The Lead
Martin Luther King, Or King Lear? A Question of Leadership
by Jason Ross (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
The greatest danger confronting the United States today, and much of the trans-Atlantic world, is not that it lacks resources, talent, or scientific capacity. It is that it no longer believes in the human mind—in the unique power of human beings to discover new physical principles, transform nature, and improve the conditions of life for generations yet unborn.
As Lyndon LaRouche once stated the issue bluntly: Do Americans still believe, in any significant way, that man is different than an animal? He posed this question at a 2004 event honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.:
Our teaching, we don’t teach that. Look at our standard curriculum. … What our education policies are now, nationally, are a crime. You don’t know anything—you learn to pass a test!…
We’re no longer concerned. We don’t believe, as a nation—we don’t believe in developing people! We have become like Rome, ancient Rome, a society of “bread and circuses.” Get your crumbs, and be entertained. …
For example, today, do people work? Is their mentality one of working? Do they believe in work? Do they believe the society gives them the opportunity to work? No. It doesn’t. It gives them the opportunity to get some money. …
The mentality of the country is that if you’re getting lucky, and winning the lottery, and winning at the track, that you’re getting ahead. Even though your industry is collapsing, your farm is gone, the city government can no longer afford to take care of your essential needs: We’ve gone into becoming a gambling society.
We rely on what? Mass entertainment! … Isn’t this something you really should be ashamed of?
We no longer regard human beings as human. We no longer understand what is human.
Against that civilizational decay comes the view of human identity implicit in today’s news report from China: The drive for controlled nuclear fusion is approaching a decisive phase, with major procurements underway and serious industry leaders now projecting net fusion gain and electricity generation by around 2030. Fusion, they insist, is no longer merely a physics experiment—it is becoming an engineering project, with industrial planning, real investment horizons, and the intention to make it economically viable.
This is what a society looks like when it is organized around the future. Not the future of quarterly profits, social-media hysteria, or geopolitical theatrics—but the future of human civilization itself. A nation committed to fusion is a nation committed to the idea that progress is real, that development is possible, and that the dignity of labor and discovery is not a slogan, but a mission.
Will the United States, and other nations of NATO, reclaim the moral and intellectual courage to take on such missions? To build a world defined not by empire and manipulation, but by cooperation in great projects worthy of the human species?
What we see coming from the White House is not leadership. It’s King Lear: a hollowed-out authoritarian demanding loyalty while the kingdom sunders, surrounded by flatterers, prone to tantrums and misjudgments, and confusing spectacle for legitimacy. Martin Luther King was the opposite species: not a performer hunting applause, but a servant of a mission, rooted in the forgotten men and women, measuring power by uplifting the least, and absolutely refusing the cop-out of “going along to get along.” As LaRouche put it: “As a leader … you have to find within yourself the strength not to flinch. Not to compromise.”
We need the moral courage to know that life is a talent, and that the only authority worth having is that which comes with improving the lives of others.
That authority is demonstrated in the highlight video EIR has released of its Jan.12 roundtable. That authority is demonstrated in the campaign of LaRouche independent candidate Diane Sare, running for the office of President of the United States.
Will we choose to become truly human?
Contents
Science and Technology
- Chinese Fusion Efforts Near Turning Point; Industry Leaders Predict Fusion Energy Production by 2030 (↓)
New World Paradigm
Strategic War Danger
- Trump Reportedly Tells Norway: No Peace Prize Means 'No Obligation To Think Purely of Peace' (↓)
- Russia and Ukraine Agree to Local Ceasefire as Zaporozhzhia NPP Undergoes Repair (↓)
- Trump Officials Claims Only U.S. Can Defend Greenland (↓)
LaRouche movement
Collapsing Imperial System
- Billionaire Fortunes Accumulate at Triple the Speed of Last Five Years (↓)
- Iranian 'Crown Prince' Hacks into Iranian TV, Calls on Military To Overthrow the Mullahs (↓)
- Trump and European Leaders Set To Clash at Davos (↓)
- Blair Reportedly Balks at Billion-Dollar Fee for Permanent Seat on Trump Gaza Board of Peace (↓)
U.S. and Canada
- Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Decline in U.S. (↓)
- Hegseth Investigates Military Contracts for Fraud, But Misses Biggest Fraud of All (↓)
- New York City May Restart Investing in Israel Bonds Despite Mayor's Call for Divestment (↓)
China
Harley Schlanger Update
Watch The Daily Update with Harley Schlanger, a short video update available every weekday morning from The LaRouche Organization.
