Magnitude 4.4 earthquake jolts Northern California

"A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck eastern Mendocino County on Tuesday afternoon, shaking a rural area southeast of Willits, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The quake occurred at 1:10 p.m. local time and was centered roughly 6 miles east-southeast of Willits, the agency said. It struck at a depth of just under 5 miles, a level that can produce noticeable shaking near the surface." msn

Drones strike three oil tankers off Russian Black Sea coast, disrupting Kazakh exports

"Drones struck three oil tankers near the Russian Black Sea coast damaging vessels waiting to load Kazakh crude at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal, Kazakhstan’s state oil company..... two of the tankers — Delta Harmony and Matilda — were attacked near the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) marine terminal. The vessels were waiting offshore to load Kazakh crude at the CPC’s Black Sea terminal." NV

Trump issues ominous warning against Iran if regime hangs protesters

"President Trump on Tuesday threatened to take “very strong action” against the Iranian regime if anti-government protesters are executed.

“I haven’t heard about the hanging. If they hang ’em, you’re gonna see some things that – I don’t know what you’re – where you come

from and what your thought process is, but you’ll perhaps be very happy,” Trump told CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil during an interview in Detroit.
When Dokoupil asked the president to clarify what he meant, Trump responded: “If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action.”
Trump said the “endgame” of taking strong action against Tehran would be “to win,” and implied that it would involve a military operation when asked how he would define victory in Iran.
“Well, let’s define it in Venezuela. Let’s define it with al Baghdadi. He was wiped out. Let’s define it with Soleimani, and let’s define it in Iran, where [the US military] wiped out the Iran nuclear threat in a period of about 15 minutes once the B-2s got there,” the president explained.
“We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen,” Trump continued. “And, you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing. When they start killing thousands of people – and now you’re telling me about hanging – we’ll see how that works out for them.
It’s not going to work out good.” 

NYP

Russia's own air defense missile hits apartment building in Rostov-on-Don, fire seen at nearby factory

"A Russian air defense missile reportedly struck a residential building in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don overnight on Jan. 14, according to eyewitness reports and footage uploaded to social media.
Residents reported explosions in the city overnight and posted videos showing air defenses at

work over Rostov, according to Russian Telegram media channels. Russian authorities warned of a Ukrainian drone attack and also issued multiple missile warnings for the region.
Rostov-on-Don Mayor Alexander Skryabin confirmed reports of a fire at an apartment, although he claimed that the fire was a result of Ukrainian drone debris. Rostov Oblast Governor Yuri Slyusar said that a man was killed after an apartment caught fire.
Slyusar also claimed that an industrial enterprise caught fire due to the drone attack, though he did not disclose the name of the facility. He also claimed that a multistory residential building was on fire and that emergency crews were at work on the scene.
Footage on social media suggests the target may have been fuel storage tanks the Empils paint coating factory, although it was not immediately clear as to whether Ukrainian or Russian fire was responsible for the reported damage." KI

Ukrainian veteran politician Yulia Tymoshenko charged in corruption case

"Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party, has been charged in a corruption case, Olha Postolyuk, a spokesperson for the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), told the news outlet Suspilne on Jan. 14.
The SAPO and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said on Jan. 13 that the leader of a political party in Ukraine's parliament (Verkhovna Rada) had been offering bribes to other lawmakers in exchange for votes.

While the anti-corruption agencies did not name the lawmaker or the party, a law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent that NABU and SAPO were carrying out searches of the Batkivshchyna party's offices.
Tymoshenko confirmed the searches in a Facebook post on Jan. 14 and argued that they "have nothing to do with law or legality."
"They found nothing, so they just took my work phones, parliamentary documents, and personal savings, all of which are fully declared in my official statement of assets," Tymoshenko added. "I categorically reject all the absurd accusations."
She also wrote that "it seems the elections are much closer than they appeared, and someone has decided to start clearing out the competition."
NABU reported on Jan. 13 that its investigators had "exposed" the leader of a parliamentary faction for offering bribes to representatatives of other parties in exchange for votes on specific bills. While not naming the politician or party, the agency said additional details would follow and that charges were being prepared under Ukraine's Criminal Code." KI

Ukrainian parliament approves dismissal of Zelensky’s defense minister

"Lawmakers in the Ukrainian parliament, the Rada, approved the resignation of Defense

