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Australia and climate change: As wildfires ravage the continent, two U.S. agencies reported the 2010s were the hottest decade ever recorded on Earth and perhaps the hottest it’s been at any point since the dawn of civilization, or roughly 11,500 years.
Baseball: The manager and general manager of the Houston Astros were fired after Major League Baseball fined and sanctioned the team for a sign-stealing scheme.
British royal family: As Meghan Markle and Prince Harry step back from their duties as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, questions of racism in the family linger about what drove the couple’s decision.
California: The state is not on track to meet its 2030 climate goals, according to a new report from the Energy Policy Simulator.
China signs phase one of new trade deal with the U.S.: The Central Kingdom agreed to buy $200 billion worth of goods from the U.S. as part of a deal that followed the Treasury department dropping its designation of China as a currency manipulator.
Cory Booker drops out of the 2020 Democratic primary: The New Jersey senator ended his presidential campaign amid money and polling struggles.
Democratic candidates debate who lied about what: Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders sparred over claims that Sanders told Warren a woman could not win the upcoming presidential election.
Impeachment: The Senate on Thursday commenced the first-ever trial of a first-term president seeking re-election. President Donald Trump faces charges related to his administration’s withholding of military aid for Ukraine, which Democrats allege Trump did to pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, his potential rival in the upcoming election.
Iran: The government announced that it arrested several people over the downing of a Ukrainian airliner that killed all 176 people on board.
Libya: General Khalifa Haftar, a warlord in the country, agreed to abide by an existing ceasefire in the country on Jan. 16 after Russia and Turkey brokered the deal with the internationally-recognized government in Tripoli, Politico reported. Haftar controls a rival faction in the country opposed to the Tripoli administration.
Oscars: Zero women were nominated in the Best Director category ahead of the 92nd annual Academy Awards as the organization behind the show faces scrutiny for insufficient efforts to diversify.
Syria: More than 20 people were killed in government bombings of rebel-held areas of the Idlib province, in spite of a ceasefire agreement that went into effect on January 12, according to Al Jazeera.
Ukraine: Government officials there announced an investigation into reports that Russian hackers gained access to computers of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.