In-Depth
Science and Technology
Chinese Fusion Efforts Near Turning Point; Industry Leaders Predict Fusion Energy Production by 2030
by Bill Jones (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
China’s drive to develop controllable nuclear fusion is entering a “decisive phase,” with fusion-related procurements totaling nearly 10 billion yuan ($1.37 billion) expected to be completed this year, according to experts and executives at a major industry conference in Hefei, Anhui province.
Speaking at the Fusion Energy Technology and Industry Conference 2026, which drew more than 1,500 participants, speakers said China’s fusion program is ready to move from research to the development of practical energy systems. A report by China Daily highlights the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST), under construction in Hefei, which aims to demonstrate net fusion power gain and electricity generation by around 2030.
“Fusion is no longer just a physics experiment. It is becoming an energy engineering project,” said Song Yuntao of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Plasma Physics. “The key question now is how to build it, operate it and make it economically viable.”
Analyst Xu Qiang of Guotai Haitong Securities said China’s advantage lies in combining “state-led research with growing private-sector participation,” accelerating technology development. Hefei’s EAST facility has set world records by sustaining plasma temperatures above 100 million °C for more than 1,000 seconds, while BEST is positioned as a next-step platform toward future power plants.
Investor interest has also grown. Guotai Haitong estimated fusion-related exchange-traded funds launched in 2025 brought 70 billion yuan into the sector. Meanwhile, Hefei Industry Investment Group announced a new fusion venture capital fund starting at 1 billion yuan, aimed at supporting key technologies over a lifespan of 15 years.
The conference also announced plans to construct a “Fusion City” in Changfeng County, Hefei, which will integrate research campuses, industrial clusters, and supporting residential facilities, anchored by major engineering projects.
New World Paradigm
India Central Bank Reportedly Proposes Linking BRICS Digital Currencies
by Jason Ross (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
India’s central bank has proposed that BRICS countries link their official digital currencies to make cross-border trade and tourism payments easier, Reuters reports, according to two sources.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) wants to put the proposal on the agenda for the 2026 BRICS summit, which India will host later this year. The move could further reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar at a time of rising financial warfare, and would be expected to draw condemnation from Washington.
BRICS members are still running pilot programs and none have fully launched a central bank digital currency. There are many technical issues to address: technological interoperability, governance structures, and means of managing trade imbalances, including possible central bank swap arrangements.
India’s e-rupee CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) has reached about 7 million retail users since December 2022.
CBDCs are not the same as the stablecoin trend. CBDCs “do not pose many of the risks associated with stablecoins,” explains RBI Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar. “Beyond the facilitation of illicit payments and circumvention of control measures, stablecoins raise significant concerns for monetary stability, fiscal policy, banking intermediation and systemic resilience.”
Strategic War Danger
Trump Reportedly Tells Norway: No Peace Prize Means 'No Obligation To Think Purely of Peace'
by Michelle Rasmussen (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump has sent a message to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Store, telling him that because Norway did not award him the Nobel Peace Prize, he “no longer feel[s] an obligation to think purely of Peace.” He ends with a demand for control of Greenland.
The text, as published by the New York Times:
Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre issued a public response, which states that “Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter.”
“As regards the Nobel Peace Prize,” he continued, “I have clearly explained, including to President Trump what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government.”
