Shapiro Vetting Flare‑Up, Spain Crash, Harry’s Trial

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Here’s what we’re watching this Monday, January 19, 2026... A revelation from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro about Kamala Harris’s 2024 vetting. A deadly high‑speed rail crash in Spain. 60 Minutes finally airs a shelved investigation—without an on‑camera administration interview. Prince Harry’s latest lawsuit heads to trial. And Maryland courts a billion‑dollar mini‑Sphere entertainment venue.

Let’s dive in.

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Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says a member of Kamala Harris’s 2024 running‑mate vetting team asked whether he had ever been an agent of the Israeli government—a question he says he found offensive. He makes the claim in his upcoming memoir. The aide is identified as Dana Remus, a former White House counsel, and a Harris spokesperson declined comment. Shapiro also describes being pressed on Israel‑related questions during the abbreviated 2024 process. He and Harris have traded barbs in dueling memoirs, and his book is due out next week.

On the right, commentators argue the question reeks of bias and validates worries about how Democrats handled internal divisions on Israel in 2024. Some pro‑Israel outlets say it suggests Jewish candidates face different vetting.

On the center‑left, coverage notes that vetting often includes uncomfortable hypotheticals—and that Shapiro wrote the sessions were professional, even if he bristled at that question. Many frame it as part of a broader Harris–Shapiro rift, and a snapshot of a party still navigating Gaza‑era divides.

A high‑speed train derailed near Adamuz in Spain’s Córdoba province, colliding with an oncoming train and killing at least 39 people, with many more injured. Spain’s transport minister called the crash strange—it happened on a recently renovated, straight section of track and involved a relatively new train. Service on key southern routes is suspended while investigators determine the cause.

On the right, media emphasize safety risks and caution against romanticizing high‑speed rail—pointing to prior disasters and arguing the cost‑benefit and safety cases must be rigorous.

On the left, coverage underscores Europe’s strong rail safety record and calls for robust investment in maintenance, signaling, and oversight, rather than retreating from rail expansion. Most urge patience until the investigation is complete.

60 Minutes has now aired the CECOT segment that was delayed in December. After CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss held it for lacking an on‑camera administration interview, the show added disclosures that officials declined to appear and included written responses—but still aired without a sit‑down. The delay sparked a newsroom debate... some staff called it censorship, while leadership argued the piece wasn’t ready.

On the right, commentators say insisting on administration voices was the right call for fairness and balance.

On the left, critics see the month‑long delay as de facto censorship that grants officials a veto when they refuse to engage—and they argue the eventual broadcast, still without an interview, proves the point.

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In London, Prince Harry and six other public figures—including Elton John and Doreen Lawrence—have begun a roughly nine‑week High Court trial against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail. They allege decades of illegal information‑gathering, from phone hacking to unlawful access to medical and banking records. The publisher denies the claims and calls them baseless. Harry has previously won damages against the Mirror’s publisher and settled a case with Murdoch’s News Group.

On the right, commentary warns about chilling effects on a free press and flags credibility disputes around some witnesses from earlier hacking scandals. Tabloids are expected to contest the claims vigorously, given the stakes for investigative practices.

On the left, many see overdue accountability for tabloids with a history of intrusion. Coverage frames the case as potentially transformative for U.K. media—and part of Harry’s broader push for reform.

Maryland is courting a mini‑Sphere—a 6,000‑seat immersive venue at National Harbor outside Washington, D.C. State and local incentives in the range of roughly 185 to 200 million dollars are on the table, pending votes, with officials touting about one billion dollars in annual economic activity. Backers say it could open in 2030 and help offset federal job losses in the region.

Fiscal conservatives call entertainment subsidies corporate welfare with poor returns and want stricter limits on public financing.

Supporters—including many local Democrats and Governor Wes Moore—argue the project diversifies the economy, creates union jobs, and could anchor new development if paired with community benefits and transit upgrades. Some progressive economists still question the payoff, but backers see promise in a scaled, tech‑forward facility.

Quick recap... Shapiro’s memoir claim revives 2024’s intraparty rifts. Spain reels from a devastating rail crash. 60 Minutes airs a delayed investigation amid a fairness fight. Prince Harry’s case could reshape the U.K. media—again. And Maryland bets big on an immersive venue as the subsidy debate reignites.

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