From Greenland to Ukraine, Trump’s centralized diplomacy creates whiplash for allies
Minnesota Governor Calls for Removal of Federal Immigration Agents Following Pretti’s Death | Protests Erupt
Minnesota’s Democratic governor, Tim Walz, has demanded that US President Donald Trump pull “untrained” federal immigration agents out of the state after Border Patrol agents shot and killed a demonstrator in Minneapolis, the second such death in the city amid the ongoing crackdown.
As calls for an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, grow, Walz posed a question directly to Trump during a news briefing on Sunday.
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“What’s the plan, Donald Trump?” he asked, adding, “What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?”
The questions came after senior Trump administration officials defended Pretti’s killing, despite graphic video evidence appearing to contradict their accounts.
Federal agents shot and killed Pretti on Saturday while scuffling with him on an icy roadway in Minneapolis, less than three weeks after an immigration officer fired on Renee Good, also 37, killing her in her car.
Trump’s administration claimed that Pretti had intended to harm the agents, as it did after Good’s death, pointing to a pistol it said was discovered on him.
However, videos shared widely on social media and verified by US media showed Pretti never drawing a weapon, with agents firing about 10 shots at him seconds after he was sprayed in the face with a chemical irritant and thrown to the ground.
The videos further inflamed the ongoing protests in Minneapolis against the presence of federal immigration agents, with about 1,000 people participating in a demonstration on Sunday.
“The victims are border patrol agents,” Gregory Bovino, Border Patrol commander-at-large, told CNN’s State of the Union programme.
This official line, echoed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other members of the Trump administration on Sunday, led to outrage among local law enforcement, many Minneapolis residents and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Democratic strategist Arshad Hasan said Pretti’s killing and its aftermath were “deeply unsettling” and accused federal agents of turning a low‑crime city into an “occupation”.
“I don’t know why a government agency should get particular exemptions from due process when somebody is murdered… Homicide is a crime for which the state and local law enforcement have jurisdiction,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that the community was “grieving” and feeling “under siege”.
Holding a phone, not a gun
Videos from the scene show Pretti holding a phone in his hand, not a gun, as he tries to help other protesters who had been pushed to the ground by agents.
As one video begins, Pretti can be seen filming while a federal agent pushes away one woman and shoves another woman to the ground. Pretti moves between the agent and the women, then raises his left arm to shield himself as the agent pepper-sprays him.
Several agents then take hold of Pretti – who struggles with them – and force him onto his hands and knees. As the agents pin Pretti down, someone shouts what sounds like a warning about the presence of a gun.
Video footage then appears to show one of the agents removing a gun from Pretti and stepping away from the group with it.
Moments later, an officer with a handgun points at Pretti’s back and fires four shots in quick succession. Several more shots can then be heard as another agent appears to fire at Pretti.
Darius Reeves, the former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) field office in Baltimore, told the Reuters news agency that federal agents’ apparent lack of communication was troubling. “It’s clear no one is communicating… based on my observation of how that team responded,” Reeves said.
He drew attention to signs that an officer appeared to have taken possession of Pretti’s weapon before he was killed. “The proof to me is how everyone scatters,” he said. “They are looking around, trying to figure out where the shots came from.”
After top federal officials described Pretti as an “assassin” who had assaulted the agents, Pretti’s parents issued a statement on Saturday, condemning the Trump administration’s “sickening lies” about their son.
US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press programme, said that an investigation was necessary to get a full understanding of the killing.
Asked if agents had already removed the pistol from Pretti when they fired on him, Blanche said, “I do not know. And nobody else knows, either. That’s why we’re doing an investigation.”
Multiple senators from Trump’s Republican Party called for a thorough probe into the killing and for cooperation with local authorities. “There must be a full joint federal and state investigation,” Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said.
Thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed to heavily Democratic Minneapolis for weeks, after conservative media reported on alleged fraud by Somali immigrants.