Minister Denis Shmigal in a vote held on Tuesday.
Shmigal stepped down last week amid an ongoing cabinet reshuffle ordered by Vladimir Zelensky, following a major corruption scandal that has implicated several of his close associates and triggered a wave of high-level resignations.
During Tuesday’s session, members of the Rada backed Shmigal’s dismissal with 265 votes, comfortably exceeding the 226-vote threshold required for approval." RT

F2 tornado damages hundreds of homes in São José dos Pinhais, Brazil

"An F2 tornado struck Guatupê, São José dos Pinhais, in Brazil damaging hundreds of homes
and leaving 2 people with minor injuries. The tornado damaged around 350 homes, impacting about 1 200 people, and left at least 2 people with minor injuries. Strong winds and heavy rains also affected the region, downing at least 57 trees in Curitiba, with winds reaching 70 km/h (43 mph) through the day." W

5.3 Earthquake - Aru Sea, 189 km south of Pulau Jeudin Island, Maluku, Indonesia

"A strong magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurred in the Aru Sea 198 km (123 mi) from Maluku,
Indonesia, in the late afternoon at 7.37 pm local time (GMT +9). The quake had a moderate depth of 132 km (82 mi) and was not felt (or at least not reported so)." VD

Landslide kills at least 13, leaves 30 missing in Burutsi village, North Kivu, DR Congo

"A landslide killed at least 13 people and left 30 more missing in the Burutsi village,
Kashebere area of Walikale Territory, DR Congo." W

Rare meteotsunami causes deadly surge along Santa Clara del Mar coast, Argentina

"A strong meteotsunami impacted Argentina’s Atlantic coast generating an abrupt sea-level
rise and destructive waves that struck Santa Clara del Mar and nearby beaches in Mar Chiquita Partido. The event occurred during the late afternoon, between 16:20 and 17:00 local time (19:20–20:00 UTC), while beaches were full under hot summer conditions.
Witnesses reported the sea suddenly withdrawing several meters before returning as a violent surge that inundated the shore and threw people and objects inland." W

141 clashes on front line over past day

"141 combat clashes between the Defense Forces of Ukraine and Russian invaders were recorded.
Airstrikes were carried out on the areas of Voloska Bakaliia in the Kharkiv region; Malomykhailivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region; and Zaliznychne, Rizdvianivka, Dolynka, and Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Aircraft, missile forces, and artillery of the Defense Forces struck two command posts, eight areas of concentration of personnel and equipment, four artillery systems, and two UAV control points of the Russians.

In the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk sectors, the enemy carried out 129 shelling attacks, including 12 from multiple launch rocket systems.
In the Southern Slobozhanshchyna sector, Ukrainian troops repelled six Russian attacks near the settlements of Zelene, Buhruvatka, Prylipka, and Dehtiarske.
In the Kupiansk sector, four enemy attacks took place. Ukrainian defenders repelled assault actions by the Russian army toward Petropavlivka and Pishchane.
In the Lyman sector, the enemy attacked 11 times, attempting to break into the defenses near the settlements of Kolodiazi, Novoyehorivka, Zarichne, Novoselivka, and toward Dibrova, Lypove, and Stavky.
In the Sloviansk sector, the Defense Forces repelled three Russian attacks near the settlements of Dronivka and Fedorivka.
In the Kramatorsk sector, Ukrainian defenders repelled two attacks near Stupochky and toward Pryvillia.
In the Kostiantynivka sector, the enemy carried out 13 attacks near the settlements of Oleksandro-Shultyne, Pleshchiivka, Ivanopillia, Berestok, Yablunivka, and toward Sofiivka.
In the Pokrovsk sector, Ukrainian defenders stopped 39 assault actions by the Russian army near the settlements of Shakhove, Fedorivka, Rodynske, Myrnohrad, Pokrovsk, Kotlyne, Udachne, and toward Filiia and Novopavlivka.
In the Oleksandrivka sector, the enemy carried out eight attacks near the settlements of Zelenyi Hai, Rybne, Yehorivka, and Solodke.
In the Huliaipole sector, the Defense Forces repelled 26 Russian attacks near Huliaipole and toward Dobropillia and Varvarivka.
In the Orikhiv sector, the Russians did not conduct offensive actions.
In the Prydniprovske sector, the invaders made one attempt to advance in the area of the Antonivskyi Bridge." Ukrin