As storms become more disruptive and outages more common, power reliability is under the microscope. Now, one of Ohio's largest utility companies is asking regulators for more flexibility when the lights go out. AccuWeather's Ali Reid reports.

Ohio

First Energy has requested that Ohio regulators loosen existing rules regarding the frequency and duration of power outages. The utility company cites increasingly frequent and intense storms as a reason for its struggle to meet current reliability standards, and it is seeking more flexibility in outage management.

Residents have expressed concern that the proposed changes could lead to longer outages, especially during severe weather events. First Energy has announced plans for $3 billion in grid upgrades through 2029 to improve system resilience, and regulators are expected to make a decision on the proposal next month.

Winter storms drive Ohio utility company to seek looser rules

What if power outages lasting longer became the new normal? First Energy is asking Ohio regulators to loosen the rules on power outages, including how often they happen and how long they last. The utility company says it's struggling to meet current reliability standards and wants more flexibility when the lights go out. First Energy says Ohio storms are getting more frequent and more intense, not just major storms, but smaller disruptive ones that knock out power. Under the proposal, average restoration times would increase by minutes on paper, but residents are concerned that could mean much longer outages during real storms. This comes after repeated storm-related outages across parts of Northeast Ohio, with some residents left without power for days. First Energy says this doesn't mean they're giving up. They point to $3 billion in grid upgrades planned through 2029 to make the system more resilient. Regulators will decide next month. As extreme weather becomes more common, the big question is, are power companies adapting fast enough or just resetting expectations? For AccuWeather, I'm Allie Reed.

Republicans in the Senate killed a resolution on Wednesday that would have put limits on President Trump's ability to take action in Venezuela. Vice President JD Vance had to step in to break the 50-50 tie.

Washington

Venezuela Strikes

Senate Republicans kill war powers effort to limit Trump on Venezuela

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted foreign ministers from Greenland and Denmark as President Donald Trump continues to insist on a U.S. takeover of Greenland.

Vance and Rubio meet with officials from Greenland and Denmark

At least 30 people were killed when a construction crane collapsed onto a moving train in northeastern Thailand, at the site of a planned high-speed rail project intended to eventually link China with much of Southeast Asia.

Sikhio District

At least 30 people killed in Thailand train derailment

Tehran has warned neighbors hosting U.S. troops that it would hit American bases if Washington strikes, a senior Iranian official told Reuters, as Iran seeks to deter Donald Trump's threats to intervene on behalf of protesters.

Tehran

Iran warns neighbors it could hit U.S. bases if Washington strikes

As Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to China to ease trade tensions, President Donald Trump reiterated that the U.S. doesn’t need Canadian goods or the CUSMA. Carney was also urged by Ontario’s premier to not back down on tariffs for Chinese EVs.

Ottawa

Trump says he doesn’t need Canadian goods or the CUSMA

United States President Donald Trump says he has cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials and has told protesters to “take over your institutions” amid Tehran’s crackdown.

Trump cancels Iran meetings, urges protesters to take on institutions

Around 2,000 people including security personnel have been killed in protests in Iran, an Iranian official said, the first time authorities have acknowledged the high death toll from an intense crackdown on two weeks of nationwide unrest.

Iran official says 2,000 killed in nationwide unrest

Former President Bill Clinton is refusing to appear before the House Oversight Committee to testify as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion has more.

Bill Clinton skips Epstein deposition on Capitol Hill

Former Corsican nationalist leader Alain Orsoni, who also served as the president of soccer club AC Ajaccio, was shot dead in Corsica on January 11 during his mother’s funeral. He was 71. Alain Orsoni was one of the leaders of the Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC) in the 1980s. He later founded and led the Movement for Self-Determination (MPA).

Vero

Ex-Corsican nationalist leader Alain Orsoni killed at mother's funeral

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who needs to have a graft conviction overturned to seize her best chance at the French presidency, risks seeing her life's work upended if she loses her appeal. It comes after a French court last year barred her from running for office for five years over a European Parliament fake-jobs scam involving her and other officials from her National Rally party.

Paris

Marine Le Pen's appeal in EU fund embezzlement case opens in Paris

British regulators are investigating X for lewd AI images generated by Grok, the AI arm of Elon Musk's social platform. Michael Goodyear, an associate professor at New York Law School, joins CBS News with more.

