Reuters World News - Iran’s internet blackout, Portland shooting and Russia’s ballistic missile

Episode Date: January 9, 2026

Iran is cut off from the Internet as anti-government protests spread. Federal agents shoot two people during a traffic stop in Portland as protests intensify nationwide over the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. And Russia fires an intermediate‑range ballistic missile in strikes on Ukraine. Recommended Read - Meta created ‘playbook’ to fend off pressure to crack down on scammers, documents show Find our Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices.  You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. It's Friday, January 9th. Today, two people are shot and wounded by federal agents at a traffic stop in Portland. Legal options for prosecuting the ICE agent who shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis a day earlier appear slim as protests over the killing spread. Russia launches an intermediate range ballistic missile and airstrikes on Ukraine, and the Trump administration weighs individual payouts to Greenlanders to take over the territory. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. Iran's internet has gone completely dark, according to monitoring groups, as protests over economic hardships spread across the country.

In Mashad, demonstrators tore down a huge Iranian flag, ripping it into peace. on the ground. Reuters was able to verify the location of the video, but not the date. The protests are the biggest in three years, which was sparked by the real currency's freefall. Demonstrators are angry over inflation, economic mismanagement, and curbs on political and social freedoms. A man and a woman have been shot and wounded by federal agents, this time in Portland, Oregon.

Here's Portland's mayor, Keith Wilson. Earlier today, I spoke with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry. We shared not just our concerns, but our grief for the families who are suffering and grief for the recklessness of our federal government. The Department of Homeland Security says border agents were conducting a targeted vehicle stop and that the driver was a suspected member of the Venezuelan gang, Trendyaragua. They say the driver, quote, weaponized the vehicle and that the agent fired in self-defense.

The condition of the two people shot, a man and a woman, are unknown. The shooting comes just a day after ICE agents shot and killed mother of three Renee Good in Minneapolis, a killing which is sparking protests across the country. In New York, marches demanded ICE leave their city. We want the murderer of Renee Nicole Good to be brought to justice. to be jailed. ICE is a terrorist organization. They come into our streets, they hurt our people,

they need to go. Ice go home. Back in Minneapolis, ICE go home! Ice go home! I have six children and I can't imagine the fear that she must have been feeling trying to get away and then her children

not having mom to come home, not having mom to tuck them in. One protester holds a sign that reads, You can't shoot us all. You're not here to keep us safe. We're not sick. The killing of Renee Good has become the latest raw shark test in a polarised America.

The Trump administration says it was self-defense and that she tried to run over offices. But video verified by Reuters and local officials are casting serious doubt on that account, showing the driver turning away from officers when shots were fired. But even if the ICE agent were found to be at fault, any hopes of accountability is slim, according to our legal reporter,

Jack Queen. So this case is a little unusual because the ICE agent is a federal officer, and state prosecutors could charge him. However, they would run into issues with his legal immunity as a federal officer, which is a pretty powerful shield for federal agents who are accused of engaging in misconduct. So the case would come down to whether this officer has that federal immunity. And federal officers have this broad immunity unless they did something that violated a clear constitutional right and did it in a very obvious way. Now that's kind of sounds funny legally, but that is the legal standard. And it's generally very hard to prove that someone violated that. Those protections also make any potential civil cases less likely as well. If the family of this woman

were to sue the federal government for damages or sue the ICE agent, he could have, the case moved to federal court and then the United States would be substituted as the defendant and would argue that the officer had immunity for these actions because he was carrying them out in the line of duty as part of his official duties and that what he did was necessary and proper. That's the legal standard there. The Russian military says it's fired an intermediate range ballistic missile in an air attack on Ukraine's energy facilities and drone sites. It's a rarer deployment of one of the country's most advanced weapons.

The Orishnik missile can contain multiple warheads and carry either conventional or nuclear payloads. While Russia did not say where the Orishnik hit, Russian drone attacks on Thursday plunged two regions into near total blackout. While in Kiev, Russian drones killed at least four people overnight. Ryo Tinto is in talks to buy Gepardin. Lenkour to create the world's biggest mining company. Peter Devlin from our sister Markets podcast Morning Bit is here with the latest.

So Peter, why is takeover fever gripping this sector? Well, Kim, it all comes down to one word, copper. We look at prices rising to about $13,000 a ton earlier this week, and those prices just seem to keep rising. Supply issues, mining issues. So why not just merge the two companies together? It sounds like a good term on paper. But really, there are some hurdles available.

in terms of valuations as well in the copper sector. So there could be a few canaries in the coal mine to watch out for. You can catch morning bid wherever you get your podcasts. The ayes are 52. The nays are 47. The motion is agreed to. Some rare congressional pushback against U.S. President Donald Trump. The Senate has advanced a resolution that would bar Trump from taking further military action against Venezuela

without congressional authorization. A handful of Republicans. voted with every Democrat in favor of moving ahead with the procedural measure to advance the war powers resolution. Trump slamming the Republicans who voted for the resolution, writing on truth social that they should, quote, never be elected to office again. At the moment, Trump appears more focused on controlling Venezuela's oil revenue than further military action. In an interview with The New York Times, Trump suggested the U.S. could oversee Venezuela for years, with hopes of boosting its oil output.

And today, Trump is expected to meet with oil executives at the White House to discuss ways to revive Venezuela's tattered oil sector. U.S. President Donald Trump is signaling a possible meeting with Venezuela's opposition leader. On Fox News, Trump says Maria Corina Machado is expected in Washington next week and says he's looking forward to saying hello. I've heard that she wants to do that, that to be a great honor. We have to rebuild the country. It would be Trump's first meeting with the Nobel Peace Prize winner,

and it comes as he says, oil executives are heading to the White House to discuss rebuilding Venezuela's oil industry. President Trump is continuing to float the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland, an autonomous Danish region in the Arctic. That raises the question, how do you come up with a price tag?

Well, the Trump administration is actively trying to figure that out, despite Denmark's repeated insistence that it's not for sale. Reporter Graham Slattery has the story. Your number one issue is that you're trying to buy an asset that's not for sale. You know, what the administration is considering doing is essentially sweetening the pot by administering transfer payments directly to Greenlanders. Some of the ideas they've talked about have ranged, you know, broadly between $10,000 and $100,000 per person. That's a big range.

But again, this is one of many. options. It doesn't really have many precedents. So you're sort of strategizing in a vacuum here. One potential path towards what you might call absorbing Greenland that's broadly talked about is goading Greenland to vote for its own independence from Denmark. Pulitzer that most Greenlanders want independence from Denmark, but Greenlandic legislators are to schedule that sort of referendum in part because Denmark itself pays a significant amount transfer payments to Greenland on an annual basis. So this would be, in theory, a way to incentivize Greenland to go independent from Denmark.

And if Greenland became independent from Denmark, then you could begin the process of trying to absorb the island. Lebanese presidency spokesperson Najat Sharafidin speaking to media, saying the government fully supports the army, which claims to have taken back control of the South, from Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters. The U.S. and Israel had demanded Hezbollah disarm after its war with Israel in 2024. Israel has been conducting near daily strikes in the south and sometimes more widely in Lebanon, accusing Hezbollah of trying to re-establish infrastructure.

And for today's recommended read, a Scammers Playbook. It's an interactive Reuters graphic that walks through step by step, how romance fraud gangs groom victims using fake relationships based on manuals seized in police raids in the Philippines. You can see excerpts from the handbooks, hear from experts, and follow how the deception unfolds. We'll drop a link in the description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.