in the Southeast, where “crippling to locally catastrophic impacts” can be expected. Weather service forecasters predicted record cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills descending further into the Great Plains region by Monday. More than 10,100 U.S. flights scheduled for Sunday were canceled, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Over 4,000 flights were canceled on Saturday. Major U.S. airlines warned passengers to stay alert for abrupt flight changes and cancellations. Delta Air Lines adjusted its schedule on Saturday, with additional cancellations in the morning for Atlanta and along the East Coast, including in Boston and New York City. It would relocate experts from cold-weather hubs to support de-icing and baggage teams at several southern airports, the airline said. JetBlue said that as of Saturday morning, it had canceled about 1,000 flights through Monday. United Airlines said it had proactively canceled some flights in places with the worst expected weather. U.S. electric grid operators on Saturday stepped up precautions to avoid rotating blackouts. Dominion Energy, whose Virginia operations include the largest collection of data centers in the world, said if its ice forecast held, the winter event could be among the largest to affect the company. (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Lewis Krauskopf; Additional reporting by Chandni Shah, Devika Nair, and Preetika Parashuraman in Bengaluru, and Blake Brittain in Washington, DC; Editing by Sergio Non, Chizu Nomiyama, Edwina Gibbs, Bernadette Baum, and Nick Zieminski)