On this day in conspiracies

Satoshi mines the 'genesis block,' block zero of the Bitcoin blockchain. Embedded in its data is the line 'The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks,' a real headline from that day's Times that doubles as a timestamp and a comment on the banking system.

A US drone strike at Baghdad airport kills Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. Iran vows revenge, and the region enters a period of acute military tension and expectation of an Iranian response.

Police release notes recovered from Livelsberger. In them he writes that the act was “not a terrorist attack” but a “wake up call,” and speaks of needing to “cleanse” his mind of the losses of comrades and the burden of combat. Investigators describe the act as premeditated and the work of one person.

The Anti-Defamation League and multiple fact-checking outlets document how the attack is being exploited to spread false narratives, including a debunked claim that the attacker had recently crossed the southern border and antisemitic claims blaming Israel. Both are false: the attacker was a U.S.-born citizen and Army veteran, and no evidence connects the attack to Israel.

Beginning around 2 a.m. local time, US forces carry out Operation Absolute Resolve: air strikes suppress Venezuelan defenses while a special-operations and FBI apprehension team seizes Maduro and Cilia Flores in Caracas. Explosions are widely reported across the capital.