Trump has repeatedly amplified the racially tinged accusations, including on Sunday, when he posted on his Truth Social platform: “Minnesota is a Criminal COVER UP of the massive Financial Fraud that has gone on!”
The city, known for its bitterly cold winters, has one of the country’s highest concentrations of Somali immigrants.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison pushed back against Trump’s claim. “It’s not about fraud, because if he sent people who understand forensic accounting, we’d be having a different conversation. But he’s sending armed masked men,” he said.
Senator Rosen Calls Gov. Noem’s Behavior ‘Deeply Shameful’ and Calls for Impeachment Amid Rising Anger Over Minneapolis Shooting
Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen is calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying that she believes Noem is attempting to “mislead the American public” about the fatal shooting of a 37 year-old protester in Minneapolis.
The call from Rosen, a moderate from Nevada who was part of the group that helped Republicans end the 43-day government shutdown last year, comes amid a growing fury from congressional Democrats who have also vowed to block funding for the Homeland Security Department. A House resolution to launch impeachment proceedings against Noem has the support of more than 100 Democrats, but few Senate Democrats have so far weighed in.
“Kristi Noem has been an abject failure leading the Department of Homeland Security for the last year — and the abuses of power we’re seeing from ICE are the latest proof that she has lost control over her own department and staff,” Rosen said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Rosen said Noem’s conduct is “deeply shameful” and she “must be impeached and removed from office immediately.”
Impeachment proceedings are unlikely in the GOP-controlled Congress, but mounting Democratic outrage over the violence in the streets of Minneapolis is certain to disrupt Senate Republican leaders’ hopes this week to quickly approve a wide-ranging spending bill and avoid a partial government shutdown on Jan. 30.
And while some moderate Democrats have been wary over the last year of criticizing the Trump administration on border and immigration issues, the fatal shootings in Minneapolis of Alex Pretti on Saturday and Renee Good on Jan. 7 have transformed the debate, even among moderates like Rosen.
Noem defends fatal shooting
The senator’s call for impeachment followed Noem’s quick defense, without a full investigation, of the fatal shooting of Pretti by a Border Patrol agent. Videos of the scene reviewed by The Associated Press appear to contradict statements by the Trump administration that the shots were fired “defensively” against Pretti as he “approached” them with a gun. Pretti was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, but he appears to be seen with only a phone in his hand in the videos.
During the scuffle, agents discovered that he was carrying a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and opened fire with several shots, including into his back. Officials did not say if Pretti brandished the weapon.
Noem said Pretti showed up to “impede a law enforcement operation.”
“This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement,” Noem said Sunday.
In her call for Noem’s impeachment, Rosen cited other issues beyond the current ICE operations. She said Noem has also “violated the public trust by wasting millions in taxpayer dollars” on self promotion and cited reports that the Coast Guard purchased her two luxury jets worth $172 million.
Senate anger over ICE violence
Rosen’s statement follows that of Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, who is one of the more left-leaning members of the Senate Democratic caucus. Markey said last week that Congress should begin impeachment proceedings against Noem, “who is right now actually orchestrating on the streets of our country this almost vigilantism on the part of ICE agents terrorizing cities all across the country.”
And while other senators stopped short of calling for Noem’s impeachment, several moderate Democrats who joined Rosen in voting to reopen the government last year said they would vote against Homeland Security funding this week even if it meant a government shutdown.
Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said that DHS is “brutalizing U.S. citizens and law-abiding immigrants.” Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said that “we are not living in normal times.”
As administration officials immediately defended the shooting, several Republicans have called for a thorough investigation, including Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
House Democrats increasingly back Noem’s impeachment
Calls for Noem’s impeachment also grew louder in the House as the Democratic caucus had a phone call with Minnesota’s Gov. Tim Walz and the state’s Attorney General Keith Ellison, both former congressmen, according to a person familiar with the private call who requested anonymity to discuss it.