Russia and Ukraine Agree to Local Ceasefire as Zaporozhzhia NPP Undergoes Repair
by Bill Jones (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has received agreements from both Russia and Ukraine to cease fighting around the Zaporozhzhia nuclear power plant, while repairs to plant damage are occurring. An IAEA press release quotes IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi as saying: “Technicians from Ukraine’s electrical grid operator are expected to begin repair work on the 330 kV line—damaged and disconnected as a result of military activity on 2 January—in the coming days. The disconnection has left Europe’s largest NPP dependent on its sole functioning 750 kV main power line.”
“The IAEA continues to work closely with both sides to ensure nuclear safety at the ZNPP and to prevent a nuclear accident during the conflict. This temporary ceasefire, the fourth we have negotiated, demonstrates the indispensable role that we continue to play,” Grossi added.
A team from Vienna has already headed out to make the repairs.
Trump Officials Claims Only U.S. Can Defend Greenland
by Carl Osgood (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
According to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, power trumps sovereignty, especially in the Arctic. “The new domain of international competition is going to be polar competition,” Miller told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an interview on Jan. 17. “That is where more and more resources are being spent by our nation’s adversaries and rivals is the ability to control movement, navigation, lanes of travel in the polar and arctic region.”
He added that, because Denmark “cannot defend” Greenland, citing weaknesses in their military and economy, it should not have claims to the land. “To control a territory, you have to be able to defend a territory, improve a territory, inhabit a territory,” Miller said. “Denmark has failed at every single one of these tests.”
Miller claimed the U.S. was already on the hook to spend “hundreds of billions of dollars” to defend Denmark as a NATO ally. “It’s a raw deal, it’s an unfair deal, and most importantly, it’s unfair to the American taxpayer, who has subsidized all of Europe’s defense for generations now,” he told Hannity.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent similarly argued that the U.S. won’t back down on taking over Greenland, because, he claimed, the continent is too weak to ensure its security. Bessent all but dismissed European Union threats to halt a tariff deal reached between Trump and the bloc last year, telling NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Jan. 18 that Trump is using strategic leverage to get what he wants.
“First of all, the trade deal hasn’t been finalized, and an emergency action can be very different from another trade deal,” Bessent said. Trump “leverages his emergency powers to do this,” he added.
Bessent cited global competition in the Arctic and U.S. plans for a “Golden Dome” missile shield as reasons for the U.S. to acquire Greenland. And Trump is not bluffing, he affirmed: “The President believes enhanced security is not possible without Greenland being part of the U.S.”
Some European leaders have warned that the U.S. taking Greenland could spell the end of NATO, but Bessent told NBC: “The European leaders will come around and they will understand that they need to be under the U.S. security umbrella.”
LaRouche movement
Video Highlights of EIR's Jan. 12 Emergency Roundtable Should Go Viral
by Mary Jane Freeman (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
On Jan. 19 EIR released the 42-minute summary of its Jan. 12 emergency roundtable internet forum, “It’s Worse Than You Think: The Implications of the Attack on Venezuela and How To Bring the World Back.” The video features brief clips from each of the leading political figures from around the world who spoke at the event. Uniquely, while each speaker identified the dangerous threats to humanity coming from Venezuela to Ukraine to Minnesota, the event’s key focus was on finding solutions to “bring the world back from the brink.”
This summary video condenses the ten experts, from the Americas, Eurasia and Africa. Each has long experience and tested judgment in international affairs. The discussants were truly an extraordinary gathering of expertise and morality, amounting to a Council of Elders. The just-released video summarizes highlights of the nearly three-hour event which had a live-stream audience averaging 1,200 participants, with translation into English, French, German and Spanish. It is available here: EIR Emergency Roundtable HIGHLIGHTS—The Attack on Venezuela and How To Bring the World Back.
