🗞️ OpenAI to start rolling out ads for ChatGPT

January 16th, 2026

What happened today 🇺🇸,

• OpenAI announced plans to test ads in ChatGPT's free and $8/month Go tiers for U.S. adult users starting in the coming weeks, displaying clearly labeled sponsored content at the bottom of responses tied to conversation topics, while ensuring ads do not influence replies or use sold user data…Paid Plus, Pro, Enterprise plans will remain ad-free and no ads will be shown to under-18 users or near sensitive topics like politics and health

• White House National Economic Council Director, Kevin Hassett, said that President Trump plans to unveil a proposal at Davos that would let Americans tap a portion of their 401(k) retirement savings to help fund down payments on home purchases, as part of a broader push on housing affordability

• President Trump is set to pardon former Governor of Puerto Rico, Wanda Vázquez Garced, after her 2022 indictment and August 2025 guilty plea to a reduced campaign finance violation stemming from an alleged bribery scheme to fund her 2020 gubernatorial campaign

• CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, met with Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas, this was the first Cabinet-level U.S. visit since the military operation that captured Nicolás Maduro two weeks ago…the discussion, focused on fostering trust through intelligence sharing, economic cooperation, and ensuring Venezuela ceases serving as a haven for drug traffickers

• President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on countries opposing U.S. acquisition of Greenland, citing its critical role in national security against threats from Russia and China

• The Justice Department launched a criminal investigation into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for allegedly conspiring to obstruct federal ICE and Border Patrol agents deployed to Minneapolis

• The Department of Education announced that it will delay involuntary collections on defaulted federal student loans…this temporary halt provides time to roll out reforms from the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, including simplified repayment plans, a second loan rehabilitation opportunity, and interest waivers

• A federal judge ruled that Dominion Energy can resume construction on its $11.2 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, granting a preliminary ruling against the Trump administration's December stop-work order

• AI journalism startup Symbolic.ai, signed a deal with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp to deploy its platform at Dow Jones Newswires, promising up to 90% productivity gains in tasks like research, fact-checking, and SEO

• U.S. existing home sales rose 5.1% month over month in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.35 million units, the strongest pace in nearly three years

• DOW down .17% / S&P down .06%

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Bonus: A look at the most spoken languages

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