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Written by Hanna Lee Copy Editor, Digital News
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Good morning. Prime Minister Mark Carney and his cabinet will be in Quebec City until tomorrow, charting out a path for the new year. Global alliances may feel more strained than ever, and we'll soon see how Canada plans to handle it. We'll also look at how groups outside of Iran are counting the dead in the country amid a continued internet blackout, and lay out the details of Netflix's sweetened bid for Warner Bros.
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THE LATEST
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- A Cuban-born immigrant died of homicide at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Texas, autopsy finds.
- Rescue efforts are underway after landslides hit a New Zealand campground and house.
- The Academy Award nominations will be out today at 8:30 a.m. ET.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting a U.S. delegation in Moscow today to discuss Ukraine.
- The military committee, NATO's highest military authority, is meeting today and tomorrow in Brussels.
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FEATURED STORIES
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(Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
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Carney meets with cabinet fresh after forceful speech aimed at Trump administration
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After grabbing the world's attention in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney is now huddling with his cabinet in Quebec City to figure out the government's plan for the new year.
What's happening: The group will be in Quebec's capital until tomorrow in what's being called a planning forum ahead of Parliament's return next week. The official agenda includes the economy, affordability and security; U.S. trade and tariffs will be top of mind, as well. Carney will also brief his ministry on his controversial deal with China. Things aren't "business as usual," said Marci Surkes, who previously ran policy and cabinet affairs for the Prime Minister's Office under Justin Trudeau. "This is almost a warlike footing." Indeed, the geopolitical picture has shifted since the House of Commons rose for its holiday break, with the U.S. seizure of Venezuela and intensified demands to control Greenland. Domestic politics, too, have shifted, with Michael Ma joining the Liberals and longtime MP Chrystia Freeland departing the party.
Speaking of Greenland: U.S. President Donald Trump suddenly dropped his insistence on taking control of the island. Soon after making his case for the territory at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he posted online that he had formed the "framework of a future deal" with NATO head Mark Rutte, in a meeting that lasted less than an hour. Few specifics on that agreement have emerged, but it's clear it doesn't include Denmark handing the island over. It also means Trump won't be levying the tariffs he had planned against several European countries who had sent troops to Greenland last week.
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As protests in Iran are silenced, rights groups work to count the dead amid internet blackout
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As Iran's internet blackout continues, a slow, steady death count is taking place from outside the country, in an attempt to measure the extent of the violent crackdown on anti-government protesters earlier this month.
What's happening: Analysts say that even with what's known so far, this is the most brutal crackdown since the founding of the Islamic Republic nearly 50 years ago. Organizations say more than 4,000 protesters and counting have been verified dead; Iranian state television put the number at just over 3,000 on Wednesday. Human rights groups, working from countries like the U.S. and the Netherlands, are getting information from Iranian Starlink users — there are an estimated 50,000 terminals in the country — who can sometimes work around the blackout.
Why it matters: The regime's violence appears to have been effective, largely quelling protests that erupted last month as anger over Iran's failed economy quickly spiralled into demands for an end to its repressive theocracy. Trump quickly made headlines when he pledged to "send help" to protesters earlier this month, encouraging them to take to the streets. Such help never arrived, and his threats to intervene have tapered off. As for the country's future, without the lifting of U.S.-led sanctions that have helped cripple its economy, along with corruption and mismanagement, no clear off-ramp for the regime exists.
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Netflix just sweetened its $72B US bid for Warner Bros. Here's how the deal happened
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Netflix offered Warner Bros. Discovery a new deal for its streaming and studio division: $72 billion US in cash.
What's happening: The streaming giant has been embroiled in a battle over the deal for months with Paramount Skydance, which wants to acquire the entire company. Netflix announced the move the same day as its fourth-quarter earnings; it told investors it's meant to show "greater certainty of value that will be delivered at closing." Warner Bros., for its part, has rejected Paramount's $108.4-billion US hostile bid, encouraging shareholders to vote for the Netflix deal.
Looking ahead: While the deal is largely seen as critical for Paramount, it's unclear how necessary it is for Netflix, said analyst Geetha Ranganathan. However, subscriber growth has slowed, concerning investors, and the streamer is now relying on engagement to boost its value; the deep Warner Bros. catalogue, which includes properties like Harry Potter and many Hollywood classics, could help with that. A shareholder vote on the latest offer will come sooner now that it's all in cash, Ranganathan said. But it's subject to U.S. regulator approval — and even with that, the future remains uncertain.
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