Most of the House Democratic lawmakers who spoke during the meeting called for Noem’s impeachment, said another person familiar with the call who insisted on anonymity to discuss it.
New York Rep. Laura Gillen, a Democrat who was one of only seven House Democrats who voted to fund the Homeland Security Department last week, said Sunday that “there must be accountability, which is why Secretary Noem must be impeached immediately.”
“She is not focused on safety or border security; she’s focused on chaos and self-promotion, undermining local law enforcement and stoking violence as a result,” Gillen said in a post on X.
___
AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Analyzing the second Minneapolis shooting step by step
Bystander video footage has captured the moments before the killing of 37-year-old Minneapolis man Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers.
The killing comes less than three weeks after Renee Good was shot dead by an immigration agent in the city.
BBC Verify has analysed footage of the shooting from multiple angles, piecing together a detailed picture of what happened.
Ros Atkins’ report contains distressing images.
Verification by Emma Pengelly, Paul Brown and Benedict Garman. Graphics by Mesut Ersoz. Video produced by Tom Joyner.
Too Lost predicts a nine-figure annual revenue for 2026 with the addition of 100k new artists and labels in the previous year
New York-headquartered Too Lost, one of the fastest-rising players in the indie distribution sector, is forecasting a nine-figure annual revenue haul for the second consecutive year.
Founded in 2020 by Gregory Hirschhorn, Alex Silverstein, and Bjarki Lárusson, the company works with over 400,000 labels and artists, and has previously released music from acts including Teddy Swims, Tory Lanez, Pink Sweat$, Chief Keef, Royel Otis, KAYTRANADA, and Alex Warren.
The profitable company confirmed to MBW that it surpassed $100 million in annual revenue for 2025, having achieved 130% YoY growth in 2024.
Looking ahead to 2026, CEO Hirschhorn confirms that Too Lost is set to deliver yet another nine-figure annual revenue haul, projecting “significant high double-digit growth.”
That optimism is backed by momentum at year-end. Too Lost recorded 9% month-over-month growth in December, Hirschhorn told MBW, noting the growth rate “is not slowing down.”
Meanwhile, in a year-end letter to artists and partners shared with MBW, Hirschhorn revealed the company’s EBITDA more than doubled in 2025.
The company also paid out “tens of millions of dollars” in royalties to clients during the year, while its operational scale expanded substantially.
Too Lost says that it released more than 2.3 million new tracks across nearly 1 million releases during the year. More than 100,000 new artists and labels joined the platform, bringing the total user base to approximately 400,000.
Elsewhere in the letter, Hirschhorn revealed that Too Lost’s streaming performance accelerated significantly in 2025. The company reported that total streams doubled year-over-year, with Apple Music streams surging by more than 170%.
“The independent music industry continues to grow,” Hirschhorn wrote. “Since the beginning, we did all of this 100% independent. No outside investors. No handouts. Just hard work, passion, and love for the artists we get to work with every day.”
Hirschhorn also noted that Too Lost deployed significant capital into the independent ecosystem in 2025, making three notable investments in catalog acquisition and label infrastructure.
“In 2025, we deployed millions of dollars into new ventures, acquired millions of dollars’ worth of catalogs, and deployed more than $10 million in advances and marketing budgets to support independent artist growth,” he said.
“In 2025, we deployed millions of dollars into new ventures, acquired millions of dollars’ worth of catalogs, and deployed more than $10 million in advances and marketing budgets to support independent artist growth.”
Gregory Hirschhorn, Too Lost
In October, the company made a seven-figure investment in AntiFragile Equity Partners, a startup focused on acquiring and monetizing what it describes as undervalued music catalogs.
Later that month, Too Lost struck a partnership with Xposure Music to co-fund catalog acquisitions, with plans to deploy tens of millions of dollars in upcoming deals.
