Greta Thunberg detained by German police, Madonna announces greatest hits tour, and more trending news
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Here’s a look at today’s trending topics for Jan. 17.
Greta Thunberg
Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been detained by German police at a protest over the expansion of a coal mine in the west German village of Lützerath.
This is the second time Thunberg has been detained at the site, police spokesperson Christof Hüls told CNN Tuesday. She was part of a large group of protesters that broke through a police barrier and encroached on a coal pit, which authorities have not been able to secure entirely, Hüls said.
After the group advanced on the coal pit, police were concerned that the “masses of protesters” could set the ground in motion after it had been softened by rainfall during the last few days. Officers intervened, removing people from the “danger area” and detaining them, one of whom was Thunberg, according to police.
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“We knew who she was, but she did not get VIP treatment,” Hüls said. “She did not resist,” he added.
Madonna has announced a new world tour.
Madonna
Get ready for four decades of Madonna’s hits.
On Monday the superstar singer announced dates for “The Celebration Tour,” which according to her site, “will take us on Madonna’s artistic journey through four decades and pays respect to the city of New York where her career in music began.”
“I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for,” Madonna said in a statement.
The tour announcement had been expected as Madonna recently scrubbed her verified Instagram account, portending big news coming.
She had a cheeky bit of fun with the announcement, using some of her famous friends in a video nodding to her 1991 documentary, “Truth or Dare.”
Brian Walshe was charged on January 9 with misleading police in the investigation into his wife Ana Walshe’s disappearance.
Ana Walshe case
An arrest warrant charging Brian Walshe with murder was issued Tuesday in the death of his wife Ana Walshe, a Massachusetts mother of three who had been missing since the new year, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey announced.
Walshe, 47, pleaded not guilty last week to misleading investigators about his actions around the time his wife went missing. He is being held at the Norfolk County House of Corrections and will be transported to Quincy District Court to be arraigned on the murder charge on Wednesday, Morrissey said.
“Additional details in the investigation and the evidence in support of those charges are likely to be presented at arraignment but will not be disclosed at this time,” the prosecutor said.
An attorney for Brian Walshe declined to comment.
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Find out more about today’s trending topics here:
Todd and Julie Chrisley
World’s oldest person dies
Sundance returns
America has honored Martin Luther King Jr. with a federal holiday for nearly four decades yet still hasn’t fully embraced and acted on the lessons from the slain civil rights leader, his youngest daughter said Monday. The Rev. Bernice King, who leads The King Center in Atlanta, said leaders, especially politicians, too often cheapen her father’s legacy into a “comfortable and convenient King” offering easy platitudes. “We love to quote King in and around the holiday. … But then we refuse to live King 365 days of the year,” she declared at the commemorative service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her father once preached. The service, sponsored by the center and held at Ebenezer annually, headlined observances of the 38th federal King holiday.
The death toll from a weekend Russian missile strike on an apartment building in southeastern Ukraine has climbed to 45. The victims of the deadliest attack on civilians since the spring included six children. In Moscow, a makeshift memorial to the Dnipro attack’s victims appeared. It’s an unusual act in Russia, where even a hint of criticism of the government’s “special military operation” in Ukraine is often suppressed. Underscoring Russia’s growing military needs, the military will increase the number of troops from 1.15 million to 1.5 million. Ukraine’s first lady pressed leaders at the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering to exert influence against a Russian invasion she said is leaving children dying and the world struggling with food insecurity.
Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that his country plans to “join” the U.S. and Germany’s efforts to train and arm Ukraine with advanced Patriot defense systems. Rutte signaled the Netherlands intentions at the start of a White House meeting on Tuesday with President Joe Biden. Rutte’s announcement came after Ukraine had asked the Netherlands to provide “Patriot capacity.” Rutte told Dutch broadcaster NOS added that the military is now reviewing “what exactly we have, how can we ensure that it works well with the American and German systems.” Biden also used Tuesday’s meeting to discuss U.S. efforts to further limit China’s access to advanced semiconductors through export restrictions.