Collapsing Imperial System
Billionaire Fortunes Accumulate at Triple the Speed of Last Five Years
by Steve Carr (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
The concentration of both wealth and power in the hands of a small group of billionaires is not only obscene, but also dangerous, according to a Jan. 19 report by Oxfam, “Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting Freedom from Billionaire Power.” Since U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to power, billionaires have succeeded in tripling the speed of their wealth accumulation compared to the previous five years. This rate of growth was highest in the U.S., but billionaires around the world have also seen double-digit increases. Since 2020 the wealth of billionaires has grown by 81%. There are now over 3,000 billionaires in the world with a combined wealth of $18.3 trillion. Meanwhile, one in four people in the world is food insecure.
The report warns that this concentration of wealth is being used to shape and influence politics, societies and economies. Billionaires are not merely buying yachts and private jets, but also political movements, social media platforms, newspapers, and more than a few politicians. There may have always been this connection between money and power, but it has never been this brazen. While the ultra-rich gain more power and influence, the report states, “All over the world we are seeing an erosion and rolling back of the civil and political rights of the many; the suppression of protests; and the silencing of dissent.” Max Lawson, co-author of the report wrote: “Governments worldwide are making the wrong choice; choosing to defend wealth, not freedom. Choosing the rule of the rich. Choosing to repress their people’s anger at how life is becoming unaffordable and unbearable.”
The biggest flaw in the report is its Aristotelian, fixed view of inequality in the world. China is the most successful country in the world at ending poverty, yet the report ignores their progress. The report’s simpleminded conclusion calls for the redistribution of wealth as the only way to end global poverty. How to produce the goods for a dignified life for all humanity is never considered.
Iranian 'Crown Prince' Hacks into Iranian TV, Calls on Military To Overthrow the Mullahs
by Bill Jones (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
As the result of an apparently successful hacking job, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Iranian king and self-styled heir to the throne, appeared on Iranian TV calling on the Iranian military to overthrow the rule of Ayatollah Khamenei. Details of this “psy-war” operation are still unclear.
Trump and European Leaders Set To Clash at Davos
by Bill Jones (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
Financial Times is reporting that European leaders slated to travel to the Davos Economic Forum this week have scrapped their “position papers” on Ukraine and are now focused on discussing the issue of Greenland’s future with the U.S. President. The Danish government, which is the country most directly affected by any U.S. takeover of Greenland, will boycott the meeting entirely. While British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a speech on Jan. 18, urged that the conflict be resolved through dialogue, it also appears that the European leaders are prepared to outline countermeasures to the tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump if no agreement is reached on the issue of Greenland. The national security advisers of these countries met on the afternoon of Jan. 19. Their topic was also to have been Ukraine, but the discussion here was also concentrated on the Greenland issue.
More positively, perhaps, is the announcement that Kirill Dmitriev, the chairman of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, will also be traveling to Davos to discuss U.S.-Russia relations with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who will also be in the U.S. delegation.
Blair Reportedly Balks at Billion-Dollar Fee for Permanent Seat on Trump Gaza Board of Peace
by Carl Osgood (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is reported to be balking at U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand to pay a billion-dollar fee for the privilege of a permanent seat on his Gaza Board of Peace. Blair declined to endorse the request for the funds, which is part of a draft charter for the nascent organization, in a further sign that the details of the peace board are provoking opposition from U.S. allies and partners over Trump’s project, Bloomberg reported yesterday. A spokesperson for Blair said Sunday he isn’t involved in determining the board’s membership, indicating he would not publicly support the proposal.
Bloomberg reports further that some countries would likely refuse to join the Board as a result of Trump’s terms, citing “people familiar with the matter.” Others may agree in principle to joining the Board of Peace but decline to pay the fee for permanent membership, they added. They would then either seek to negotiate it away or quit the board if Trump insisted on the idea, Bloomberg’s sources said. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Jan. 18 he had agreed in principle to joining the board but not to the payments.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters this morning that Russian President Vladimir Putin has received an invitation to join the Board of Peace. “President Putin has indeed received an offer through diplomatic channels to join this Board of Peace. We are currently studying all the details of this proposal,” Peskov said in response to a question from TASS. “We hope to contact the U.S. side to clarify all the details,” he added.