The company also invested seven figures into Rebellion Records, an independent label founded in 2023 that has generated approximately 5 billion streams since launch. Rebellion’s roster includes Chris Grey, who grew from 100,000 to over 6 million monthly Spotify listeners within his first year at the label.
Too Lost also expanded its global footprint in 2025, opening a new office in downtown Reykjavík (Iceland) and launching operations in the UK and Brazil through a joint venture with OnTheRadar.
“Today, Too Lost supports creators in more than 180 countries worldwide, with artists joining us from every corner of the globe,” wrote Hirschhorn.
In November, Too Lost secured a direct partnership with South Korean streaming service Melon, which counts over 6 million monthly active users.
The company now maintains integrations with more than 480 stores and services worldwide, adding partnerships with platforms including TikTok Commercial Library, Hook, Lissen, Eleven Labs, Nina Protocol, Turntable, and Soda Music during 2025.
In September, Too Lost partnered with direct-to-fan platform EVEN, allowing artists to sell music, merchandise, tickets, and exclusive experiences directly to fans.
High-profile signings during 2025 included The All-American Rejects, “whose viral house party tour became one of the most memorable moments of the year,” according to Hirschhorn.
He also noted in the letter that multiple Too Lost clients appeared on national television programs including Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
You can read Hirschhorn’s letter in full below:
As 2025 comes to a close, I’m incredibly proud of what the Too Lost team and our community of artists and labels accomplished this year.
2025 was another defining year for our company.
Too Lost’s annual revenue grew at a strong double digit rate, and EBITDA more than doubled. We experienced our largest year of streaming growth to date, with billions of streams and views delivered across platforms worldwide. We saw stream growth double, and on some platforms like Apple Music, streams grew by more than 170%.
Behind the scenes, we continued to invest heavily in the foundation of the business. We added several new team members across our offices and opened a new office in downtown Reykjavík, expanding our international footprint and strengthening our ability to support creators around the world.
We also leaned further into long term investments in the independent ecosystem. In 2025, we deployed millions of dollars into new ventures, acquired millions of dollars’ worth of catalogs, and deployed more than $10M in advances and marketing budgets to support independent artist growth.
Artists and their success remained the core of everything we did. This year we signed incredible artists and partners. We announced investments and partnerships into catalog acquisition firms AntiFragile Equity Partners and Xposure Music, and record labels like Rebellion Records. We signed amazing artists like The All-American Rejects – whose viral house party tour became one of the most memorable moments of the year. We saw many of our clients perform live on global tours, both as openers and headliners. Our clients appeared on national television, such as Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. We launched our sync division, securing several large placements across films, commercials, video games, etc.
2025 was also a major year for global expansion. Through our joint venture with OnTheRadar, we launched in the UK and Brazil, releasing nearly 200 original freestyles to streaming services from artists in those regions. UK-based Heatwave Records, one of our fastest growing record label partners, saw multiple viral charting hits in 2025. Today, Too Lost supports creators in more than 180 countries worldwide, with artists joining us from every corner of the globe.
Product velocity reached an all time high this year. We launched our mobile apps on iOS and Android, introduced AI Mastering and Apple Digital Master delivery, and rolled out our enterprise and white label suite – with more than 60 white labeled organizations already onboarded in just a month after launch.
We introduced new payout providers, such as Manifest, features like bulk royalty split creation, enhanced delivery logs, and internal release notes to improve user experience. We added account connection tools for Audiomack and EVEN.
On the analytics side, we expanded significantly. In 2025 we launched real-time stream rate data by month, store, service, and territory. We also introduced daily Usage Discovery matches, Spotify Discovery Mode metrics and trends, TikTok Music and Resso analytics, VEVO analytics, YouTube MCN sales reporting, and dozens of new platform specific analytics integrations – including Audiomack, Mixcloud, Jaxsta, Trebel, Soundtrack Your Brand, iTunes, Alibaba, Pinterest, WhatsApp, QQ Music, KKBOX, Jiosaavn, WeSing, Douyin, and more.