The ninth in a three-week series of major winter storms is churning through California. Mountain driving remains dangerous and flooding risk is high near swollen rivers, even as the sun has come out in some areas. Heavy snow continues to fall across the Sierra. The National Weather Service is discouraging travel. A barrage of atmospheric river storms has dumped rain and snow on California since late December, cutting power to thousands, swamping roads, unleashing debris flows, and triggering landslides. President Joe Biden will travel to California’s central coast on Thursday to visit areas that have been impacted by the extreme weather.
Nepalese authorities are returning to families the bodies of plane crash victims and are sending the aircraft’s data recorder to France for analysis as they try to determine what caused the country’s deadliest air accident in 30 years. The flight plummeted into a gorge on Sunday while on approach to the newly opened Pokhara International Airport in the foothills of the Himalayas, killing at least 70 of the 72 people aboard. Searchers found the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder on Monday, and combed through debris scattered down the 300-meter-deep ravine in search of the two missing, who are presumed dead. One body was found earlier Tuesday. Aviation experts say it appears the turboprop went into a stall at low altitude but it’s unclear why.
A failed Republican candidate who authorities say was angry over his defeat and made baseless claims the election last November was rigged against him has been arrested in connection with a series of drive-by shootings targeting the homes of Democratic lawmakers in New Mexico’s largest city. Police say Solomon Pena was arrested Monday evening, just hours after SWAT officers took him into custody and served search warrants at his home. Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina describes Pena as the “mastermind” of what he says appears to be a politically motivated conspiracy with four other men leading to shootings at the homes of two county commissioners and two state legislators between early December and early January.
Official statistics show that China’s population shrank for the first time in decades last year as its birthrate plunged. That adds to pressure on leaders to keep the economy growing despite an aging workforce and at a time of rising tension with the U.S. Despite the official numbers, some experts believe China’s population has been in decline for a few years. That’s a dramatic turn in a country that once sought to control such growth through a one-child policy. Many wealthy countries are struggling with how to respond to aging populations. But the demographic change will be especially difficult to manage in an middle-income economy like China’s. It does not have the resources to care for an aging population in the same way that one like Japan does.
A public memorial service for Lisa Marie Presley will be held next weekend at Graceland, the famed Memphis home of her father, Elvis Presley. A family representative says the memorial for Lisa Marie Presley will be held on the front lawn of the mansion at 9 a.m. on Jan. 22. The 54-year-old Presley died Thursday, hours after being hospitalized for a medical emergency. It was previously announced that Presley will be buried at Graceland next to her son, Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020. Elvis and other members of the Presley family are also buried at Graceland.
A scintillating wild-card weekend in the NFL playoffs ended with a snoozer. The Dallas Cowboys cruised to a 31-14 win over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. The Cowboys’ first road playoff win in 30 years was largely devoid of drama after a weekend full of tight games and incredible comebacks. Now it’s on to the divisional round, which begins Saturday. In the AFC, the Chiefs will host the Jaguars while the Bills host the Bengals. In the NFC, the Cowboys travel to the 49ers while the Giants hit the road against the Eagles.
Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu will go head to head in the second round of the Australian Open. The seventh-seeded Gauff is the 18-year-old American who reached the final of the French Open last year. She also won the title in Auckland earlier this month. Raducanu has been battling a left ankle injury. The 20-year-old British player has not gone past the second round in any Grand Slam event since she won the U.S. Open in 2021 as a teen. Defending men’s champion Rafael Nadal plays Mackenzie McDonald on Wednesday, while Iga Swiatek, the top-seeded woman, plays Camila Osorio.
Maya Moore has decided to retire officially from playing basketball. The Minnesota Lynx great stepped away from the WNBA in 2019 to help her now-husband Jonathan Irons win his release from prison by getting his 50-year sentence overturned in 2020. Irons married Moore soon after getting released and the couple had their first child in February. The 33-year-old Moore won four WNBA championships with the Minnesota Lynx, two Olympic gold medals with USA Basketball and two NCAA titles with UConn. She’ll be eligible for the Naismith Hall of Fame next year since she stopped playing four years ago.
