Pakistan’s military called for “dialogue” with “brotherly” Iran after both countries traded missile fire

On Wednesday, Iran bombed what it called militant bases in Pakistan. Pakistan called that illegal and on Thursday launched strikes against separatist groups in Iran, killing at least nine

In a statement, though, Pakistan’s military called for bilateral talks to de-escalate the situation

A prosecutor investigating an attack on an Ecuadorian TV station was killed on Wednesday, Ecuador’s attorney general announced

Last week, masked gunmen stormed a TV station in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city. They forced staff to the ground and reportedly shot two

Ecuadorian police arrested 13 people related to the incident, and in part due to the attack, Ecuador’s president called on the country’s military to “neutralize” the country’s drug gangs

On Wednesday, gunmen assassinated a prosecutor investigating the TV station raid. As recently as Tuesday, the prosecutor had complained to a newspaper that he wasn’t receiving protection

187,000 Americans submitted state unemployment claims in the week through January 13, the lowest number in 16 months

That figure was 20,000 lower than expected and 16,000 lower than the previous week

Unemployment claims serve as a barometer of the overall strength of the US labor market, suggesting that relatively few Americans are getting laid off despite high interest rates

A billionaire donor to Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley told the Financial Times that further support for her hinges on her performance at next week’s New Hampshire primary

Ken Langone, Home Depot’s co-founder, told the FT that he is prepared to give Haley “a nice sum of money,” but not if she “doesn’t get traction in New Hampshire”

Haley finished in third place behind Ron DeSantis at the Iowa Caucus, but her campaign is reportedly optimistic she will perform better in the more left-leaning New Hampshire

Police in Newport Beach, California said they will not charge Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey for his alleged relationship with a minor

In November, allegations emerged on social media that 21-year-old Giddey – the #6 pick in the 2021 NBA draft – had a relationship with a 15-year-old

Pictures showed the two hugging, and in one caption, the alleged victim wrote, “just f*cked josh giddey”

The NBA could punish Giddey itself, although until now it has deferred to the police investigation

Congress passed a temporary spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown on Friday

The House passed the bill 314 to 108 on Thursday, with roughly half of Republicans voting against it. The Senate had passed it 77 to 18 earlier in the day

The bill will fund the government until at least March, at which point Congress will need to act again to either pass full-year spending bills or continue passing temporary “stopgap” bills

Further-right Republicans opposed the stopgap bill, arguing budget reductions are necessary

Today’s deep-dive stories are:

Peace for Gaza?

DoJ: Uvalde response was a “failure”

A husky prevents an explosion

The EU proposed a streaming overhaul

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