We also continued expanding our DSP ecosystem, securing new partnerships with platforms like Melon, TikTok Commercial Library, Hook, Lissen, Eleven Labs, Singa, Taobao, Nina Protocol, Turntable, Rythm, Soda Music, Nuuday, Coda Music, and others. Too Lost is now integrated with over 480 stores and services around the world.
The scale of activity on the platform speaks for itself. In 2025 alone, we released over 2.3 million new tracks across nearly one million new releases. Too Lost labels and artists sent more than 4 million Fan Blasts. Millions of matches were made on unlicensed content using our Usage Discovery tool. Thousands of catalogs were migrated into Too Lost from incumbent distribution solutions. We paid out tens of millions of dollars to our clients, and welcomed over one hundred thousand new artists and labels to Too Lost.
The industry took notice as well. Too Lost and its founders were recognized on the 2025 Forbes 30 under 30 list, 2025 Inc. 5000 list (landing at #90 overall, #2 in media and entertainment and #7 in New York), named to Billboard’s 40 Under 40, and included among Billboard’s Indie Power Players – honors that reflect the collective effort of our team and the trust of our artist community.
We continued to move fast without losing focus, to build ambitious products while staying grounded in service, and to scale without losing sight of why Too Lost exists in the first place.
The independent music industry continues to grow. Since the beginning, we did all of this 100% independent. No outside investors. No handouts. Just hard work, passion and love for the artists we get to work with everyday.
To our artists and labels: thank you for trusting us with your art. We are so excited to grow with you next year.
To our store and service partners: thank you for building alongside us, valuing music and the artists who make it.
To our team: thank you for the late nights, the problem solving, and the relentless care you bring to this mission every day.
We’re just getting started. Here’s to 2026.
Music Business Worldwide
Donald Trump’s influence on the recent change in US defense strategy
Last month, the United States published a National Security Strategy that marked a clear departure from its post-Cold War policies.
This week, a Pentagon Defense Strategy followed, echoing what was revealed by the White House.
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Rooted in President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach, it prioritises homeland security and influence in the Western Hemisphere.
The new strategy came as no surprise. Trump and his officials have been engaged in often-heated debates with close allies about what role the US is expected to play in their defence.
So, what’s the fallout for America’s allies around the world?
Presenter: James Bays
Guests:
Adam Clements – US foreign policy analyst and former Pentagon official
Marina Miron – Researcher with Defence Studies Department at King’s College London
Youngshik Bong – Visiting professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Yonsei University and adviser to South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence
Published On 25 Jan 2026
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Julio Cesar Chavez describes one fighter’s punch as feeling like ‘a bat’: “Toughest opponent in 115 fights”
Julio Cesar Chavez once named the ‘hardest hitter’ he faced during his remarkable 115-fight career, admitting that even a jab would shake him down to his boots.
The Mexican, of course, was no feather-fisted customer himself, ending 85 of his 107 professional victories inside the distance prior to his retirement in 2005.
Before suffering his first defeat to Frankie Randall, another heavy-handed operator, in 1994, Chavez had cultivated an astonishing 90-fight unbeaten run while also becoming a three-division world champion.
With Randall amassing 42 stoppages in 58 victories, many would suspect that he was the most potent puncher that Chavez ever encountered.
Even the likes of Meldrick Taylor and Hector Camacho, two of Chavez’s most notable opponents, could generate considerable power with their blistering fists.
According to the man himself, though, it was actually Puerto Rican banger Edwin Rosario who made him feel as if he was getting hit with a bat.
The pair squared off in 1987, back when Rosario was the defending WBA world lightweight champion and Chavez had just moved up from 130lbs.
Rosario had previously claimed the WBC title at 135lbs and, despite having suffered defeats to Camacho and Jose Luis Ramirez, he had also secured significant victories over the likes of Randall and Livingstone Bramble ahead of his clash with Chavez.
