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.

'Lower the temperature'

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The UK House of Lords has voted to extend “age assurance” requirements, effectively age verification mandates, to virtual private networks (VPNs) and a wide range of online platforms under the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The decision deepens the reach of the already-controversial Online Safety Act, linking child safety goals to mechanisms that could have severe effects on private communication and digital autonomy. Under the existing Online Safety Act framework, “user-to-user services” include almost any online platform that enables individuals to post, share, or interact with content from others. This definition covers social networks, messaging apps, forums, and online gaming services. Only a few forms of communication, such as email, SMS, MMS, and one-to-one live voice calls, are explicitly excluded. While political messaging around the vote often described the move as a “social media ban for under-16s,” the actual scope is considerably wider. In effect, most interactive online platforms would now need to collect and verify age data from users, even where those services are not primarily aimed at children. This represents a major expansion of identity checks across digital infrastructure, once considered neutral or privacy-protective, and one of the most disciplinarian proposals in the West. Two key amendments advanced during the Lords debate on January 21. Amendment 92 (“Action to Prohibit the Provision of VPN Services to Children in the United Kingdom”) requires VPNs that are “offered or marketed to persons in the United Kingdom” or “provided to a significant number of persons” to implement age assurance for UK users. The measure passed by 207 Content votes to 159 Not Content votes. Amendment 94a (“Action to Promote the Wellbeing of Children in Relation to Social Media”) mandates that all regulated user-to-user services introduce age assurance systems to prevent under-16s from “becoming or being users.” This proposal passed with 261 Content votes to 150 Not Content votes. Both amendments will proceed to the Bill’s next stage, the third reading in the House of Lords. Two other amendments, both more technologically intrusive, were discussed but rejected. Amendment 93, introduced by Lord Nash, would have compelled smartphone and tablet manufacturers, distributors, and importers to install “tamper-proof system software which is highly effective at preventing the recording, transmitting (by any means, including livestreaming) and viewing of CSAM using that device.” The only plausible way to enforce such a measure would be through constant, automated inspection of every photo, video, and stream on a device. This form of surveillance would have converted personal devices into continuous content monitors, raising severe privacy and accuracy concerns, including potential false positives. Lord Nash stated: “On Amendment 93, I have had a constructive discussion with Ministers on this issue and more discussions are in progress, so I will not push that to a vote today.” Amendment 108, proposed by Lord Storey, would have required user-to-user services “likely to be accessed by children” to set their own minimum age thresholds and use age assurance to enforce them. He argued that a single blanket ban under Amendment 94a was overly rigid. “Having different minimum ages for different platforms would be a better solution,” he said, maintaining that his version would be more effective in practice. Neither of these amendments passed, leaving Amendments 92 and 94a as the only ones to advance. The discussion highlights a deepening push within UK legislation to merge digital identity checks with online participation. While described as safeguarding children, the changes embed a new layer of identity verification across tools once used for privacy, such as VPNs. These services, designed to conceal personal browsing data and protect against profiling, would now face obligations to verify who their users are. This is a contradiction that could erode one of the few remaining shields for private internet use. For now, the most invasive surveillance measure, client-side scanning, has been set aside. However, the fact that it was seriously considered indicates continuing interest in embedding scanning mechanisms directly into personal devices. Whether similar proposals reappear during the third reading remains to be seen. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post UK House of Lords Votes to Extend Age Verification to VPNs appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

The Midterms: It's Not About 'Affordability' -- It's About Trump Hatred

Democrats have worked energetically in recent months to demonize and delegitimize the men and women of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — those whom Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz branded as "Trump's modern-day Gestapo."This messaging campaign helped set the stage for deadly confrontations such as those that led to Renee Good's death on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti's death on Saturday.'I won't vote to fund murder.'Now Democratic lawmakers — who wouldn't dream of letting a crisis go to waste — are threatening to shut down the government in order to starve the Department of Homeland Security of funds."What's happening in Minnesota is appalling — and unacceptable in any American city," said Democrat U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. "Democrats sought common-sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans' refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE. I will vote no."Schumer noted further that Senate Democrats "will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included."Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar echoed Schumer and signaled opposition to the so-called "ICE funding bill" as well — and numerous other anti-ICE Democrats followed suit.RELATED: 'Going to get someone killed': Democratic AG shocks with talk about shooting ICE agents in 'stand your ground' Arizona Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesDemocrat U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, for example, vowed to "do everything" he can to prevent the deployment of federal law enforcement in American cities, noting "that starts with voting no on DHS's budget this week."Ruben Gallego, another Democratic U.S. senator from Arizona, put it bluntly: "I won't vote to fund murder in the name of law enforcement."Democrat U.S. Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey said, "I’m not voting to fund this lawless violence. Trump’s abuse of power is tearing us apart.""The Senate should not vote to keep funding this rampage," wrote U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Ct.). "We are not powerless."The House of Representatives passed a three-bill minibus appropriations package in a 341-88 vote Thursday, which would fund the Departments of War, Labor, Transportation, Health and Human services, Education, and related agencies. In a separate vote of 220-207, the House reportedly also passed a funding bill for the DHS, which would allocate $64.4 billion to the department, including $10 billion for ICE.'The shutdown cost us a lot, and I think they'll probably do it again.'The four spending bills were combined with a pair of measures previously passed in the House then sent to the Senate for approval ahead of the Jan. 30 deadline.A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated that the DHS funding measure would not be decoupled from the others, reported NBC News.While the Senate was expected to vote on the funding package Monday evening, Thune spokesperson Ryan Wrasse indicated the vote would be postponed until Tuesday "due to the impending weather event that is expected to impact a significant portion of the country."In order to avoid a filibuster and pass the spending package, Republicans need 60 votes in the Senate where they have only 53 members — including U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has a habit of voting against spending bills.As of Sunday, the likelihood of another U.S. government shutdown by Jan. 31 was 76%, according to Polymarket.Just days before Pretti's fatal shooting by a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer, President Donald Trump told Fox Business, "I think we have a problem because I think we’re going to probably end up in another Democrat shutdown.""The shutdown cost us a lot, and I think they'll probably do it again. That's my feeling," continued the president. "We'll see what happens."The most recent government shutdown was the longest in the nation's history, lasting from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12, 2025 — a total of 43 days.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

So, About That Big Tough Guy 'Antifa-General' Who Told Minneapolis to Take Up Arms Against ICE? Yeah, LOL

Kathy Hochul Makes Outrageous Statement About Federal Storm Help Amid Reports of NYers Freezing to Death