This followed earlier reports by TASS that both Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also received invitations. Orban has received and accepted an invitation from Trump to join the board.
Reports are that in addition to Tokayev, President of Brazil Lula da Silva was also offered to join, along with a few dozen other countries. Is Trump trying to create his own UN?
U.S. and Canada
Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Decline in U.S.
by Jason Ross (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
A sharp nationwide decline in overdose deaths may be linked to a disruption in the international fentanyl supply chain that began in 2023, according to a Maryland criminologist writing in the journal Science.
Peter Reuter, a University of Maryland professor who studies global drug markets, told the Baltimore Sun on Jan. 15 that evidence suggests that interruptions in the supply of precursor chemicals from China were a major factor behind the downturn, after fentanyl deaths had risen for roughly a decade.
CDC data show total U.S. overdose deaths fell by more than a third, from more than 111,000 in August 2023 to 69,000 in August 2025. Overdose deaths in Maryland declined more than 40% over the same period, from 2,548 to 1,417.
Reuters said that neither reduced demand nor widespread availability of naloxone could explain the falling death rates. Instead, it was that fentanyl became harder to obtain. Researchers cited Reddit discussions reporting a fentanyl “drought,” along with DEA findings that fentanyl purity and seizures have declined since 2023, even as dealers increasingly mix other potent substances, such as veterinary tranquilizers, into street drugs.
The researchers added that similar supply disruptions were seen in Canada, suggesting a broader international shift in fentanyl production and distribution.
Hegseth Investigates Military Contracts for Fraud, But Misses Biggest Fraud of All
by Jason Ross (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced in a strident post on X that he would be reviewing all contracts over $20 million awarded under Section 8A of the 1978 Small Businesses Act, which provides support and favorable contracting to companies run by “socially and economically disadvantaged” individuals, a category with a lengthy definition.
Hegseth claims that the preferential contracts enable fraud, where companies with the right demographic credentials can arbitrage that qualification to win contracts which they can profitably subcontract out, while pocketing the difference. “Effective immediately, I’m ordering a line-by-line review of every small business sole source 8A contract that is over $20 million.”
Whatever the merits of this action in itself—one can legitimately ask whether in 2026 it is right for the government to explicitly discriminate on the basis of race or national origin—the glaring irony is that the biggest example of “waste, fraud, and abuse” in military spending is Trump’s demand to increase total spending to $1.5 trillion!
New York City May Restart Investing in Israel Bonds Despite Mayor's Call for Divestment
by Jason Ross (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
New York City could begin reinvesting public pension funds in Israeli government bonds, despite new Mayor Zohran Mamdani calling for divestment from Israel over its destruction of Gaza.
City Comptroller Mark Levine told the Financial Times that Israeli bonds have “performed very well” and remain “investment-grade rated.” He said it was his fiduciary duty to prioritize investment returns over politics. Mamdani, however, has said the city “should not have a fund that is invested in the violation of international law.”
Israel’s 10-year dollar bonds currently yield about 5.2%, compared with roughly 4.2% for similar U.S. Treasuries, making the Israeli bonds attractive to some public funds.
China
Chinese Population Continues To Decline
by Jason Ross (EIRNS) — Jan. 19, 2026
For the fourth year in a row, China’s population decreased as the county’s birthrate hit a record low. At the end of 2025, the population of 1.405 billion was down 3 million from the year before, according to statistics cited by the Wall Street Journal.
Births in 2025 dropped dramatically from 2024, to 7.92 million compared to 9.54 million the year before. Part of this decline was the choice to have children in 2024 so that they could be born in the Year of the Dragon, resulting in families having children earlier. Other than that year, births have been declining since 2017.
China has abandoned the One Child Policy and has recently introduced initiatives like childcare subsidies to increase the birthrate, so far without success.
While many other countries with aging populations can rely on new immigrants, China has extremely low rates of immigration, and naturalization is extraordinarily difficult.