Speaking at a press conference in 2016, Chavez, who won their fight via an 11th-round stoppage, named Rosario as the most powerful fighter he ever came up against.
“He was the hardest hitter, I swear to God, out of all 115 of my fights. He would hit me with a jab and it felt like he was hitting me in the head with a bat.”
Rosario ended his career with a formidable record of 47-6 (40 KOs) in 1997, before tragically losing his life at the age of just 34.
Affordable Clarity with CNVPro Night Vision Binoculars
The second I picked up the CNVPros, I immediately thought to myself, “Are they heavy? Yeah? That means they’re expensive, put ’em back.” The nighttime ‘nocs have a bit of heft to them, and they feel like they should cost way more than they do.
The Cigman CNVPro binoculars use a legit Sony Starvis 2 CMOS sensor around 1/1.8-inch – which is big for digital night vision gear, and bigger is better, in this case. It’s paired to a 25-mm f/0.8 lens that pulls in a ton of light. That’s really fast for consumer tech. In this case, the smaller the f-stop, the better. And there’s a high-resolution 4-inch screen that takes up your entire field of vision when you’ve got them pressed to your face, so you can see every detail.
Now we’re talking!
IR Mode:
The onboard IR flashlight has a ridiculously long throw at full power, and you can see crazy far at night. In fact, when trying to look at things within ~20 ft (6 m) in front of you, the IR light might just be a tad too much at times, simply whiting out the image. Thankfully, it has four levels of adjustability to tone it down when needed. Though, admittedly, it can be a bit clunky trying to adjust it on the fly while also trying to maintain focus (we’ll get to that part).
JS @ New Atlas
When scouting around the neighborhood in IR mode, I could literally see the powerful IR beam through the binoculars, and even though I know IR light isn’t visible to the human eye, I still felt like a total creeper casting this “bright” invisible beam on peoples’ houses …
“I’m sorry, officer – I’m doing it for a review, I swear!”
Color mode:
I was genuinely surprised the moment I put the ‘nocs up to my face. Colors were natural and very much like what I’d see with the naked eye. I have to say that the Cigmans were one of the best, if not the best, I’ve tested so far in terms of color replication and clarity. Wide open, the image was super sharp, even at near-complete darkness.
Cigman CNVPro Night Vision Binoculars Footage
Things I have opinions about:
Zoom is where things get a bit tricky. Usable zoom in the dark, in my opinion, only goes out to about 2.6–3X before the artifacts really start showing up. That’s true for both color and IR mode, though IR handles a bit more zoom slightly better, I think. When you dive into 8X zoom in the dark, it almost feels pointless, like “Why did they even include this as a feature?”. During the day, 8X is still slightly pixelated, but it’s usable, so maybe that’s why they included it.
I would love to see autofocus on these neat little night-vision binocs. While the focus ring feels high-quality, it’s somewhat on the small side and sits over a single lens – not like traditional binoculars, where it sits between the pods – which makes tracking a little difficult.
I have a photography background and have taken millions of photos of things traveling at 150+ mph, sometimes only feet away, so I have, let’s just say, quite a bit of experience with focus rings and the like. I imagine someone without that same background might find the manual focus a bit tricky, especially when also zooming. I did hand the binocs off to a few people to try, and it did take a bit of getting used to for them.
Once focus is dialed in, however, the optics are super sharp. Much sharper than other digital screens I’ve tested in the past, and more like true glass elements.
JS @ New Atlas
Image stabilization would be nice, too. The heft – all ~2 lb (0.91 kg) – of the Cigmans helps with stability, but even one stop of optical – or digital, at the very least – stabilization would turn this reasonably priced, great piece of gear into a professional-grade piece of equipment. It would also, almost certainly, raise the reasonable US$269 price point to something less reasonable or accessible. If you maintain three points of contact while scanning, it’s absolutely stable enough, but maybe I’m just a little spoiled.