London

UK investigating Musk's X over Grok's AI-generated images

As U.S. President Donald Trump weighs a response to Iran's deadly crackdown on nationwide protests, Iranian leaders say they are still keeping communications open with the Americans. But on January 12, large pro-government rallies took place across Iran, and the U.S. was clearly framed as the enemy and instigator of the protests.

Iranian leaders mobilise supporters as U.S. weighs intervention

Last week an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent shot and killed Renee Good, a Minneapolis mother who was observing a law enforcement action carried out by the agency.

Minnesota

Minnesota sues federal government to prevent further ICE deployment

The demonstrations are the biggest Iran has seen in years. Protests spurred by the Iranian currency collapse have morphed into a larger test of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's rule.

Trump weighs military action against Iran over protest crackdown

President Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to safeguard Mexican sovereignty while cooperating with the US on key issues.

Mexico City

Mexico’s Sheinbaum rejects Trump’s threat of strikes on drug cartels

President Donald Trump said that any country which does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on trade with the U.S., as Washington weighs a response to the situation in Iran which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.

Trump says nations trading with Iran will face 25% U.S. tariffs

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says his country is ready for war but also for dialogue, after US President Donald Trump said the US is considering ‘very strong options’ in response to Iran’s crackdown on antigovernment protests.

Iran FM Araghchi warns ready for war if U.S. wants to ‘test’ it

Britain will bring into effect a law criminalizing the creation of non-consensual intimate images this week, technology minister Liz Kendall told parliament after regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into Elon Musk's X.

UK investigates Musk's X over Grok sexual deepfakes

Iran's internet was cut off late last Thursday, apparently in an attempt by government authorities to prevent protesters from organizing and uploading videos for the outside world to see.

Iran enforcing nationwide internet blackout amid protests

Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk's company xAI, amid concerns that it is being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images.

Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk’s Grok over sexualized AI images

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is on a two-day visit. Merz is traveling with a large business delegation as Germany seeks to deepen economic and security ties.

New Delhi

Germany's Merz makes first official visit to India

At the first major awards show of the season, "One Battle After Another" and "Adolescence" both won four awards. In a surprise win, "Hamnet" upset "Sinners" for best motion picture for a drama.

Los Angeles

"One Battle After Another," "Adolescence" win big at Golden Globes

Fallout from the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. immigration and customs enforcement officer in Minneapolis continues with government officials standing by the action and ordering more ICE officers into the city.

Minneapolis

Hundreds more ICE agents headed to Minneapolis after fatal shooting

Powell said the investigation, linked to a testimony he gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Fed buildings, was an attempt to limit central bank independence.

U.S. opens criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Protests continue in Iran amid a violent government crackdown. Activists say hundreds of demonstrators have been killed. President Trump says Iran now wants to negotiate to prevent a U.S. military response.

Trump says Iran 'wants to negotiate' as protests intensify

President Trump says Iranian leaders have reached out to the U.S. to negotiate, as massive protests continue and more deaths are reported by activists.

Trump weighs military option in Iran amid rising death toll

President Trump has been briefed on new military options for a strike against Iran amid widespread protests and a government crackdown on communications for Iranians, a senior U.S. official tells CBS News. "We'll be hitting them very hard where it hurts," he said at the White House.

Trump briefed on new military options for Iran strikes amid protests

Demonstrations in Iran are now entering their third week and the death toll is surging with hundreds killed, according to a human rights group. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted that the Islamic regime will "not back down" in the face of the growing social unrest and calls for regime change.

Protests in Iran intensifying despite threat of death for dissidents

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas showcased a wide array of AI-powered innovations, including paper-thin televisions, interactive Lego, and binoculars that can identify bird species in real time. Notable breakthroughs included .Lumen's AI glasses for the visually impaired and Roborock's Saros Rover, a robotic vacuum cleaner capable of navigating stairs and various surfaces autonomously.

Las Vegas

Rise of AI

AI-powered innovation dominates Consumer Electronics show

Human remains were found in Australia's southeast where bushfires raging for days have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swaths of bushland, police said. The blazes are burning out of control during a summer heat wave in Victoria state.

Breakdown