My biggest complaint:
The button layout is on top, making it an easy reach to pretty much every feature without having to pull the nocs away from your face. Zoom, IR/color swap functions, flashlight, everything. But, it might just be me: the order doesn’t make much sense, and I find it not particularly intuitive. Even the zoom in/out feels backwards with the + on the left and the – on the right. But kudos for everything being within easy reach.
JS @ New Atlas
Some tech specs:
The unit is powered by a 5,000-mAh rechargeable battery that should net you about 18 hours of use before needing to be plugged in (USB-C). A little less (15 hours) in IR mode with the flashlight cranked up. It has Wi-Fi app control for your phone, too, but I didn’t personally put that to the test. I tend to steer clear of giving review products access to “phone home,” and would rather just pull the memory card out to grab footage.
It has an IP54 rating, meaning it’s water- and dust-resistant, so it should be fine in the rain, but I wouldn’t go fording any rivers with it. It has a wide range of operating temperatures, from -4 °F to 149 °F (-20 °C to 65 °C), which means you can pretty much use it in most places on Earth just fine.
JS @ New Atlas
The CNVPro night ‘nocs also have a built-in microphone and the ability to record not only what you see at 4K or 52MP, but also what you hear, which is a nice touch. So when you’re ‘Squatch hunting in the woods, people will finally believe you when you show them your blurry, out-of-focus IR shot of him. Or better yet, they’ll hear your screams when you finally get that elusive video of Bigfoot in sharp, clear 4K – and with audio good enough to hear the leaves rustling.
Jurassic Park: heavy = expensive
Of the NVGs I’ve used or tested over the years, these fall within the top of the list. You’re not going to be able to actively walk and navigate while using them like you would the Akaso Sight 300, but that’s not what these are made for. You’re not going to get the detail that you would from a white phosphor rig like the RVM-14, but you’re also not going to be paying upwards of $4,000. The CNVPros are an observation-only type NV choice that’s budget-friendly and lets you see in the dark pretty dang good for the price.
All in all, I’d call the Cigman CNVPro night vision binoculars a solid win.
Product page: Cigman CNVPro and Amazon (currently on sale for $189.99)
New Atlas may receive commission on purchases through our links. This does not affect our reviews. Our reviews are impartial and our opinions are our own.
Human rights group reports Venezuela releases many political prisoners
A leading Venezuelan human rights group says at least 80 political prisoners have been released under pressure from the US.
Alfredo Romero, head of Foro Penal, said his group was verifying the identities of those freed from prisons across the country on Saturday – and more releases were likely to take place.
It is the latest batch of detainees released since the US seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a raid, and took him to New York to stand trial on drug-trafficking charges earlier this month.
On Friday Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez said more than 600 prisoners had been freed – but Foro Penal says this figure has been inflated.
Romero announced the releases on social media. He also posted an image of Foro Penal colleague Kennedy Tejeda who he said had been held in Tocorón prison, west of the capital caracas since August 2024.
In a post on X, Foro Penal lawyer Gonzalo Himiob said the number of releases could rise above 80 “as we proceed with verification”.
Previously, Foro Penal said that many those freed in recent weeks have not had the charges against them dropped.
This has left them in legal limbo and they have been barred from speaking in public, the group said.
Before this weekend’s developments, the group had confirmed the release of just 156 political prisoners since 8 January.
Some domestic opposition figures and at least five Spanish nationals are among those confirmed to have been freed so far.
Separately, Rodriguez said she was due to have a call on Monday with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, to ask the UN to verify the lists of those released so far.
Human rights groups and activists have long accused the government of using detentions to muzzle critics. The Venezuelan government has denied holding political prisoners, insisting they were arrested for criminal activity.
Many were detained after the 2024 presidential election, when Maduro claimed victory despite opponents and many countries disputing the results.